2012. A Year in Review.

At midnight on the first day of 2012, my immediate thought was "it's Wedding Year!" And for the first half of 2012, that would be an accurate description. So much of our energy and anticipation went into the preparation for our marriage and wedding. The winter months were full of long-distance dating, and we poured our energy in planning for the biggest party we've ever had. The second half of the year started on June 30. We finally shared a last name! We finally shared an address! Marriage to Aaron began that day and hasn't stopped since. We are married in every sense of the word. We share a life, a home, a bed. I feel that we are very married.

Although this very-married-year has been one of my most joy-filled yet, not all parts of it were picture perfect. Just a day after we'd returned home from our Aruba honeymoon, my parents told us that my dad would need open heart surgery to repair a value in his heart. Cue the days of stomach-dropping, praying on my knees, and crying in my new husband's arms. My dad has since made a full recovery, but this event marked our hearts. It gave us more gratitude for our loved ones, changed the way we prioritize our time, and gave us hope that God is intricately and intentionally Good even in the gravest of moments.

As the months passed our once separate routines slowly became OUR routine. We explored our new city, we celebrated the marriages of close friends, we worked, played, traveled, and dated more than once a week. The months of this year have been sweet. Each in their very own way. This year has been marked by anticipation and enjoyment, I've loved it wholeheartedly. I truly can't wait to see what's in store for the next! Here's just a glimpse of what our 2012 looked like...

New Year 2012!

a trip to New York. 

lots of weekends spent in Norfolk.

the completion of our handmade invitations... what a task!

the beautiful bridal shower my sister and bridesmaids had for me! I felt so celebrated.

making a (tiny!) Capitol Hill english basement apartment our first little home.

my bachelorette weekend!!

our wedding rehearsal and dinner, even though it was the hottest day of the year!

a marriage license! and wedding prep!

...... and our WEDDING! Finally!

Our Aruba honeymoon.

the day my Dad had open heart surgery :( he still smiled anyways!

a summer spent exploring our new city by bike.

enjoying museums and other DC sights

attending my first National's game!

and a spontaneous trip to NYC for a night!

Watching my dearest friend Natalie marry a man named Derek Brown!

Beginning all of our holiday "firsts" as a married couple. Halloween! Thanksgiving! Christmas!

It was truly the greatest year. Happy 2013!

Christmas. According to my iPhone.

How was everyone's Christmas? I feel so refreshed! Christmas "break" has come and gone, but coming back to work today wasn't so bad. I'm all for a one day work week, people! We had such a nice time celebrating with family, and according to my closet, everyone was very generous with me! I am now walking around with some new hunter green Hunter boots, and several beautiful new pieces from J.Crew and Anthropologie. There are so many highlights from our Christmas holiday, but the one that takes the cake is when Aaron woke up at 5AM on Christmas morning and couldn't get back to sleep because he was so excited. Oh, how I love him!

I hope everyone had the merriest Christmas! 

The Wishart Family Christmas Tree.

ohhhh self-timer. you are funny.

a DC Speakeasy.

speak·eas·y n. pl. speak·eas·ies      A place where alcoholic drink was sold illicitly during Prohibition

Last night Aaron and I had a little date at a new speakeasy on the Hill. It's a reservation only bar tucked away above a popular restaurant in the area. This particular speakeasy has a few "house rules," one of which was no flash photography. Although I didn't use flash, I still felt guilty taking pictures. Aaron and I laughed about how stiff and nervous I would get every time I took one. 

If you want to know where this is and what it's called shoot me an email (jillianleeharmon@gmail.com), they don't want the name to be posted publicly so I want to respect that. I loved the candlelit tables and tufted leather seating. The drinks are great and the atmosphere is spot on. We can't wait to go back!

He and I.

Christmas in the Capitol.

It's certainly looking a lot like Christmas in this part of town. Everywhere you look there are wreaths and lights and merry spirits. I've loved watching the boring gray office buildings turn into happy little Christmas lands with all of the decor. We spent the entirety of our evenings this weekend staring at Christmas lights around the city. On Friday, we went to Zoo Lights (it's free!) with Jess and Sam, and last night we broke out our bikes to ride down to the White House Christmas tree. I can't wait for more lights and other spirited activities in the coming weeks! 

The Day My Christmas Dreams Came True.

On Sunday, all of my Christmas dreams came true! We got our very first married Christmas tree! I think I got crazy with the amount of pictures I took of Aaron carrying our tree, but I was just so happy to get to do this with him. We walked to the market in our neighborhood, picked a tree, and carried it right back home to be dressed. Capitol Hill is so Christmas-y right now, it's making me feel so spirited! Our tree is just about my height and it's a perfect fit for our tiny apartment. I wish we could keep it all year long!