2018: A Year in Review

So you’re telling me it’s really 2019 tomorrow? This year flew by, and now that it’s officially New Year’s Eve, I wanted to take some time to share some of my favorite memories with you from 2018 and reflect on what this past year has taught, given, and shown me.

I did so much this year. This truly was one of the busiest years of my life, and the constant busyness taught me a lot (especially that I want next year to be 10x less busy lol). I went on nine different trips, to nine different concerts, launched my blog, met the most influential person in my life, had amazing times with family and friends, and more. I kicked off my vacations with a spring break trip to Fort Meyers, FL with my mom and sister back in March. This same month, I launched my blog on the 20th and went to the Lorde concert in Minneapolis.

April brought a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska to visit a friend in college. In May, I finished my junior year of college and went on one of the most amazing adventures in my life. And let me tell you, it was a trip that I’ll remember for a lifetime. Three of my friends from high school and I planned a 12 day road trip to and through California. We did so many things, and saw so much. California is by far one of my favorite places to travel to, and this trip was definitely one for the books.

We drove through the mountains for almost a day straight and made it to our first stop, South Lake Tahoe, CA, about 35 hours after leaving the Cities. Lake Tahoe was our first and shortest stop, but I definitely would love to go back sometime. There is just something about driving through those mountains and the forest and taking in literally all the nature there is. It left me in awe, and taught me to appreciate nature way more than I did before.

From there we traveled to San Francisco and drove down Lombardy, visited the Golden Gate Bridge and more. We then drove down Hwy 1 through the Big Sur, the Eldorado Forest, stayed in Los Angeles, saw Taylor Swift at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and then finished out our trip in San Diego. In San Diego we went snorkeling in La Jolla, hiked in Torrey Pines, went to Coronado Beach and to my faaaaavorite restaurant ever, Pitatti (1375938/10 would recommend. Go there if you’re ever in San Diego. Do it. You HAVE to). On our way home, we stopped to see the Grand Canyon. In total, we spent well over 100 hours in the car together and traveled thousands and thousands of miles. It was the road trip that kicked off my summer and it was one hell of a start.

Below is a list of some of my favorite places we went:

• In-n-Out (always a must in California)

• The Grotto in San Francisco (delicious seafood)

• Golden Gate Bridge

• Lombardy Street

• The Painted Ladies

• Moss Landing Farm Fresh Produce (a must visit if you're near the Big Sur)

• Big Sur (the best drive from San Francisco to LA. unbelievably beautiful)

• The Den in LA (great breakfast spot)

• Beverly Hills

• Crust Kitchen in San Diego (must-visit pizza joint)

• Pacific Beach Shore Club (the best acai bowl. ever. and great views)

• Hiking in Torrey Pines (amazing views)

• Piatti (!!!!!!!!)

• Snorkeling in La Jolla

• Coronado Beach

• Sunset Cliffs

• Sunny Jim Cave

You can read my vacation posts from then and see my photos here, here, here, here and here.

Four days after getting back from my California road trip, me and my best friend drove to Chicago for the weekend to see Taylor Swift at Ford Field for two nights in a row. Once we got home, I moved in with my best friend and another friend from high school for the summer before returning to school in the fall. It was my first summer not living at home with my parents and living with friends. For my 20th birthday in June, I road tripped to Louisville, Kentucky with my sister to see Taylor Swift. We spent the day getting our nails done, eating bbq at Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse, and going to the concert. From Louisville we drove to Nashville to spend the Fourth of July there. It was my first Fourth of July away from home and it was honestly so fun. Nashville has the most amazing fireworks show (it literally lasted over a half hour), and Lady Antebellum put on a free concert downtown for the celebration. Nashville was by far one of my most favorite cities I’ve visited and I definitely want to go back, and would recommend it to anyone who’s never been there. We also went to the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, Country Music Hall of Fame Museum, and bar hopped through some of the most famous Nashville bars. We stayed in the cutest AirBnB and went to so many fun restaurants.

