The hype around New Year’s Eve had never really excited me.  I always dreamed about sequins, fireworks, champagne, and that special midnight kiss but when the night actually arrived…majah let down, y’all.  Every NYE my expectations always plummet to the ground and blow up in my face in the form of watching the ball drop in NYC and bedtime by 12:05.  No fireworks.  No flowing champagne.  No dancing.  And no midnight kiss.  Bummer, right?  Well this year, I was determined to break my mold of boring NYEs.

I started dating my boyfriend in November and early on professed my dream of a magical evening, complete with dinner and sparklers.  Like the perfect man he is, he promised to give me my dream!  We had late reservations at an Italian restaurant where we toasted the year and our relationship with champagne.  We then dropped by his house to change out of our dressy clothes (I wore my favorite lace dress and shimmery crocheted shrug, and he wore a J.Crew shirt I’d given him for Christmas and his dress cowboy boots) and into much warmer clothes.  We had full intentions of heading to his friend’s house for a bonfire party but we got too caught up setting off bottle rockets and lighting sparklers on his back porch to go anywhere.  And of course for the grand finale of the night, I got my first midnight kiss!!  And yes, it was as magical as I’d dreamed.  Afterwards, we cuddled up and watched Netflix until late.  Maybe it was the night, but maybe it was the man I was sharing it with that made it so special.

And yes, I am wearing camo!  My boyfriend gave me a Drake quarter-zip jacket for Christmas.  It’s so warm!  He is a hunter, mainly duck, and makes duck calls.  I’ve been duck hunting once with him and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  Don’t become accustomed to the sight of me in camo, though!  I’ll be back to my good old preppy style in no time!