2016 Round Up & New Year’s Resolutions

Every year since starting this blog, on New Year’s Day I have written a past year round up and NYR post.  Every year without fail I thoroughly look forward to writing this particular content but this year (as you can tell from the late date) I just haven’t wanted to… 

2016 felt like a mess to me.  I really felt like it was the end of the world – politically, personally, mentally (I’ll expand on what’s been happening in my personal life soon).  But instead of dwelling on the negatives, I want to pull some of my highlights from the past 12 months together (if at least for some good memories).

(If you want to read previous year’s round up posts, they are here: 2011201220132014, 2015′s).

2017 Resolutions

Be strong, mentally and physically

I am the world’s most sensitive soul and I really want to become more confident, strong and positive mentally.  I cry a lot, take things personally and don’t always have much faith in myself and I desperately want to work on these things.  

I have also really seen an increase in my body strength since training in aerial circus arts for the whole of last year, so I want to keep this up and master the advance moves by increasing my body strength.

Get into a routine

Since working for myself, I haven’t had much of a routine and I want this to change.  I want to implement little tasks into my every day life as I feel this will make me a better and happier person.  Things like writing a paragraph about my day every night before bed, waking up early at the same time everyday, doing 10 minutes of yoga/meditation etc.  If anyone has a little routine they do daily, I’d love to hear them!

Less is more

2017 really is a fresh start for me in a lot of ways and I’m ready to make changes now.  Something in my head  recently just switched; I woke up one day I had no impulse or urge to buy anything, and it’s stuck.  I realise that sounds ridiculous, but I’ve never felt like this before.  

I’ll browse my favourite stores and I literally want NOTHING.  On top of that I’ve started really clearing out my clutter.  I just don’t need these things to make me happy – because I have them all and I’m still not happy!  Less is more will definitely be my mantra this year.  I’m not saying I won’t do any more hauls on my YouTube channel, but I’m not going to purchase to excess.

_________


2016 Highlights


I had to really think about highlights from last year but once I started, I realised there were some notable, big highlights for me.

Echo

A little something entered my life in 2016 and she brings me so much joy.  Echo was a birthday present from my sister in August and I literally couldn’t imagine my life without her.  When I am feeling down, seeing her little face is the only thing that cheers me up.  She’s feisty, cheeky, adventurous, so beautiful and soft and I bloody adore her so much.  She’s the most spoilt hamster there ever was!

Roaccutane

Roaccutane changed my life in multiple ways last year.  Most importantly,  I have clear skin for the first time in 10 years and I can’t express how incredible this feels.  With this came multiple side effects (mostly bad) and lot’s of press attention so it’s been a crazy journey.  I have one month left to go on the medication now, but for giving me clear skin, it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Climbing Mountains

I climbed two mountains!  Something I thought I’d never say, haha!  Andrew and I climbed Kinder Scout in the spring with his parents and I adored it so much, I encouraged my family to climb Snowdon with Andrew’s in the summer.  Both were exhausting, emotional and testing but I am so proud of myself for this and would love to climb another soon! I’m a changed woman, ha!

Moved House

In July,  Andrew and I moved from zone 2 to 3 into a spacious 2 bedroom flat in East London.  Not gonna lie, it was one of the hardest things to do (I think I had 7 breakdowns because of stress) but it’s meant that I now have my very own office to work in which has been incredible for motivation.

Mini trips away

Looking back, I had multiple mini trips away last year and I would love to do more travelling in 2017.  Highlights included Glamping at North Star Club in York, exploring Canterbury, Brighton, Bath, Paris and a beautiful week away in Dubrovnik.

_________

I want to say a big thanks to you guys for sticking around and supporting my blog even though it’s taken a back seat to my YouTube channel in 2016.  I have lots of content ideas and I’m feeling very inspired to write more this year so do stick around!  

I adore you all and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s too.

Katie xx

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10 Comments

  1. January 3, 2017 / 7:06 pm

    Happy New Year & thanks for sharing.

  2. January 4, 2017 / 9:26 am

    Less is more is my motto! I hope to have some free time this afternoon to continue my downsizing project. Happy New Year!

