2019: A Year In Review

2019. Whoa. What a year. Most people that I’ve spoken to have been saying that 2019 was a ROUGH one. I can’t say my year was bad, but I can’t say it was easy and breezy. It was incredible in terms of my marriage and travel! Work was overwhelming, but I worked so hard, this semester, to make therapy more fun for the kids, which in turn makes it easier and more fun for me.  Were suffered a huge loss in our family this fall and that has been especially hard during the holiday season. Blogging has been incredible. I’ve collaborated with several dream brands on a small level and can only hope that this means bigger and better collaborations are coming in 2020! While, blogging has been a source of relaxation and a true hobby for me, it has been a blessing to collaborate with brands to bring y’all exposure and reviews to products you’re interested about!


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I’m going to follow the same theme of last year’s year in review and go over the things that went well this past year! I still think it’s good to focus on the positive things in life rather than the negative.

1. Travel- Oh. My. God. Did we travel! I know I promised a travel tale for Disney- and it may still be in the works (I know I’ve said that a million times! But travel tales take a lot of time!), but you can catch my travel tales for Fredricksburg; Seattle and Vancouver (what to eat; what to see); Cancun & Isla Mujeres; and even for a staycation weekend in San Antonio (I could write a few more of these, haha!).  I hope that we can continue our journeys this year! I’m slowly starting to plan a HUGE trip, which is overwhelming and I don’t know if it’ll happen (commitment phobia strikes again!), but if it does, I’ll have A LOT to share!

2. We bought a car!- AGH! I didn’t think I would actually accomplish this one, but we did! My husband was A STAR when we were looking for my vehicle and it was a really big step for us going into our (ALMOST) second year of marriage! Cheers to marriage wins!

3. Read A Whole Lot- I read quite a few books this year. I finally finished The Devil Wears Prada after a few years of trying! I’ll list most of the books I’ve read this year for below. This is what I’m reading now– I’m in love!

4. Blog More Consistently- I said I wanted to make this a goal for myself this year and I achieved it! I typically published two posts a week. There was only one week where I did not and I want to say that was the week of Christmas…and I don’t feel bad about it! I know most people focus on their instagram, but the blog for me is my true hobby and   is (like I said) a source of relaxation for me.

5. Stopped Beating myself up about not Working Out- This is a big one. I shared a few weeks ago that I was at the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life. That was really hard to admit, but I think it was also a key point of relation of what I want for my life in terms of health and wellness.  I had a lot of stressors this year and sometimes finding time for a work out would add to that stress rather than relieve it. That’s just not good. I’ve really been loving my 20-30 minute workouts or  even just taking 10-minutes to stretch my neck and shoulders. There’s a saying that goes “never do less than your best” and as long as I remain true to that…I think I’m doing just fine.


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 Something I did more of in 2019 was “shop small” at small online and brick and mortar boutiques! Pink Blush Boutique specializes in maternity clothing, and offers so many options of stylish women’s clothing! I was so excited to receive this beautiful maxi dress from them and felt that this easy and breezy vibe was exactly what I wanted to ring in the new year with! Check this dress and so many other cute options on their site and instagram! AlyandtheValley_ShopPinkBlush31.JPGAlyandtheValley_ShopPinkBlush32.JPG

I would’ve hoped that I’d have a list of things that I want to strive for in 2020 worked out by now, but I don’t. I don’t know if that’s because I’m content in where my life is right now or if that means I’m in a funk of some kind. Stay tuned to find out! haha!

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