Our Holiday 2014 Letter

Dear friends and loved ones, We’ve decided to accompany our printed holiday cards with an online letter again this year. 2013 was a year of changes. We got married, moved across the country, honeymooned in Morocco and started new jobs. It was excited, but in truth, all a bit exhausting. The theme of 2014 was finding a routine. We settled in nicely to life in San Francisco this year, and our love story with this incredible city deepened and intensified. Everything about living here speaks to us, with the great outdoors right at our doorstep with Golden Gate Park, the perfect weather year round letting us keep up the physical activity that keeps us sane, the amazing people, many of whom are also transplants and the constant cultural hum of this melting pot that is a hub of innovation and creativity. Just because we’re settling in doesn’t mean 2014 was boring by any stretch. Kelly finished her first year of pediatric residency and is enjoying the extra bit of autonomy that comes with being a second year resident. Pat started a new job in November at a solar energy company and is thriving in his new work environment. After two weeks on the job, his boss sent an email to the entire company praising his work and success. Not a bad start. Because the children’s hospital is moving across town early in 2015, we started looking for a place that would be closer to work for both of us. The rental market is extraordinarily tough in San Francisco, but with a lot of patience and a stroke of luck, we found an amazing flat in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. It’s one of the sunniest neighborhoods in town, has amazing views and is full of great coffee shops and restaurants. The place itself is in an old Victorian, with hardwood floors, natural light, and a luscious backyard for Maddie – complete with a lemon tree. Coming from Wisconsin, a lemon tree is the next best thing to a unicorn, in our opinion. We can’t wait to turn it into a home. We’ve been staying active, with Pat competing in cyclocross races this year and Kelly running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. Even better than competitions though, are the runs together at night in Golden Gate Park and bike rides across the bridge with a bit of outdoor yoga thrown in – in November! 2014 also brought lots of life changes for our family. Pat had two sisters get married this year and we also became an Aunt and Uncle! Congrats to Colleen & Aric on your marriage and to Kelly & Grant for both tying the knot and adding adorable baby Owen to the family! We’re so excited to travel home early in 2015 to meet the new addition to the family. Our little pupster, Maddie, is now full grown. At 48 pounds, she’s on the small side for a labrador retriever, but the perfect size for city living. She is so fast and full of endless energy. She comes with us everywhere, from morning runs with Kelly, to work with Pat, and of course on all of our adventures. After Morocco and India last year, we decided to hold off on big trips this year and instead explore closer to home. We went back to Big Sur and Kelly took a weekend trip to discover the hidden gems of Oregon. We also made several trips to the Napa Valley. A Side of Sweet has continued to grow in 2014, with traffic more than doubling. It’s changed from a side hobby for Kelly to something that both of us work on together. The blog has afforded us many opportunities and adventures this year, and it’s a great creative outlet for both of us. Kelly has seen her work and recipes published everywhere from local print magazines to the Huffington Post. Even more fun though, is being able to look back and see photos and stories from this amazing online journal of our life together. Our honeymoon was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings this year, and it was fun to see our adventures in print. You can find the online version here. Before we close this year’s holiday letter, we wanted to leave you with a little video message: