DRESS: Chicwish | SHOES: Marc Fisher| BELT: Brighton (similar & another similar) | SUNGLASSES: Rayban
Whoa, what a wildly crazy yet amazing year 2018 has been!! It’s so easy to step into thinking of what we couldn’t get to before 2019’s arrival. I have a short list of things and I’m sure some of you do too. But for a moment, let’s just put that list aside right now and count our blessings, achievements and then our goals for 2019.
Ready? Ok, Let’s go!
Blessings First:
- I’m grateful for my health
- I’m grateful for my family and their health
- I’m grateful for the countless answered prayers
- I’m grateful that I get the chance to create and inspire others
- I’m grateful for the love and support that surrounds me near and far
- I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve received and the doors that have opened
- I’m grateful to be able to travel + work on my passion
Achievements Next:
- Reached all-time highs with The Charming Olive and it’s all thanks to your support
- Settled family housing matters in LA (sold + moved)
- Settled our own housing situation (sold + moved + bought)
- Decided where we want to live for the next 5 years (California has my heart! Though right now I want to be somewhere nearby and warmer, like Mexico for a vacay!)
- Kept a strong Pagen (Paleo-Vegan) diet – though I don’t believe in diets, I’ve found the right combination of foods that make me feel my best
- Followed through on our other passions – In October we bought a house to redesign in a neighborhood we love! We’re putting our architecture and interior design skills to good use!!
- Saw a good amount of old friends in 2018 + made new ones
2019 Goals (last but not least):
- Be Kinder To Myself – I’ve already started doing this a little and I’ve learned to say “no” more. But oh how I’ve put myself somewhere way down on my list of priorities! I’ve stretched myself too thin this past year and it hasn’t been good for me. I learned that if I couldn’t be there for myself, I really was not available to be there for others.
- Achieve New Goals (personal + professional) – First, I need to focus more on doing what makes me happiest and achieve a better work-life balance. Instagram has been tough lately (algorithm isn’t always fair to everyone). Because I was not as active during my busiest time of transition (August-October), I definitely got hit by the latest Instagram algorithm change. I’ve allowed this to get me down and to get stressed over it. So I’m making a conscious decision to not let it get to me any longer. I know it wont be long before the next algorithm change! It’s important to always continue doing that which makes us happiest on daily basis. As for my professional goals, there’s already lots of exciting things in store for 2019. Some of which I cannot talk about yet, but what I can mention is that my blog will finally get the much needed love I’ve been promising it.
- Feed The Soul – Traveling, staying connected with dearly loved friends, family members, listening to good music, making time to rest and rejuvenate, connecting with inspirational people, reading a good book, facials, spa days … all of that frees up my mind feeds my soul
- Improve My Immediate Circle of 5 – Something I’m already working on (you become the 5 people you spend the most time with). I’m sure you guys have heard this one before. It’s dangerously true. We can’t control the negativity of people around us, but we can chose to separate or remove ourselves from it
- Take Life Less Seriously – Something my dad and grandpa always used to say to me. I need to constantly remind myself of it. I find it difficult to stay on target and not take life too seriously at the same time. I do need to work on this in 2019
- Live In The Moment – 2018 was my most challenging year to date. I didn’t have much time for myself, which may sound strange given the fact that I work for myself, on my own terms, etc. 2018 was filled with challenges that surpassed just my business. I had to be there for critical family + personal matters which took about 8 months out of the year total. I’ve become more numb to things this year than ever before. Due to lack of personal time, I’ve also had much less time to exercise and less time to spend outdoors. All things I need to stay healthy and happy. Now that these matters are settled with, I’m finding myself with more time to devote accordingly.
- Work A Little Less, Enjoy A Little More – 2018 was about getting stuff done. John and I both worked insane amounts of hours and it hasn’t been the healthiest for our relationship. I look forward to more vacations in 2019 just for us.
Do you consider yourself to be the spontaneous type? This year, John and I did something we wouldn’t normally do. We rescued a puppy sheep dog on our trip to Devin, Bulgaria. John calls it serendipity. I call it having a big heart. Either way, I owe you guys a quick story of how we came to have Devina.
So here goes… We had just arrived in Devin, a magical little mountain town full of charming culture and surrounded by a beautiful Balkan forest with fresh water lakes, side note this is where Devina got her nickname “the fresh water shark”. After settling into our cozy boutique hotel we decided to go downtown for dinner. We were strolling down the promenade peering into the little shops where grandmas were making clothes out of local wool and selling fresh beans they had grown in their back yard, when we spotted out of the corner of our eyes a few clumsy little black bundles of joy huddled up under some old wooden crates behind one of the shops.
At first we thought those little nuggets were too cute and of course John nor I can pass a dog on the street without stopping and saying hi. So we went over to see them and the shop owner explained that they had been there for two months and that the mom of the pups was a very sweet, but homeless street dog who had been born in that same spot years ago and that is why she came back to have her pups here. This is can be common in some regions throughout Bulgaria. Homeless dogs with sweet personalities are taken care of by the whole community, and people often feed them left overs on the street. In the city most people live in smaller apartments and can’t take them in. Anyways, the shop owner told us that the dogs are free and that if we wanted to take one it would have a much better life with us than it would growing up on the street. We were kind of shocked that no one had adopted them yet since they were sooo cute and so sweet! We told ourselves that we would think about it over night and make some phone calls to see if it was even possible to arrange to fly her home with us. We planned to come back tomorrow if it was meant to be.
So we went to dinner and stayed out until midnight on the phone with our real estate agent making the final arrangements to close escrow on our new house…but even with all the crazyness of buying a house while on vacation with family we couldnt get this adorable little dog and her story out of our heads. So we called our airline and they said it was fine to bring a dog on board last minute for a small fee, and then we called the vet and they said we could get all the vaccines and paper work done in time to fly. Everything seemed to be telling us that it would work out and that we were meant to rescue one of those pups and give it a new life in America.
We went back to the shop the next day and spent hours trying to pick which one to adopt from the five of them….it was soo hard to choose, they were all so cute and the idea of only saving one made us consider several times just adopting them all….or at least two! But we settled on Devina and said a tear filled farewell to the shop owner who knew how lucky that dog was and thanked us immensely for saving her. As we walked back to the car the momma dog walked next to us and seemed to be escorting her daughter to America and we all started to cry… Now we have Devina and she is just the cutest little lake shark ever, we are the lucky ones…
DRESS: Chicwish | SHOES: Marc Fisher| BELT: Brighton (similar & another similar) | SUNGLASSES: Rayban
SHOP
Happy New Year!!! & as always, thank you so much for following along!!
xx Adelina
2 Comments
Serein
January 2, 2019 at 5:43 pmSuch a cute pup!
Chris and I defiently are not the most spontaneous, but I hope to be a bit more in 2019. Thank you for sharing all your goals and by starting off with gratitude.
Happy New Year!
Serein
http://sereinwu.com/
Young
January 9, 2019 at 7:12 amCongratulations on all your achievements! I hope you get more time for yourself in 2019. Devina is such a cutie!!
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