As we are starting off 2024, I took some time to reflect on where I had been throughout 2023. I also have been spending some time thinking about what I want out of the year to come. There is quite a bit to share in this year in review, so we’ll just jump right on in.
Meghan’s Complete 2023 Year in Review and Mantra for 2024
January 2023
I started 2023 with a good night’s sleep and thinking through my goals for the month and the new year. I completed my goal of reading 5 books and joined nuuly to have trendy, yet sustainable fashion without purchasing new clothes. And I picked up my fitness journey with a committed plan of my workouts each week. Every January, I hope to purge our home using the Simplified Challenge throughout January and every year, I fall short. I’m happy to report that I am nothing but consistent and did not complete it.
One thing I finally got to experience this month was an igloo dining experience at the Unscripted Hotel in Durham! It has been on my winter bucket list for the past couple of years and I finally got to check it out for an early Galentine’s night out! I did keep one weekend a month free–the weekend of January 20-22, I deep cleaned the house, read a book, slept in, walked, and snuggled the Grant boys. Check out what I read in January here.
One of my favorite aspects of January was the birthday party that I planned for myself. It was such a fun night and exactly what I needed to break up the monotony of January! You can read all about it here.
February 2023
February was quite a busy month for me. I don’t know if it was the short month coming off the long weeks of January or what, but I never felt likehadgot my feet under me. I did eat very well and spent quality time with friends both near and far, and I read 4 books. One goal I set for myself for the month was to visit a new restaurant, so I checked out Midwood Smokehouse in Raleigh’s Smoky Hollow neighborhood. I also spent some time at Jolie’s Champagne & French Fry window, which is perhaps the biggest hidden gem in the city. And I also read some, though not as much as I hoped. I chalk it up to the tease of spring weather we got because I was spending my time outside on patios as much as possible.
I also took my first trip of 2023 as part of my ongoing 100-county tour and visited Albemarle in Stanly County! It was a delightful day trip only about 2 hours from Raleigh.
March 2023
March brought winter back to North Carolina which was very confusing for my sinuses. Despite that, we spent a charming weekend in Black Mountain, NC, though we somehow managed to miss the snow both in western NC and in our town. I kept one weekend free, though the one weekend I did not have any plans, I did go get my monthly facial from Halei at Alliea in Village District. I spent time with two of my favorite gal pals and I finally tried gas station sushi in Apex! We finished the month with David hitting a deer on his way to work on the same morning we were trading in his car for the new car purchase we had ordered in December. I got back on my reading game and read 5 books in March.
April 2023
After getting the new car situated, we took her for a spin up to Hendersonville, checking off another county on my 100 county list! We absolutely loved getting back to western NC and exploring a new, charming town and highly recommend a trip here. It was warmer than I anticipated and I shocked myself by very much enjoying hiking. In the middle of the month, we headed to Winston-Salem for a fun weekend eating and exploring our way through one of my favorite cities in the state. I read 3 books in April, which I attribute to my travels and evening plans, including fun dinners out with friends and attending the ECU v. NC State baseball game in Raleigh.
May 2023
I finally finished updating our home office built-ins this month! Early in the month, I drove down to Charlotte to celebrate my BFF’s birthday and visited the Rooftop at RH for a delightful spring evening. David gifted me tickets to the Lizzo concert for Christmas, so Clarke and I headed to that concert. I also headed down to Carolina Beach to celebrate my friend, Susie’s 50th birthday. David and I made our way through Raleigh’s BBQ scene and I ate my way through some of my favorite Raleigh spots with friends. I also thoroughly enjoyed spending time at RBF Champagne Bar with friends. May was easily a fun month of celebrating some of my favorite people. I also read 4 books as I worked towards my goal of reading 60 books in 2023.
June 2023
June is our anniversary month, so it is a month I always look forward to, though this year’s celebration was a bit subdued. I did enjoy a fun girls’ night out in Fenton with two of my best gals. David and I also headed to Greensboro for a quick weekend getaway and one of our favorite parts was the Greensboro Science Museum, especially since we got to meet the penguins. David and I also visited Carolina Brewery for their spring beer launch party in Pittsboro and we tried a new to us restaurant, J.Betski’s, that was absolutely delicious.
For our anniversary, we decided to celebrate by doing some of our favorite things around Raleigh, which is the city we got married in 9 years ago. It was a fun day and we included the Grant Boys as often as we could. I read 5 books that month and highly recommend the majority of the ones I read!
July 2023
This month was hard. So damn hard. It started with annoying homeowner-type things: dishwasher leaking causing our hardwoods to warp and a separate, unrelated leak under the kitchen sink. We cut our annual week in Ocracoke short because of some work things that David had, so on Tuesday, we drove down to Manteo and spent the night before heading down to Ocracoke on Wednesday. Thursday morning, we woke up to calls that our precious Gizmo was not well and we rushed back to spend his last few hours with him. He was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a highly malignant cancer, that went undetected in his 6-month check-up in May.
