Hello! I’m so excited to be back this first Monday of 2020! I have so many ideas up my sleeve for blog posts and content I want to create so I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year. I’ve been so looking forward to 2020 as I’m feeling really hopeful for and positive about what this year has in store. 2019 challenged me in ways I didn’t see coming and it was the first time in my life where to really had to break life down day by day in order to keep my chin up. “Hope” became my word of the year in 2019 and I made it my daily goal to reframe things in terms of being hopeful and in terms of positivity. It is so much easier said than done but I’ve learned so much this year about myself, love, loss, and stress management. There is no time like the new year to reach for the stars, be the best + healthiest version of yourself, and to be hopeful. I hope each one of you has had a beautiful start to 2020!
I rounded up my top 20 posts of 2019 for you here (counting down from #20 to #1)! Writing this post was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. I hope you’ll discover a post you might have missed in the last 12 months. I am so grateful for each one of you for reading Rhyme & Reason! And I wish I could meet all of y’all in person! Cheers to a new year and a new decade!
2019 In Review
20. What We Learned from Buying our First Home
Coming in as my 20th most read post of the year is my reflection on what we learned from buying our first home. I shared 8 lessons we learned that we found immeasurably helpful!
19. Newlywed Checklist: Tips for Newlyweds
The newlywed year of marriage is the BEST! A note to all my newlywed readers, cherish every minute of your first year of marriage because it goes by in a flash. I created a little checklist for newlyweds of 9 tips for the first year of marriage.
18. Twenty-Five Things You Don’t Know About Me
You guessed it, this post is about 25 things you don’t or might not know about me. I spilled on our wedding china, the origin of the name of this blog, who I am named for, what I collect, and more.
17. What We Did in Carmel, CA
Carmel is such a magical little place! I’ve been lucky enough to visit the town multiple times over the years including twice in 2019 for two different weddings. After one of the weddings, I shared what we did in Carmel! This post is full of lots of Carmel recommendations so save it if you’re planning a visit.
16. The Outfit I Wear Everyday + the Gift I’m Giving My Girlfriends for Valentine’s Day
If I’m not wearing a dress, then this outfit is honestly my uniform! How can you go wrong with blue jeans and a timeless blue and white stripe button-down?
15. How to Keep a Long Distance Friendship
When Edwin and I moved to Charleston in 2017, we knew almost no one. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to make so many amazing new friends the past few years who we love dearly! However, we both have a ton of friends who are now long distance. It can be work but the most rewarding kind of work to maintain long distance friendships. So, I wrote a post on all of my tips!
14. The 6 Moving Mistakes We Made
I laughed out loud when I wrote this post. When Edwin and I packed up our lives in Los Angeles and moved across the country to Charleston, we packed and moved like lunatics! In an effort to help you avoid all the errors we made, I wrote up the 6 moving mistakes we made + the moving mistakes we didn’t make (they were few and far between!).
13. Our Stay at Bolt Farm Treehouse
For Christmas last year, my parents gave Edwin and I a stay at Bolt Farm Treehouse, which was the sweetest gift. We went the day after my birthday so it was an all around festive little getaway!
12. Quick Spring Getaways
This is the perfect post to revisit right now! My guide to 6 quick spring getaways around the US. Everywhere I included has warm weather, blooming spring flowers, and tons to do! Are you planning any spring trips for 2020?
11. Winter Reading List 2019
I love my reading guides and so do you guys! From my Winter Reading List 2019, I highly recommend picking up One Day in December. It is fantastic! The author’s next book comes out this spring and I’m dying to get my hands on it.
10. Gift Guide: Gifts for the Snow Bunny
This post is technically a gift guide but it is super timely to shop right now for the winter season! If you live in or are traveling to a cozy, snowy destination this winter, then this post is full of recommendations for you.
9. How I Knew Edwin Was The One
2020 marks 10 years of Edwin and I being together! We met and started dating in 2010 – my where does time go!? I’m blessed every single day to wake up next to Edwin. I spilled on 10 ways in which I knew Edwin was the one!
8. A House Restoration and Remodel Q&A
I loved writing this post and can’t wait to bring you more house content in 2020 now that we are living in our house! I asked you guys to send in questions on Instagram about our historical house restoration and remodel and then I picked 10 of the questions to answer. This post is a great read if you’re wondering about our house process!
7. Summer Reading List 2019
I’m excited to bring you a lot more book recommendations in 2020 (starting with a post this week – stay tuned!). My summer reading list from last year was super popular with you guys! Pro tip: for a very fun, very fast book from this guide to get you in the reading mood in 2020, pick up The Hating Game.
6. Miami Travel Guide
After visiting Miami a handful of times for various different kinds of trips, I wrote up a travel guide for Miami! I love Miami so much and think the city has an incredible amount to offer including gorgeous beaches, unbelievable food, rich culture, amazing shopping, interesting people, and stunning hotels. I can’t recommend a visit to Miami enough! P.S. This was my most popular travel post from 2019. My most popular travel post from the year before, 2018, was my Quebec City and Montreal Travel Guide.
5. A Guide to the Best New Places in Charleston
I posted this guide to the best new places in Charleston in January 2019 so it was essentially a recap of 2018. I still wholeheartedly love every place I included in the guide so I definitely recommend saving this post if you’re planning a trip to Charleston this year. Stay tuned for a new post coming very shortly on the best spots to open in Charleston this past year in 2019!
4. Gift Guide: Gifts from Small Businesses
When I wrote this post, it did really well for my site but I honestly didn’t expect it to hit my top twenty posts. The fact that it was in my top five posts of the whole year made me so happy to see! I think it serves as a reminder that there are so many wonderful, unique, creative small businesses out there and we’re all hungry to learn about them, support them, and shop on a more local level. I feel lucky to have this platform to share my favorite small businesses with each one of you! Even though this is a gift guide, it’s still worth a read now to discover a fantastic new business/product!
3. Charleston Getaway Giveaway
I wasn’t surprised to see this post grace my top 20 list. Who wouldn’t love to win a massive trip to Charleston!? I teamed up with my good friends Kristin of Color by K and Chassity of Look Linger Love to bring you this giveaway complete with a stay at Zero George, meals at our favorite restaurants, passes to the best CHS activities, and more!
2. So, You Like Gray Malin…
This was actually an old post from from a few years ago that I updated and republished this year because it got so much love. It continued to get a lot of love this year coming in as my second most popular post of 2019. If you like Gray Malin’s photography, then this post is a must-read as I share recommendations for other similar photographers.
1. Gift Guide: Gifts for the Grandmillennial
Here it is, my most popular post of 2019! Y’all flipped for this gift guide! I can’t tell you how much fun I had creating it so I was really over the moon happy to hear all of your positive feedback! I received so many DMs from you guys saying you sent it to your moms, sisters, and friends for which I am so grateful.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading Rhyme & Reason in 2019! I’d be so grateful to have you stick around for 2020! xx
This was so fun looking back through your year in review via your posts! Excited to follow along in 2020!
XO,
Sarah