Year of Yes

2015: In a nutshell...

Celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary! Summited Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker & Mt. Adams with my best friend. Backpacked 7 countries and saw Europe with my parents. Worked on 9 cookbooks and 2 ad campaigns. Visited a southern belle in Atlanta, GA where we swam in waterfalls (with bats!) and climbed rocks in Tennessee. Sea Kayaked in the San Juans on my birthday. Skied a wonderland all winter long. Got new climbing buddies & new cooking buddies. Ski-raced uphill on Mt. Bachelor. Explored Bend and saw the magnificent Smith Rock! Climbed Guye Peak. Got a personalized tour on a friend's boat through the San Juans. Hosted a foraged flower gathering. Published 4 issues of Honest mag. Got a kick-ass bike! Photographed a dinner of the nation's top woman in food (and got to meet them all!). Discovered loads of new foraged foods. Celebrated an impeccable tasting menu with my love in the most charming house. Climbed secret spots in the summer on the I-90 corridor and spent days crawling up rock at Index. Celebrated many multi-course themed dinners on the picnic table my husband and I built, dog at our feet. Interviewed my favorite chef and wrote a guide to Seattle for a national company. Trudged a heavy pack up trails for training. Learned to lead Trad in the backcountry. And best of all, spent all of this, in the company of my most dearly loved ones. 

And of course, like all things in life there must be balance. So with the wonderful trips, inspiring adventures and awesome opportunities there was also very little sleep, very little me time and a lot of stress. I've had a whoopin' year and I'm astounded when I look back at what it all involved, but it's time to close the book now. Time for peace, quiet, and, I think, a slower pace for a while. And I'm very much looking forward to it. 

Cheers to another beautiful year of life!