2014 in review

I wasn’t going to write about 2014 at first but I finally saw that it was because I felt like I didn’t have that much to write about. 2013 was the year of change: moving to Los Angeles, getting our apartment, becoming an editor. 2014 was much more rocky, but in writing it out, I remember all those things that made it so necessary. In all its messiness and uncertainty, 2014 is what will make 2015 so wonderful.

I started the year optimistic but January was difficult. It led to me quitting a position and pursuing freelance a little by chance. I did a lot of DIY. I had a lot of time to myself. I am probably responsible for the fact that my two cats do not like being alone. I wrote a lot. I ghost-wrote. I helped my writer friends who had too much writing to do. I wrote for a blog (The Interior Project) that took lots of time + energy for less than minimum wage and they didn’t even pay me my last invoice (similarly with Karmic Fit). I found that the blogging I did for free either as a contributor or for myself was more fulfilling than what people would pay for. All in just a few months.

But some meetings with old coworkers later, I found myself in a good place. A great place. I started working for the company my old managing editor founded herself and I learned that people can handle much more than they think they can. I joined the team at a wedding blog and for six months I’ve been amazed at how many women, especially here in LA, are able to use their passions to build businesses around their talents in design, styling, planning, art, photography—you name it. Not only that but they come together to create beautiful work with no limits.

Finally, I committed (again) to blogging. Jennifer of Earl Grey helped me with the coding (I even learned a little myself), Alex of alexandra em created my stunning calligraphy header, and I started blogging over at The Blog Market too. I even started and abandoned a writing blog and attempted NaNoWriMo in the midst of traveling home for the holidays. Those 6,000 words were some of the most freeing I’d written in a whole year of writing.

At one point recently I was so tired and felt like I’d dropped the ball in each one of my projects at the same time. In that moment I was so stressed and had to email a bunch of people at once. But right away I received nothing but support back from everyone. This realization that I work with some seriously amazing people was one I really needed at the end of 2014.

Kevin and I traveled all over California from Sequoia to San Diego to Big Sur and we have so much more to see I can hardly focus. All I want to do is plan, plan, plan. Our time on the central coast and in San Francisco was also the happiest I’d been in a year and I think maybe in my entire adult life and I think that’s a big deal. Since September we’ve been putting money in a jar for our next trip and when the year is over we’ll decide where to next.

In writing this, I realize how much more there was. It’s lovely to know I have another year to create starting tomorrow. Happy New Year! Check back for my resolution post later!