2022. A year of change and exploration.
Lots happened this year – the good, bad & ugly. But overall, I’m feeling very thankful for a lot that this year brought.
Most notably, Billy and I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee after five years in Columbia, South Carolina. For me it was moving home, for him a new chapter. I’m honestly so happy to be back here close to my family and watch him thrive in law school.
Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of tough times this year. None that I really want to talk about. Just a reminder that everyone is fighting battles we know nothing about and to always treat people with kindness.
Below is a little recap of the year. All of my favorite parts included travel, my loved ones or both:
JANUARY
We rang in the new year with some of our best friends in Columbia. I miss them dearly. Billy and I took a day trip to Isle of Palms – another thing I miss about living in South Carolina. Day trips on the off season were the best. Not too busy or too hot. We also got our first snow in Columbia in the five years we were there, which was so fun! I ended January with a weekend trip to see one of my childhood besties, Savannah, in Charlotte, North Carolina. We had the sweetest weekend and I loved seeing where she calls home.
FEBRUARY
In February we lost my Gram. It was really hard, but it was so special to get the family back together after COVID kept us apart for so long and to share fond memories of her. Also in February, Billy and I spent a long weekend in New York. I love the City so much it’s hard to explain, and we had a wonderful time eating glorious food and exploring all the City has to offer. We even had a snowy last day, complete with a picturesque, wintery walk through Central Park!
MARCH
If you know me at all you know how much I love running, and in March I was able to host an in-person 5K for my job. It was an absolute blast made even better with Billy and my parents participating in the race. The spectating was so much fun it made me want to cheer at races every weekend (although I was jealous I was working and unable to run)! I did have a few 20-milers in March in preparation for my April marathon that surprisingly felt great. Convinced myself I could be an olympic marathoner before having a totally terrible 5-miler a few days later. Such is running!
APRIL
March into April I was lucky enough to travel to Minneapolis, Minnesoda for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four/ National Championship games for work. While I had great company and it was incredible watching the confetti fall for our team, I think I have had my fill of that city and don’t really need to visit again – particularly in the winter!
In April I taught another Pure Barre pop-up class at Tasty As Fit, a local healthy grab-and-go in Columbia. Two of my favorite things, despite the rainy morning!
I rounded out April with my proudest accomplishment of the year. I completed my second full marathon, the Derby Marathon, in Louisville, Kentucky! My first full marathon was turned virtual in 2020, so this was just such an incredible experience. The fanfare was electric and my dad and uncle ran the half, making it a family affair!
MAY
In May my dream of traveling to Europe finally came true! After several years of talking about going and finding reasons why it wasn’t the right time, I finally bit the bullet and booked a flight to visit another childhood best friend, Georgie, in London. We also spent a weekend in Paris, my favorite city on earth. It was so indescribably magical – the architecture of the city was breathtaking. Honestly the whole trip was such a dream – from seeing the cities, eating amazing food (a pastry a day!), seeing the Cursed Child on West End, and spending 10 days with Georgie, it was really a dream.
Lesson of the year – stop making excuses and just do the thing, book the trip, etc.! There’s always a reason not to, but life is too short.
JUNE
In June, Billy and I took another day trip to IOP (yay)! Beach days are the best. I also spent a weekend in Asheville for my dear friend Anna Belle’s bachelorette and had a blast getting to know her other bridesmaids. It’s so fun celebrating someone so selfless, getting to make something all about them, and it was just that 🙂
June was just the month for weekend trips, I guess! Billy and I spent the weekend in Charleston/Isle of Palms to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. We had the best time at the beach and our favorite brewery – Edmund’s Oast.
The last weekend of June I spent with some of my Pure Barre Columbia teacher best friends – Megan, Meriwether, and Micah – on Hilton Head Island. It was so refreshing to relax with these amazing ladies on the beach with no plans, just fun and relaxation! I’m so thankful for that time we spent together.
JULY
My birthday month! The last few years when Billy asked me what I want for my birthday I said a day trip to the beach, but this year we combined it with a full summer beach trip. We spent a week at Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island. Nothing like starting the day with a beach run and ending it with dinner with an ocean view, a delicious salad and slice of cake, an espresso martini and the world’s most wonderful husband. I have to say – I could get used to a vacation on my birthday haha! I also had the chance to celebrate at happy hour with friends in Columbia. At this point we knew we were moving, so it was extra special to have that time together.
