2017 – a year of change

2017 was a year full of highs and lows – all at once the most wonderful and yet by far the hardest of my thirty-five years.  I like to keep Thankfifi as a space filled with positivity but behind the scenes this year was tough, it still is.  I was encouraged to assess what was really important to me and underneath the surface of fashion and travel and pretty things there is family.  And family will always be the single most important thing to me – this year has been a journey, gaining one and losing one, my heart has been bursting and breaking both at once.

I thank you all for being of this journey with me and for understanding the pauses and I wish you health and happiness for 2018.  Here’s a look back at the best bits of my last twelve months…

(Click the images to read the original posts).

After spending the first month hiding a growing bump I finally revealed the news in this post, sharing images in which I thought my belly was huge (I had no idea what was coming and just how much that belly was going to grow… and grow… and grow).

I spent the coming months trying to figure out how to keep my style in winter, spring, summer and wedding season whilst working that bump and generally buying as few maternity clothes as possible.  Turned out that dresses were my best friend…

   

   

   

Each month I shared some thoughts on my pregnancy, the highs and the lows at the six, seven, eight and nine month mark and then, one month on, my birth story.  Probably the most honest, personal and long post I had ever written and, as it turns out, my most popular post of the year…

I continued my partnership with Sassoon, changed my hair, many times, and finally took the plunge and cut in a fringe, squishing myself under the kitchen worktop to get that perfect concrete backdrop for the very last time (no mean feat at eight months pregnant I assure you)…

We redecorated our apartment together and you guys loved the budget kitchen makeover with that DIY concrete and those Spanish tile stickers.  I was also pretty chuffed when the post got picked up by Apartment Therapy and then shared on a whole bunch of cool interior sites and sent me a tonne of traffic.  We moved to the country and I shared a first look at our new home and the family room (more home tours are in the works for this year)…

   

I started working out again and shared my thoughts on post baby fitness and what’s working for me and my body wearing the best sports bra I have ever owned (from Panache who have been ‘supporting’ me every step of this year’s body changing journey).  Sooo ready to get back into working out after the holidays…

I got back out and about with a baby and a pram and sometimes with two dogs in tow…

   

I twinned with my baba and with one of my besties, I found what I am certain is the best coat of the season and confirmed my obsession with all things ochre and tan as well as rediscovering jewellery thanks to Ottoman Hands and wearing a ball gown in the middle of the day…

   

   

And of course we travelled…  but less.  2016 was definitely the year of travel – maybe in some way I knew that life would dictate there would be less travel this year, I don’t know.   But still there was the North of Scotland and London Fashion Week and a short trip to Gran Canaria and a babymoon in Ibiza (honestly the best few days) and our first family holiday in Tenerife which I’ll be sharing over the next couple of weeks right here…  so I certainly cannot complain…

   

   

And I am looking forward to new adventures this year, at home or away and whatever opportunities might come our way…  thanks for coming this far with me.x