2016 Favorites

After taking a break to be present with friends & family throughout the holidays, I’m back! I am so ready to take on 2017 and  see what the upcoming year will bring! Today I wanted to share some of my 2016 favorites with y’all. Although 2016 was challenging in many ways, it was a really great year overall. I was able to accomplish a lot of personal and professional goals this year, which I am so happy about. For me, accomplishing goals and checking things off my “list” really keeps me motivated throughout the year. I’m not really a “resolutions” type of girl. Instead I like to make a list of things I would like to accomplish and cross things off  as I go (anyone else get satisfaction from crossing things off?!) 2016 was one of the most memorable years to date and I have high hopes that 2017 will be even better.

And of course, thank you all so much for coming back each day and allowing me to share bits and pieces of my life with you. I am so appreciative of the sweet comments, emails, and messages I receive from my readers and the friendships that have blossomed from that.Here’s to a fun 2017 together! See my 2016 favorites….

ONE | TRAVEL
This year I was able to travel quite a bit both for work and play. Each trip ended with plenty of new memories and added to my wanderlust! In March I headed to Charleston with Belk for Charleston Fashion Week. In April I attended the annual rewardStyle #rStheCon conference where I was able to meet with brands, industry leaders & mingle with fellow bloggers. In May I went to the Outer Banks with my #BloggersDoTravel girls. July I worked with Toyota Prius in Raleigh for a week and went to Ohio to visit Nick’s family. In August Nick and I headed to the Omni Homestead for a weekend adventure before summer ended. And in November I boarded the Harmony of the Seas for their inaugural US cruise! There were a few short weekend trips to the beach, Charlotte, and everywhere in between that were also super fun.

I already have a few fun trips planned for 2017, including one to Houston, Texas in less than two weeks! I love traveling and spending time with friends/family, so I am excited to travel more this year.

TWO | READING
Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. If you know me, then you know I always have a book with me, no matter where I am! For me, reading is a nice escape. If I’m stressed or in a “funk” I will escape reality for a bit and dive into a good book. This year I challenged myself to read more. Instead of scrolling aimlessly on my phone, I would read a few pages of a book. I carved out time almost every day to read. In total I read 39 books this year. I have a Goodreads account (feel free to add me) where I share all the books I’ve read. You all responded really well to my book reviews, so I plan on doing more of those this year!

THREE | FRIENDS
I am so incredibly thankful for the friends I have in my life-they truly are the best. I think it is so so important to make time for those you care about in your life. It’s so easy to get “too busy” (heck everyone is busy, who isn’t these days!) and let relationships fall to the wayside. I have friends I don’t get to physically see that often so I make a point to talk to them daily or weekly. When we do see each other it’s like we’ve been together all along.. and those are the best kind of friendships! And I always try to be truly present with the ones I do get to see often (no checking my phone, etc!) Nothing quite like being able to call up someone and vent, celebrate or just catch up anytime!

FOUR | GETTING ENGAGED
Perhaps one of my favorite memories of 2016 happened on December 9th when Nick proposed to me! This year was absolutely amazing for us as a couple. We went on multiple trips together and made so many memories. In August we moved in together. It has been so fun to start traditions, make our house feel like home, and fall into a rhythm together. Our relationship continued to blossom through 2016 and adding in a proposal was just the cherry on top of another year together! It was great celebrating with all of our friends & family as they came into town for the holidays. I’m so excited to share more of our wedding planning process with you all through Wedding Wednesday posts! Stay tuned for those 🙂

And while 2016 threw me for a loop at times the good always outweighed the bad! I am so excited to see what 2017 has in store. I’m still working on the goals I want to accomplish in 2017- but would love to hear yours! I’ve also debated having a word of the year… does anyone do that?