A Year in Review: 2019

For the past few years now, I (Jessie) have written a year in review post (read them here). It’s not really for anyone but for me (but if you’re reading this as well, thank you!) to force myself to sit down, pause, and reflect on what was accomplished and what happened that year. I almost didn’t do it this year because I felt like 2019 had less importance—less pretty moments—but instead, more stress, more weight gain and more “real life”.

But 2019 was also important in so many ways. It was a year of learning and growth for Zac and me. Some of it unfortunately painful, but all of it beneficial for us to grow as individuals and together. So in a conscious effort to do so, and because I have a common theme of getting sick during the holidays and being confined to the couch, here’s my—fully vulnerable—year in review for 2019:

I feel like I should start this off by stating one of my greatest learnings of 2019: I learned that I am a Type 1 (wing 2) enneagram through and through, and Zac is a hardcore 7 (wing 8). We *are* the stereotypes. I know this is such a trend, but it honestly has helped us understand one another more and has (in a small way) helped our relationship. Or at least helped us understand each other’s “quirks” (we’ll call them that). If you haven't taken the test, I highly recommend it! Then follow all of the meme accounts about it and say “truuuuuu” on a daily basis.

Now, again, in an effort to be vulnerable, Zac and I had a hard year. It felt draining in a lot of ways—emotionally, mentally, physically, monetarily—and we found ourselves questioning what (and why) we were doing what we were doing. Now, coming to the end of 2019 and having the hindsight of 20/20, was it all that bad? Not at all. Was it worth all of the stress? Again, not at all. But that’s where the learnings come in. We experienced grief, joy, stress, anger, sadness, love, and peace and felt altogether human. Through it, I’m so grateful to have Zac by my side and have such supportive family members and friends backing us.

2019 was very busy; not in a glamorous, exciting way, but in a very… adult way. We had the busiest year we’ve had with photography and design, and learning how to balance that with our day jobs was definitely a learning for us. Specifically, we learned our limits. We have set a limit on how many projects and weddings we are taking on for 2020, and we are very excited for it. I started to lose that passion for photography that fueled me, and I didn’t want that. It was always supposed to be a passion, never a job. And it became a job. So we’re taking a step back and learning (again) why we do what we do. But, on a positive note, amongst the busyness, we got to hear “The Sturgeons” announced (professionally) for the first time at a design award show, witness 3 dear friends marry their soulmates, and meet so many wonderful couples along the way!

One of our biggest accomplishments (and investments) for 2019: we bought a house! A day after Zac turned 25, we found a house we absolutely fell in love with. A day before my birthday (we are 27 days apart) we closed on that house and thus began, also, our one gigantic learning lesson of 2019: owning a house is. Hard. We scrambled to find a sublease to our apartment, pack up all of our things (again) and move a mile down the road. I don’t know how to fully express how blessed Zac and I are to have the family we do. On a daily basis, we had about 5 cars in the driveway and the house was bustling to prepare for move in. My parents took time off and stayed nearly a week helping with painting and every other thing in between, and Zac’s parents, brother and grandma were also over on a daily basis helping with it all (who decided to paint all of the trim? It was definitely not me!) One week later, the house was already nearly unrecognizable! We truly couldn’t be more thankful for the help our families bestowed us. A day before our 30 day notice was up, Zac found us a sublease for the remainder of our lease and we moved in for the 6th time in 3 years with the help (again) of our friends.

Since move in, Zac and I have worked on making this house that managed to fall apart immediately after move in (Roof leak? Water heater break? Dishwasher moldy? Pipes busted? You get it) our home, and we’re excited to say that, after the bathroom countertop is installed in a couple of weeks, we will be done with renovations (for now!). And there was much rejoicing.

Other good, bad, and ugly moments of 2019: we both turned 25 (hello, lower insurance payments!) we celebrated the life of my Grandmother, who passed away in May; we celebrated our 2 year anniversary; we explored Drummond Island, Massachusetts, California, and New York; I celebrated my best friend and her pregnancy; we watched an old friend marry the love of his life in his backyard; we laughed at Ali Wong; we watched a client open up their new building; we got dumped by another client; we had a few systemic reactions to allergy shots (hello urgent care for the fifth time this year); I finally got diagnosed with celiac disease (woo!); we worked for amazing companies and made awesome work that we’re proud of; we watched Stranger Things 3 (very memorable and worth mentioning here); and most importantly, we were able to hold my cat with no allergic reactions!

Through it all, we laughed, fought, cried, and, most importantly, loved each other. Thanks for taking the trip down memory lane with me. Here are some of my favorite moments of 2019.