A Look Back: 2011

When New Year's approaches I always like to think about where I spent the past New Year's Eve and how things have changed since then. Last New Year's Eve I spent with my now boyfriend. At this point in life though, we weren't even dating. We had stayed friends, but parted romantic ways because life at this point was a bit complicated. We decided to spend New Years Eve together anyway, because, well, we still liked each other. 

We spent the evening watching movies, eating popcorn and drinking cheap champagne. At midnight, we clinked our glasses and he toasted the year to us. That toast has ignited a wonderful year together. The complications worked themselves out and he's become the person that makes me laugh, keeps me sane {I actually enjoy trips to Walmart when I'm with him--crazy, I know}, and constantly reminds me that when you find a good match, life seems just a little bit sweeter when shared with another. 

During this last year I also changed careers, decided to go to graduate school, coped with family issues, got closer to some friends and more distant with others, cooked a few meals from my Pinterest board {yay!}, went to New Orleans and South Carolina for the first time, and started a little blog with my dear, dear friend Annye, called Smith & Emma.

It's been a year of change, for sure, but positive change. I may not have reached the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with each and every change yet, but I can definitely see that gold glimmer. I feel that I finally began to take control of my life in 2011. I started discovering what I want out of life and began making it happen. I began realizing my ability & responsibility to make my life one that I am happy with and proud of. So here is to 2012. A year that will be filled with a sense of power and belief in my ability to do good, be happy and live a life, well, totally worth living.

So my wish for you, Smith & Emma landers, is that you feel that same sense of love for the life you live. And if you don't feel it, I hope that you seek it out. Think about what you want out of life and then go take it--remembering it won't always be easy. You'll make sacrifices along the way. Jut remember to remind yourself why you wanted it in the first place. 

Here is my blessing for all of our readers in 2012, shared with me by one of my dearest friends:

May the sun bring you new energy by day.

May the moon softly restore you by night.

May the rain wash away your worries.

May the breeze blow new strength in your being.

May you walk gently through the world and know it's beauty all the days of your life.

--Apache Blessing

How was your year in 2011? What do you hope 2012 will bring? Or, better yet, what are you bringing to 2012?