2016 CHECK IN

I had intended on putting this post together at the 6-month point of the year, but somehow time just keeps escaping me, and I know exactly where it’s going. It’s no mystery, really, when I’ve been traveling the amount I have this year. On one hand, it has been absolutely amazing to adventure new cities, meet new people, and create beautiful content for the blog. On the other hand, I’m leaving behind my family, dogs, and ultimately not having enough time to really handle business. At least the part that requires me to be focused, organized, and business-minded. When I travel my attitude is a lot more carefree and religiously checking my phone is just not on the agenda.

But, better late than never, right?

Scroll down to see how I’ve measured up to the resolutions I set 7ish months ago.

2016 RESOLUTIONS {7 months later…}

Grow my blog. Considering my blog is my business, this resolution is the most important of them all. Growing my blog means so many things and I’m really proud of my progress so far. Sometimes the growth of a blog can sound very superficial, such as measuring the amount of new “followers” in a certain amount of time. But that is just one of the many layers used to measure the success of my business. Quality of content, exposure, collaborations, and sales are some of the others. You also have to take into account the growth of all the platforms. My blog, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat each require their own strategy and content. I got a little off topic here but basically what I’m trying to say is I’m pretty happy with the growth I’ve achieved so far this year.

Improve my home. Funny to make that a resolution when I pretty much just moved into my home that was fully renovated. But, as I quickly learned after buying my first home, there is always something to improve. My backyard was a huge undertaking this year but I couldn’t be more proud of all the sweat, blood, and tears (LITERALLY) that went into the project.

Box 3 times a week. Done. Sometimes you’ll find me there 4 times per week, depending on my schedule. I’m totally addicted and having my friends and family beside me during class just motivates to go even more. As I get older and learn more about my body and health, I’m slowly transforming my body into one that I always aspired to have but didn’t quite know how to achieve. I’m not there yet, but I’m slowly making it happen.

Travel Italy. What can I say, I’m in love. I have such a strong connection with Italy–the culture, food, language, architecture, natural beauty, style, lifestyle, you get it. It just works for me, and traveling to the Amalfi Coast this summer to celebrate my one year wedding anniversary with Paul was an absolute dream come true.

Take vitamins. Eh. Not there yet. I started taking B12 and a general probiotic (acidophilus) but I often forget to. However, I did start drinking more protein / whey, green supplements, and collagen (post to come on that soon). Counts for something, right?

Drink less. I have weeks that I’m really good and won’t drink at all, and then weeks when I have a glass of wine (or 2 or 3) every night. I see a noticeable difference in my sleep, body, and memory when I drink. Because of the side effects (if you want more detail on them I’ll do a post), I’m really trying to keep drinking to a minimum–think: weekends only.

Connect with bloggers. This one was always a struggle for me. I’m not the most social person in the world. I love a party, happy hour, etc. but sometimes I’m just not into meeting new people. It’s hard. We are so programmed to stick with the people we know and often times when I attend events alone it’s very hard to insert yourself into a group of people who already all know each other. Lately I’ve been lucky enough to attend more intimate events that allow me to get to know other bloggers in a much more personal setting. This is very ideal for me, as I prefer to get to know someone over a good meal and a glass of wine rather than in a loud environment with a lot of people competing for attention. And let’s not forget that this industry can definitely get very clique-y. It’s super intimidating, but I’m so thankful to have met so many amazing bloggers this year that I’ve personally been following and admiring for year.

Read more. I started off the year strong. I was designating 60 minutes per day (I even set a timer) to read. Somewhere between planning and traveling I lost sight of my daily reading. On the flip side, I love flying for the sheet fact that I can have some uninterrupted reading for 4-12 hours!!!

Be patient. Looking at it, I’ve practiced some good patience in many areas of my life. Waiting for my blog to gain some traction after 5 years of slow readership, waiting for the right time to travel to my dream destination (Capri), waiting to buy a house, waiting to get married (was engaged for 2 years). I’ve done a lot of waiting. I may have complained along the way but I am more patient than I give myself credit for. This year has been so fast-paced for me that patience wasn’t really an option. However, I like to believe that if tested, I could exercise some patience.

Pay off student loans. Working on it. I’m making much bigger payments these days so not all my payments are going to interest (UGH!). It may have taken me years to realize this, but hey, you learn from your mistakes.