What Happened In 2016 For Me & What’s Next For 2017?

It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by already. It feels like only a few months ago that I wrote my review of 2015, but at the same time other events that happened feel like they were years ago. It’s crazy how the brain works with timing isn’t it? But alas, those 365 days have past and a LOT happened for me. It’s been a roller coaster of up and down with amazing highs and terrible lows, so I decided to do a review of it with each month below. Going back through my fashion blog over the last year has reminded me of so much that went on and how I was feeling as well, especially since I had forgotten over 50% of it. It’s somewhat like a personal diary in a way. I have also written down some ideas of things for 2017 for me, but not any new years resolutions as I don’t really like them. These are just things that I need to do for myself and hope that can happen.

What Happened In 2016?

Some of the high points for me are that I’ve met some amazing friends through blogging this year, which I am incredibly grateful for. I’ve been able to properly live off of blogging money this year now that I’m self employed. The Jeans Blog is growing into a proper business. My stomach is starting to get a lot better and so is my health as I’ve now come to understand what’s wrong with me (a post on that soon!), I got ranked number 9 in the UK out of all the fashion bloggers. And… a huge one, I’m engaged to Adam! That’s one I still can’t believe as I forget to call him my fiance!

The low points have been that my health has been up and down all year, with some really bad times. I lost my job at DenimBlog after 10 years as the site closed. I’ve been through a lot of mental health issues with some anxiety and depression etc. due to situations that have been out of my control, but I’m trying not to focus on those bad things and hope for a much improved 2017 with some positivity. So lets get to the months and see what happened in 2016 shall we?

January – The start of the year wasn’t all that great, I know I had recently gotten over mild pneumonia from the year before, but I then managed to get a kidney infection which wasn’t great at all. I suffered with problems due to that for a couple of months after, but there were also high points. I got my second ALLSAINTS Balfern Leather Jacket, this one in Sahara Brown, which ended up being my favourite! January is always a slow month though, so there wasn’t a huge amount to report.

February – I remember here in the UK we went through one of the worst storms we have had – Storm Imogen. I didn’t sleep much at all and I know so many things were damaged, people lost their lives, so it was a really scary time for me and everyone else. I finally got my first designer coin purse though, it was the MCM Rabbit Coin Purse, which I still use now, everyday, and I got to work with John Greed!

March – March was the month of celebrating my blogs 6th birthday, which I seriously can’t believe. 6 years?! The time has flown by. I also cut my hair shorter, which was the shortest it has been at this point, and I fell in love with it. My health wasn’t all that great though as I got flu, which made me sick for ages unfortunately.

April – In April, after cutting my hair shorter, I had a new hair colour as well with bleach, creating an ombre balayage look. I still have that now and will do until it grows out, but it’s nice being blonder! I also ended up having to get a new MacBook as mine broke, but it meant that I decided to work on a new blog layout as well, making my images retina too for those with higher resolution screens. It was actually a good month for me and I was free of illness.

May – May was not a good month at all as I lost my job at DenimBlog when the site closed, without warning as well, so it was a shock. The silver lining to that though is that it’s pushed me to work even harder with The Jeans Blog and stand on my own two feet. My stomach issues were getting worse at this point, so much so (with the added stress) that I had to start triple therapy antibiotics to treat an infection. I remember sharing with you how horrible that 14 day treatment of 6 tablets a day was. I will never forget how horrible it was and how sick it made me feel either. On a plus note, I got a pair of Valentino Rockstud City Sandals which I adore so much!

June – In June I met the lovely Katie from The Hayo’u Method who has helped me try and get better with traditional Chinese health practices. That has been so important to me as from then until now, I’ve really noticed changes in myself. Plus, it’s also the month that I went gluten free and tried the Paleo diet too, to try and help my stomach. There will be more on this, but it’s been a huge help to me. I also started back on Liz Earle natural skin care and haven’t looked back.

July – Now July is my favourite month of the whole of 2016! Adam and I got engaged on our holiday in St. Ives in Cornwall. After 8 years of being together, it finally happened! I will treasure that forever. It’s also the month that I finally took things into my own hands with work and managed to secure celebs in denim on The Jeans Blog, turning that site into a proper denim site like I used to do, so I’m not lost without DenimBlog. Definitely a month of good change!

August – I celebrated my 28th birthday in August, which is great. I went to Noahs Ark Zoo Farm to see lots of animals and fell in love with a friendly parrot called George. I cut my hair even shorter (not been this short since I was a kid) and I love it. Plus, as I had been working with Katie for a couple of months and gotten a bit better, it was time for me to face my fears and start acupuncture. That was definitely an experience, but it works and has helped me hugely. So has taking Vitamin D supplements and B12.

