2016: A Few of My Favorites

My favorite thing about blogging is having a (very casual) body of work to look back on. Every once in a while, I find myself digging through my archives and watching myself grow physically, mentally, spiritually, and, of course, as a sartorial enthusiast. I've been doing this blog for almost five years. Five formative years. Over the course of this blog thus far, I've traveled to six different countries, moved, grown out my bangs, went through a horrible breakup, moved again, landed my dream job, quit my dream job when I realized it wasn't for me, been diagnosed with a mental illness, put almost 100,000 miles on my poor Mercury Mariner, gotten married to my best friend, adopted the most adorable and lovable boxer/hound mix, gone sober, helped start a tech company, moved again, and started writing a book. I've typed up thoughts and musings in both laughter and tears. (Emphasis on tears.) But we'll save the sappiness for my official blogiversary in March.

For now, I wanted to share some of my favorite looks from 2016. Though it's been difficult to scrap together any sort "goodness" from this past year, I must say that the hardships have forced me to take stock of who I am. That theme of getting to know myself definitively has absolutely shown through my clothing choices, specifically in the latter half of the year.

I'm heading into 2017 with cautious excitement. While 2016 was the year that almost broke me, I'm declaring 2017 as the year of rebuilding and taking ownership of my life. My mistakes, my missteps, my flaws, my strengths, and my ambition. I've learned that though everyone else makes success seem simple, good things do not come to those who wait. I don't have a resolution necessarily but I do have some goals: 

Buy a home.

Truly forgive those who have hurt me.

Genuinely apologize to those I have hurt.

See my company get funding.

Visit a new country.

Don't fall off the wagon.

Drink more water.

Continue working on my book.

Learn how to create beautiful latte art. 

Wishing you all the best. See you "next year." ;)

xo, e.m.

*photos by Danielle Conyers, Brenden Shaver, and Deb Kielmeier