My Top 7: The Best of 2012

1. House // Buying my dream house with “J.” No words can describe how happy we both were to move into our brand new house in October. I also had the opportunity to be a part of the Para Paints Blog Crew, who supplied me with all the paint I needed to paint my new house – so thank you to Para, and stay tuned for those reveals in the new year!

2. Family // Baby on the way! Finding out that I am going to be an aunt again to a sweet little baby girl! Congrats again to my sister Amanda!

3. Blogging // My most popular post this year? My fashion round-up on knee-high socks and boots… guess I am not the only one who looooves this look. I hosted my first guest post series with the wonderful ladies of This Dusty House, The Sweetest Digs, Sweet Suite 10, and KJ & Co. I also had the opportunity to guest over at HomeSav and the Fieldstone Windows & Doors blog.

4. Travel // Although most of my travel has been for work this year (with the exception of one summer camping trip), I have had the opportunity to see some pretty amazing cities; from San Fransisco and Denver, to the CIA in Napa and Philadelphia. And I can’t forget about my multiple trips to Chicago… a grand total of 4 times!

5. Music // According to my iTunes, my most played songs this year were Start Over by Beyonce, She Looks to Me by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Closer by Kings of Leon, and Stay by Sugarland. In August I had the opportunity to attend yet another OVOFest with my best friend – where of course I got to see The Weeknd perform (slightly obsessed with his music lately!). In early Fall I also discovered Songza, an amazing app for streaming music. My two favourite playlists to date have been “The World of the Weeknd” and “Mumford + Florence.”

6. Food // I wrote 47 posts about food this year, and 36 of those posts were my own recipes…. my Top Three Favourites would have to be my Fig, Prosciutto & Goat Cheese Crostini with Fig Balsamic Reduction, Pumpkin Pie Bars, & Roasted Beet Salad Topped with Goat Cheese & Candied Nuts.

7. 101 in 1001 // November 30th, 2012 marked the official end of my 101 in 1001 project. Although I was not able to accomplish all 101 lofty goals I set for myself, I did manage to complete 64 of them…. not too bad!

I say this every year, but I cannot believe how fast this year went by. This year I surprised myself; accomplishing way more than I ever could have dreamed of – I started a business, said good-bye, moved into a new home, and grew my love. Not only that, I put a lot of effort into my blog… I bumped up my photography skills, refined my topics, offered social tips and advice to grow your blogs, and was invited to some great blogger events… and for that I am very thankful.