Hello everyone!

Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones. I hope these past few days brought rest, relaxation, reflection, family, and friend time.

Here is how I spent the weekend since we last caught up.

We had a slow Christmas morning with all the treats!

Today is one of my favorite posts of the year, it is my Year in Review. Whether you have been reading since January 1, or just stopped by today, welcome! I’m recapping the year and sharing the highs and lows with you, plus, I’m sharing my favorite things from this year too. You can see my past recaps from over the years.

This is a big post, so get your cup of coffee or hot chocolate and settle in!

Let’s take it back to January!

The year began with lots and lots of snow, which meant lots of time indoors, but doing some fun things too to stay busy, like mini-golf and lots of soup making.

What most of the winter looked like, snow, snow, and you guessed it, more snow!

Homemade soup and grilled cheese makes everything better!

I did manage to get outdoors and enjoy some pond skating and winter walks.

February brought a trip to Boston, some time in New England, time outdoors and celebrating Valentine’s Day too.

A trip to Boston makes everything better!

We finally saw the sun shine in the spring and with that came a work trip down South, which was a learning and growing experience both personally and professionally.

I made it back home just in time for our St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

The spring finally brought some sunshine and another trip to Boston, plus a day trip to Orlando, which was much needed after a very cold winter.

12 hours in Florida was just what the doctor ordered!

The spring also brought Easter and celebrating two of my brothers graduating from high school and college.

I celebrated my 27th birthday with my family and friends.

Then came the ultimate summer of zoos, picnics, grilling, day trips, walks, and runs, ice cream dates, and so much more.

I celebrated the Fourth of July with my family.

One of the best parts of the Fourth of July!

I ran my first half marathon, which was a huge accomplishment.

I took day trips to D.C. and went on a family vacation.

I took advantage of every chance to be outside by picking flowers, reading, or swimming.

The summer ended the best way possible, by getting engaged!

I helped move my youngest brother into college and then it was full steam ahead for fall.

It was a few weeks of transition to going back to solo time, but I kept busy.

I got back into reading, took walks with friends and continued with running.

I really took the time to focus on the little things in life, like a sunrise run, a cup of coffee with a friend, or a walk with my dog.

In September, I made a visit to my fiance in Boston, where we visited Cape Cod for the day which was so fun!

I stayed busy in the kitchen by trying new recipes.

I got a chance to go apple picking-one of my favorite fall traditions.

Years after starting them, I finally finished both Gilmore Girls and Breaking Bad.

I love the changing seasons, so I made sure to get in the Halloween season.

My pup and I all dressed up for Halloween!

I made another trip to Boston in November, where I got to visit Rhode Island and see the city in the fall.

November also brought Thanksgiving and all the fixings, plus the Turkey Trot!

We said goodbye to November and hello to December with Christmas decorating- a favorite tradition of mine.

December was all about getting into the Christmas spirit with traditions, lots of family time, gift wrapping and giving, and seeing loved ones. I ended the year with a family wedding and Christmas!

2025 was filled with so many wonderful moments and memories and this is just a snapshot of them. I know 2026 will be such a good year too!

Now onto the favorites of the year! I typically put everything in one big post, but I decided to break it up into two posts. Today is just my recap and on Friday-even though it will be a new year, I will be sharing my Ultimate Friday Favorites of 2025!

I hope you have a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve and a joyous start to 2026 tomorrow.

See you back here on Friday!

2025 Year in Review

Elspeth’s Day By Day

Contact

2025 Year in Review

Friday Favorites #178

Elspeth’s Day By Day

Contact