2009 was a year filled with challenges and struggles and tears and laughter and wonderful little moments.  While I would like to say that 2009 was a b!$@h of a year and that I am happy to say goodbye and move on to 2010, when I look back at the past 12 months they were filled with love, support, and personal growth and a million lovely little moments.  The hard times where pretty tough; a job that I came home crying from on a regular basis, experiencing lay offs, having my dad undergo a major heart surgery, etc.  But the good times were filled with fun and laughing; playing with our dogs in the snow, celebrating our first wedding anniversary, going on our first camping trip, meeting our newest baby nephews, training for a half marathon together, cooking together in our tiny kitchen, having friends over for dinner, and simply enjoying the day to day rhythm of being a married couple.

So here's to a million little happy moments in 2010 filled with lots of love and laughter.  Happy new year my friends!

I have been feeling quite reflective the past couple of weeks as I say goodbye to 2009 and this little space has not escaped the reach of my analysis.  I find that before starting a new goal or action plan it is so very important to take a moment to look at (what I would call at work) the historicals.  It was kind of funny year for my blog as I transitioned from blogging about weddings to more everyday type of moments.  And while I hadn't logged into Google Analytics in as long as I can remember, I had fun seeing what people were reading and finding the most on In This Instance.

Post voted most popular by way of Google Analytics from 12/2008 to 12/2009:

• Bridal Style: Purple Shoes
• Simple & Sweet Valentine's Dessert
• An Earthy Toned Living Room
• The Ceremony
• The Blue+Red+Iowa Baby Shower
• A Light Airy Dessert: Angel Food Cupcakes

Tags voted most popular by way of Google Analytics from 12/2008 to 12/2009:

• Home Decor
• Inspiration Board
• All About The Shoes
• Baby Shower
• My Wedding
• Living Well

A few of my favorite posts from 2009 are (in no particular order)...

• The Little Something Extra
• Mid-Summer Fun
• Easy Breezy Spring Lunch
• Excess
• Invention & Progression

One of the lovely things about blogging is that you can look back at what was catching your eye, on your mind, and grabbing your attention at various points during the year.  Thank you for being there to share these little moments!  I have been dreaming up post and project ideas for In This Instance for 2010 left and right and am ready to see where this next year takes us. 

{image via decor8)

There is something so pleasant and peaceful about the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve.  It is an ideal time to reflect on the entire past year and to begin thinking about those resolutions for the year that is just around the corner.  Oh and it is also a great time find a few deals if you are so inclined...

  - For little luxuries the prettiest champagne cups are on sale at Anthropologie (perfect for a romantic evening at home with the significant other). Or maybe your cupboards need a set of warm colored latte bowls that are marked down (I purchased a set of the purple ones).

  - Have you had your eye on a Candy Wrapper handbag from Nahui Ollin? They are 30% off with free shipping between 12/28 and 1/1.

  - There are very winsome ruffle tees and such on sale at Jcrew and there is an extra 20% off sales items through 1/3!  This may be an excellent way to get pretty bridesmaid dresses or simply a dress for the will be here before we know it wedding season.

  - Amazon has some great year end deals on everything from clothing and shoes to grocery and sports (maybe particularly interesting if you need work out gear for a certain type of new years resolutions...).  (affiliate link!)

 Or maybe instead of shopping you just want to snuggle up with your laptop for blog reading time.  Here are a few of the things that have caught my eye recently...

  - Purl Bee has posted a super cute & vibrant banner for celebrating the new year that could also be lovely for a so many types of celebrations. 

  - OneWed is giving away free passes to see the upcoming moving Leap Year at a screening in Chicago.

  - Tartelette has shared very delectable sounding hot chocolate and marshmallow recipes.  May be nice for a quiet evening at home treat, no?

  - Kelly+Olive has a post on design knock-offs that anyone wrestling with the "how do I justify the cost" for a designer home furnishing might enjoy.

  - If you still have a little candy making energy left over, Lovely Morning has shared a toffee recipe that I am adding to my list of recipes to try.

  - Pink of Perfection has a great set of suggestions for a Dinner Party on a Budget.  Maybe helpful if you are planning to host a little NYE soiree or a simple winter get together in the upcoming weeks.

  - And Claremont Road has a post in DIY bows that you just might have to bookmark for your next gift giving occasion.

Enjoy!

