Goodbye 2012

2012… where do I even begin with you. For a year that seemed feared by so many (ahem, end of the world naysayers I’m speaking to you) the year was definitely amazing.

From the beginning of the year and starting a new position at work that’s no longer just a job but turning into a career and dealing with the massive growth of my company that is keeping me on my toes I’m grateful to have been given this experience for yet a second year in a row.

 

I witnessed the weddings of friends and family members and travelled all across the 50 states to do so (Honolulu, Denver, and Philly you treated us so well for those short weekend trips). I visited favorite cities that I hadn't seen in years as well as destinations that I hadn’t been to before, and stepped foot on Italian soil less than 3 km from where my grandfather was born.

 

In April and September I lost two amazing family members who I carry in my heart every day. My nonno, my dad’s father passed away at the age of 89 after battling a degenerative lung disease just 5 days after the last time I saw him for dinner and he helped me pick out a pair of new red shoes. Whenever I wear them I think of him and the last time I saw him. I remember his thick laugh and his gentle way of speaking along with how he always called me Loretta. My grandmother passed in September unexpectedly, and she has been the only person that I was given a chance to say goodbye to. It was without a doubt the hardest thing that I have ever done to profess your heart to someone who you know will not pull through. I take from her my devotion to my husband and my family, the happy memories of sharing meals around their tables and have to come to accept that now she is with my grandpa that she will be allright. I stood and spoke at both of their wakes, the only grandchild from either side to do so and I still hope that what I said was enough for both of them.

In August I married my best friend on a sunny day in san Francisco surrounded by 200 guests. The day was fantastic and reigns supreme as the best day of my life.  While it went by in a happy blur I won’t ever forget how incredibly happy I was that day, how my parents and sister were just so estatic on that day, and how lucky I am to have an amazing set of inlaws who value family, food, and laughter just the same as mine does. I cherish the wedding photos from that day and still can’t believe that I managed to plan the entire thing.

I'd like to say that my fashion sense has evolved – and will continue to do so through 2013. I think part of it is coming to terms with the fact that I know I will never be a size 2, and as a result certain things just don’t look good on me (peplum, you are one of them). But that also means that I’m learning to dress me for me. I want to start investing in better pieces for the long term – no more fad pieces that are only worn for a season.  My diehard addiction to j crew isn’t waining any time soon, though.  And starting in January I will have a 300 a month fashion budget.

We celebrated highs, cried with the lows, danced like crazy at weddings and snapped photobooth photos whenever present, leaving happy mementos of a memory forever trapped on a piece of film will always remind me of 2012.

So, to those of you that read here thank you so much for being on this ride with me through 2012 and im excited and eager to see what 2013 has in store. I want to hone in more on blogging and up the ante with the photos. I want to continue to develop my style while still watching my budget. Eat better, travel more (hello London and Paris!) and continue to develop my career.

Bring it on 2013. Bring it on.