A few months ago, my sis-in-law invited me to join a book club. Despite working in book publishing for 7 years (omg, that seems scary long), I'd become a less than joyous personal reader. I spent my days working with authors, writing back cover copy, working on marketing strategies... I began reading only the books we were publishing and fell into the terrible rut of rarely reading for myself.

As an English major and a lover of creative writing, I missed it. Still, the madness of living in NYC followed by the move, the restaurant and other distractions, provided plenty of excuses to rush on to the next overscheduled moment.

During the past few months, I force myself to read at least a book a month. And guess what? I'm reading even more than that. On the agenda this month?

flowers make you happier...and healthier?

Between the new house and the pregnancy, I've been non-stop nesting. When my energy level doesn't let me "keep on going," I give in to my current obsession: Pinterest. Virtual nesting is my my newest jam.

While pinning away last week, I came across this article from Apartment Therapy. It speaks not only to the emotional upside of keeping fresh flowers in the home, but also to the health benefits.

According to the article, researchers found that hospital patients who stayed in rooms with fresh plants and flowers had lower blood pressure, felt less anxious and less tired. The article also points out that flowers in the workspace increase efficiency. Very interesting indeed...

instagram jams

After much teasing from friends and fam, I finally broke down and joined Instagram. And guess what? I love it!

Here a few snaps from the past week. There has been a ton of celebrating. Birthdays, babies, Libby dog...all things keeping this frigid January bright.

4.5 month bump shot

sweet, sweet Libby dog looking for a morning walk 

birthday baubles courtesy of my stylish mother 

 lunching at Mas Tacos in East Nashville 

a new year

It's a new year! Don't you just love the feeling of a fresh start?

Since my birthday also falls in January, this time of year always seems like the ideal moment to set some new goals and add new dreams to the wish list.

Before diving into what lies ahead, I wanted to take a moment to talk about what this last year has been.

As those of you who have been reading the ol' blog for several years probably noticed, my frequency of posting decreased a ton in 2013. The posts that did make it up included very few personal details or commentary.

After taking some time to reflect, I realized that has a lot to do with the fact that the chaos of our lives recently left us with very little time to reflect on anything in any capacity. It was really taking its toll.

Before we say good-bye to last year, I wanted to share a few important milestones from the most bonkers year of our lives. Read on for a brief (or not so brief...) 2013 recap if you fancy hearing more...