I would be lying if I told you that this has gotten easier. We miss him every day and we are still stunned by the sudden and unexpected loss of our boy. We canceled the rest of our plans for the rest of the month to spend time together with sweet Winston.
A bright spot from July was the girls’ night that I had in Fearrington Village with some of my girlfriends. I will always welcome a trip to Fearrington for a little rejuvenating and recentering. You can see the 6 books that I read throughout the month here.
August 2023
August was still a difficult month of grieving the loss of Gizmo. David and I kept finding ourselves getting hung up on the firsts without him. David’s work picked back up during this time and our house had never been quieter than it was during those first weeks with him being gone more. Despite that, we had some bright spots that helped, including visiting a friend’s new home to spend some time catching up and getting design-inspired for our own home.
I had a delicious burger night at Oak Steakhouse in Raleigh that lives rent-free for how delicious it was. Glory and I took a trip out to western North Carolina to visit the Powder Room in Winston-Salem, plus to visit Mt. Airy, Pilot Mountain, and Dynamis Estates Winery in Jonesville. I also read 4 books this month, making some progress toward my goal for the year.
September 2023
I kicked off September with a little day trip up to Enfield to visit Southern Secrets shops and celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. David and I finished updating our foyer after a few weeks of working on that space and it has been hands down one of my favorite spaces in our home. I also tried out afternoon tea at Heights House and it was an absolute delight! If you have not tried tea here, add it to your to-do list in 2024.
We celebrated David’s 39th birthday with BBQ at Longleaf Swine before heading off to Washington D.C. for the weekend to catch a Bills game. We also got our front porch ready for the fall season, which is a favorite milestone for me each year. I also spent a delicious evening in Chapel Hill with a dear friend trying out a new-to-me restaurant, Jujube! Here’s a look at everything I read in September.
October 2023
October was a pretty quiet month for the most part except for our trip to Burnsville at the end of the month. More on that in a bit. I was excited to finish up the front porch, spend time with a good friend of mine and her two pups, and our annual trip to the State Fair. I also attended an event at Fearrington to celebrate the release of the On the Square cookbook, a restaurant in Tarboro.
For the last weekend of the month, David and I headed up to Burnsville and wowowow, what a delightful town! I cannot recommend a weekend getaway here more! It was truly a wonderful experience and I am already plotting our next trip back. I also read 4 books in October. Check them out here!
November 2023
David and I spent our annual weekend in Valle Crucis, a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle each year. This annual tradition started in 2021 and I truly look forward to this weekend with David each year. The following week, David and I put in an application to adopt a little girlie from a local rescue organization. We were over the moon to welcome Ruthie into our family, a 12-week-old fluffy angel. That being said, I do plan on writing a post to share more about how we discovered her, what her first few weeks have been like for us, and our feelings about bringing her in after our loss of Gizmo.
November was otherwise a blur with the addition of a puppy & Thanksgiving. I did sneak off for an amazing afternoon tea experience at Fearrington House and Carolina Brewery’s annual oyster roast.
December 2023
December, y’all! I cannot believe how fast this year flew by while still being one of the hardest years of my adult life. I spent the first weekend in December exploring Southern Pines and Moore County with some of my girlfriends. Then I was home with Winston & Ruthie while David went out to Kansas City to go to the Bills game with some buddies. Winston & I tried really hard to teach Ruthie the art of Sunday Snuggles while he was gone. I also took a fun day trip to Benson, a town right down the road from us with great antiquing, restaurants, and a distillery.
We celebrated the holiday season with a trip to NYC — our first trip back during the holidays since 2019 — to stay at the Library Hotel and soak up all the scenes. We spent Christmas Eve with my parents and continued our tradition of dining at Poole’s followed by a holiday movie marathon on Christmas Day. These last few days, I have been intentional about unplugging, relaxing, and rejuvenating whenever I can. This year has been a learning experience, that’s for sure.
My Mantra for 2024
My mantra for this new year is courage. Often, courage feels like a big intention and while I consider myself brave and a risktaker, I am not sure I show up consistently courageously. I have long held the belief that lasting change happens with small, dedicated steps and habits. So I want to remember that courage shows up in those moments as well.
I have some big aspirations and goals for 2024 and those goals are only attainable if I have courage every day. And I felt like there were times over the last couple of years when I have been idle waiting for others or waiting for the perfect moment. I want to show up and move towards those goals confidently and fearlessly.
2023 was overall a hard year and yet I kept showing up and kept moving forward. That is something I want to continuously remind myself of as I press forward into this new year.
May this year be kind and prosperous to us all.