AUGUST
The first week of August we packed up our first house and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. It was bitter-sweet leaving that home, I really did love it, but it was time for a change and we were so excited to start our new chapter in Knoxville. Thank goodness for my dad and brother for helping us pack up our house and drive a 20 foot Uhaul through the mountains. We literally could not have done it without them!
Less than a week later we were back in Columbia, as I was a bridesmaid in my friend Anna Belle’s wedding. It was the sweetest reunion of the Pure Barre Cola family to celebrate her love!
Billy and I also got to spend a quick weekend in Johnson City, Tennessee for a reunion of former orientation leaders, made even more fun with the celebration of our friend Graham’s surprise 30th birthday party and the time we spent with a Columbia grad school bestie turned ETSU employee, Timothy.
Finally, at the end of August Billy began law school at the University of Tennessee and I began teaching barre classes at Pure Barre Knoxville and Pure Barre Farragut!
SEPTEMBER
Billy and I were lucky enough to spend time exploring our new city in September before school got too busy. We tried lots of local restaurants and breweries in addition to making our downtown loft into our home. We also enjoyed dinners and game nights with my family and morning runs with my dad, really taking advantage of the close proximity after so long apart!
I also took a quick weekend work trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where I spent a summer working during graduate school. It was fun to be back in that cute little town and reconnect with some former colleagues.
At the end of September I traveled back to Johnson City to run the Bluegrass Half Marathon with Timothy. He was faster than me, of course, but I was so proud to finally break two hours in the half marathon after eight years of running half marathons. It was a full circle moment, as the Bluegrass Half was the first half I ever raced!
OCTOBER
The first weekend of October we went back, yet again, to Johnson City for the weekend. This time, for an ETSU football game. It was freezing and rainy, but boy did we have a great time cheering on the Bucs with college friends and Timothy!
A few days later, Billy and I traveled to Lexington Kentucky for one of my work trips. The preparation was hard work, but we luckily got to reap the rewards! We took a group of Gamecock alumni to four bourbon distilleries, lots of meals and, of course, a tailgate and football game. So much fun made so much better with Billy on the trip with me!
During my only weekend in Knoxville in October (seriously, I was out of town more nights than I was in my own apartment this month), we got to celebrate two sweet college friends, Pierce and Claire, at their wedding, alongside lots more college friends. So fun!
Then, I spent the last 11 days of October back in Columbia for work events, including Homecoming Weekend. It’s always the most exhausting but most rewarding week. I was so glad I was able to catch up with friends there and am so thankful to Hannah & Scott and Molly & Ben for housing me during that time. I was even able to teach a few classes at Pure Barre Columbia, which made my heart so happy!
NOVEMBER
The first weekend of November Billy’s parents traveled to Knoxville to visit us and we had a blast showing them around town. I also hosted the Pure Barre Knoxville Friendsgiving party and ran the Cade’s Cove 10-miler with my mom. It was so fun to run with her (despite the temps being in the 20s!) since I usually run with Billy and my Dad.
After one more work trip to Columbia for the year, Billy and I decorated the apartment for Christmas! I love decorating a new space for the holidays, and our tree just looked so cozy in our loft. We traveled to Johnson City for Thanksgiving to visit Billy’s family, and after 8 Thanksgivings together I finally convinced him to run the Turkey Trot! I rounded out November by visiting the Fantasy of Trees with my mom (we used to go every year when I was a kid!) and having a delayed Thanksgiving with my Family.
DECEMBER
December kicked off with one last work trip for me, but my first international work trip! Part of my job with the USC Alumni Association is overseeing our travel programs and I was finally able to attend one. I went to Montreal and Quebec City and my mom came too! I was so much more magical to explore the cities and the Christmas Markets with the biggest Hallmark Christmas movie lover I know!
I was back in Knoxville for a week, including our Pure Barre Knoxville Christmas party, and then Billy and I took one more trip of 2022 to NYC! As I mentioned, I love the City so much, and it was even more magical at Christmas. We went to a Rangers game, saw the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular, toured Yankee Stadium, ran and ice skated in Central Park and, of course, enjoyed lots of amazing food and drinks. When our trip was over, we split Christmas between our two families and spent the past week relaxing at home.
2022 was really full of so many wonderful experiences. I love writing these re-cap posts each year, because it’s the perfect chance to reflect on all I got to experience and on how far I’ve come in the last year. Here’s to a healthy, happy 2023 from me and mine to you and yours. Happy New Year!
