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FAVORITE MOMENTS AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2018

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Favorite Moments and Highlights from 2018

2018 was a BIG year! Lots of changes, improvements, ups, downs, new ventures, travels, and more have happened this last year. Like last year, I thought it would be fun to share a few highlights from the past twelve months: my favorite travels, blog/career highlights, outfits, etc. See below for a roundup of things I’ll never forget! I chose 1-2 highlights from each month this year.

JANUARY // At the first of the year I launched a new blog series called Wellness Week, where I shared an update on my workout routine, the very best of fitness and wellness products, my favorite activewear and more! I even did a dedicated Q&A answering your questions about my own diet, fitness routine, etc. I received amazing feedback and have decided to make it an annual series! Wellness Week 2019 will begin next Monday the 7th, so stay tuned to see a fresh selection of fitness, food, and wellness content – in the meantime, you can check out last year’s posts here.

I also went to Telluride in January with my friend Amy, and we had the best time!!! I hadn’t been skiing in so long – like literally nine or ten years. I struggled a few times on the slopes, but had fun nonetheless! I’d never been to that area of Colorado, so it was fun to explore, try all the restaurants and just do the skiing thing again! You can see my travel guide and pictures from the trip in this post.

FEBRUARY // February was more of a whirlwind than I expected it to be! I had absolutely zero travel plans for the month, that is until Rachel texted me. It was the week of New York Fashion Week, and she texted me for two reasons: 1) she was coming to Dallas for a night and wanted to stay with me, and 2) she was going to fashion week and wanted to partner in crime (none of her family members could go with her on that trip). You guys know me, I am a planner – not someone who throws things together at the last minute! So me saying yes to going on this trip was fairly out of character for me… but I’m so glad I went! It’s always fun going to NYC, and although I’m pretty much over the idea of fashion week, I had a great time with Rach. She even invited me as a plus one to a very special, intimate dinner with Lela Rose at her beautiful home in TriBeCa. What a treat! I also shot a few great looks while in the city with Becca, including this one, this one and this one.

MARCH // In mid-March I took a trip down to Argentina with my entire blended family to celebrate my stepdad’s 75th birthday! It was such a fun week and lots of amazing memories were made. You can check out some of my posts from this trip here and here!

APRIL // My much anticipated second trip to Japan was at the end of April with my friend and fellow blogger, Jessica Sturdy! Unfortunately Jess was sick with a pretty awful sinus infection the whole trip, but we saw so many beautiful places, ate all the noodles and sushi and had a really great time. You can find all of my Japan posts on this page – just click on one of the many city dots on Japan to be taken to all of the posts from each particular location!

April was also the month I launched A Detailed Destination! For those of you who don’t know, I launched this new site to sell the itineraries for my most recent international travel destinations. I spend a lot of time prior to my trips collecting information, researching the best restaurants and areas to stay, brushing up on important information for each particular location etc. Upon the completion of my trip, I take all of that information and combine it with what I picked up on my trip to create incredibly detailed and curated itineraries! Each itinerary costs only $25 and feature up to 22 pages of information – each itinerary varies in length and content, with some highlighting what to pack and the best transportation tips, while others offer important words to know and things to do before you get there. I had a lot of success with it this summer selling my itineraries for Japan, London, Paris, Portugal and Switzerland, so thank you to everyone who purchased a guide! I’ll be doing more of these in the new year, but only when I feel I’ve done enough work and research to warrant a new itinerary and that I’ve spent enough time at each destination to give a thorough review/recommendation. I want these international itineraries to really be beneficial to you… basically I do all the work, so you can just enjoy! Stay tuned to see what’s next…

MAY // In May I finally went back to London and Paris with my friend Haven, after nearly three years away! My last visit had been when I was living over in London in the fall of 2015. Since I had done most of the touristy stuff in both cities on previous trips, this trip was more relaxed. It was really nice to just wander around and eat & drink our way through both cities! You can see my London content here and my Paris content here!

JUNE // At the end of June, I took my very first trip to Portugal with my blogger buddy, Meghan! Neither of us had been before, so we had such a blast exploring someplace new. It is such a beautiful country (so colorful and so much history!), the food is incredible and very fresh, the wine is cheap (and delicious!), and we couldn’t have loved it more. You can check out all of my content from Portugul here and here!

JULY // In July we always take a family trip to California to stay at Aviara. This year I spent two full weeks soaking up the sun, relaxing, and then working on Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale (it alwaysssss starts on that trip!). I got to see several of my friends who now live there (Amy! Mara! Kat!), and spent some much-needed time with my family. I always have a wonderful time there! It’s a trip I look forward to every single year. Plus, it’s always on my birthday!

AUGUST // In August I took my first and only solo trip of the year to Switzerland! It was absolutely incredible. If you’ve never been there, I highly recommend booking a trip ASAP! In addition to being naturally very beautiful (Swiss Alps! Turquoise lakes!), cities like Zurich and Bern have a quaint, village-like feel with old architecture and lots of history. The food is also delish! Needless to say I had a blast and will be going back again someday. I’d love to go in the winter next time for a completely different trip! If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland for this spring, summer or fall, don’t miss The Switzerland Itinerary!

SEPTEMBER // This was probably one of my more relaxed months this year! It was pre-holiday content, post busy summer travel. I did actually go to Vail for a week at the beginning of September, but it was wayyyyyy more laid back than any of my other trips! Most of my trips I do activities back-to-back and explore all day long to fit in as much as I can, but this trip was meant to be more of a getaway. My friend Katie and I went, mostly to eat, drink and hang out. We went on two hikes and a horseback ride, but other than that it was really chill and a very relaxing trip! We even went to Vail’s version of Oktoberfest, which was so much fun!

OCTOBER // In October I launched yet a third business venture, this time being the product of my obsession with the royals! In case you hadn’t already heard, I created Sussex Style Watch, a website and Instagram page dedicated to recreating Meghan Markle’s royal style. In addition to featuring and linking her exact outfits so you can snag her exact look, I also round up budget-friendly dupes to each piece so you can recreate the look for less. For only being live a few months, Sussex Style Watch is about to hit 10k followers on Instagram (help us get there and follow along if you haven’t already!!) and has been a very successful side hustle for me! I’m having so much fun creating the content for it and love chatting with my followers about the latest royal gossip and what we think Meghan’s up to behind-the-scenes. Follow along here and here for more!

NOVEMBER // In November I launched this year’s holiday gift guide series, which is always one of my favorites! I love creating collages like these and spend quite a bit of time finding the perfect present picks, and I think this year’s guides were my best ever. In addition to featuring unique and thoughtful gift ideas, they were cohesive and pretty! I know, I’m tooting my own horn – just patting myself on the back for a solid series! Hope you guys loved them as much as I loved creating them!

DECEMBER // This month I got an upright piano for my house. For those of you who don’t already know, I sang my entire adolescence. From talent shows and voice lessons in elementary school to teaching myself piano and making the Texas All State Choir in high school, I did it all. I even went to SMU as a vocal performance major! After arriving at SMU though, I discovered I didn’t love the choir program and didn’t like my teacher. Clearly I’m not above working hard on something I’m passionate about, but something about the program made me resent singing. It started to feel like a chore and less like a passion. I decided to change majors and really haven’t sang or played piano at all since. I got the piano just a week before I came home to Austin for Christmas, but have already spent an hour a day on it ever since! Just having access to one made me realize how much I truly missed music. One of my big goals for 2019 is to really get back into both. I’d like to take lessons and get some of those skills back that I’ve likely lost in the decade I haven’t played or sang! I’ll be posting updates on InstaStories to hold myself accountable, so I hope you enjoy!

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