For me, 2017 was a pretty great year. (And a hell of a lot better than 2016.) These are some of the reasons why:
I started this blog (it’s 1 year old today!), I published 85 posts, shot thousands of photos (many with Julien, my shooting bud/one of my best friends). I tried new vegan and gluten free recipes and created some of my own. I toured a lot of the vegan options at restaurants in Austin and blogged about it and shared some typical meals I eat as a vegan. I wrote about switching to cruelty free beauty, becoming a redhead, trying new vegan makeup, and other miscellaneous things I’m geeky about.
Lucas and I drove to Vegas and had a small kitschy wedding, and even though I never thought I wanted a “real” wedding, it was fun to celebrate with the people we love. While we were there, I saw Britney Spears (a long time wish), we played blackjack, ate lots of delicious vegan food, and wore fabulous vintage outfits. It stormed over the desert during most of the drive back, and it was strange and beautiful.
Photo by St. Laurent Photography
My best friend Ely visited from LA, and we drove to Dallas to meet James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter at Dallas Comiccon. We also ate a lot of amazing food in Dallas and Austin, went skinny dipping at Hippie Hollow, and of course had chill time too with face masks and lots of Girls Next Door. (Any other Holly Madison fans out there?)
I went to Disney World and Universal Studios with family (for the 1st time since going vegan) and documented all of the vegan and gluten free options I found.
I cheered Lucas on as he won 2 trophies in his first body building competition!
I made friends on Instagram, one of whom became a real life friend–and not only did we get to meet up, we got to meet Andy and Lucy from Twin Peaks! She also came to Austin and we went to Arlo’s (it’s a must-try if you’re visiting)!
Maybe most importantly, I started really accepting who I am and what I want. I started saying no to things/situations I’m not comfortable with anymore and prioritizing people and things that truly make me happy, and it was really freeing. One of my goals for 2018 is to continue to do that and following my intuition.
It wasn’t perfect, but 2017 was a year of letting go of a lot of things and realizing that life truly is short, and I don’t want to waste time worrying about things that don’t really matter.
What were some of you highlights of 2017? Is there anything you’d like to see more of on my blog in 2018? Let me know in the comments!