I would be remiss not to summarize 2013. Even though I wasn’t bouncing from country to country or living in one of the world’s most romantic cities like the last few years before, there were indeed adventures and moments that will make 2013 go down as one of the noteworthy years of my life.

To capture the highlights, I have taken a photo (or two…or three) that illustrates an outstanding moment from each month. Weddings, tropical destinations and new leaps of faith are amongst the annals.

January

After nearly 2 years in Paris this month I moved into a new American apartment in a city whose name is at least French – Bellevue, WA. I rented it sight unseen!  Not bad for Craigslist, no?

I re-remembered that I have some pretty cool stuff too…and apparently a few bottles of wine.

February

It was a long standing goal of mine to start my own enterprise, and 2013 was the year I set to make this dream a reality. February was full of pre-launching endeavors like creating a logo, finding a web designer, ordering my first products from Israel and having a photo shoot done for my travel inspired business. This picture shot by the talented Christina Mallet was/is one of my favorites.

Probably dreaming of my next trip in this pic…so typical.

March

For the past couple of years I have been on a search for a charity to support.  I can’t say that I was looking for a particular cause, rather an organization whose mission stirred my sentiments and spoke to my passions. In March I happened to learn about a showing of a documentary film called, Girl Rising, and decided to attend it. The plight of the documented girls who live in countries were it is the hardest to be a woman in our world was moving, but even more compelling was the lesson of the film – by simply educating these girls we can improve their lives, build stronger communities and ultimately create a better world for all. One of the organizations involved with making the film and currently working to tackle the problems of poverty and education in these lands was a charity based out of Washington State called World Vision.

I “adopted” my little girl from India, Ibajingsuk, immediately following the close of the film’s credits. Strong Women Strong World, World Vision’s organization dedicated to women, is now the charity I am proud to support personally as well as through proceeds from my shop. Feels good.

April

My sister, Kelly, and her husband, Anton, said, “I do” this month in the fair weather state of Minnesota. Her plan was to get pregnant on their honeymoon, but instead they were pregnant a month later. Beautiful Juliana Dorothy-Marie Jones was born just 2 days into 2014 starting off this new year with all the hope and blessings only a new life can bring.  April Showers clearly bring more than May Flowers.

Below is an AWESOME 3 minute video with highlights from my sister’s wedding…plus you get to see a little of my toast.  I was the Maid of Honor, ya know!

May

After living in California her entire life, my Aunt Peggy moved to my hometown of Hamilton, Montana this month. With the car packed with possessions and two kitties, my cousin, Kelsey, and my aunt picked me up in Seattle in route from San Jose, CA to Hamilton.  We arrived just in time for Mother’s day. I brought flowers so my Mom wouldn’t mind the trail of kitty litter that fell from my clothes as I entered the house.

The below photo is of my Mom, sister and me many moons ago.  It was perched on the dresser in the room I stayed at in my parent’s house (which is also the house I grew up in…but my room has been since converted to my Mom’s craft room).

June

Paris is always a good idea…so before the launch of my business I took this month to visit the city that has a permanent hold on my heart.

Me on the Seine (a really magical evening that can only happen in Paris).

My trip was undeniable sweetened with an unforgettable jaunt to the southern part of France for a long weekend.  I captured the provencial adventures with my dear friend, Paula, in this past blog post.

July

Drum roll, please…

On the 12th of this month, my online boutique, JJ Caprices, went live! Although technical glitches prevented a planned July 11th go-live date, the shop’s beautiful handcrafted jewelry and home accents – all discovered through my travels – were being explored and shopped by 100s of first time visitors the same month I turned a year older.

Dreams do come true…if one persists.

Sample of what’s in the shop – Handmade DUBLOS earrings from Sevilla, Spain. I am one of two shops in the USA that carries this unique design house!

August

Another wedding this month, and this time my cousin, Chandler, married her wonderful partner, Jeremi, in Napa, California!  The entire family made a trip out to witness the special occasion in the story book setting of Napa Valley.

Downtown Napa.

These hysterical napkins definitely reflect the theme of the evening…but I suppose it isn’t such a tall order when you are in the wine capital of the United States!

September 

Before this month with filled with trunk shows, networking events and pitches to local blogs and media about my new business, my family and I visited my 101 year old great aunt, Rena, in Sacramento, CA.  She does think she is 103, but we didn’t argue that point for too long. Doesn’t she look amazing?

Me with my 101…uh, 103 year old aunt, Rena. 🙂

October

After nearly 15 years, this month I made a pilgrimage back to the tropical land I once called home as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 1998 – Costa Rica.

Costa Rican National Park, Manuel Antonio, as seen from my lovely hotel.

Hermit Crab. Oh, Hermit Crab – A video documentation of how I entertained myself on lazy Costa Rican beach days (don’t completely blame me for the 37 seconds of your life you will lose by watching this).

Get more info and highlights (plus see super cool pics of exotic animals) in the posts I wrote while in San Jose and Manuel Antonio. Pura Vida!

November

You know what they say about “the best laid plans,” – well this month was suppose to have included an all girls’ weekend with my dear friend, Steph, my cousin, Janice and her dear friend, Janet, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  However, a colicky horse prohibited Janice – and therefore Janet – from joining us. BUT Steph and I still made it a memorable trip to the high desert !

Our Santa Fe adventures can be found here. The below pics capture some of the charm of Taos, a town we stayed off while exploring a small part of New Mexico.

Of Mice and Men…

Our very New Mexican inn in Taos.

Me and a lady carved from stone who looks as cold as me – at The Taos Inn in Taos.

In route from Taos to Santa Fe.

December

This month marked my one year anniversary of being back in the good ole U. S. of A. It appears I celebrated by exercising one of our more famous constitutional amendments…

My Dad giving me a quick sharp shooting lesson at the gun range in my hometown of Hamilton, Montana. Good family fun at Christmas.

Here he is watching his student carefully.

Et Voilà! Having been raised in the wild west, I just instinctively have a sharp eye and steady hand. Ha!

***

And there she be, 2013! A year full of new beginnings as well as comforting journeys to visit places and people of old…seems like all years should strike such a harmonious balance.

Now we start our intrepid venture into 2014. This new year holds as much promise and possibility as we can dream, and I am excited for all that lies ahead. I will start this year with a three week European excursion to London, Paris, Venice, Torino and Prague. It will mix a bit of business and pleasure…but all of it will be captured here. This is one promise I can keep in 2014.

I ended last year’s “year in review” blog post with the following quote:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – (attributed to) Mark Twain 

…this is still my wish for you in 2014.

A Happy and Blessed New Year to you and yours!

Pacific ocean in Costa Rica at sunset.