With all of the hubbub lately, I literally forgot that CUR had a birthday.
I loveloveloved putting together last year’s birthday post, because it celebrated the highs while acknowledging the lows in the hopes of showing both sides of the curtain instead of just the highlight reel. But this year, I think we’ve all had enough with the bad stuff.
I mean, it’s no secret that I’ve had my own fair share of funks and moods and bad days and bad months…and I think we all have. If I’m being honest (always am), if I sit here right now and give my gut reaction, THOSE feel like the bulk of 2020 over the good. Which is sad, but psychologically true – that the negatives sometimes take up more mental weight than the positives if we’re not careful + intentional about it. We can get 99 GOOD comments and harbor on the 1 BAD, and that’s just our human nature. SO, to try and combat that more for myself than anyone else LOL, I’m ONLY focusing on the goods of this, CUR’s 7th year. Because lucky #7 amiright??? 😉
If you asked for my gut reaction, like I said – I would’ve likely said no bueno. I would’ve immediately thought of the goals I didn’t hit and the things I didn’t make happen that I swore I would this time last year.
BUT…a lot of good still happened. And in the true spirit of “coming up roses,” I’m choosing to focus on THAT – on the beautiful flower at the end of the thorny stem, so to speak. “Coming up roses” doesn’t mean the world is full of “toxic positivity” or blissful ignorance – it’s just an active, intentional, daily choice to rise above the thorns that inevitably come our way, because they’re a part of the process in this thing called life, so that we can focus on + fully appreciate the inevitable beauty that’s stil there (ie., the flower of our life).
So here’s the good:
- I published my first book! I mean, takes the cake amiright? Or…the 7 donuts? 😉 There was SO MUCH SH*T that went on behind-the-scenes to make this bullet point come to life – I truly wish you could see/know all of that. From AWFUL first rounds of illustrations to contract breaches months after launch, it was truly sweat and TEARS that went into Caffeinate Your Soul – but it was all worth it. The number of you that have bought the book, shared it with girlfriends, and are practicing what it preaches every single Monday and then some…THANKYOU.
- Traveled (again) with Disney – and brought the fam! If Mickey Mouse calls, the answer is YES. One of the happiest, proudest, most magical moments of my blogging career has undoubtedly been the opportunity to work with Disney and bring some Disney magic to my closest friends + family, too. That’s just unbeatable! This most recent trip was an absolute dream come true, and the BEST way to end “normal life” before the world fell apart a month later. Ha!
- Partnered with some dream brands again, like Starbucks, Crest, Olay + Colleen Rothschild. All favorite brands + favorite products that I have literally used every single day for YEARS.
- Partnered with some other dream brands for the first time like Pantene, Dunkin, Giant, + Philips.
- Bought a new home! Then moved in the middle of a global pandemic…
- Officially added MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER to my resume – HOLLAH!
- Traveled to see my best friend and her family for little Jack’s first birthday! And so lucky to get to see them again SOON for Liv’s!
- Traveled (again) with ShopRite. This team + brand hold such a special place in my heart and I just loveloveLOVE everything about them!
- Found so many looks for less…
- Got my own Amazon storefront! The BEST + easiest place to shop anything and everything I’ve ever bought and recommended from Amazon, all in one place. Bookmark this page for future reference – I have everything organized categorically so you can find whatever ya need!
- Bought my dream baby grand piano. This one was just SUCH a dream come true. I had been saving up for years for it and bought it all by myself, which felt like the ultimate testament for hard work paying off – nothing beats a reaaaaaally sweet treat yo’self. 😉
SO.
All that to say – year #7 was not nearly as “lucky” as I had hoped. But it was still pretty dang sweet. 🙂 THANKYOU as always for being here, for being a part of the incredible community that is the CURowd, for supporting Caffeinate Your Soul and THRIVE, and for celebrating the joys of everyday life with me always.
Now off to eat a donut…
