2018: A Year in Review & Goals for the New Year

2018 was a year with many ups and downs for me. I've grown so much, both personally and professionally, and I'd like to take this time to remember.

I think it's so important to take time to celebrate and have gratitude at the end of each year. Often, we place our focus on "how can I do better next year?" rather than being thankful for where we are. I hope you enjoy this look back of my favourite moments.

2018 Highlights

2018 started with University. I lived and breathed University for the first four months of the year. After taking a break from blogging, I published this post which set the tone for focusing on my mental health. And after returning to what I love best (creating content), I decided to resign from University all together over the summer.

My boyfriend's job brought us on many local adventures, like our trips to Sylvan and Cold Lake. This year was a reminder not to take for granted the beautiful country we live in. That reminder set in motion my Edmonton series.

A major travel highlight: our trip to Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Although I have yet to write about it, it was one amazing adventure. I promise many posts to come in the new year. In the mean time, you can always read up on my old Scotland posts.

This year, I had a few opportunities to meet some truly wonderful people from the blogging community. First, I met a good friend right here in Edmonton, Victoria from Strung in Gold. Then my boyfriend and I made a friend in Dublin: Ciara, a travel blogger at My Suitcase Diaries. I was super excited to hang with one of my Instagram besties: Kay from The Awkward Traveller, not once, but twice. First time in Kelowna in May, and the second in Seattle this October, as well as Anny, another Instagram friend. Finally, I met up with Kelsey, one of my favourite bloggers, in Montana. I feel so blessed to be a part of such a supportive group of like-minded women.

Speaking of being blessed, I was so excited to work with brands like The Body Shop this year, and Hotel Ändra while in Seattle. Professionally speaking, writing a guest post for Alberta Tourism was so rewarding. In 2019, I'd love to continue working at something I've loved for so long. Having the support to follow my passions is exhilarating.

This new website launched in the summer of 2018, which was so exciting for me. It was a lot of fun to rebrand and open up more personally, especially on my About page.

My greatest personal highlight of course, was when my boyfriend and I purchased and moved in to our first home. We are still settling in, but it has been such a wonderful experience for both of us. Our home has felt all the more complete since we adopted our little Fergus.

Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better year. Sometimes it's easy to forget how blessed we are, especially when we are down or having a bad day. But that's okay, and taking time for gratitude can help keep us on track and remind us of how far we've come.

Goals for 2019

With 2018 almost over, it's time to look ahead at 2019. Here are a few goals I'd like to share with y'all to hold myself more accountable:

• Publish two blog posts each week - I used to do this, but I've barely managed to put out one as of late. Blogging is a lot of work, but I love to do it. Besides, I'm way behind on some amazing content that I just can't keep to myself!
• Read one book per month - sounds easy for some, but I spend more time on Instagram than I'd like to admit. Having some offline time to myself is much needed.
• Visit ten new places - not necessarily countries, but just places I have not been to yet. I always look forward to the adventure, no matter how big or small.
• Start a Youtube Channel - if you follow me on social media, you'll know that this has been a goal of mine for a while. I hope to make 2019 the year this happens.

So now that I've shared my goals with you, what are some of your goals for next year? Maybe we can help keep each other accountable.

xo, Cate.