A Letter to 2018

Dear 2018,

Well, weren’t you just delightful.
I mean it!
You were a cozy, sun-soaked year with just enough adventure to keep whatever the Wanderess’ version of “hangry” is at bay.

If I had to pick a string of words for you, they would be: Family, Laughter, Stillness, and Self-Awareness.
You kept the pain at a minimum and taught us that being still and accepting a slower, more routined pace is not a bad thing.

Looking simultaneously back and forward, I know the following:
– it may have taken me 10 years, but I finally discovered the importance of saying ‘no’ and the peace of found balance.
– always stay the path of knowledge-seeker and self discover-er.
– buy less, explore more.
– follow the thread of connection wherever it goes.
– I should take more photos of my personal life with something other than my camera phone.

Thanks for the memories,
Sarah

2019 started with coastline adventures, as every year should:

Phoenix and I attended our first Women’s March, and plan to attend our second this coming Saturday:

We celebrated Phoenix’s 2nd birthday in the park 2 blocks from our house.
There were giant donuts.

A few days after her birthday, we boarded a plane to Florida for a family reunion.
We all stayed at a giant house along the river, shared a crab feast out of my dreams, and ran away to Harry Potter World (because #Hufflepuff).

Next up came our 4th Annual Linden Clover Workshop {Sunchaser Edition}.
Each of our workshops leaves my heart more full than the last one, and this was no exception.

In May, we took a road trip to see Taylor Swift at the Rose Bowl.
TWICE.

We celebrated Fathers Day Weekend in true Fagan tradition (our 13th year and running) at Live Oak Music Festival.

Fourth of July, where we introduced Phoenix to her native element: FIRE.

We go to the Midstate Fair every year for 2 reasons: fried cheese on a stick and the photo booth.
We have a photo strip from every summer since the first time we held hands walking to the ferris wheel, 13 years ago.
Our collection of these black and white photos has become my favorite, most precious time capsule.

Summer of 2019 was jam packed with firsts, milestones, and epic things worth celebrating.
It was “The Summer Phoenix Learned to Swim“:

It was “The Summer We Celebrated TEN YEARS of Marriage“:

It was “The Summer I Had a 12 Page Editorial in a UK Wedding Magazine”

We also spent some time with family in Carlsbad, for “The Summer We First Tried Paddleboarding“:

It was a summer for yoga…

… a summer for music …

… a summer for friends …

… a summer for the ocean …

And we wrapped up the most magical of summers with another trip to Florida to celebrate my Grammy’s 95th birthday.
The trip there took 20 hours: 1 cancelled flight, 1 missed flight, 1 rerouted itinerary, 1 airplane blowout.
But all was redeemed by 3 days by the pool and more rum slushees than I could count.

As the air became crisp and the leaves starting falling, we ran away for a “working weekend” in San Francisco.
We talked to sea lions, hit up our favorite pizza joint, and lived that sweet hotel life.

October brought Halloween.
And along with it, a family costume I don’t think we can ever beat:

November brought my 30th birthday,
And along with it — a pit stop in Beverly Hills, and 3 days at a desert oasis with my best friend. We soaked in hot springs, took the stinkiest mud bath of all time, studied tarot, and didn’t wear a lick of makeup the whole time.

Then there was my ACTUAL birthday, which neighbors my mom’s (the 21st & 22nd, which also happened to be Thanksgiving). So we bailed on our favorite holiday to wear fancy hotel robes, eat all the room service, and drink all the wine.

Days after that, we ran away to Big Sur and unplugged as a family. We got back to our ancient family tradition of having Thanksgiving dinner surrounded by towering redwood trees, and wondered why we ever stopped…

December brought, you guessed it — CHRISTMAS, aka Phoenix’s new favorite holiday EVER. This year, the magic went up like 10 levels — cookies for Santa, listening for sleigh bells, picking out gifts for our loved ones, matching pjs, the whole nine.