2015 Recap

Every year on my old blog I would recap the year. I always was surprised at how much I had accomplished when it constantly seems like an uphill battle. Looking back at that old blog, I realized I didn't do 2014 either. So, here we go.

2014
In early January I came back to LA after working in NYC for two months. That previous November and December I had rented rooms from people off AirBnb. One in Williamsburg where I met my Norwegian friend Therese. Then for a month I stayed in Carroll Gardens while I diligently wrote the manuscript for The Flower Chef. I wrote every day for hours counting down how many recipes were left to write. 

I planned on moving back to LA in January of 2014, but then got the Super Bowl job in NYC, so back I went, renting other rooms. In February I bounced between friends places in LA, while shooting the book. That was insane. Finally in March, I got a small apartment close to the beach in Venice. From there, I traveled, while biz was booming on both coasts. I went to Miami and wrote a travel piece for Huff Post as a blogger. I went to Nashville for the first time. In the summer, business got slow, as now I realize it does. But at the time I didn't quite know yet the patterns since I had transitioned into mostly corporate events. 

The one day in July or August I got a call from my agent that the book was being delayed until March 2016. That led to another near nervous breakdown. That's common in publishing but I was really counting on my book coming out in 6 months to focus on that. So I decided to get a full time job in events while running my company for stability and to have a peace of mind and kind of release the reigns of business on someone else. With my flexible schedule, I continued to travel. I went to Belize for New Years in 2015 with Therese. My first time out of the country since Costa Rica. You can read about that in Costa Rica Chronicles. 

So, 2014 was pretty weird. It had be bouncing back and forth like a vegabond, finishing the book (sort of-- there were rewrites and reshoots later on). I dated one guy that questioned my judgment. 

That leads me to.... 2015. 

2015
In Belize I had a breakthrough moment of peace and clarity you can read about here. I continued all my jobs I had been doing. Jobs-- plural. Like most people living in a big city. It began to be too hard to balance it all. I was always tired. In March I went to Maui, which was dreamlike and surreal, and to be remembered. I read a good quote that's stuck with me There are all kinds of love in this world but never the same love twice. 

In April, I went to Curacao after a winded journey of getting a placement in Destination I Do magazine. A publicist from Miami had represented Curacao and asked me to find a print magazine to write about the country. This was my first paid travel writing piece. Or really, any type of paid piece besides my book. It was a 48 hour trip that covered all aspects of the country. I'd still like to travel write as you get to see the underbelly and really the highlights of a region or country. Most people want to travel write, so it's definitely tough getting placements. That alone is a full time job. 

Then I traveled to NYC a few times for mainly business. Usually I stay with my brother in Brooklyn. 

Towards Summer and Fall, business picked up with a bang. We had a lot of great events. I hired on some new freelancers. For my dad's 60th in July we went to Belize. My second time there in two months! The best thing we did were the ATV Caves. Look it up. Unreal. 

I also adopted a mutt who I named Gracie Mae. I thought she was saved by Grace (my boyfriend rolls his eyes at this statement) and love the south, so Gracie Mae is her name! She is about 5 years old, and my buddy. I brought her to NYC once, which was pretty much a disaster. She can barely take the hectic Venice life. 

Around December I started our online daily deliveries again. I am full time working from home, cafes, or when we rent space for events. Plus, coordinating the book tour happening in less than two months. That a whole other post. 

So in the two years, I've reinvented myself and business again. I tried various jobs. I created another sizzle for the flower version of Chopped that I'm determined to sell. I have reconnected and resettled back to LA. That's a lot of "re", but part of the journey of it all. Okay gotta go, more meetings, more coordinating, more flowers. Love you!