Below is a list of some of my favorite places we went:

• Milk & Honey

• #WhatLiftsYou Wall (very IG worthy spot)

• The Bluebird Cafe (great for small, lowkey shows)

• The Mockingbird (such fresh food)

• Cheekwood Botanical Gardens

• Amelia's Flower Truck

• Five Daughter's Bakery (food and an IG worthy spot, such good donuts!)

• Taylor Swift Education Center

• Biscuit Love

You can read my vacation posts from then and see my photos here.

On our drive back to the Cities, we stopped in Chicago for a night and ate at the Hampton Social (great IG worthy spot), and saw the Shameless house.

In August, I started my senior year of college and my internship as a feature writer for the fall semester. I also went to night one of Taylor’s rep Stadium Tour in Minneapolis. September 1st, I met Taylor Swift for the second time after night two of rep Tour Minneapolis with my best friend from college. A week later, me and four other girls spontaneously decided to buy tickets to the rep Tour in Kansas City a day before the show. This lead us to a spontaneous 10 hour road trip the day of the concert, and a 10 hour road trip back immediately following the concert. Towards the end of September, I completely transformed my Instagram and Pinterest accounts to use them as a platform to promote my blog. This lead me to becoming a RewardStyle influencer in late October. Since then, I’ve hit 3,000 followers on Instagram, and 95k monthly page views on Pinterest...and that’s all thanks to you! I could not have done it without the support of my friends and family, and of course all of you who follow me, read my posts, shop my daily looks, and push me to be the best that I can be.

October also brought my second trip to New York City and the first with my boyfriend. We had never traveled anywhere together before that, and it was so much fun getting to bring him around NYC and site see together (he has never been there before) We did so much. Central Park, Times Square, the Top of the Rock, the Met Museum, the Statue of Liberty, ate at some of my favorite spots and so so much more.

Below is a list of some of my favorite places we went:

• 9/11 Tribute Museum

• Washington Square Park

• Milk & Cream Cereal Bar (the best ice cream ever)

• The Flatiron District

• Hill Country Barbecue Market (the best bbq ever)

• The Met Museum

• Long Island City (my favorite NYC view for sunsets)

• Piatto in Long Island (great Italian food)

• Top of the Rock (best views of Manhattan)

• Vive la Crepe (such good crepes!)

• Urbanspace (markets all over town with food vendors)

I finished this year off by winding down the semester and my internship and gearing towards my final months of school, spending the Holiday season with family and friends. I did a lot this year. I experienced a lot this year. I learned a lot this year. I grew a lot this year.

If there’s anything that I can take away from what I’ve done in 2018, it’s a few things:

1. Travel when you have the opportunity to. No matter what. The affect traveling has on you as a person will create a more well-rounded individual out of yourself and leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.

2. And road trip! I went on four different road trips this year, on top of my constant back-and-forth between home and school. I guarantee you just driving to and from places alone (not counting everyday driving), I spent over 500 hours in a car this year. And those 500 hours brought me so many different sites to see and so much to be thankful for.

3. Spend as much time as you can with family and friends. This year was full of adventures with my closest loved ones. Though it was busy, they put it at ease because I spent it with them

4. Take some time to relax, and take time to yourself. Since I was so busy this year, I truly have felt like I have had almost no time to relax. I’ve been constantly on the go since around May, and it’s taught me that I need to take some time to relax, as should you. I've also learned how important it is to take some time to yourself as well. Have a "me" day, spend a day completely unplugged. Life moves along, and sometimes you need a moment to take a breather.

5. Work hard for what you want, and achieve it. If it wasn’t for how hard I’ve worked in school, at my (old) job, and my blog, I would’ve never had the opportunities I’ve had this year. I was able to travel almost everywhere and anywhere this year, I took summer classes and a 20 credit semester this fall just so I can graduate a year early in May. I’ve worked at my blog daily to grow and collaborate with different brands. Work hard for what you want, and it’ll come.

I've created a page of solely photos from 2018 that you can view here. Thank you so much for helping make my 2018. Have a Happy New Year and I'll be back with all sorts of fashion and lifestyle this year :)

Until next year....

Xoxo,

#blogger #fashionblogger #2018 #lifestyle