Farewell, 2016

Well, 2016 is almost over. Woof. It’s a little overwhelming to think about how much has happened, and how much has changed since January 1st. Yes, there were hard parts of this year… but for all the tough moments, there were also WONDERFUL things that happened over these past 12 months. As I mentioned in this post:

It always used to annoy me when people would talk about how #blessed they are… why are some people more “blessed” than others? That’s BS, right?? Haha but in all honesty, this year has made me realize that life is not about that annoying hashtag – it’s just simply about being grateful for everything good in your life. I actually credit yoga for teaching me this. When I set an intention in class, or think about the feeling I have after savasana, my thoughts aren’t filled with competition or regret or inadequacy. Instead, my intentions are filled with positive energy, for either myself or those I love, and leaving class reminds me to honor my body and be proud of what it can do. It has been a reminder that our health (both physically and mentally) and the positivity we surround ourselves with are ultimately FAR more important than how successful we are or how popular we are or how much money we have.

 

 

• I finally became a Certified Yoga Instructor!!! I went through CorePower Yoga’s teacher training and extensions programs AND I taught my very own summer yoga series at the Loews Hotel. This has been a goal of mine for a long time, and while I’m not currently teaching, I’m still so glad I did it. It was SO much fun to share the experience with all of you, and I think it really opened up the door for me to talk more about fitness and wellness on the blog… something I hope to continue for a long time!! But besides the fun content, teacher training was an excellent reminder that while setting goals and accomplishing them is incredibly important, so is slowing down to LIVE sometimes!! I’ve been so caught up in “the hustle” this past year and a half or so, because after years of feeling incredibly unaccomplished, I felt like I had so much to prove… but let me tell you, that is EXHAUSTING. Which leads my to my next accomplishment…

 

• I’m cutting back to 30 hours at work to focus more on Lake Shore Lady. To be honest, I wanted to cut back even more, but benefits are too important (haha real talk!). Regardless, getting 10 HOURS back every week and some more flexibility will be huge. There were moments this past year where I felt like I was drowning… getting up to check blog emails, switching to work work, rushing off to yoga class or teacher training, coming back home to finish the next day’s blog post, finally closing my computer at midnight… it was just too much. But recently, I have let go of my pride enough to admit that I can’t keep up with full time responsibilities AND a growing blog, especially when the blog is a full blown business now! Oh, and you know, a personal life… gotta fit that in somewhere…

 

• I know I don’t always give you a ton of details about my personal life, but this year was a big one. My sister had a baby and I became a VERY proud Aunt to the cutest little munchkin ever. It has been SO fun to watch my sister become a Mom… mostly because she’s SO GOOD at it. He loves his Aunt Lauren, too 🙂 As if that wasn’t enough, my brother got married to his high school sweetheart, who now happens to be one of my best friends, too. They had an extremely personal ceremony, gorgeous vows and a ridiculous Palm Springs backdrop. Needless to say, there were a lot of happy tears that weekend. And one more thing… (again, as if that wasn’t enough!) I also started seeing someone very special this year. So yeah… I’d say a lot happened in my personal life, huh?

 

• As for Lake Shore Lady’s accomplishments – I could talk about my favorite collaborations or how proud I am of it’s growth, but to be honest absolutely NOTHING holds a candle to the fact that I was on THE TODAY SHOW THIS YEAR. I’m sorry, WHAT?! I still can’t believe that happened. TV appearances are always fun, and I’ve been lucky enough to do more than a handful of them this year… but this one was so special. I mean, I’ve flown into LaGuardia nearly every year of my entire life, I’ve taken the cab ride from the airport into the city countless times while I lived in Manhattan, but again – this time was completely different. Arriving in NYC, my old home, the place that I used to love/the place that wore me down so hard… arriving there for THIS reason, was profoundly cathartic for me. After years of struggling, I came back to be on national television because of something I built on my own terms. I still get a little teary eyed when I think about it. It was so much more than a tv appearance – it was confirmation that I was going in the right direction.Also, I have to recognize the outpouring of love from all of YOU, because it was pretty spectacular. I remember finishing the segment and hugging the producer, because she was SO thrilled that I got through the whole recipe (apparently not everyone does haha). Anyway, she gave me my Today Show mug (that I still drink out of all the time, duh), and I left Studio 1A with the most ridiculous grin on my face. That would have been enough for me… and then I got back up to my hotel room and starting looking through my texts and emails and snapchats and instagram comments. The support from my friends, family, colleagues, and total strangers was like a huge virtual hug. Then I went to By Chloe, met my best friend for dinner, and saw Hamilton with the original cast – so like BEST DAY EVER EVER EVER EVER? Correct.

 

And just because I can’t thank you enough, I’m gonna go ahead and thank all of you again. Your support, enthusiasm, likes, follows, comments – those are the reasons I am where I am today. I am able to chase this dream because of you, and for that I am incredibly grateful.

My 2017 goals are weaved throughout this post, but one thing I haven’t touched on is updating this space so that it’s even more user friendly and relevant for you. There finally will be a big redesign coming soon – I’ve been wanting to do this for what feels like forever, but it’s finally happening. This is not a drill! Yayyy! The new site will be easier to navigate, especially if you want to find specific content. We’re talking indexes, people! For both recipes AND style! And in addition to the redesign, I am finally going to put out a Reader Survey so you can tell me what you love, what you hate, what you want to see more of, what you want to see less of… all that jazz. I am so excited, I can barely stand it!! We’re going to have a lot of fun together 🙂

You were definitely into easy and healthy dinner recipes…

Especially zoodles. You guys reallyyyy liked zoodles…

But don’t worry – I know you have your weaknesses, too…

You also let me get a little more personal on the blog…
I still love to read the comments on this one <3

Along with instagrams, you now like travel on the blog, too…
Ps. Lots more travel content is coming in 2017!!

And last but not least, we ALL love a good dress…

So, cheers to 2016… and double cheers to 2017! I hope you keep growing. I hope you keep listening to both your body and your heart. I hope you find time to hustle AND find time to breathe. And I hope you continue to spread kindness. There are actually a few quotes that I’ve seen on Pinterest about that… “Kindness. It doesn’t cost a damn thing. Sprinkle that s*** everywhere.” and “Throw kindness around like confetti.“ I agree with both of them, especially going into this new year.

Let’s all sprinkle a little more confetti in 2017, ok? Ok 🙂