While I didn’t mean for it to be, 2013 was a year of many first-evers (which have slowed down considerably in the last month – probably a good thing!). I’m telling you, there was a lot that I did in 2013 that I’d never done before – not been in school, participated in a chili cook-off, visited Florida (twice!), rented a car, went on a girls-only-no-husbands-allowed trip with my girlfriend, helped build a website in 24 hours, witnessed the best-ever start to a Pacers season – and narrowing them down to a few was tough.

Here we go –

Welcome to SmallBox!

On Monday, February 11 I became SmallBox‘s marketing intern. On June 1 (after a bunch of inner turmoil – I was accepted into a teaching fellowship program), I started my first-ever salaried, big girl position as a SmallBox content producer! I’ve gained much more than just a job and a bunch of smart, creative, driven, talented co-workers; they’re seriously like a second family to me.

Louie Tatum basks in front of a winter fire.

On Saturday, February 9, Joe surprised me with an early Valentine’s Day gift. He took me to a foster home on the east side of Indy to pick out a kitten and our first-ever pet. It was a tough choice (I wanted all of them, but our house is on the small side), and we came home with Louie Tatum! He was born on September 26, 2012 – just three days before our wedding day. His nicknames include Louis Parker III, Duke, Sir Dook-a-lot, Louie the Lion, and King Louis XIV, among others.

Dave & Joe fill my raised-bed garden.

Springtime muscari and tulips.

2013 was my first full year in Indiana since 2007, and thus, the first time I lived in a house, with a yard, in a long time! I grew tons of spring bulbs (close to 100) and started my first-ever garden (50% fun, 40% learning experience, 10% heartache).

Crazy Eyes.

Gambles galore – in 2013 I watched greyhound races in Naples, Florida; drafted and continue to manage my first-ever fantasy football team and named it after a slightly unhinged but hilarious prisoner; and am still reluctantly participating in a season-long pick ’em league. If you know me, then you know I’ve always lived for fall Saturdays and Sundays. But this year, football season has had a little more meaning.

Mr. & Mrs. Joe Tatum married on September 29, 2012.

We celebrated our first-ever wedding anniversary on September 29 with a super-freaking-awesomely-tatsy dinner at St. Elmo and the top layer of our wedding cake. It was still crazy moist and scrumptious after sitting in our freezer (and being eyed daily) for a year.

Fangirl Teresa in Pittsburgh, PA.

So, I like live music, and a whole bunch of it. Joe and I went to our first-ever GWAR show this year. We saw Action Bronson in Bloomington. I went to Pitchfork for the first time. I almost had perfect attendance at Musical Family Tree‘s inaugural Listen Local series in Broad Ripple park. But the first-ever that stands out in my mind this year was when we drove to Pittsburgh for Yo La Tengo and Belle & Sebastian – i.e., my first time seeing both bands! Fangirl Teresa came out to play that night, and walked away with a B&S set list.

En Fin

I didn’t feel like I did much in 2013 (“Where does the time go?” I ask myself almost daily.), but flipping back through my planner and the photos on my instagram (this post would have been SO much harder without it) proved differently. Here’s to 2014!

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This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox.