Year 32 in Review

Yesterday, on Father’s Day & the first official day of summer, I turned 33. I’m surprised at how much I’ve loved my thirties. I always recall others saying that being in your thirties is such an incredible time. You know who you are. You likely are making a little more to have some flexibility & freedom. You’re more established & know what you want. You’ve learned a decent amount. I’ve approached birthdays as ‘earning another year’ rather than turning another year older. It just sounds nicer & like a true gift, ya know?! I’ve chatted about that before (see last year’s bday post 32 thoughts at 32) & think it’s such an important outlook to remember each year. Since I just earned another year, I thought it would be fun for today’s post to be a year 32 in review.

Year 32 in Review

32 was a busy, exciting year.  Below, I’m going through 32 of the biggest things that happened this year & giving a little food for though going forward as I start my 33rd year.

1. We rescued another dog, Olive in November. She was around 7 months old when we got her & we absolutely LOVE her. Maddie loves her, too. Check out my 10 reasons to get a dog if you’ve been wanting one!
2. Our hall bathroom renovation finished just a few weeks before my birthday last year, so we finished decorating that space shortly after I turned 32.
3. We also finished decorating our guest bedroom.
4. I traveled to NYC four times.
5. I quit my job! I’ll now be working on my blog full time. I am so excited for more balance, rest, & time to be creative!
6. I visited Montauk for the first time.
7. We spent about six solid weeks at home at the beginning of the global pandemic. We’ve never lived in the time of a pandemic & this is an experience I never thought much about. I hope we’re all being as positive as possible & learn a lot of valuable lessons through this time.
8. I switched up my workout routine for the first time in a few years. I’m now doing some light cardio (usually walking, but occasionally will go for a run if I feel like it), P.Volve, Melissa Wood Health, & some The Sculpt Society. I must say, the shift in workouts has been so positive for my mind! I’ll write more on this, soon.
9. I went back to Punta Mita. I love any reason to go to Mexico!
10. The recent racial issues were at the forefront of conversations these last few weeks of my 32nd year. You can change with me & work on some monthly goals through the end of 2020 to continue to improve on being an ally & an anti racist. I muted myself & took an entire week off of posting my own content to my feed & on stories– something I haven’t done in YEARS.
11. We finished decorating our master bedroom (for now anyways).
12. I visited Fredericksburg for the first time. After a few months of not traveling, it was great to escape for a little Texas Wine Country weekend for a change of scenery.
13. I rang in 2020 in Nashville with Charles & some of our best friends.
14. I got to work with a few dream brands including: Free People, Urban Outfitters, Marc Fisher, Whole Foods, & SO many more.
15. I completed two successful Whole 30s. I usually do one each January & August.
16. I really worked on positive ways to deal with anxiety & stress. Adding in CBD, meditating or having quiet time alone, waiting to check my phone, & working out first thing in the morning all helped with this so much!
17. I was featured in Cosmopolitan magazine in the August issue.
18. I hit a big blogging goal I had for myself in 2020 two-and-a-half months early! I also hit a few new goals so far this year that I’m so proud of. Hard work really does pay off!
19. I went to Charleston for the first time! I also just realized I never wrote a city guide, so that will be coming out soon.
20. Charles & I went to Vegas for the first time together.
21. With extra time in my schedule, I started reading more & it has been so great for me! I don’t like to look at electronics right before bed, so actually having time to read a book has been wonderful. You can see my current reading list here.
22. We finished decorating our living room. It was only a work in progress for fifteen-ish months. It’s fine.
23. I got a new car! This is my first SUV & I absolutely love it.
24. I really worked on saying no more without apologizing. If I wasn’t feeling going somewhere, I would just turn it down without saying ‘Sorry…’ Saying no & doing what is best for you is really empowering.
25. We rang in our second wedding anniversary in Park City, Utah.
26. I used my quarantine time wisely to decorate our back patio. I’ll have a full reveal of that space to share soon!
27. We also started another home project towards the end of quarantine or just as we started to cautiously get out to turn an old, sort-of unfinished garage conversion, into a family room that opens up to the kitchen. I can’t wait to share more when its finished– hopefully ANY day now.
28. I learned it’s okay to release control & accept help because you can’t do everything yourself. I grew my team where I needed to so that I can continue to reach long term goals.
29. Being 32 we’ve started discussing more about having a family. After adding two dogs & having a house we have naturally just started to look ahead, but do keep wondering, ‘Are we the only scared ones?’
30. Charles started a new job in October. That month he was traveling 4-5 nights a week, but that slowed down quickly after a merger finished. It’s been such a great opportunity for him & our family.
31. I worked on not trying to be a perfectionist. Beauty is in the flaws & we all deserve a little more grace. With this, I’ve been working to have more positive conversations with myself & it helps my mindset so much. I’ll write a whole post on this soon!
32. I continued to learn that it’s okay to have different areas of your life & friends for different purposes. It’s hard for just one thing, or one person, to be everything you need. This goes for jobs, friends, relationships, passions, health, & really all aspects of life. It’s been a big perspective shift & really eye opening.

I hope you all loved seeing my year 32 in review. It was an amazing year & I feel so thankful for everything I got to do this year. I was able to accomplish so much & even though we are in some current hard times, I’m really looking forward to all that my 33rd year of life brings! XO