I don’t even know where to start with this year end review. I think the easiest way to do this would be to divide this review into two sections. My family life and my business life have both been quite the rollercoaster this year…

Personally, this year has been one of the best years for my family. We will definitely cherish 2020 in the way that it brought us our Hazel(nut). She has been such an amazing blessing to our family, completely rounding us out. She’s the perfect addition. It was pretty intense right before her arrival. I was very uncomfortable, nervous about giving birth during a global pandemic, worried about my family’s health, mentally wrapping my head around all the civil injustices and civil unrest our country was going through. Just when my heart was starting to really sink at our situation, Hazel made her grand debut. She’s been everything we need to handle this pandemic with a huge smile and full heart. I don’t know how we could have done it without her.

I was, and I continue to be, so worried about how to manage being a parent during this crazy year to an active curious toddler, during a year full of huge changes for her. As far as the pandemic, I know everyone says children are resilient, and they are to some degree. But I wanted her to feel safe to be sad, frustrated, and even mad about any of these crazy situations. She is very aware that her life has changed big time and she expresses that to us. I know we are doing our very best under the circumstances to give her a normal childhood, help her continue to grow and learn, and nurture the beautiful person she is. She has somehow, under these crazy conditions, thrived! I am so proud of her. Becoming a big sister was actually an easy transition with her because she ended up having two parents at home with her instead of feeling the huge change in decreased attention from me most of the day. Drew was working from home since the start of this and so Evelyn was able to have a parent available to her while the other one tended to the baby. Silver lining I guess. I know there will be a transition for her when Drew goes back to work in the office but I think she will be flexible and understanding. We are lucky enough that our school district was able to reopen and she’s been able to attend preschool in person. That has been a huge positive in her life and I feel so blessed that she’s been able to have that during this time.

Drew and I have always been a great team. We really enjoy spending time together and with two (even one kid), it’s been hard to find that time together. When Drew started working from home, we were both genuinely curious if we would burn out of each other. Look, I want to be authentic, there were a few times we were grateful I had a studio one of us could escape too. However, it really was only a few times. The majority of the time, we really loved having the time to be together as a family. Adding a new family member is a huge change to dynamics, roles, and how a family will function. We were able to focus on finding how to make this work for us without the pressure of him going back to the office. I am a huge advocate for long maternity times and also paternity time off as well. Our entire life needed a “pivot” (word of the year) and I’m grateful I had my awesome teammate by my side. We have always been able to come together during some of our darkest moments (family death, house fires…just to name a few) and we felt this year was actually one of the easier years for our marriage.

While family life seemed for the most part, blissful…the business has had a crazy year. We started off with a bang and things were looking great for us. I had been planning and setting things up so that I could take a real maternity leave finally. When everything shut down and weddings cancelled, I had to refund so many orders. It was scary not knowing how things were going to work out. Drew works in the biomedical field and I had been following the news about COVID since January in China, we both didn’t see this ending anytime soon. So we immediately jumped into our pivot. Started working with new planners, creating new products, and rebranded to keep us motivated. It hasn't been pretty and there have been more than a couple of times where I wondered if this should just be the end. I don’t think either of us have ever worked this hard in both of our careers. Long and hard discussions have been had, we’ve been realistic with ourselves. But we made it this far. I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I am going to keep pushing.

Since owning my business, every single order has been a “do a boogie” moment for me. I can’t tell you how excited I get for EVERY SINGLE ORDER I get. This year though, each order meant SO much more. It wasn’t just a dance, it was a huge sigh of relief. A little light during a really dark storm. Each order gave me hope that next year, I would still be doing what I love.

Like everyone else, this year was a rollercoaster for us. But Hazel, hands down, makes it a complete win. I could get very philological about all the lessons I think we were meant to take away from this year, but ultimately…it is gratitude. And I am more than thankful for this very blessed year.

2021…bring it.

Extremely grateful for all these gorgeous photos captured by Hanh Nguyen Photography.

Evelyn and my gorgeous outfits are from Morning Lavender.

Now that our little family is complete, it’s been fun to think of how we are going to create family traditions with our two girls. I have an uniquely great memory, so I vividly remember some of the traditions my parents gave my sister and I. We would do cookie baking, new pajamas on Christmas Eve, decorating after Thanksgiving, and a Christmas Disneyland trip to pick out a new ornament for our “Disney” tree. Some of these traditions we want to keep, some we want to alter, and some are finally being retired.

Here are some of the Christmas traditions we are starting with our girls:

1. New Christmas pajamas and a new Christmas book on Thanksgiving night. My parents always gave me new pajamas to sleep in on Christmas Eve. I loved the idea of this tradition but if I’m going to buy my girls Christmas themed pajamas, I wanted them to get them most wear out of them during the Christmas season! So our tradition is on Thanksgiving, after we feast and it’s time for bed, the girls will get a wrapped gift with a new Christmas book and new Christmas pajamas to start the season off. We started it this year and it was a huge hit with them. This year’s pajamas are from Old Navy and they got How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa’s Cookie is Missing.

