The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.

– Albert Einstein

I found this quote yesterday on the Ritz Paris website.  I head to Paris next Monday, so I was visiting their site to see if the 2+ year remodel was finished and if I would have the pleasure of enjoying a “Serendipity” mixed by world famous bartender, Colin, in the more world famous Bar Hemingway during my stay. Turns out it won’t be, and I will just have to go thirsty :).  However, the short cyber visit wasn’t all for naught as the words of Mr. Einstein seemed perfect to kick off this post which is a reflection back on happenings in my 2014 life that at this time last year were still a mystery. And while last year was beautiful, it wasn’t absent of heartache, sadness, disappointment, worry, stress and some failure. But I suppose one can not experience the richness and fullness of life without its downtrodden moments, and as a connoisseur of life I will take a little pain to experience a lot of magic.

So ONWARD! Lets review this beautiful year!

January

My niece, Juliana, made her entrance into the world! Apparently she was anxious to start experiencing the mysteries in front of her because she greeted us 5 weeks early. What an incredible bundle of joy. I can’t wait for when she and I can paint Paris red!

January also brought a trip to the Old World to comb the streets of London, Paris, Venice, Torino and Prague for new items for the shop, great food and better wine. I was lucky to be successful in each of these endeavors and more so that I got to experience these fabulous cities with wonderful and dear friends.

Discovering hot dogs and Coca Cola in Prague with James (and Kisara…who is taking the photo)!  Exotic for sure!

On the colorful island of Burano…a dream come true!

February

While this month may have started in one of the most romantic cities of the world, my first Valentine’s Day date in years was decidedly unromantic (crash and burn sums up that evening nicely). Perhaps I was asking too much to have that many heart-shaped stars align for me all in the same month. *sigh*

Paris as seen from the window of the Parisian apartment I stay at near Invalides.

Even in February Paris is marvelous!

March 

Work, work and more work! Start-ups are as exhilarating and exhausting as rumored. And while my work does sound incredibly sexy (traveling the world to curate beautiful things! Come on!)…don’t be completely fooled. Networking, reaching out to key individuals, blogging, trunk shows, meetings, photo shoots, writing newsletters, budgeting, keeping up with social media, marketing AND all while being trying to be charming (and still keep my apartment’s bathrooms clean) can make an entrepreneur feel like life is all work and no play…yet somehow I wouldn’t change a thing.

Always looking for a social media opportunity, I am taking the perfect Instagram picture of a pair of French earrings I donated to a local charity event and silent auction.

April

I, Jen, was not on the local NBC affiliate morning show, New Day Northwest, but my shop, JJ Caprices, was! It was an honor to have one of Seattle’s best style mavens and consultants name my shop as the best local jewelry source and feature pieces during her segment. A thrill for sure!

Darcy Camden of Styled Seattle sharing how she is “obsessed” with JJ Caprices!

May

The highlight this month was a road trip to meet my parents in Spokane to watch my ALL TIME favorite musical, Wicked.  To date I have seen this musical in LA, Minneapolis, Seattle, New York…and now Spokane! Idina Menzel may be “Elsa” in the minds of most Americans (particularly the 12 and under crowd), but she will always be “Elphaba” to me.

Notice how my mom is mimicking the Wicked Witch of the West…uncanny, no?

June

I dusted off my wedding dress to do a photo shoot that highlighted my shop’s wedding accessories collection. As a divorcée it was a bit weird to pull it out from under the spare bedroom bed, press it and step into it, but it did fit like a glove :)…so overall, not a bad experience!

Pre-photo shoot showing off my hair and make-up in a rare selfie.

More wrinkles than last time I wore this dress 10 years ago…but better earrings!

July

A milestone birthday was celebrated this month which meant that a bottle of Dom Perignon, a trip to my hometown in Montana and hot dogs were involved (this American clearly has a favorite comfort food)!

Honing my fly fishing skills in my dad’s trout pond. And yes, of course, I caught one…I am a Montana girl, ya know!

August

Granted my niece was born in January, but this aunt wasn’t able to meet her for the first time until she was 7 months old.  The distance between my home in Seattle and hers in Minneapolis made it tough for an earlier introduction, but despite the delay the first reunion was indeed sweet.

Juliana and I embrace for the first time…which apparently called for lipstick (or something) on my part!

One of my dear girlfriends in Minnesota also got married in August at the chapel of my alma mater, St. Catherine University. This is my sister, Kelly, and I outside the chapel….and as a new mom (yes, she is Juliana’s mom), she was grateful for a night out where alcohol, dancing and no diapers were involved.

