2016 Year Recap: Part 3

September

K and Lola share the same birthday on the 5th so we showered Lola with some doggie treats and then shortly after traveled to Nashville to celebrate K's birthday on Labor Day weekend.

We had such a blast exploring "Music City". I've never been a huge fan of country music but on Broadway Street you really hear some great talent which made me become an immediate fan.

The girls and I planned out Kate's baby shower and we decided on the perfect theme based around her love for travel (which we both have in common).



I shared all the cute details of her travel-themed baby shower which was probably the cutest baby shower I've attended to date! Not being biased or anything.



I traveled to Bradenton to go to my SIL's bachelorette party and it was so much fun. We did an Oktoberfest Craft Beer Tour through Sarasota and it was so surprised by all the local breweries we visited and that I never knew existed.

October

Many relaxing weekends were had compared to the months prior. Our Bahamas cruise was planned for early October but Hurricane Matthew swept in and the cruise got cancelled.

We started decorating our home and I shared some furniture and decor style I picked out for our home.

I shared some delicious recipes for Fall along with some cute swimsuits with coverage (in anticipation for our company cruise) and fun tips for hosting brunch at home.

We attended my SIL's wedding which was beautiful and had amazing food!

 
I got to meet Kate's baby fashionista and loved every moment of snuggle time with her.

November

We hosted a housewarming party for friends.

I talked about starting a series called "Never a Dull Moment" and shared our Family Vacation Edition which came with many mishaps and misfortunes sprinkled into all the fun.

We drove up to St. Augustine to celebrate a good friend's birthday and enjoyed exploring Florida's oldest city and all the good food and history it has to offer.

December

Our company cruise to the Bahamas got rescheduled for early December so I shared the details of that trip and cruising on the Majesty of The Seas ship and exploring Nassau.

We started decorating for the holidays and I also shared some girl friend gift ideas.

My birthday is in December so K planned a weekend getaway to Islamorada in the Florida Keys which was an amazing little vacation.

The following weekend Kate and the girls planned a birthday brunch to celebrate my 33rd.

My job threw a company luncheon to kick off the holidays and gifted everyone with Citizen watches which was a huge surprise.

We celebrated Christmas with family in Florida and this was the holiday card we sent out to family and friends this year.

Wrapping the year up and looking back, I'd say 2016 treated me very well and I'm looking forward to new adventures in 2017!

Read my previous 2016 Year Recaps:

Part One  /  Part Two

2016 Year Recap: Part 2

Life got very busy in May and June because we were in the midst of selling our house and purchasing a new home. Things went pretty smoothly with purchasing but we had a bit of a nightmare selling since three buyers went under contract and then for one reason or another backed out so it took about 3 months to sell. But there were tons of fun moments tied into the angst of selling our home.

If you missed it, here's my 2016 Year Recap: Part One.

May

I got lots of bestie time on the weekends while she was in town visiting. We most often went to Cocoa Beach but we also tried new things like Yoga in the Park one weekend and walked around the huge Farmer's Market Downtown Orlando.

I spent a lot of time browsing for home furniture and decor for the new home although we were waiting for our house to sell before making these purchases. I shared some of my favorite decor in this Home Edition post.

K and I traveled to Colorado at the end of May and I did a quick recap of our long weekend trip exploring Denver.

I apparently shared quite a few Fashion & Style inspired posts in the month of May.

Crochet Dress Under $50

Satin Sleepwear

Scalloped Style

Lace Looks

I talked about my US Cities Loves and Lusts and got to cross quite a few lusts of the list including Denver, Nashville, and The Florida Keys. We have a trip booked for Boston early next year and I'm working on crossing the final city lust off my list which is Charleston.

June

I got around to sharing all the details of our Denver trip which was such a fun city to explore.

The bestie and I did a girls weekend getaway to Cocoa Beach with Lola in tow. It was the perfect vacation refresher before starting a new job.

We moved into our new house and I started the new job right around the same time so things were busy settling into both new environments.

I attended Kate's Gender Reveal Party and wore pink because I "knew" it was a girl! Funny enough more people at the party wore blue.

The Pulse Nightclub shootings happened here in Orlando in June which rocked our city in a bad way but it was heartwarming to see our community come together to support the victims and the LGBT community. I talked about my love for the city I live in ~ The City Beautiful.

I shared the recipe for one of my favorite Italian dishes - Chicken Marsala - but slow-cooker style. It was my first attempt at making it in a crockpot but it came out so much better than when I tried the traditional recipe as a novice.

July

We traveled to Jamaica for my cousin's wedding and I did a quick recap of our time spent there with my family.

Clearly my fashion posts slowed down but I talk about some of my Faux Fashion favorites.

I shared a recipe for Festive Rice Krispies Treats which I decorated in pink and blue for Kate's gender reveal party. I also made these for 4th of July in red, white & blue so you can really make them work for any "festive" occasion with the topping colors.

August

I got around to sharing the full details of our family vacation in July to Montego Bay.

I shared some of my favorite Girlfriend Getaway Destinations along with some cute gift ideas for the Fashion Forward Ladies in your life.

I attended my first Blogger Tasting Tour and got to try different dishes and drinks from 3 amazing local restaurants I had never eaten at before.

The event was hosted by Order Up Orlando which is a food delivery app for your phone and they really did a spectacular job with picking the restaurants and getting some food bloggers together to do the tour.

I capped off the month with a weekend trip to Canada to spend time with my family and attend our Family Reunion in Toronto.

Looking back, I clearly kept super busy but got to celebrate so many fun occasions and fulfill my passion for travel.

2016 Year Recap: Part 1

January
Ashley from Wandering Weekenders visited from Texas and we organized a blogger dinner and drinks meetup at Universal Studios City Walk. It was a chilly night, as you can see we were all bundled up in coats and scarfs, but it was a fun night meeting Ashley and her husband while they were in Orlando.



I started off 2016 on a roll with making new recipes and sharing on the blog although that seemed to slow down as the months went on. I shared some of my favorite recipes for easy meals I created in the kitchen and a delicious recipe for homemade Moscow Mule cocktails.




February
Coincidentally we had another blogger meetup when Meg from Borrowed Heaven came into town for a Disney Run. Kate and I met Meg for lunch along with the husbands at Sea Dog Brewing Company which was such a great time meeting in person.



In February I also posted about some beautiful Caribbean Homes I visited while traveling in the islands.

I shared one of my favorite party-pleaser recipes called Bite Me Dip and featured some of the best restaurants in Orlando (according to me).




March
K and I went to St. Augustine for a weekend getaway to explore of one of my favorite Florida cities full of history, shopping and great restaurants!



I posted about some of the Best Happy Hour Spots in Orlando (according to me) on the blog.

We also threw our annual Easter Dinner for friends and shared some fun Easter Entertaining Decor & Recipes.



April
I tagged along on one of K's work trips to Miami. We stayed in Coral Cables which has a cute downtown area so I had a day to myself to walk around Miracle Mile and browse through the shops.



I was all about healthy eating and shared some fun springs salads along with sweet & savory salad recipes perfect for the warmer months.



I talked about shopping for a new home and weekends spent with my BFF.



We went to Cocoa Beach one weekend and then ventured to Wekiva Island the following weekend to enjoy the great weather and the "greater outdoors".
 

At the end of April we found our dream home and started the paperwork process while also trying to sell our current house.



I found that dream kitchen and it become ours.

It's always fun looking back at the year to reminisce and remember milestones, accomplishments and all that happened during that time. This is probably while blogging is perfect for documenting your life because, otherwise I wouldn't remember half of these happenings.

Happy Holidays my friends!