2. The Giving Manger. So we don’t do “Elf on the Shelf”, instead I found “The Giving Manger”. This is a great way to show children that Christmas isn’t just about receiving, but also giving. We started it this year a bit early and Evelyn has immediately caught on to doing good services for others. Plus, I don’t have to worry about moving the elf in any witty and creative ways to set up some shenanigans that he gets into.

3. Baking cookies together. We have a family recipe that I would bake with my dad during the holidays and now I will pass this recipe on to my girls. If you are a family member of mine, you know about these cookies, Vascochos. The recipe was given to my dad from his mother. My dad is Mexican, but never spoke a word of fluent Spanish. He always called these cookies “Vascochos”. It’s even on the recipe card. However, a little investigating and I found out that like most of my dad’s Spanish, he was mispronouncing the name of these cookies! Bizcochos is the correct name for these cookies. More investigating and I’ve learned that these are really a complete cross over between typical Mexican Wedding Cookies and Bizcochos (Mexican Holiday Cookies). You learn something new every single day. So while we are keeping this tradition, do we keep my dad’s name for these cookies? Or do we correct it?

4. New tree ornaments. This year we won’t be able to carry on the tradition of a special trip to Disneyland for new ornaments, but we still can go to Downtown Disney. I’ll let each of my girls pick out an ornament to decorate their trees with and that way when they are adults and move out on their own, they’ll have ornaments to bring with them.

5. Christmas light gazing. We live close to Balboa Island and we typically go there to walk around and look at the lights. We also try to hit up the Newport Beach Boat Parade as well, but that won’t happen this year. However, I still have hope that we might be able to get out this season and check out some lights with hot chocolate and decide which houses we like best!

With both of my girls here, my heart is full this holiday season. These simple traditions are also foundations for our relationships with our daughters. I hope these memories we make together during this time serve us throughout the year in strengthening our family and deepening our love for each other.

What traditions do you share with your children? What is your favorite memory as a child yourself?

This post contains some affiliated links, however I wouldn’t recommend anything I don’t already love!

Incredibly grateful to our good friend Hanh Nguyen Photography for this gorgeous shot of my family.

I completely realize that this year, for lack of a better word, has been a dumpster fire on a ton of fronts.

People have died. People have been sick. Lost jobs. Lost businesses. People are struggling in everyway imaginable. Our country feels more divided than ever. On top of all that, the future seems more unpredictable and unknown than ever before.

I understand why people are burnt out, exhausted, depressed, disappointed, and ready to put 2020 behind them. Part of me is too.

That being said, I have to say, 2020 was a banner year for my family.

My business took and continues to take a huge hit. Our way of life has been uprooted. We miss our families and friends that we haven’t seen in months. My husband’s nice 9-5 work day has turned into around the clock, constantly on call work life.

But…

But…we got our Hazel. I had a healthy and for the most part, easy delivery. My baby is healthy and happy. She’s a dang unicorn of a baby. The happiest baby you’ve ever known, she’s the blessing our family needed. I could never say I regret this year when it gave me one of the biggest gifts I’ve ever received!

My husband works from home! With the unknowns of how Delovely Details would survive through this pandemic, I am so grateful for Drew’s job and that it actually grew and he was able to work from home while we transitioned to a family of four. My recovery after labor was so much easier with him home. It’s been a big blessing and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.

While Delovely Details struggled in the beginning, lots of refunds and brides cancelling orders, we were able to pivot. We started working with new planners and new types of clients that we’ve never worked with before. It’s been amazing to see the collaboration in my industry and the comradery we have to lift us all up together. Don’t get me wrong, I miss weddings! However, I am so grateful and thankful for the way we’ve been able to pivot and keep the business going.

Despite schools being closed across the country, I’m immensely grateful for the fact that our school district has been able to put safety measures in place to safely open our schools. Evelyn has been able to attend preschool safely and we’ve seen her grow in such ways that I know that wouldn’t have been able to happen if it was just me.

Lastly, I’m grateful for our health. We have had some family affected, some tragically, by this pandemic. We know how serious this pandemic is and we do our very best to take all the precautions we can for ourselves, for our family, our friends, and our fellow humans. We feel strongly that, while this is a hard time for everyone, this is an opportunity for humans in general, to show how compassionate, kind, and self sacrificing we can be. My little family, Drew and our girls, are healthy. My girls are strong and growing to be kind people. My husband is also healthy, generous with his time and gifts, and loving. I’m healthy, I feel supported and strong in my convictions. I feel loved and I am optimistic.

With everything going on, I wonder if this isn’t supposed to be a huge reminder to us of what we really need to be thankful for day in and day out. Not just one day a year. Not just a thought drifting for an Instagram post. This all might be a reminder of how we should be living every single day.

I am so blessed.

I am so grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Matching outfits for Evelyn and I are from Morning Lavender.

Photography by my sweet friend Hanh Nguyen Photography.