While I have spent much of the past few months sharing about how challenging 2016 has been for me and for the world, I need to remind myself (and you) that there was also so much beauty in this year. So curl up with your favorite cup of tea and read on about the things that truly shaped my year. Some were challenging but many were breathtaking.
- Post Bella Traveling. After Bella passed in December of 2015, I felt like I had a new sense of freedom that I hadn’t experienced since I got her ten years earlier. So, I did something I had never done before. It might not seem like a big deal to some, but I booked a 3 week trip to California and split my time between San Francisco + LA. I crashed with friends, attended a conference, and felt myself shifting as I built a muscle of trusting myself in a new area. It was awesome!
- My Second Annual Self-Love Celebration. I had such an incredible experience at this event back in February. We sold out our VIP tickets and had a room filled with some of the most amazing brands. I was so proud of it! The Third Annual Self-Love Celebration is taking place all day on February 11th (and SELF Magazine is our Media Partner!!) so save the date because we are taking this event to a crazy level this time.
- March Madness. Honestly this month was one of the most successful and exciting months of my career thus far. The amount of opportunities I was getting booked for was overwhelming in the best way and I look forward to many more months just like this.
- Traveling for work. I was booked on a job to film a video for a brand earlier this year and I got to travel to Arizona for it. I’ve traveled a lot in my life, but my work is pretty local or totally virtual. For some reason, getting on a plane to go somewhere to shoot for work was so fun for me! I was grateful in every moment of it and had such a blast.
- Pitching my show. I don’t normally talk about things publicly until they are finalized and signed on the dotted line, but I am making an exception with this one. In early spring, I had a team pitch a show for my own program on QVC. That’s right. My own show. It had actually been in the works since fall 2015 and this year they finally pitched it and received amazing feedback including steps to move forward. It’s still unclear how it’s all going to turn out as QVC is undergoing a ton of changes internally right now, but I have to celebrate the WIN of pitching myself for such a powerful opportunity.
- Messages from my body. One of the biggest things that happened this year was the message I got from my body in the spring. I was going about my life, taking medication to calm down my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis symptoms while keeping my diet in check. And all of a sudden, things started falling apart. I kept having strong reactions that I have never had before. My doctors wanted to just pump me with more meds and something super loud inside of me yelled, “if you do that you will never stop and it could completely destroy your life”. It didn’t make sense at first and I was so nervous to try and ease off my meds and go to a super natural approach again, because the last time I did that I ended up not being able to walk for 5 years. But I knew I had to listen.
- Fresh Direct + Cooking. Ok this one might seem silly, but it did really shape my year! I have always struggled with cooking although I have known that I need to cook because my health depends on it. I realized this year that one of the things I struggle with the most is the grocery shopping. I absolutely hate grocery shopping in NYC. The crazy long lines, frustrated New Yorkers and oh all the schlepping of the bags! When I decided to quit my whining and find a solution, Fresh Direct was a total God send. Using the service helped me get into a rhythm with my cooking and nourish myself like I had always wanted to.
- Worked with a dream brand. I filmed a video with DOVE this year and that was truly awesome. I know DOVE isn’t a green beauty brand, and many of you on this list are die-hard green beauty fans. But the message that they try to convey is one that has always spoken to my heart and it was an honor to be a part of one of their campaigns. You can check out the video here.
- Boys boys boys. Although I haven’t found the man that I want to have a lifelong partnership with yet, I have to say this year has been very exciting and fruitful where dating is concerned! There have been lots of crazy stories and moments, but I have met some incredible men along the way. Definitely feel like I am leaving 2016 with some super juicy dating mojo. So fun!
- Codependent No More. This isn’t something I have talked about that much on the blog, but being the super emotional and open-hearted woman that I am, things can cross over to a co-dependant nature with me pretty quickly. This year I tackled this challenge in new ways and for the first time in my life, I feel like I’ve healed tremendously in this area. It’s not perfect, but there’s been major progress.
- Foster Mom. I fostered a sweet little angel named Dhalia this year and boy was it an incredible experience! She totally stole my heart and getting to be a mom again for even just two weeks was incredible. It also showed me that I really don’t want to do it alone and can’t wait to have another dog when I live with a partner in the future.
- A New Client. Although I have been doing events for over seven years now, I have always done them for my own audience. I have never been hired to do an event for someone else, until the end of this year. I hosted my friend Briana’s book launch and it was such an awesome experience to create a magical evening in honor of someone else. I loved it!
- Singing at Camp. I teach at Soul Camp every year and my friends always try to get me to sing in the talent show. I did the first year, but last year I convinced myself it wasn’t important. This year, boy were my friends not letting me off the hook! I got up and sang the song “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. It was an awesome experience to conquer my fears and so many people were touched by the performance which meant the world to me.
- Enriching Friendships. Wow, my friends this year. We have been through SO much, but I have to say we have had a tremendous year together. There has been so much love between us all and I really feel like my tribe is stronger than ever. I am so proud of the friends that I have and grateful for them like whoa!
- Giving Myself a Shot. So for a while now, I have had to go to my doctor every week and have him give me a shot in my stomach. It’s not fun, but it’s honestly the only way I’m really able to walk because of my psoriatic arthritis. Recently, I decided to learn how to do it myself! I hate needles and get squeamish pretty easily but with my travel schedule I just needed to do whatever it takes to make sure I never miss a dose. So I did it! And it’s honestly not as bad as I thought it would be. Another moment where I am stronger than I think.
- Transition. This year has shown me that it’s time to transition into something new. I don’t totally know what that is yet, my loves, but it’s brewing, it’s loud and it’s not taking no for an answer. I promise you will be the first to know once I have clarity around it. I am feeling like my life needs to be more about serving others versus talking about things that are on the surface. Stay tuned for more unfolding.
I love you and I am so grateful I’ve gotten to be on this journey with you this year. Every memory has been made sweeter because I have so many of you in my life and you constantly remind me of what’s important and why I do what I do. Please let me know what your favorite or most vulnerable moments of 2016 are, I love love hearing from you!