September – Now September is somewhat of a shallow month in terms of why I’m excited, but I managed to fulfill a long term goal of mine. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted a Celine bag, but I never thought I would be able to get one. Adam and I had a one night trip planned in London and my goal was to purchase my Celine Nano Luggage Bag in Dune, which I did after saving for so long, and it’s become my favourite! I also got a long awaited Burberry Cashmere Scarf too. Things picked up with my health as well and as I had finished acupuncture (it was too painful for me to continue) I was introduced to Gua Sha by Katie, which I have never looked back on and still love now. Then to top it off, I got voted 9th in the UK out of all of the UK fashion bloggers. September was a great month.

October – October was another amazing month, after working so hard and having saved up my money through most of the year, I was finally able to purchase my beloved Chloe Susanna Boots in Velvet as well (I got an amazing discount) and then comes the big one, a purchase that I always thought was a dream. The BVLGARI LVCEA Watch has been on my wish list for years, but due to its price, I never expected to realistically own. Things had been going quite well for me work wise, which was about time as I’ve been working on it for 6 years, and it meant I was finally able to buy it! Such an achievement for me. I also got to be Miss Captain America for Halloween as well. October was good!

November – Last month took a turn for the worst and I remember sharing with you how bad things had gotten for me mentally. So much happened in November for me and I ended up overwhelmed beyond my control with outside situations which I couldn’t fix. I ended up extremely angry, depressed, and anxious, reverting back to my old ways from years ago, and it was so upsetting, I couldn’t get myself out of the hole. I learned a lot about being an empath at this point and since then have been learning how to stop myself from absorbing everyone’s issues and emotions, which has meant spending a lot of time in solitude and keeping quiet, but I’m so much better. I can somewhat keep a shield up now. I finally managed to secure the go ahead on a new forum for The Jeans Blog as well, expanding the site to have a blog, shop, and forum now, plus posting 2 times a day like a proper magazine. This was also the month I shared with you a classic bag I’d wanted for ages too, a Chanel Wallet On Chain.

December – Now this month didn’t start out great as I got a bad cold and have been suffering symptoms of that for 2 weeks, but I’m doing a lot better. Christmas was fairly quiet as others were ill, but it’s been a month that meant I had a lot of down time. I worked triple time for a week in order to have a week off to spend with Adam, but I ended up getting a cold sore, then I got hives, so the week wasn’t all that great. I had planned to go ice skating too, but it was sold out when we got there, but all in all, it’s been a month of looking back and reflecting, seeing how far I have come and how much I have achieved. The end thought is positive and I’m hoping next year will be even better.

What’s Planned For 2017?

I don’t generally like to make new year resolutions as nobody ever tends to stick to them and just make them for the sake of it, so instead I’m looking at things I can aspire to and hopefully keep on track with. If I’m being materialistic, of course I would actually love to make it to Disneyland Paris if possible, as that’s been a dream for years, but each time I mention it, it never happens, so maybe this time I wont make it a big deal, ha ha. Another thing is that being a fashion blogger means I am often always trying to buy the latest things, newest trends, and constantly craving new pieces that I ‘have’ to buy because I think I ‘need’ them, but I’ve decided that I should only buy those things that I have really wanted for ages and have thought properly about, meaning I make use of all the clothes I already have for outfits when possible. I need to keep a lid on spending too much on wasted items as I need to possibly start thinking about a wedding in a couple of years and trying to get a house with Adam at some point, which is important.

In terms of where I want to be with myself and my health, I’m slowly getting there. I’m gluten free now and taking some supplements to help with my digestion, and I’m doing numerous other things to aid my health and well being as well. I need to continue trying to be mindful and appreciating the smaller things in life. I need to continue eating a cleaner diet and trying to look after my body to help it heal. Gua sha and breathing routines are useful to help with meditation and trying not to absorb negative energy, since I’ve learned so much about being an empath, I’m learning a lot on how to control that more. I also need to try and keep my room clean and tidy, changing things around to make it feel more comfortable. I’m naturally a messy person so that’s something I really need to work on as well. I just want to be able to continue to work on myself and who I am, trying to get better. A positive mindset and healthy body.

With regards to work, I’m still trying to work really hard on my blogs, growing them into bigger and better businesses, hopefully hire new people as well to help out with The Jeans Blog, and try to push myself to be more confident in going to events and not being overwhelmed by them instead. I feel like 2017 might be a good year as things are finally beginning to take off and I’m excited to see where they lead to. Anyway, here are some of my favourite non full outfit photos from the year of 2016. My top 25 outfits of the year are coming up in my next blog post on their own! Happy New Year! What are your 2017 plans? Lorna xx.