2014 Recap

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a great evening on Wednesday, whether you hit the sheets before midnight or stayed up to celebrate it.  I went to a house party with friends where the food was on point, the drinks were flowing and the excitement was buzzing.  We did the countdown to midnight and cheers'ed the night away.

Now that I've recovered from that, I'm sharing some highlights of the past year (aside from my favourite outfits, which I've already shared).

2014 was easily the best year of my life (big words there, but true!); so many great things happened it will be hard to top this year, but that's what is so great about making memories: you have them forever. 

I'd love to share a few pictures after the jump if you'd like to see...

In January, I rang in the new year with friends and made those sparkly props above.  I threw a baby shower for my best friend and bought some of my favourite shoes to date (above).

February brought a ton of excitement when Marco and I found a place to move in together (see our condo here).  We also ordered some new furniture and started packing up our respective places.  I became a Clearly Contacts Style Ambassador (I talk more about it in this video) and Serena came on as my photographer.

In March my best friend had her baby, we moved into our new place and I celebrated my 30th birthday.

I don't like to play favourites, but April was pretty damn good.  We traveled to Punta Cana to celebrate my birthday and stayed for a week which was glorious (then again, when is vacation not?!).  When we got back, Marco built a walk-in closet for me (see the closet here, he did a great job) which I always joke to people when they come over, 'If you build it...'

 Nothing crazy happened in May but we did finish unpacking and I bought those amazing Iro wedges above (which I found brand new and deeply discounted on eBay). 

In June I went to Vegas for the second time, bought a pair of long-coveted shoes & our new couch finally arrived!

In July I went to two concerts: Katy Perry & Bruno Mars, which further instilled how fun it is (1) go to concerts (we are going to Chris Brown next month!), and (2) how much better it is to spend money on experiences over material things.  Now don't get me wrong, your girl still loves to shop, but you know what I mean; making memories is good for the soul.  I also started a new series on the blog called Eating Out where I shared some new and not-so-new places I tried.

One of the best weekend's of the Summer was in August when 12 of us went to Fiddler Lake and rented one of their cottages for the weekend.  Aside from that, I participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, celebrated my bestie and nephew's birthdays, and ended the summer by hosting a Labour Day party at our place.

September is the month I probably have the most fondest memories of, despite being sick for half of it.  Marco and I travelled to New York City--my first time!--to celebrate our two year anniversary (here's a quick two-minute video of our trip).  Two of my favourite highlights were taking the sunset sail on the Hudson River and exploring the city (mind you, my feet were saying differently at the time!).  I also discovered two-ingredient pancakes, which I make at least twice a week, and shared my tips for how to pack for Vegas in a small carry-on suitcase.

October was fun, we were really fortunate to travel to Barbados with five friends and spend a week there.  Since one of our friends is Bajan, he and his fiancé were like our personal tour guides, which we are so thankful for!  When we came back, I cooked my first turkey and we hosted a late Thanksgiving.  At the end of the month, Marco and I dressed up as Mimes for Halloween.

November was an easy month, relaxed from vacation and getting excited for Christmas.  We went to a late Thanksgiving dinner with the Barbados crew and I picked that black dress from Marshalls for $30 (which I ended up wearing to Marco's Christmas party in December).

Oh December!  You were, by far, the busiest month of the year but what a ride it was.  We celebrated Marco's birthday, went to Toronto for a long weekend, hit the slopes a couple times, hosted several parties and celebrated Christmas with our families.

Adding to some great experiences, we had some cool discussions on the blog with the Let's Chat series which I plan to bring back this year.  We talked about How many times do you give someone a second chance? and Would you ever date someone younger?  

I shared a really easy way to clean your shower, started a monthly Article Club, how to make a flamingo costume, how to become a runner, my shoulder workout routine, some typical weekday groceries and meals, and an easy recipe for Thai chicken lettuce wraps (pictures included!).

Finally, one of my New Years Resolutions was to upload a video per week for my YouTube channel and I was consistent with it.  Some of my favourite videos were the TMI Tag, Pre-Move-In Condo Tour, Punta Cana Vlog, Vegas Haul (while in Vegas!), Trip to NYC, Barbados Trip (part 1, part 2 & part 3), Fall Fashion Haul, Huge Bikini Haul, Official Condo Tour, 2014 Holiday Lookbook, a silly Blooper Reel and Vlogmas Day 21: Snowboarding at Mont. Saint Marie.

Thank you so much for reading and being a part of my every day.  I love hearing from you, whether in the comment section or through other social media (Instagram is my fave, which I'm sure you could tell).  It's great to have this space for us like-minded women to hang out, learn, chat, and be inspired.  I know I love reading others blogs and appreciate you reading mine.  Happy New Year, friends!