Every new years I get excited to say goodbye to the previous year and welcome a new one. A year which will be full of new hope, adventure, and possibilities. However, I am having a hard time saying goodbye to 2015. To say it was a great year would be an understatement. I sipped tea with friends in Venice, white wine in Malibu, rose in London, hot chocolate in Oxford, champagne in Paris, coffee in Marfa, martinis in Chicago, red wine in Geneva, mojitos in Cuba, gluten-free beer in Nantucket, french 75’s in New Orleans, craft cocktails in Austin, and vodka in Russia. It has been a year which was fully lived. A year full of adventure, lessons, and growing experiences.

I learned a lot of invaluable, life-changing, and soul growing things in 2015. I learned my husband is a far greater supporter than even I imagined when he proposed I spend the summer in Paris so I could carry out all my dreams and live a life with no regrets. I learned that I still enjoy to learn. Being able to study french in Paris was empowering, scary, and unbelievably amazing. I learned that even when scared to death in foreign places I will figure it out and be okay. I learned that when on a road trip don’t get mad when you stray from the map. Getting lost for 10 extra hours isn’t ideal but sometimes it is the time spent during the getting lost and finding your way which is better than the actual destination. I learned that perfectly capturing a city through a camera lens is a great joy and challenge that I welcome with open arms. I learned that life is all about timing and sometimes you must be patient, if it is meant to be it will come (okay so I am still working on this). I learned that I have a real thirst to see and experience the world. And finally I learned that it doesn’t matter where you go or what you own but it is the family and friends you surround yourself, which make your life exceptional.

May 2016 be an even greater year: full of good health, life lessons, adventure, and infinite laughs and memory making with my friends and family.