(image via ffffound.com)

The past week, well month really, has been a complete blur!  Between starting a new job (and thus changing my schedule from getting up at 9am to 6.30am- yikes), to joining a new gym, to a nephew's first birthday and making our holiday cards, to trying to fit in candy making and holiday decor, trying to get presents finished and shipped to my family (we are spending this holiday with Dan's parents), and fitting in a few holiday gatherings I have just not even been able to sit down at my computer in days.  I guess that is life sometimes, right? 

I hope you are having a completely lovely holiday season this year.  Regardless of what or whether you celebrate,  I hope that these final days of 2009 are allowing you to spend time with those you love and to be filled with merriment.  From our home to yours, happy holidays and lots of love! 

**All photos taken by me; cards and vanilla sugar gift made by me.  A recent comment asked what type of camera I use and I will answer that question in an upcoming post!

There is something so dreamy about a simple holiday.  While I love an excuse to get everything all gussied up as the next, it is the simple little touches that are catching my eye.  Maybe this is a reaction to the economic turmoil that was a result of so much excess. 

This will be Dan and I's second holiday season as a married couple and we are striving to set "good holiday habits" in terms of the traditions we set, focusing on quality time rather than checklists, and appreciating the smaller moments.  I am accepting that I simply don't have time to make all of the cookies and candies that I would if time was more available; a smaller selection will be okay.  We are planning a low key holiday celebration for just the two of us.  That even though the ebay commercial disagrees, it really is the thought that counts for gift giving.  And we are working handmade in there as much as possible; for decorations, gifts, and holiday treats.

So I am curious; has anyone else found themselves thinking about their holiday habits? 

{image via ffffound}

Side note: I had forgotten how hard it is to blog when there are only a couple of hours at home each day after being at the office and the gym... it will definitely take me a while to get into a groove again...

The lovely Maria of A Day in Mar's Shoes gave me an award!  Thank you! Blog awards are sweet and always bring a little smile to your face. If you haven't been reading Maria's blog already; head over to check it out! 

Ok- here's the award rules:

List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day. For those 10 bloggers who get the award, you then link back to my blog and create your makes you happy list.

10 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Walks with Dan and our dogs

2. Candlelit dinners

3. New shoes

4. Brunch with good company

5. Baking anything

6. Planning anything (vacation, new project, decor for a room, really anything)

7. Taking photographs

8. Spending time with Dan; be it doing errands, commuting to work together, going to the gym together, watching tv together or whatever it is more fun with him there

9. Quiet moments of reading pretty much anything (a book, a magazine, a blog, the back of a cereal box)

10. Giving (I know that is cliche to list but giving a little something to someone when it is unexpected really does make me happy; be it a box of brownies or something "grander")

Now here are 10 bloggers that brighten my day just by being them!

Lyndsy of Yellow Brick Blog

Tina of With This Ring I thee Obsess

Linda of Silly Little Mischief

Kate of elefantitas alegres

Maggie of Freckled Citizen

Julia of Ordinary Saturdays

E at Oh! Apostrophe

Jen at She Nests

Amy at Playing House

Abbie at A Glimpse of the Girl Next Door

Well it has been pure drama at my house the past couple of weeks!  If you follow me on Twitter you may have caught snippets of this "moving! oh well maybe not!" saga.

{image via ffffound!}

First, I received an offer for an opportunity in Indianapolis.  Dan and I have always talked about someday moving to a smaller city and this was with a great company; so sure, we will take the challenge of relocating to a new state with just about 7 business days to do so!  We found a cute little house located on the Monon Trail with a backyard and walking distance to a great little village area so it would be a nice transition.  I was excited to have a fenced in backyard for the dogs and where we could have a rain water catcher for the garden we would plant.  But it was not to be.

The eve of moving day I received an email from a former client about an awesome opportunity here in Chicago.  I really dislike changing my mind after it something like this is decided.  But the factors had changed and it was the type of opportunity that I simply could not turn down.  So after what felt like weeks of deliberating and even considering the fact that I had just mailed our new address to our families that morning... I decided to take the job in Chicago.  Staying here is right for us and this opportunity is right for me. 

Now we are half unpacking back into our apartment and moving a serious amount of our stuff into a storage facility.  Fun, right?  We are only half unpacking because we will be on the hunt for a larger apartment this spring.  Hmmmm... I am hoping that all the drama has died down.  I am ready for this next phase and to get into a new daily rhythm; even if it doesn't come with a move to a new city!

And as a side note; I will no longer have to enter what I did that day into a time tracking system for client billing!!!!  No more .25 entries for me!  (at least for now as who knows about the next 30+ years) (and for those of you who don't work in consulting or a professional services organization - daily time entry is less than fun)