A Look Back on 2019
Can you guys believe it’s been almost exactly one year since we started Harbor + Pine?! I just have to laugh when I think about how it all actually started…
In this photo (above) from last year, we were picking out our Christmas trees and Bryana said to me “girl, we need more pictures together if we’re going to start a blog!” And I was like “what?! We aren’t starting a blog!!” She actually had been telling me for many months that we should start one! But I kept saying no… Not because I didn’t want to, I was craving to do something more creative and to connect with others with similar interests, but I was scared of unfamiliar territory and to do something new!
Then she finally asked “but why not?!” And I realized I didn’t have a solid answer other than just being a scaredy cat, so I finally said “let’s do it!” And here we are, almost exactly one year later and I can’t even remember what life was like before! Haha
We thought it would be fun to do a little reminiscing and thinking back on all of the amazing things God had up his sleeve for us in 2019!
January: We published our very first blog post about us and our thoughts and dreams behind creating Harbor + Pine. Along with a few of our other favorite oldies, but goodies! Like the BEST healthier no-bake cookies and our trip to Magnolia!
February: Bryana and Brett spent two wonderful weeks in Kauai, Hawaii for their honeymoon and shared all about it here!!
March: Jason and I (Kendra) tapped a few of our maple trees in our back yard and storied the whole process of getting the sap and making the syrup! You can find the stories in our highlights on Instagram. We also shared some of our favorite blog posts to date, our thoughts and feelings on getting married young & what we’ve learned so far, 5 simple & affordable updates for your home, and how to travel to Iceland on a budget!!
April: The start of our bi-weekly Friday Favorites emails and Feature Friday blog posts! We’ve collaborated with so many talented, industrious people for these posts and couldn’t love sharing them more!! You can check them all out here! I also shared a big part of my heart on our journey to have a baby. I’ve talked before about how I was initially scared to share, but I’m so, so glad I did—I’ve connected with so many women who have been or are in the same boat as me, which has been such a huge blessing.
May: Bryana flew down to Savannah, GA to attend the first ever WE Rise retreat and wrote a really inspiring post on why we should stop comparing! We also had some really fun collaborations with the lovely ladies at Covington & Co. and Encompass Therapeutic Massage!!
June: Jason and I traveled to the PNW for a week to celebrate 4 years of marriage!! I didn’t blog about that trip, but I DID share all about where we went to celebrate our anniversary the previous year, here! Being intentional about dating your spouse and spending quality time is extremely important to us and Bryana gave some really great summertime small town date night ideas!!
July: We went camping with some of our best friends in the beautiful Porcupine Mountains! We shared about that tradition here along with some darn good s’more recipes! Trust us, you’ll want to try them! And while we’re on the topic of food, we also shared the BEST places to eat in the copper country and that was our most popular post of the whole year!! Y’all are our kind of people, we all just really love to eat. Haha!
August: We opened a home decor booth at a local store, Urban Rustics, and have been absolutely loving it there!! The store is so cute and cozy and has the perfect mix of vintage, brand new, thrifted, and handmade goodies!!
September: Keweenaw Coffee Works hosted a “Get Ready to FALL in Love” fall inspired event where we had the opportunity to host and assist in teaching how to make the perfect pour over coffee—you can also read our simple guide to pour over coffee here! They even created our own Harbor + Pine Limited Edition bag of coffee!!! And by now, I’m sure you guys know us and our love of coffee, so this really felt like a dream come true! Haha!
October: We road tripped down to Chicago with our best gals over at Covington & Co. to attend the WE Rise retreat and it was seriously life-changing! So many goals and dreams for the future of Harbor + Pine!! We also expanded our booth at Urban Rustics this month too!
November: We announced the opening of our online Home Goods shop and have been having the BEST time with it!! We also partnered with the amazing ladies of Teach to Taste, Cook & Sprout, and b.well cafe to host a homemade Italian cooking night—which was seriously a blast and absolutely delicious!! We learned all about making homemade pasta and even got to take some home with us to recreate it the meal the following night!
December: We had our first ever pop-up shop at Keweenaw Coffee Works and it was so much fun that we had another one a couple weeks later and hope to do many more in the upcoming year!!! Yay!
It’s still so crazy to me when I look back on 2019 and all of the memories we’ve made and goals we’ve accomplished, that none of this would have come to life if we wouldn’t have said “yes” to the dream of creating Harbor + Pine, if I wouldn’t have listened to Bryana, stepped out of my comfort zone, and jumped into the unknown.
So all of this to say, just like Bryana asked me—why not?! Why not follow your heart or pursue your dreams or do something different and new? You’ll never know the amazing things you might be missing out on about life or yourself, if you don’t just go for it! Whatever “it” might be for you!
You guys have truly been the best supporters, encouragers, and friends to us throughout this whole year and we just hope and pray that you know how special, loved, and cherished you are! We are so thankful for YOU! Happy (almost) New Year!! We are looking forward to so much in 2020! More on that next Monday, so stay tuned!!
Love, Kendra