51 things I was thankful for in 2019

Can someone please tell me how it's been a year since I wrote last year's review?! WHERE IS TIME GOING

Last year was decidedly quieter on the opportunities front (anyone else find this?). In 2019 I found it increasingly difficult to be noticed in such a saturated market. Although 2019 was a bit of a quieter one, there was still plenty to be thankful for:

January

• January was a bit of a slow burner and there weren't many events or campaigns on
• Feeling a little blue post Christmas, I wrote a guide on how to keep the holiday feeling going for longer in collaboration with the amazing Adagio Teas who I'd worked with before previously here
• I also wrote a piece on beating the Monday blues (can you tell that I was relieved to see the back of January??)

February

• In February I finally published my What I Got For Christmas which although not January, was still a huge improvement on the previous year which didn't go live until March!
• I rounded up my top funny as f*** Valentine's Day cards  
• I wrote a travel guide for my happy place: York 
• I struggled to find a coffee table that I liked and ended up making my own marble table in this DIY post (STILL really chuffed with how it turned out!)

March

• I attended the Ideal Home Show (an annual tradition)
• I shared my quick and easy açai berry pancake recipe full of nutrients and antioxidants ready for Pancake Day. The ingredients for which were very kindly provided by Sambazon.
• I took a much needed two weeks off work and went to the Maldives which was every bit as special as it looks. It also coincided with Mr Curiouser and Curiouser's birthday so it was definitely one to remember for him! 
• On my way back from the Maldives I headed straight to the wedding of one of my best male friends. I was jet lag as hell, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

April

• I wrote the first of my Maldives travel guides here (more coming soon)
• I was able to test something I have always wanted to try - a silk pillow case (more on this here) - and found it did wonders for my eczema and psoriasis prone skin (thanks again Calidad Home!)

May

• May was my one of my busiest months and also my birthday month!
• I saw Walking on Cars with one of my best friends (best.night.ever) 
• I wrote about what I opened on my birthday here
• I braved clothing atypical to my usual black, white and grey wardrobe and fell in love with this stunning saffron pleated maxi skirt
• I wrote a guide on how to style an oversized blazer (again made possible by the wonderful Fashion World team)
• I found my dream fireplace for just £10 / $13 (I also promptly lost it as lamented about here)
• I worked with I Just Love it on a Father's Day gift guide here
• I went to Grand Designs Live (another firm favourite of mine)
• Something I hadn't mentioned on these parts was how our little girl Tia had gone missing. Miraculously she was returned to us in May after being missing for 2 long years (something that merits its very own post, but I haven't yet found the words)

June

• I started planning an interiors mood board for our hallway here and can't wait to decorate 
• I worked with Moonpig on a Father's Day gift guide here and if I'm honest, the cats loved the hamper as much as my Dad and Father-in-law did! 
• I was invited to Space Spectacular at the Royal Albert Hall and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD
• I tried my very first plant based afternoon tea here and I loved it!

July

• I was nominated for the Vogue Parody Q&A by the lovely Tanya so if you want to find out more about me, hop on over here...
• I wrote about how the struggle is real with blogging AND working a full time job here
• Had a company-wide half day so we could go to the park and play softball in the sun (AMAZING)
• I attended Yuu Kitchen's new residency launch at ICEBAR in swanky Mayfair in London and covered it here

August

• I started my money diary series (here / here / here) as an experiment after feeling inspired to be better with my spending after writing this post. I really enjoyed writing them (and turns out you liked them too!) so they will be here to stay
• I started my "interiors trends I don't get" series here (more to come this year) 

September

• The interiors inspiration kept on coming where I talked about my love of statement lamps here
• I also discovered that River Island has a boss homeware collection (here)
• I went back to one of my favourite places to eat - Cote Brasserie - and experienced all the Paris feels here
• I was promoted at work and received a pay rise which was a sweet way to end the year
• I received a dick pic in an ASOS order which I tweeted about here. The customer service I experienced was so shockingly bad (it deserved its own blog post if I'm honest) that I haven't been on the ASOS site or ordered from them ever since. I am thankful for this experience and for having my eyes opened. They do not value their customers in the slightest, you are just a number to them

October

• I found last minute (reduced) tickets to the Book of Mormon which were central AND second row (not sure how I pulled it off either!)
• Tried Flight Club for the first time and LOVED IT (plus the cocktails weren't bad either)
• I applied for The Circle, wasn't shortlisted (boo), watched it, and swooned about the interiors here. Next year perhaps?
• Wrote about the most wonderful staycation here with treetop hotel / treehouse hotel vibes. Also threw in an #ootd or two for old times sake

November

• November is usually one of my busiest months so everything felt a bit... weird? With no events to cover, I found myself writing about shoes and autumn winter fashion here
• We had an African & Caribbean cook off at work which made for one of the best work lunches known to man / woman
• I also continued on with my money diaries here having got a bit spendy in Oliver Bonas (again)
• I went on the Jack the Ripper tour again (last time's write up here), but this time as a paying customer. I took my Dad with me for his birthday (he absolutely loved it as well as the milkshakes and burgers beforehand!) 
• Black Friday this year was one of the worst ever (great on the bank balance though!)
• NOW TV pissed me off royally with their Black Friday promotion (more on this here)

December

• December flew by in no time at all thanks to having sporadic days off + finishing early for Christmas
• I caught up with friends and family, visited Christmas markets, and went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park
• I wrote a piece here on which Christmas decorations to avoid if you have pets 
• I wrote a gift guide with a difference here for those who hate gift guides and / or feel awkward about asking for anything for Christmas  
• After moaning about NOW TV, we some how managed to find a free one month pass which covered us nicely for movies over the Christmas break (RESULT)

SUMMARY

Every year has its ups and downs, but 2019 was truly a special year. Lots of our friends had exciting engagement and / or baby announcements. And my standout moment: our little girl came back after being suspected stolen and missing for 2 long years.

Admittedly blogging took a little bit of a back seat at times as I was still in shock about having her back and I wanted to (and still do) want to spend every minute of the day with her, having lost out on the last 2 years. And you know what? The occasional breaks from social media and the Internet have been really therapeutic. Sure, I come back onto Instagram and find I have dropped x amount of followers, but if you are so flippant to follow and unfollow someone so quickly, I''m better off without you to be honest.

This attitude overrun into the Christmas period. I finished at work the week before and as soon as I left the building. I pretty much abandoned all social media. No constant photo updates over the festive period, no cringey Christmas and / or New Year selfies. I just lived in the moment with my loved ones without my phone glued to me and it was refreshing as hell.


In 2020 I hope to:

• put myself out there again and hopefully have the chance to attend more events and work with more brands and PRs who are open to the fact that 10,000+ followers IS NOT ALL THAT
• get back into vlogging and finish editing my travel footage (why does it take so long?)
• start THAT podcast I keep raving on about
• continue to detox offline and keep up my exercise regime
• continue to grow my social media organically (give me a follow here and here if you haven't already!)
• continue to embrace my darker hair (I was born with white blonde hair which turned golden blonde over time and is now what I fondly refer to as 'dirty blonde' which suits my personality perfectly haha)
• continue scoping out new authors and books and read every day (I bossed this in 2019)
• finish writing my many travel posts still sat in my drafts (doh)
• I'm beyond excited to be getting an extension and new kitchen this year - so being able to work with any interiors brands or kitchen companies would be a dream come true!
• travel more and experience more of the world

A huge thank you to everyone who reads this little space of mine!