Stuff + Things

My 5 Favourite Memories of 2017

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The days after Christmas and before New Year’s Eve are always a time for both reflection and looking ahead, and I am drafting this all cozied up in a beautiful cabin in Lund (BC not Sweden, but perhaps next time??), sitting on a comfy couch with my feet up, listening to the fireplace crackling and the rain pelting down outside. I’ve got a got a cup of tea and Vivaldi playing on my phone. The Brit is currently outside in said pelting rain, sitting in the hot tub – happy as a clam. (No joke. I thought my setting was way more hygge, but I’ve now also experienced hot tubbing in the rain and the snow and it’s pretty great!)

When I run through 2017 in my head, I can’t believe how quickly it seems to have gone by. But I know for certain that I experienced and appreciated every day to the fullest. I posted my #bestnine2017 a couple days ago, and while the nine that the site generated for me were wonderful, they are only a snapshot of how wonderful 2017 was for me, both personally and in blogger land.

That being said, one of my personal goals is to get more focused and rein things in a bit, so while I have many an amazing moment and memory from 2017 (all of which I am incredibly grateful for), here are my favourite five memories of the year and some associated IG posts:

Moving in with The Brit

We probably could have done this earlier in our relationship, but everything has its time. Autumn 2017 was our time. And yes, moving sucks. But we are renting a beautiful place with an amazing view, and we’ve been enjoying playing #touristinourtown in New Westminster. It’s been wonderful making a home together. We still need to do a bit of organizing, but that’s for us to worry about in 2018. 😉

Making New Friends

I wrote about this in one of my #12DaysofHygge, but it’s absolutely worth mentioning again. When the lovely Orla from Travelorlabout.com moved to Vancouver, we started a blog pod that has become a really nice little network of friends, old and new! I knew I had found my people when we got together for brunch for the first time. As soon as our food arrived, the smartphones came out and everyone captured their meal, an Instagram story, or a Boomerang. It was hilarious, and so very 21st century – and ridiculous. But it’s what we enjoy, and once we got that out of the way, we tucked in and kept talking. We get each other. (Some of us were able to take advantage of a great opportunity to work with a local photographer, and really, who else would pose on a stone lion with me??)

They are amazing women and I know we are all going to have a fabulous 2018! Make sure you check them all out:

Feeling Whole Again

Three of my best girlfriends and I had been talking about travelling to Scotland together for YEARS. And then the stars aligned and we went on a fantastic girls’ trip around Scotland, London, Paris and Barcelona in May/June of this year. I am so grateful we had that opportunity together. Scotland is my happy place so it’s always a favourite part of a trip, and there were so many great things about this trip.

But I think my absolute favourite moment of that trip was when we were watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It was a fun thing to watch and share with my friends, but I remember that when it started happening, the final piece of my heart fully clicked back into place and I felt so much love. For the moment, for me (which might sound dumb to some, but you need to love yourself!), for my friends. And for my guy, who I was very much missing.

(One day I will write about why my heart had to click back into place to begin with (though I did briefly mention it here), but that involves a lot of tissue and I’m enjoying my holiday way too much.)

Being Given a Chance

This year, I decided to give West Coast City Girl a proper go. I started posting more regularly and got rid of the ‘sporadic musings of a city girl’ tagline because I didn’t want to be sporadic. I wanted to be focused and take the things that I enjoy – writing, travel, food, beverage, yoga – to the next level. There is still and always will be work to do in growing this site, but my efforts were well rewarded when I took a leap and sent many an email to the UK, testing the waters for blogger support for when the girl and I would be on the above mentioned trip. Despite (or because of?) my numbers being on the lower side – apparently, I’m a micro-influencer – and I’ve been told because of the quality of my content, I was given so many opportunities to partner and collaborate with companies and attractions in London and Scotland. (Even a show in the West End!) My friends and I had a great time and my overall social media footprint has been growing steadily ever since.

I’ve done additional collaborations since then and I am so grateful and proud. All of the opportunities I’ve had have been fantastic, but I think my favourite was working with Michelle Zutz from Townsite Brewing in Powell River.

EPIC thanks to everyone I’ve had the opportunity to work with and for them giving me a chance to shine and grow. Much love!!

Teaching Yoga Again

Some of feeling whole again has also been about getting back to teaching yoga. I stopped in 2015 because I needed to take care of and rebuild myself.  But I missed it. A lot. I took baby steps in 2016 with teaching at work and some one-off contracts, and then I did some subbing and also decided to sign-up when lululemon did a call-out for teachers for free classes at their Richmond Centre store. I need to get my act together and get a couple studio classes in the New Year, but I’m just glad that I am in an overall good place where I am feeling like I have something to offer again.

What are your favourite memories of 2017?

Wishing you a safe and happy New Year! XO

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melody Beattie

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