  3. January 4, 2017 / 9:50 am

    I genuinely thought you were talking about the Amazon Echo until I got to the hamster bit… I was thinking "Seeing her face… are you ok?" ahahah! x

  4. January 4, 2017 / 9:31 pm

    Ive found that having a routine before bed always helps, I really recommend doing yoga for about 10 minutes before bed. It's helped my anxiety so much and always makes me feel a thousand times better! I hope 2017 treats you amazing xxx

    Cyber Mermaids | Alternative beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog

  5. January 5, 2017 / 8:03 am

    Happy New Year 🙂 Wonderful post! Have a great day!
    Beauty and Fashion Freaks

  6. January 5, 2017 / 8:54 pm

    Yoga and meditation are great for improving both physical and mental strength ♥ I hope 2017 is a great year for you!

    Amy // snippetsofamy.co.uk

  7. M@rina
    January 6, 2017 / 10:49 am

    Hi Katie!! May I say in advance, excuse the long post! You are fantastic and I really enjoy your videos/ vlogs and blogs!! Your skin looks great and you can be proud of yourself for staying strong through it all and helping so many others going through their own journey with the meds!

    From what I could gather your Derm will not be seeing you again? Has he spoken to you about life after Roaccutane, what to expect, the realities etc? I've been on Roaccutane twice in the past 3 years (I'm now 29 and have mild hormone related adult acne) and here's a summary of my experience (mostly very positive. You and most of your followers probably know these things already but if my personal experience can help anybody even a little bit I will be happy.

    1. I had to go on roaccutane again after one year of finishing the first course. BUT my experience the second time (10mg for 6 months) wasn't nearly as tough as the first (40g for 6 months)and after the second course my skin stayed clear for about two years. I am now at a stage where I get hormonal breakouts on my chin and cheekbones and will be seeing my Derm again next week to find out what we can do about it. But I can explain this to you in the meantime:

    Hormones irritate the sebaceous glands, those little troublemakers very deep under your skin that produces oil and sebum that clogs pores and causes acne, therefor these hormones should firstly be toned down with a contraceptive pill like Dianne or Ginette or Zinc supplements. Roaccutane then shrinks these glans to a size too small to produce enough oil to cause breakouts. BUT roaccutane doesn't shrink ALL your glands right away that's why your Derm probably lengthened you treatment period and that's often also the reason why acne can come back (but it will ALWAYS be less because you have less "normal size" glands causing havoc on your skin). My Derm explained it in the following, very very simplified way- "If you have say 100 sebaceous glands, your first course of roaccutane might shrink 50 of them and just dry up and "disinfect" the rest, but as your body and hormones change the other 50 normal size glands might get irritated again and produce sebum and that's when you will possibly need another course. So IF your skin breaks out again, DONT panic or think the meds didn't work, have a look at what is causing the breakouts (Those very important Gynecologist appointments) and then chat to your Derm again about a second course!
    2. Secondly, the side effects should go away within 2 weeks of stopping the meds, if not, you have to have it checked out!! It might be a good idea to have your PCOS and eyes checked out, I experienced some minor problems in those areas after the meds.
    2. Thirdly- Your skin will go through a "honeymoon period" of about three months after you have stopped the meds, treat it like a baby's skin for this effect to last longer! Mild soaps, creams, make up removers, sun block etc! Waxing might also still hurt more during this time. Also wait a few months after stopping the meds to go for things like lazer and chemical peels to remove the scars. The body is fantastic and scars heal quite quickly in the three months after the meds. If you have any scars after this three months, then look into other treatments.

    I am a nutritionist and believe in a food based approach when it comes to healthy living BUT the two supplements I would highly recommend after roaccutane is a b-complex and Zinc (this might also help with picking up your mood, although roaccutane definitely effect one's mood and it will go away soon after stopping the meds!)

    Have a fantastic year dearest Katie, stay this lovely and never settle for less than you deserve!

    xxM

  8. January 14, 2017 / 10:22 pm

    I used this post as inspiration for my very first blog post over on my shiny new blog! I love the idea of rounding up the old year and ringing in the new! 🙂 xox

    invisiblecrown.org

  9. Anonymous
    January 17, 2017 / 4:21 pm

    Hi, this is a weird question but does anyone know where the floral swimsuit from one of the photos is from!! So cute 🙂

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