Hi guys! Happy last day of 2019! I remember being in my school days and each year would pass by sooooo slowly and I thought it would never end. Since graduating I can’t BELIEVE how fast time passes. It’s crazy. I feel old. I don’t have the head space right now to reflect on the last 10 years lol so this is just a reflection on this year.

This year was steady. No crazy ups, and no crazy downs. It felt strong, consistent and fluid. Last year Justin and I rung in 2019 in Los Angeles. We had no dinner plans, no plans at all. We hiked a mountain to watch the sunset with a few of the city and spent the night wandering DTLA in search of a psychic. LOL We ate the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted and observed the weird nightlife LA has to offer. I think in a way it set the tone for the year. Exciting, but relaxed and candid. No solid plans, just doing things we felt like doing, and laughing along the way.

I had big goals for myself this year, as mentioned in last year’s post of recaps & goals. I am really proud that I ticked off absolutely all of them. I feel like as women, or maybe just as humans, it’s not often that we give ourselves a moment of just thinking how damn proud we are to have come this far, or done this much. It’s pretty amazing to have written a list of 6 things that were no way in the works, and set out to make them happen. A lot of people have been down on goal setting this year and I think it’s BS. In my opinion, we should always be challenging ourselves, surprising ourselves and overcoming things we thought were far fetched. I don’t think you should put too much pressure on yourself, but I’m not saying you shouldn’t put any pressure on yourself at all. How could you grow? And celebrate when they’re reached. That’s the fun part.

We travelled a lot this year, from San Fransisco down the coast of California, to Montreal, Calgary, Chicago, Vancouver & Hawaii. So many memories and seeing as much of the world as we could. Hawaii was definitely the most remarkable and we can’t wait to go back. Montreal was a great solo trip to keep inspired in the dead of winter. Calgary was SO fun to see my girlfriends and explore. Chicago was a romantic dream and it still doesn’t feel real. Vancouver was fun, quick and we ate a lot of good food. Maui was a dreamland, and if heaven is real then it’s on Maui. Oahu was busy, funny, and a lot of drinks were had.

We worked on so much of the house this year and to the point where it’s hard to think about leaving. The whole goal with flipping this house is to experiment and try things so we know what we will love for our “forever” home. Whatever that is. LOL. We’ve renovated the entire kitchen, and both bathrooms this year and I want to recreate all three in the next house we move to hahaha. Oh…. and we bought another house. (!!!!) We absolutely love our house, but we are SO excited to start the process on the new one. It’s going to be so good, and the mindset is that we will stay in the next one a little bit longer. The area of our current house isn’t one we pictured ourselves living longterm, but the new one is actually in an old neighbourhood of mine, and so much of my family lives on the same street. We hope to start things in the spring. I’M SO EXCITED.

Work life was fun this year. We chased a lot of amazing opportunities and each day something exciting was in the works. This year we grew the team and tried a lot of different things. This year I wanted to do a lot of experimenting and finding out the best ways to expand and grow. Some failed, some were home runs. We are slowly figuring out the best ways and sometimes I really wish there was a book I could read to just tell me how to do things. Lol. A huge growing pain is expanding the team. I will be the first to admit that managing people is SO hard. I want to take a course on this too. Hahaha. It’s so hard finding the right people to help grow the business and have the same work ethic, attitude and overall vision on where things are headed. It’s tough knowing/learning what makes people tick, and being the person that everyone goes to for help when I have been so used to figuring things out on my own. Being a one man band for so long to adding a team to the mix has it’s challenges for sure, and it’s something I hope to be better at in 2020. All tips welcome LOL. It’s scrappy, it’s fun, we work hard, and we’re hiring! Lol.

You may have also seen that we added another dog to the mix!! Little Marty. He’s funny, cuddly and a little bit more annoying than Mason ever was. LOL. He acts like an angel whenever we take him anywhere, and about once a day at home he turns into a little devil. He loves Mason so much and it’s seriously the cutest thing in the world to watch everyday. We are so lucky that Mase is so easy going and gentle, completely welcoming the puppy into every ounce of his personal space. Mercy’s still adjusting LOL.

2020 Goals

Pay off my student loans
Owing close to 30k, let’s get it goneeeee

Get my finances completely in order
This is the death of every creative. Accepting help. Lol

Focus on art
I’ve been focusing on art a lot over the past few years. Instagram stuff is fun, but I am happiest creating, shooting, painting and designing spaces. This years goal is to really narrow in on connecting with interior designers globally and working with them on creating the perfect piece for their clients. Universe: My dream client is interior designers on the coast of California with wealthy clients that are looking for the centre piece for their new beach house with an unobstructed view of the ocean. Thank u

Not to forget to bring my reusable bags
Those who never forget them, I’m working on it.

To those of you who have been following for a long time, thank you. I appreciate your support SO much, it is truly a boost just knowing that. It’s so fun to know when you started following the blog, and what brought you here. If you are new here, welcome <3 I hope you like what you see.

If you’re looking to dig into the archives I’ll link to past recap posts

2018 recap post
2017 recap post
2016 recap post
2014 recap post
2013 recap post


Happy New Year everyone

xx

Allie