I wasn’t planning on blogging about the year just gone, especially considering it’s January 3rd now, but I’m sitting here with little else to do (I lie, I’m procrastinating) on my final day of the festive holidays. I started to think about the year ahead for this blog and what I want to achieve, and how I might do this. I wanted to begin with a look at 2019…

I travelled a lot

2019 was a year jam-packed with exciting travels, just the way I like it. From UK breaks to journeys further afield, my schedule was far from boring. The year kicked off with a press stay in the beautiful city of Bath, followed by adventures in Boston where we also travelled to Salem and Cape Cod. It was then time to head back to the Lake District where we enjoyed a relaxing few days at the beautiful Another Place hotel. July saw our return to Ibiza for the annual summer vacay, before heading off to The Cotswolds for another gorgeous UK break, courtesy of House of Coco. September was all about CANADA! What a trip we had, we spent 6 days exploring New Brunswick and had the most incredible time. October saw me heading off to Lanzarote for last minute sunshine, before heading back to the UK to squeeze in some work before a Halloween trip to Copenhagen. December was mostly about Charlie’s 30th, we rented a huge country house for a weekend with 20 of our friends, spend a cosy weekend in Wales and snuck in a quick night in London before Christmas. PHEW.

I Renovated My Dream Home

I’ve been renovating my house for what seems like an eternity, but since we exchanged in March 2018, a LOT has happened. 2019 was really about completing all of the groundwork, and transforming it into what was an absolute building site, into my dream home. We have a move-in date of end of February/early March 2020 and it’s so satisfying to see everything come together. Renovating is a heck of a stressful process, especially when you’re faced with so many issues, but there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel, hoorah. 2019 consisted of a LOT of work, but it’s all paid off and I can’t wait to show you around the place soon.

I Launched My Own Business

Alongside all of the travelling, I also took my business full-time! Technically I went freelance in September 2018, but 2019 saw the year that Gray Hop Digital (website coming soon, excuse the holding page for now!) became pretty much a full-time gig for both myself and my co-founder and freelance partner, Adele. We’re not your average digital marketing agency, in fact, we don’t refer to ourselves as an agency at all. We like to become an extension of our clients team, and work hard to achieve amazing results. We offer SEO, PPC, content creation and social media management/advertising! And I love it. I’ve always wanted to work for myself, and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to happen at age 26 but everything happens for a reason and I am so glad I took the plunge. It can be scary scary, a complete rollercoaster ride, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Being in charge of my own schedule is incredibly important to me.

I Joined Team Coco

Joining House of Coco, one of the UK’s best travel mags, was a dream come true. I’ve always dreamed of writing for a living, even when I was a little girl I would spend hours making my own books and magazines. I think I even opened a bookshop when I was around 8, it sold around 7 different books but they were GREAT. Haha. I am so grateful to be a part of such an incredible team, and embark on once in a lifetime adventures to create epic content! My first piece of writing for HoC will be out in the next print and digital issue (eek) and I can’t wait to see it IRL.

My Favourite Blog Posts

How to Spend a Day in Salem, Massachusetts 

Hotel Review: Another Place, The Lake District

The Best Instagram Spots in Boston, Massachusetts

2019 was a blur of travelling, lots of hard work, house renovating and trying to keep my head above water! I feel 2020 will be a much calmer year as I settle into my new home and create a new way of life. It will be such a relief to no longer have the house project looming over me, and not to mention the money no longer draining from my bank account to cover building costs and everything else.

So, what about 2020?

I haven’t set any New Year resolutions but I have made a little list of what I’d like 2020 to include…

• Finish decorating and settle into my new home
• Book more travels and say yes to new adventures
• Discover more of the UK – in particular, Scotland
• Adopt a dog who can join us on our adventures in the UK
• Continue to work hard on Gray Hop
• Dedicate more time to transforming this website into my vision

What’s on your list for 2020?