WHAT. A. YEAR.
Even though we’re a few days into January, I’m not sure it’s ever too late to reflect on the past year in order to look forward to the year ahead. Here are a few of my top highlights from this past year:
FRIENDSHIPS
Was gonna wait to post this one until later BUT it was perhaps the most wonderful thing about this year for me. I met my very best friend (who I absolutely must see once a week or I have ACTUAL withdrawal symptoms), Erin Krespan. She also happens to be an insanely talented photographer who I’ve gotten to work with a ton on the blog.
I also got to meet and shoot with a number of killer photographers thanks to the Insta-web like Leah, Dennis, Emma, Brittany, Carl, Luke and Jen to name a few. SO grateful for the creative community DC has built.
FOOD
This has also been SUCH a great year for food in my book. For my birthday, we finally got to visit Rose’s Luxury which I’d been DYING to visit for ages. I also discovered the best ramen spot in DC (s/o to Daikaya - but feel free to refute this if you think you’ve found a better spot that serves vegetarian ramen.) Then we proceeded to eat our way through San Fran, Portland (Maine), Napa and Chicago…which I NEED to get post on the blog ASAP because who has time to wait for good food?
TRAVEL
While we made the decision to stay within the country this year, we did a LOT of traveling. A few of our favorite spots we traveled:
Yosemite: Growing up, we’d camp here for a few weeks each summer. This year, I finally was able to take my hubby to experience it and it was everything I’d hoped for and more (minus the insane swarms of mosquitos!)
Napa: I’d been here once before and I can’t believe it took 5 years to come back! Great wine isn’t the only thing that lured us to return - the food is phenomenal. From brunches to little BBQ stands on the side of the road to the *HANDS DOWN* best English muffins that exist, we’re hooked.
Portland, Maine: Another foodie hotspot - this town has so much character and SO MANY great eats that it’s worth the visit JUST for the food alone. When we visited, it was rainy and cold, but somehow still remains one of my favorite trips of the year.
Marco Island, FL: This is a yearly visit for us. My Papou lives down there a few months of the year, so we always try to take 4 or 5 days to soak in the bright sunshine in the midst of our East Coast winter.
New York: I can’t believe it, but I visited the Big Apple three times this past year. THREE. That’s more than I had in the previous 5 years. Each time I fell more and more in love with the city. The first time I traveled to Soho with my bestie for 24 hours of food, shopping, coffee and shooting photos. The second was for Fashion Week, which, TO BE HONEST, wasn’t my favorite. This last time was for New Year’s and we happily ate our way through Chelsea’s cutest neighborhoods. And we’re already planning our next trip.
Chicago: When the hubby had a business trip here, I couldn’t help but come along for the ride. The city, it’s architecture and, surprise surprise, its food scene didn’t disappoint.
//
BLOG
Lots of exciting things happened on the blog front this year. I was featured in Northern Virginia Magazine’s April issue and was also voted their Top Fashion Blogger of 2016! Made in the District featured my blog in their page, and last week, was featured by Brightest Young Things. I got to work with a number of exciting brands like Lucky Jeans, Ralph Lauren, Cuyana, Rent the Runway, South Moon Under, Urban Outfitters, Diesel, Banana Republic, Lacoste and more. Stay tuned for more exciting projects underway for 2017! If you have anything you'd like to see more (or less of!) over here, shoot me a note or comment on this post!
//
LOOKING AHEAD
Besides the usual 'get back into exercise and clean eating,' I want to learn to work smarter. I want to spend more time on figuring out my finances (YIKES), working on improving our home, getting organized, and building relationships. I want to spend less time in front of the TV (easier said than done) and on my phone. I want to live more in the present, and while I think I did better last year, I know there's still a lot to be done. I also want to make my health a priority. This means choosing yoga class to ease my back pain over happy hour sometimes, taking the time in the evening to take off all my makeup and set up a regular skincare routine, and making dentist appointments and eye doctor visits a priority too. I want to put laziness on the back burner, which is also easier said than done in the winter months when all I want to do is be a sloth at home. Any tips on productivity would be SO greatly appreciated!
