Well, 2014 has certainly been a whirlwind year – can’t believe it’s already over! It was by far the best one yet for Team Apartment 34. So many things happened it’s a little hard to keep it all straight. We were able to grow and take on epic new projects. We traveled from sea to sea and saw unbelievable sites along the way. We teamed up with so many talented people and inspiring brands for some of our most memorable collaborations yet. And I personally made some big life changes and steps towards – holy crap – being a full fledged grownup! We’re so ready for what 2015 has in store, but we couldn’t say goodbye to 2014 without reliving our absolute favorite moments of the year.

apartment34-mykonos-guide3 moments of 2014

First, we travelled far and wide. We packed up two weeks in a tote bag {it can be done!} and headed to Mykonos, Greece. Bianca also jet set to Bali and Thailand, landed in Singapore and had fun in D.C.,  while I explored Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, experienced great taste in Colonial Williamsburg and then Bianca lived the dream in Hawaii. We can only hope to keep up our jetsetting ways in 2015!

chocolate-gluten-free-tart moments of 2014

We also attempted to do a lot more home cooking. We found out that going gluten free wasn’t so bad after all! We baked some delicious gluten free treats like these Chocolate Pistachio and Coconut Tarts. And we didn’t stop there! We flexed our wanna-be chef muscles and proved to be heavyweights with this Spatchcock Roasted Chicken and this delicious, gluten-free, Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake.

andiamo-sf-apartment-34 moments of 2014

So naturally, we got pretty confident with our skills and decided to throw an epic dinner party in San Francisco for 12 influencers who continually inspire us, just for funsies! We teamed up with San Francisco based restaurants Trick Dog and Central Kitchen, as well as florists Twigss Florals, event planner Erin Taylor of Bustle Events, photographer Katie Newburn and so many others to throw an over the top dinner-party to remember! That  table….le sigh.

grapefruit-margarita-recipe-apartment-34 moments of 2014

After that, we really could have used a drink. Throwing a party is no joke. Hell, we could have used a drink all year long, and drink we did! Our cocktail series continues to be one of our faves and this girly Grapefruit Margarita made its rounds! Who says you can’t drink tequila on New Year’s Eve?!

drybar-alli-webb moments of 2014

With all of the fun we were having, we wondered, is it possible to have everything? Fun, family, a career? Inspired by kick-ass women like Ali Webb, founder of DryBar, and Alissa Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of San Francisco Cottages & Gardens, who really do have it all, we started an awesome, entrepreneurial-based series called Girl Crush to explore the idea. I also started a more personal, reflective series, with blogger friend Jeanne Chan, of Shop Sweet Things, that focuses on real life issues we all face as women called The Kind of Woman. We’re hoping to keep the discussion going in 2015 – we hope you’ll join in!

apartment-34-office top 10 moments 2014

Confident that we really could have it all if we worked for it, we brought on three summer interns which meant we needed a better space to work in. So we completely made over the team office! We added a big team desk for everyone to work around, designated a seating area for client meetings {and magazine reading!} and created an inspiration board to compile all of our ideas. The end result was everything we wanted! More here.

coffee-and-calligraphy-apartment-34 moments of 2014

With a bigger team, we were able to do more cool shizz like, whatever the hell we wanted! One of our most beautiful collaborations was with the calligraphy studio Bright Room Studio, and local SF roasters, Wrecking Ball Coffee. We dreamed up the ultimate Saturday morning project with calligraphy and coffee in hand!

bedroom-the-line-apt-34 moments of 2014

We even were able to send our photographer to cool places, like this one! We came across some amazing interiors all year long, but The Apartment in NYC, designed by The Line, takes – the – cake! Designed to be 100% shoppable {yep, you can buy that art right off the wall!}, this space is EVERYTHING we ever wanted in an interior!

apartment34_victorian1 top 2014 moments

Inspired by such beautiful design, I realized the space in the loft just wasn’t cutting it anymore. So, we went out and bought a freakin’ house!! It’s beautiful on the outside don’t you think? But the inside? Oh, it’s crazy uggggly in the inside. Seriously crazy {proof here}. Buying a 140 year fixer-upper has been the ultimate test in patience and a serious learning experience in hardcore design my friends. I’ve now learned the language of elevations, lighting plans and costs per square foot. Tons more detail on all this to come in the new year, but with renovations finally about to get underway, we couldn’t be more excited to move in. In six to eight more months…You ready to go on this adventure with me?!

Apartment34_HatchCollection moments of 2014

And put a nice little cherry on top of it all, oh yay, we’re having a baby! The scariest best moment of 2014 was finding out that we were going to be parents and that we would be bringing home our own bundle of joy come March! I can’t believe how fast time is flying and that in just a few months we’ll be meeting this lil’ baby. Holy mother-f’er things are about to get really real around here. Again, you ready to go on this adventure with me too because I’m sure I’m going to need all the help I can get!!

Of course this is only a teeny tiny snippet of what was one of the craziest years I can ever remember. Here are a few other highlights you may have missed…

Other Memorable Moments:

– Learning how to dress the bump!

– Being featured on Apartment Therapy, not once with the updated loft, but twice with our Editorial Director’s glam apartment!

– Unearthing tons of blogs we love!

– Doing pretty cool DIY’s like this Gold Speckled Rug!

Finding fabulous small shops from coast to coast.

– Discovering new San Francisco gems!

– Banking tons of design ideas to steal

Pinning our little hearts out {with SO much new house inspiration to come very soon!}

‘Gramming all along the wall

And with that, we couldn’t be more thrilled to bring in this new year, sure to be packed with sweet smiles, more love and tons of fun!

If you don’t want to miss a thing be sure to follow us on Bloglovin“. It’s a super easy way to get your Apartment 34 updates all in one place!

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 Comments