Happy New Year’s Eve!! I can’t believe we’re already done with 2018. This year has flown by but also somehow felt SUPER long. I wanted to reflect on the year as well as what’s to come in 2019. I decided to make a vlog about some of the major events that happened this year and how they’ve impacted my life, but I also wanted to put together a more typical “favorites”-style post with all the best things from 2018. So here that is!
First, my video discussing this year’s milestones, accomplishments, travel, and more:
In February we got married and it was everything we could have wanted. The day was perfect and Chris and I constantly talk about how we wish we could go back and do it all over again! I blogged extensively about our planning process and DIYing as well as the day of itself, and of course about our honeymoon.
Another exciting thing was that I went back to school! You may remember me talking about this in some previous posts, and… I did it! I took two classes this fall semester and I’m so proud and happy to say that I was really successful!! I started out slow, with a speech class and a writing class – subjects in which I knew I could do well. Next semester I’m kicking it up a notch with a student experience class, astronomy, and (gasp) – math 😬 I’m nervous but I know I can do it!
I’m especially excited because next semester through the new Disney Aspire program, Disney is paying for my school 100%!! It’s ground-breaking and unbelievable. I was so scared to go back to school and after five years out of a classroom it really just feels like the timing is right and everything is working itself out. I feel motivated and ready to go!
Switching gears just a bit here… something that happened this year that was not-so-nice was I came to terms with the state of my mental health. Some of you may remember the post where I initially shared the difficulties I’ve been having mostly my whole life. It was hard to write and be open about how I felt – but honestly, the response to it was amazing. I got SO many wonderful and supportive messages in response to that post and I felt like sharing it helped not only me, but others as well. Since then I’ve gone to therapy (which is honestly a lot of work in itself) and put a lot of effort into actively making decisions that help me to feel better about things. It’s still a struggle and some days are still really hard – I’m definitely still a work in progress. But overall things are getting better and I’m really proud of the progress I’m making. I’m hopeful that in 2019 it will only go up from here!
Taking things in a completely different direction – we also did a LOT of travel this year! Like I said, in February we had our honeymoon, a cruise in April, Boston in April, California in September, and then the mystery vacation – surprise cruise in November! It was an amazing year of seeing fantastic new places and I know it’s only going to get better in 2019. In the new year I’ll be visiting Europe, Costa Rica, Alaska, and Las Vegas, just to name a few!! I can’t wait to experience all these new places.
That’s all the things I covered in the video but for the blog I also wanted to throw in a few quick favorites of the year – makeup, entertainment, and anything else!
I have just a few favorite makeup products to share for the year. Through most of 2018 I was on a low- or no-buy for makeup products, so I had time to enjoy everything more when I wasn’t buying as much. My makeup favs for the year:
- Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Shadows – a repeat fav from last year!! I wrote a post about how much I love them here.
- L’Oreal Pro Matte Infallible Foundation – wore this on my wedding day and it didn’t budge. It’s my favorite!
- NYX Epic Ink Liquid Liner – since Kat Von D is cancelled, I had to find a new eyeliner, and this one is amazing and half the price!
- Colourpop Super Shock Shadows from the Designer Disney Collection – I wrote a post about how much I loved these and I ended up getting another since then, the Tiana shade “Almost There” – which I love just as much!!
- Maybelline Matte Ink Liquid Lipsticks – featured in my holiday gift guide, love these so much!
- Fenty Beauty Diamond Bomb Highlighter – also in the gift guide. This is the most beautiful sparkly glittery diamond highlight – in the sunlight it’s positively sparkling!! 🤩
In the entertainment realm – a few things I enjoyed this year:
Movies:
- A Star is Born – a surprise to no one. I’m obsessed with Lady Gaga and she was truly a star in this movie. I can’t wait for her to snatch an Oscar for her performance 🥰
- Mamma Mia 2 – this was such a highlight of summer 2018 for me! It’s such a fun movie to watch and singalong to…even Chris liked it!!
- Avengers Infinity War – of course this was one of my most hyped movies of the year – made even more so by the fact that we watched it on board the Disney Dream in the middle of the ocean!! It was incredible and I can’t wait for Endgame 😬
- Ant Man and the Wasp – so glad Marvel finally decided we could have a female lead in a superhero movie! This was a breath of fresh air after the seriousness of Infinity War and I loved it so much.
Television:
- Rupaul’s Drag Race – 2018 was definitely the year of Drag Race. I got my best friend Sarah into the show this year and it’s been so fun to actually have someone to watch with! And we were blessed with season 10, two all star seasons AND a Christmas special this year… a great time to be into Drag Race!!
- Queer Eye – I can’t believe it’s only been since February that Queer Eye debuted – it feels like it’s been around for ages!! I immediately fell in love with it and of course fab five. It’s such a heartwarming show that really made me happy in 2018.
- Crikey! It’s the Irwins – this is a recent interest that Chris and I have loved to watch together! It follows the adorable Irwin family as they take care of the Australia Zoo, and it’s just so charming. The first episode is available on youtube for free – I highly recommend it!!
Podcasts:
- By the Book – this was recommended to me by a friend and it’s so up my alley. It’s two awesome women who read a different self-help book to live by for two weeks at a time, and review it on the podcast. It’s so fun to listen to and I love the hosts!!
- Affirmation Pod – a great feel-good podcast. I listen to daily affirmations on the way to work and it has helped me so much to look at things in a different way and practice positive thoughts in my everyday life 🙂
- Distant Disney – a fabulous Disney podcast run by two of my best friends, Danny and Brandon! I even guest-starred on an episode – click here to listen!
Music:
Lady Gaga always. But this year I’ve also loved Ariana Grande’s Sweetener, plus the Mamma Mia 2 album of course!
Finally, one last thing I wanted to mention was that this year I started making youtube videos! Obviously this is a relatively new project for me but I have had so much fun doing it. It’s mostly a place for my travel vlogs but I’m having fun making other kinds of videos too, and I’m excited to see where it goes in the new year.
In last year’s post I also made a short and sweet list of things I wanted to do in 2018, so let’s just do that again:
- Dedicate my focus to excelling in school and at my job
- Continue trying to find the right therapist/exploring other avenues for bettering my mental health
- Keep up with posting on my blog and youtube videos at least once a week
- Read more books – trying for one a month!
- Listen to daily affirmations and practice positive thinking and self talk
- Get out of the house more
- Spend less, save more
- Remember to tell Chris, my family, my friends, and Teddy how much I love and value them!
And last but not least – a photo of my Ted to finish up:
That’s a wrap for 2018! Thank you so much for reading and watching the things I’ve posted this year. 2018 was a good one and I’m super excited for what 2019 will bring me. I love writing about my life (and now making videos about it) and I am looking forward to continuing that in the new year 🙂
much love as always, and I hope you have a safe and happy new year!
