Life Update: Where Have I Been?

You were probably wondering if I gave up this blog entirely. Radio silence over here right? Truthfully, I almost did.

2016 went by in the blink of an eye and with so much going on (both personally and career-wise) I didn’t devote enough time doing what I love to do most – traveling and writing about it.

In August of 2016, my company consolidated two locations and moved us all together in a brand new location on the Chicago River (think great boat views and happy hour spots). With more visibility came more responsibility, which has been a great thing. My position has transitioned into more of a global role, which means longer hours and calls in the wee hours of the morning and night. These are all great things but means I’ve severely neglected this blog and other freelance projects.

However, I can’t throw all the blame on work for my lack of effort. I spent a lot of time struggling with what to do with the direction of this blog. I wasn’t satisfied with the logo or the design and thought about letting my domain expire and/or axing the entire thing. To top it all off, the blog redesign I did a few years ago after completing the web design course was hacked and I lost my entire theme.

At the same time, I didn’t want to give up something I created over 4 years ago when I moved to Chicago and started the next phase of my life.

One day I sat down and re-read all of my posts and came across things that I didn’t remember, even from a trip a year ago. I sat back with a glass of wine and read about my crazy trip to the Balkans and my solo trip to Portugal. I knew I didn’t want to give it all up but at the same time didn’t know where to start, especially since it took me months to get my last blog redesign up and running. Because I’m a perfectionist and this is my baby, I wanted to start from scratch.

After weeks of reflection, I realized I would have to succumb to the fact that I couldn’t do it all myself. I hired an amazing company to update my WordPress theme and create a new logo and they did a stellar job (I hope you think so too!)

Although things have been crazy, I’ve managed to squeeze in a few international trips this year. 2017 has been a great year for US travel as well – I did some touristy things in NYC, hiked Camelback Mountain, and finally got to check Boston off the list.

I’ve been so blessed to be able to travel as much as I have this year and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

xoxo