Shortly after jetting home from Minnesota I was off on a more intrepid adventure, a 3 1/2 week sojourn to Bolivia and Peru. Neither of the 2 countries are for the faint of heart (or feeble of lungs), but what a glorious and unique experience I had in both. How many places in the world can one watch flamingos fly overhead while swimming with piranhas, pink dolphins and watching cayman bathe in the sun on the muddy shores of a river in the Amazon basin (BTW that scene only lasted until I felt the first nibble on my toe!)? Yep, just one (Bolivia)!

In the wooden boat pre-toe nibble :).

September

My trip to South America mostly focused on exploring Bolivia, but I couldn’t allow myself to be within a stones throw of one of our world’s wonders without going to check out its majesty for myself.  My day at Machu Pichu took my breath away and ended up being one of my favorite travel experiences ever! I still get feelings of exhilaration each time I think of it.  The highlight? My hike up Huayna Picchu (that is the iconic mountain in the distance in the below photo).

My favorite photo of the year!  Thanks random man who took it!

October

Back with all the spoils from my excursion down south it was time to get my nose back to the grindstone.  Luckily in my line of work the “grindstone” is lined with cashmere which means I get to pull out the finery a lot to attend special functions and exclusive trunk shows. In fact the need to be elegantly coiffed has become so typical that I have bought a membership to a nearby “blow-out bar.” If I chose, I can go everyday to have my golden locks styled. To top it off the service includes a free glass of champagne…so I end up going most days whether I need a style or not. 🙂

Selfie alert!  My outfit for Seattle’s Wine, Women and Shoes charity extravaganza to benefit Olive Crest.  I was on the organization committee.  We raised close to $250,000!

A mere week later I was in the same bathroom at The Four Seasons in Seattle!  This time I was at an event presenting my wares to giving brides. The annual Get Hitched Give Hope charity gala raised close to $100,000 for its charity. We were asked to wear floor length black gowns…and I compiled :).

November

Juliana visited me! For 6 days and nights my little 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment runneth over with my beloved Thanksgiving guests.  My parents drove in from Montana and my sis, her hubby and Juliana took advantage of the free infant flight deal to share Juliana’s first Thanksgiving with her grand parents and aunt. My pots and pans have never been played with so much in their lives.

Welcome to Seattle (eh, Bellevue), Juliana!

The charming chaos of Thanksgiving morning as we ALL get involved to prep dinner.

Juliana met Santa for the first time during her visit.  As my sister said, “Draw your own conclusions.” 

December

Home for the holidays! And really is there any other way to spend this special time of year?! Going home is like hitting the reset button for me. I find much comfort knowing I have a place on the planet where I can do that. Hanging out at the local brewery, attending a “Norwegian tree burning” (which was really just someone burning a tree in their front yard) and watching really bad t.v. with my mom (uh, “90 day Fiance” anyone?) were all part of the down home and festive fun that always makes the 500 mile drive across 2 states and 3 mountain passes (this time with 2 kitties in tow!) worth the bloodshot eyes and white knuckles :).

A white Christmas in the Bitterroot Valley!  Dad’s pond is looking very ice skating worthy!

Elf on a shelf? Nope, I prefer my elves on an elegant bottle from one of France’s best champagne houses.  Cheers to a brilliant 2014 and even better 2015!

While home, my best friend’s dad passed away the day after the Christmas. He was a classic Montana mountain man who hunted big cats, cherished the rugged countryside and adored his family and simple life. Having a fatal lung disease his death was expected, but that didn’t make it any easier. I am thankful that I was able to be there for my bestie and her family during this emotional time and more so that I was able to celebrate this great man’s life with them.  He truly was incredible, and his legacy – the beautiful family he left behind – is a testimony to the special man he was. God speed, Dean.

2014 showed me a little bit of everything life has to offer, and although its mysteries unveiled themselves at times in testing or surprising ways, I sit on the edge of my seat waiting for the adventure that await in 2015.  Therefore as I have done the last 2 years, I sign off again this year with this wish for all of us…

“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 

Now go! All the blessings and best wishes for an amazing 2015!

***Note: While I may have started this blog prior to my trip to Paris, I finished it at an outside cafe in Rome. My view was the Pantheon and my writing companion was a glass of Sicilian Chardonnay. Not a bad start to 2015, no?! ***