2017: A Year to Remember!

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Sunset at The Top of The Rock, NYC

It’s already New Year’s Eve 2017, and what a year its been! Here are just some of the highlights…

Watching my niece – Baby Squidge – develop into a little bundle of energy, with little blonde locks, bright blue eyes and a cheeky grin. Her arrival has brought my whole family much closer together…

Planning and organising the wedding and getting a kick out of creating my own centrepieces and seating cards. We also managed to save an enormous amount of money and I had a blast finding the bargains so that it was cheap, but didn’t LOOK cheap.

Meeting up with blog friends in person separately from the Bloggers Bash – staying at Sacha’s house with Sacha, Helen and Lucy then seeing Tiffany and Donna in London, meeting a bunch of my favourite bloggers in Birmingham for lunch and having Elena stay at my house for a few days when she came over from Canada.

Reaching 20,000 collective monthly readers on the blog. Amazing.

Spending time with the family.

Gemma and Matt’s wedding. Sheer perfection.

Watching the Facebook group that I created grow, and being incredibly lucky to find an amazing admin in Em. It’s full of wonderful people, it’s been a mainly positive experience and I’ve had the chance to get to know some of the community much better.

Meeting rescued foxes
Puggy-sitting my sister’s dog, Dougal

Exploring various parts of London with The Bloke.

Watching Squidge get baptised (my brother-in-law’s family is Catholic), looking gorgeous in her gown.

Seeing all my bloggy friends again and then speaking at the Annual Bloggers Bash in London. Nerve-wracking, exciting and enormously fun.

Visiting Bolsover Castle – somewhere we had never been before.

Watching Adele perform live at Wembley with 90,000 other people – it was the highest recorded audience ever at the stadium and the first of her four final tour dates, and she ended up cancelling the last two… Best concert I’ve ever been to and we were so lucky to see her.

The kindness and generosity of my friends – cocktails, a manicure, meals out, nights in, cupcakes and baklava, cat sitting… I’m very lucky!

We got married!

Smashing last year’s blog views, despite the fact that I published about 70 fewer posts this year.

Hosting my own blogging workshop.

Doing a radio interview.

Discovering my love of flat lay photography and spending hours trying out new ideas.

Receiving a message from an ex-student who had a difficult time when I taught him a few years ago, thanking me for developing his love of music. Made my day.

Being surprised by member of my Facebook group with a collection for our honeymoon. There were tears. And snot. Lots of snot.

Meeting rescued foxes at a wildlife sanctuary.

Dog sitting my sister’s pug, Dougal. Hard work, but loved the walks and the cuddles.

Overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, NYC
Meeting Dolph Ludgren!

Going wedding dress shopping with my mum and trying on THE wedding dress for the first time. It was the second dress I tried on and my mum and I were in and out of the bridal store within an hour. Quickest dress buying ever.

The two things that I remember from the wedding ceremony: staring at The Bloke while trying not to get my vows wrong, and then laughing nervously as the Registrar made a joke about triplets.

Talking on the phone with my new sister-in-law for hours…

Building up my social media management and blog consultation client list… It’s been so much fun to get to know other bloggers better and talk stats!

Finishing everything on my bucket list for the year.

First ever couples fancy dress as Wayne and Garth from Wayne’s World for my friend’s 40th Birthday party.

Starting my bullet journal
Squidge’s baptism

Discovering a new obsession in Bullet Journalling.

The honeymoon in NYC…

Starting a weekly chat for the Annual Bloggers Bash on Twitter.

Recieving a beautiful bottle of champagne and glasses from Hugh in the mail.

Meeting Dolph Lundgren. I’ve had a crush in him for 30 years and in December I met him at the For the Love of Sci Fi Convention in Manchester. He put his arm round me, said my name and I had a picture taken with him. Dolph. Lundren. Said. My. Name. I’ll never get bored of saying that.

Snow! Lots of snow!

Receiving my first birthday and Christmas cards with ‘wife’ on them and spending our first Christmas at home together.

Watching those around me take the next steps in their lives – some have got engaged or are in the midst of wedding planning, had babies, got married, published books, bought houses, changed jobs.

 

Of course, it hasn’t all been positive – we said goodbye to a dear friend after a short illness just a week after she came to our wedding and some of my friends will end the year missing their departed loved ones. It’s been difficult at times…

However, whatever 2018 has in store for us, I would like to wish you a very Happy New Year and a huge thank you for every message, like, comment, share, text, phone call, meet-up, card, present and email I have received in the last 12 months. Thank you for your support and encouragement, your meltdown crisis management (you know who you are) and for making 2017 a special one!

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to follow my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks

48 thoughts on “2017: A Year to Remember!”

  2. A most wonderful and fulfilling new year to you and your loved ones!! I hope you’ll have as many if not more good souvenirs to share same time next year!

    P.S. I totally get your excitement about meeting Dolph Lungren. I had to look him up on internet but I can imagine that I wouldn’t touch ground weeks after hearing Mads Mikkelsen pronounce my name… I’m glad it was part of 2017’s gifts and surprises for you 🙂

  5. A wonderful round up, Suzie and beautiful pictures to capture the loveliness.
    I come by here often and somehow don’t comment as much as I want to – but I do admire your creativity and new ideas!
    May 2018 bring you all you want (including loads of new clients!).

  6. What a memorable year, and here is to a new year with countless possibilities. All the best to you and the Husband 🙂 for 2018.

  10. Happy New Year! Your posts have helped me enormously as a newbie, I really need to get involved with your Facebook group if possible. I’ll be going to the Bloggers bash next time so may even meet you 🙂

  13. What a fab year you’ve had Suzie! You also manage to keep it real and I appreciate that immensely. I had a great year stats wise too but mine pale into insignificance next to yours – I’m not comparing or anything just stating a fact! Great to work with you this year to improve our blogging connections and we’re so lucky to have you on our side in this blogging world.Thanks heaps for all you do, it’s most definitely appreciated. Bring on an even bigger and better 2018!

  17. What a super round up and what a year you’ve had! I can ‘snap’ you with seeing Adele when she toured Australia earlier in the year – definitely the best concert I had ever been to also – she was fab. May 2018 be as equally wonderful 🙂

  18. Happy New Year, Suzie, and what an EPIC one it was for you! Here’s to your continued success in 2018! Thank you for everything that you do to help us all out, it is very much appreciated 🙂

  19. Lovely post about what sounds like an amazing year! Thank you for all your help and all the very best for even greater success and happiness in 2018 😊

  21. That was an interesting and good year for you Suzie……Happy New year to you and may god bless you with every pretty little stuff that makes you happy 🙂

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