Good Things from 2016

It’s undeniable that 2016 has been a bit rubbish. First the universe takes the likes of Bowie and Prince, then you have Brexit and Trump and, personally, it’s just been a bit downhill. So, in today’s post I’m gonna try and think of 10 things that have happened this year that are positive so I can end this year on a better note!

One: Home | So, we bought a flat! The contracts will be exchanged in January so we get to be fully fledged home owners and I can eventually paint a wall. It sounds so ridiculous, but I’m very much looking forward to decorating, redesigning a kitchen, ordering a sofa and generally having the place looking how we want it after putting up with two years of renting. I never have to live with cream walls ever again – thank god!

Two: Brows | Probably the most ridiculous, but I’m so happy that I’ve eventually learned how to fill in my brows properly and what a difference they make to my face. It’s the little things, eh?

Three: Tidy | Yes, you may have read about it in this post, but I am obsessed with clearing things out. I actually can’t wait to move again just so I can get rid of more things! It’s insane how much stuff I was surrounded by previously and I genuinely only needed around 10% of it, so I’m really happy that I’ve developed this mentality and can keep things to a minimum.

Four: Freelance | 2016 was the year I went freelance (see this post) and even though I’m thinking of returning to full time work in 2017 (maybe), I have really enjoyed doing my own thing and helping small businesses out. Gotta love those 10am starts!

Five: Travel | I’ve been lucky enough to go away to Iceland, Venice and Tallinn this year with Hannah (best travel pals 4eva) and it’s been so lovely. Travel blogging (and more lifestyle themed blogging in general) is definitely something I’d love to do more of, so I’ll hopefully be booking a few trips for 2017. There’s something about visiting a new place that’s so inspiring and travel pics are my favourite ones to take!

Six: Acne | This year was the year I said goodbye to my blemish-prone skin (hopefully) forever via Roaccutane (posts here). It used to make me feel so horrendous about myself and really got me down at one point at the start of the year, so I was glad I was proactive about it and got it sorted! It was a struggle having such super dry skin (and a bad back later on) but the five months of mild discomfort were so worth it.

Seven: Cats | I know this is more aimed at next year, but my boyfriend and I decided which cats we’re gonna get. Prepare yourselves for the pictures and I may or may not have already reserved the Instagram account… It won’t be until next Spring/Summer but I’m so ridiculously excited already!

Eight: Friends | I’ll admit I don’t have lots and lots of friends, but I think that’s ok. The ones I have are absolute babes, anyway! I’m so excited for one of my best friends to have her baby in January as I know it’ll be the cutest and I’m looking forward to visiting them a few times in London at the start of next year. I’m also grateful for meeting other bloggers this year (like Katy, Claire, Kelly, Kat etc) and spending more time with North East pals Chloe, Amy and Alice.

Nine: Progression | I know, I know, blog because you love it and numbers shouldn’t matter etc. They do to me, however, as I’m quite a stats driven person. I like to set goals and it’s nice to achieve them. I wanted to hit 20k on Pinterest this year and I have, I also wanted to get 1k new followers per month on Instagram which I did until about September and I stopped trying as hard (silly me!), but to get from 10k to 19k is still an achievement in my eyes! Next year I’d like to get to 30k I think, but the overall aim is just to improve my content quality on all platforms.

Ten: Cooking | I’ve really got to grips with cooking and baking over the last year which makes me very happy. Food (and Chloe bags) makes me uber happy, so I’m glad I’ve got a few staple recipes in my repertoire. I really want to get into the baking side of my blog in 2017, so keep your eyes peeled for more yummy cakes and cookies heading your way.

What’s made you happy in 2016?

Helen x

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