This year has felt about 6 years long. So much has happened, both close to home and all over the world and I’ll be honest, I’ll be happy to see the back of 2016. But for every awful thing that happened this year, there are lots of happy things to commemorate and celebrate. So here is my 2016 in review!
In February, we went to Amsterdam for the first time and I fell in love with the place. It’s so pretty, chilled and friendly. I ate a lot of delicious gluten free food, we wandered for miles every day and we finished off the trip by watching one of our favourite bands – City and Colour – at the Paradiso which is an institution. It was such a wonderful trip: you can read more about it HERE. For my birthday we went to visit my parents in the south of France before getting the train up to Paris to meet our friends Tom and Jen for an incredible weekend of sightseeing, eating and nattering. I vlogged the trip (my first ever, so be kind!) HERE. I had a few UK city breaks as well: Brighton with Tom and Jen (on probably the most blustery day of the year!) where they introduced us to the vegan delights of the town. And I went to Brighton again later in the year with Mikhila which featured a LOT of karaoke. We vlogged the trip HERE if you want to witness our ‘singing’! A trip to Edinburgh with my husband and in-laws included my first ever proper rugby match. We saw Scotland vs Australia which was a nail-biting and ridiculously fun experience. We also watched my cousin-in-law performing in the Remembrance Day parade which was wonderful but very emotional. A definite travel highlight was my first press trip with one of my all-time favourite brands, Avène (if I had £1 for every time I’ve recommended people their products I would be set for life!) We went to Avène to visit their hydrotherapy centre and learn all about the brand. I wrote about the trip HERE.
And that segues nicely into the ‘blog’ section of my 2016 In Review! This year has been a bizarre one for my blog: I quit my job last December as it was making me ill and unhappy. I threw myself into blogging and, on the whole, I loved it. I feel prouder of my content, photography and impact than I’ve ever been. Allow me a moment of tooting my own horn here. In 2016 I have: worked with some amazing brands; had my photo taken by flipping RANKIN for the Essie campaign; won a 30 Plus blog award (I am still not over this!); got ‘Highly Commended’ in two other 30 Plus blog awards; was nominated for a UKBA2017 award; featured in a shed load of media outlets including Blogosphere; went viral on Buzzfeed for my rosacea article (which has been read over 600,000 times!); featured in an advert for La Roche-Posay’s Toleriane range; started a really fun instagram series called #UnwearableLex which I plan to expand on in 2017 – watch this space! I was featured in Woman magazine and actually saw a lady reading my article on a train which was totally surreal. I also worked on a ridiculously exciting project that I’m not allowed to talk about yet (sorry, I hate it when bloggers do that!) but all will hopefully become clear in January! Last but not least, I hit the majority of my targets for the year for followers, views and engagement which is incredible.
It’s important for me to write these down because, as a freelancer who often doesn’t leave the house for five days, I really miss certain aspects of my office job. I miss having colleagues, the office nattering and lunch breaks, but most of all I think I miss getting feedback on my work. The only form of feedback I get on my blog is comments, likes and shares which is a strange thing to rely on to show you that you’re going in the right direction! Especially when the internet is full of terrible people who take pleasure in being cruel. If you follow me on social media, you will know that I had a run in with the delightful Daily Mail readers after an article about me was published on their website. I didn’t read the comments (but others did and summarised them) to save my sanity, but unfortunately the trolls sought me out on Facebook, Twitter and instagram to abuse me. I had a tough few days where I felt so low and wondered why the hell I was putting myself out there just to expose myself to this kind of nastiness. I had some moments of ‘is this worth it? Am I strong enough? Are the pros outweighing the cons?’ The lovely comments and support from my followers, brands and friends helped enormously and became my focus. I tried look at the positives that came from that article: I received hundreds of emails, comments and new followers who all felt less alone and more hopeful after reading my blog. Putting my face out there is scary and sometimes upsetting but as long as it helps people, I’m going to keep doing it. I just need to develop a thicker skin – any tips on how to do that are gratefully received!
I don’t want to end this 2016 In Review on a negative so I’ll throw in some other happy things that happened this year: We moved house and our new flat is flipping AMAZING, I still have to pinch myself that we live there. Plus, Bex lives one floor below us so it’s even more fun. My husband got a promotion, won a Lovie award, and is currently working on two secret-squirrel projects that I’m dying to tell you about but I’m sworn to secrecy. He is so hardworking and I could not be more proud of him.
I reached breaking point with my diet issues and was put on the FODMAP diet which has resulted in some huge lifestyle changes but I’ve never felt and looked healthier. Plus, I think this is linked to the improvement in my rosacea which is a lot calmer and more manageable day-to-day. And finally a special mention to some wonderful blog friends this year, especially Hayley, Kirsty, Bex and Mikhila. They have all been so supportive, given me advice, listened to me rant, and inspired me to be a better blogger. Cheesy but true.
What have been your highlights and lowlights of the year? Tell me what your most proud of, what you’ve achieved, what you hope to do next year. The comments are all yours!
Goodbye 2016, I won’t miss you. 2017 – let’s do this!
Lex
Lex you’ve had a really eventful year! So much to look back on and be proud of! Make sure you walk into 2017 with your head held high and carry on talking about what you believe in. Much love xxx
I think you lady are amazing, and 2017 is only going to be better!
though i’m probably older than your target market (69) i thoroughly enjoy your writing and look forward to it everyday. thank you for sticking with it in spite of the trolls. and hoping for a great 2017 for you and yours.
I loved this post! I’m so happy you came into my life lex! You are so much fun, so cool, so inspirational and awesome!! See you in 2017 and congratulations on an awesome year!!!!!
Xxxxx
Aww what a really lovely post and I am hoping 2017 is just bloody awesome for you xx
I just love the tone of everything you write. What a great year! Congratulations! Happy New Year!
I have been diagnosed with rosacea 2 years ago, and found your blog completely amazing, everyday Is a struggle for us since we áre living in a world where the physical appearance is the most important thing that matters ( cruel but true) and that is why tour blog is special, we feel that we áre not alone and learn from your experience. Thank you!! And muy best wishes for this new year
Such a busy year, and so many wonderful achievements. Happy New Year too – I’m so ready to smash 2017.