I’m really into milestones and stepping back to realize what you’ve accomplished, what you need to do better, what you plan to do next, etc. Life flies past us so suddenly that we sometimes forget to step back, take a deep breath and remember. It’s different than dwelling in the past, it’s more about celebrating life in increments. It’s the little victories we forget to acknowledge and they’re usually the most pivotal.

In Portland, OR this year – Visiting some favorites. A little hungover, but stoked because we’re at brunch.

I recapped 2011 last year here. This year, like anyone might suspect, I feel like I’m in a different place, with different priorities. But I’m still writing here. Albeit, less frequently, I still consider writing and this space a special one for me.

Some random facts of 2012:

I’ve published 579 posts since starting this blog in 2008.

This year I traveled to: San Diego, Portland (OR), NYC, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Providence (RI), Santa Barbara, Silicon Valley, St. Lucia Carribean, Iowa (three separate times), Columbus (OH), Orlando, West Virginia and Boston/Worcester (twice).  It was quite a year of travel and FourSquare just told me I’ve checked in at 25 different airports. Who wudda thunk!

I started: writing for Eater Denver (freelance food writer, hello), Boulder Food Media (a meetup I co-founded with 38 local food media professionals), Crossfit (hardest physical exercise I’ve ever done), GraceBoyle.com, and moved in with my dude.

I was featured: on Forbes in their Top 100 Websites for Women and Top 10 Websites for Millenial Women. I was floored and can only hope to continue to provide stories, insight, thoughts and ideas as we all continue to grow and evolve together. Over yonder, my food blog was featured in New York Magazine and Westword’s Best Food Blog 2012 in their Web Awards for Colorado.  This reminds me how hard work, love, sweat and tears really does produce an outcome (even if I’m surprised and think, “No, not me, my blog??”)

Top keywords people search to land on SHBI [these are a hoot, in order of most frequent]:

• how to relocate
• kelly cutrone quotes [I love her, her books and words see here and here]
• what you can tell about a person by their hands [answer: how awesome they are]
• small hands big ideas
• may today there be peace within [I want that too]
• why is it hard to make friends [aw]
• communication in the digital age [I love letter writing]
• how to define yourself

My favorite posts of 2012:

• Relation-ship
• Exercising No
• Lucky Duck
• The Skeletons In the Closet
• You Get What You Pay For
• Childlike Wonder
• Matters of the Heart

My favorite posts others have written in 2012: 

• 19 Things To Stop Doing In Your 20′s – Thought Catalog
• How To Nurture Company’s Rebels, And Unlock Their Innovative Might – Design Mind
• Don’t Do Me Any Favous; When Favours Are Good, And When They Are Bad – Danielle LaPorte
• Don’t Worry Too Much About Bothering People – Writing To Reach You
• 25 Things I Want My Son To Know – Huffington Post
• It’s More Important To Be Kind Than Clever – Harvard Business Review
• How To Be Friends With Another Woman – Jezebel
• The ‘Busy’ Trap – NY Times
• The Not Knowing In Life – Bindu Wiles
• Be Kind, Online – Just a Titch

Thank you for being here. Thanks for the friendship. Thanks for the laughs. Thanks for sharing. Happy holidays. Much love to all of you. See you in 2013.