RENEWAL: A Glance at the New Year, 2019

It’s the last day of the year, and since the existence of my blog, I’ve posted a recap sharing the highlights and lowlights of the past year + what I’m striving for in the next one. Like every year seems to, 2018 flew by and it was a year of trials I didn’t expect, as well as a lot of victories and successes that have me smiling with gratitude as I reflect today. Keep reading for a wrap-up of 2018 with a glance at the new year and what it holds for my husband and I, my blog and more.

A lot happened in 2018! Here’s a quick recap:

February 3: Justin and I celebrated our four-year dating anniversary!
February: We started house hunting
March: I was featured in Narcity’s article, “30 Indianapolis Girls Who Are Absolutely Killing It On Instagram Right Now”
May 20: Justin turned 25
June 10: Justin and I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary!
July 15: Justin and I went on my first travel collaboration to Saugatuck, Michigan (my first time in Michigan ever!)
August: I completed my highest paid blog collaboration to date
August 18: Justin and I went on my second travel collaboration to Butler County, Ohio
September 1: I celebrated my three-year blogging anniversary!
September 6: I turned 25
September 26: I was featured in Feedspot’s “Top 25 Indianapolis Blogs and Websites To Follow in 2019”
September 28: WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE!
September 28-30: We moved out of our apartment of over two years and into our house
November: I hit the one-year mark at my current job
December 25: We enjoyed our first Christmas in our house and hosted family for the first time (Justin’s side)

Here are some amazing brands I got to work/collaborate with in some way in 2018 (all without pitching, so now I’m wondering what this list would look like if I did! 🧐):

Monat
Alex and Ani
Capital Grille
Carousel Bags
Wantable
Warby Parker
Drybar
Jonny Pops
Modern Map Art
Butler County Donut Trail
Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice
The Kirby Hotel
Newk’s Eatery
Beloved Brides
Visit Butler County, Ohio
Kroger
Franco Sarto (repeat collab)
Aveeno
McDonalds
Market For Makers
Smart Buy Glasses
CaseApp
Edible Arrangements
Bramble & Beene
Gordmans (repeat collab)
Basic Invite (repeat collab)

Looking back now, I’m realizing I really did a lot of blog work this year. It’s easy to think that I always could have done more, especially since blog work tends to come in waves. Sometimes I’m not working with anyone for weeks at a time, and other times I’m working with 3+ brands at once. I’m glad I took the time to reflect on this today because this shows me that I did better than I give myself credit for and I’m feeling even more blessed for these experiences.

WHAT WERE MY TOP 3 MOMENTS?

Buying our house
Going on my first travel collaborations
Justin’s recovery

Recovery was much more of a journey than a moment, but you get what I mean. Buying a house and being invited to go on travel collaborations seemed like such distant goals — one of which my husband and I had to work our butts off for (house), while the other seemed to fall into my lap (travel). Of course years of hard work and dedication to my blog led to this and it was earned, but it wasn’t something I was pursuing because I didn’t even think it was a possibility yet. Life surprises you sometimes!

HOW WOULD I DESCRIBE THIS YEAR?

In short, expect the unexpected. We didn’t start this year thinking we’d begin house hunting, but we did and it was a far more difficult road than we anticipated. Each time we submitted an offer when we thought we’d found the one, we were faced with rejection and having to get back up to do it all over again. As you guys know since I’ve talked about it a lot in my house hunting series, it was tough.

Therefore, the best thing I did this year is practice resiliency — or at least I tried my best to. This year was a rollercoaster and it had equally as many high moments as there were low ones. With Justin’s health issues, multiple procedures and three surgeries, in addition to struggling to get our first house, this past year presented us with challenges we didn’t think we’d face. In turn, all of those things have made us stronger.

2019 GOALS

I find stating your goals to be incredibly important and that putting what you want out into the world is a positive and driving force in making your dreams a reality. My goals are a mix of business and personal ones — here are some that come to mind:

Go on three or more travel collaborations for my blog
Produce a form of passive income related to blogging that will help others (e-book, course, etc.)
Prioritize my physical health (eating more balanced meals, being more active, going to the chiropractor regularly, etc.)
Reach 10,000 Instagram followers (a lofty goal in my opinion, but I’ll try)
Reach 500 likes on my blog’s Facebook page
Double my blog’s email list
Do giveaways more often to give back to those who support me
Be featured in print
Continue working on our home
Give back to the community
Hosts guests at our home more often & plan more activities
Grow in our marriage (this will always be a goal)
Be less hard on myself
Go to bed with peace each night knowing I did everything I could

That’s a wrap on 2018! Last but not least, I want to say a huge thank you to you all for following along and for your support. I’d get up and blog every day even if no one read it, but the fact that you guys do and something I love has brought on so many beautiful relationships in my life, happiness, connections, opportunities and understanding has been such a blissful bonus. Thank you for any and all of the time you spent reading my posts this year — truly, it means everything to me! Thank, thank you, thank you!

Lastly, I want to close out this post by saying you can do literally ANYTHING you set your mind to. If you have a desire to do something within you, no matter how silly it may seem or what you fear people may think of it, do it. You’ll never regret following your dream and giving something a try, even if you decide later on that it’s not for you. Your potential is endless, I really mean that.

Have a very happy New Year and see you in 2019 (AKA Wednesday’s new post 😂)!