My Christmas vacation…

As you may know I recently got back from Canada, and after three days I think I’ve finally beat my jet lag. I felt like a walking zombie. A 9 hour time difference and really mess you up. Jet lag sucks! Lol!
We spent the first 4 days of our vacation in the big apple, and after many weather delays, and two flights later we arrived in Sault Ste Marie… a small town in Northern Ontario, Canada. Nathan (my husband) is from Canada so we made the trip to spend Christmas with his family. I must admit that even though I don’t react well to freezing cold temperatures (I don’t know who does?) I prefer Christmas in Canada than anywhere else purely because there is always a layer of fresh white snow on the ground. I’m not a smart dresser when it comes to freezing temperatures. I have and always will dress for style. I was given the choice of a warm winter Moncler coat or a new bag for Christmas, and I, of course, chose the bag! I’d rather suffer from the cold for two whole weeks than spend money on a designer coat that I get to wear once a year. However there were moments when I started to feel regret for my fashion savvy choice, until I landed in Dubai and realized I would no longer be freezing cold. 🙂  – See my pictures below…
Turning my “out of office” on and preparing myself for a 2 week vacation was the best feeling ever. After a busy but fun few months I really felt like I needed a break. Believe it or not I didn’t reply to one email, which made me feel slightly guilty but I knew it had to be done.
It’s nice to switch off and taken the time to reflect on my highs and lows over the past year. Having a good break from the fast paced city life is probably good for the soul. So here it goes… here are my lows and my highs.
The lows…
– Not being in the UK while my Aunty Sue was battling breast cancer.
– My Nan passing away last March. I miss her so much.
– Trying for a baby and ending the year still trying. I have had a draft blog about my fertility journey for nearly 4 months and It will remain in my draft folder until I feel ready to share. I’m in a happy place now but it’s taken a while to get there.
– Feeling doubtful about my self worth. I still struggle with this and anxiety is something I need to work on his coming year. I’ve felt overwhelmed and run down on a number of occasions, and I feel like It’s held me back with moving my business forward.
The highs…
– Adopting Ferguson, my gorgeous and rather chubby Puggle (Pug/Beagle mix) from K9 Friends last May. He has made me smile every day since then.
– Launching LovelyStyling.com – it was a fabulous feeling to finally press ‘publish’ on the new website and go live after months of hard work.
– Feeling lucky to have so many new friends in the wedding industry.
– Making friends with Rio from Bride Club ME. It wasn’t until our 2nd or 3rd meeting that I discovered the real Rio. She’s a bit wacky, out spoken and has more conference than anyone I know, but she’s passionate and like me she knows what she wants. I admire her in a lot of ways. You’ll understand why I’m including her in my highlights in the very near future.
– My husband made Partner at the big firm he works for in Dubai. He’s the hardest worker I know, and I admire his work ethic and ability to give 100% to everything he does. He’s also the smartest person I know, and at times it boggles my mind.
-My best friend Rachel had a baby. I’ve known her since I was 12 and she has been with her husband for over 12 years. I like to take a little credit as I introduced them. They have the most perfect baby boy who I will love as my own. #bestauntyever
– Natalie having twins. When I discovered Natalie (Mustard Seed Creative) was pregnant with twins it was the best news ever. She went through a tough time and to come out of it with twin girls was the best news anyone could ask for. The girls are perfect and again, I think I’m going to be a pretty good aunty.
– Holidays – we have been so lucky to able to travel, and this year we went to Switzerland, Australia, Indoniesia, UK, Egypt, US and Canada
– Amy’s lovely wedding. (Amy is one of my closest friends.) She and Pat got married on the 18th December and it was perfect ending to my wedding year.
So there you go my lovelies, a little longer than I expected but I hope you enjoyed my personal thoughts. It feels good to put a bit more of ‘myself’ out there. After all, if you’re a MLW reader you should know the real me.
Back tomorrow with something more wedding related!