We’ve made it to the end of 2019 which means it is time for my annual reflection. This year really reminded me about the delicacy of life. I struggled the first few months to remember how life’s curveballs all serve a purpose and I felt a heavy heart at many turns.

This year was certainly a year of resilience. And of patience. And of choosing to be positive and hopeful every, single day despite obstacles. That being said, I was reminded that most things in life are able to be figured out and those that can’t, must be surrendered as things we can’t control and most likely will never truly understand.

Through all of this I actually found that the state in which my head was for much of this year actually ended up tuning me more into my heart. I dove into self help books and relied heavily on teaching – and reminding myself – that there is greater meaning than we can understand in life’s happenings. But to be totally transparent, this year was hard. For so many reasons. And while I have much to be grateful for from 2019, I’m also happy to be wishing it farewell.

In 2019 I published 245 (!!!) blog posts! I’ve never calculated the number before but wow. Within those 245 posts I really pushed myself and worked to mix things up in my content. I shared multiple posts on wearing pieces multiple ways after a lot of requests to do so. I shot a fun post with my friend Carly to share a piece on two body types, too. I finally shot in Grand Central, did my take on a Breakfast at Tiffany’s editorial and went all out with my holiday content really challenging myself to do more interesting things. I also ran another successful Kindness Campaign which warmed my heart. I aimed to make it bigger and better this year and you guys all really helped me deliver on that!

This year on the blog I opened about my anxiety, why I see an acupuncturist and more about my personality.  I also spoke about quality time with your own company, thoughts on friendship and how to handle when things don’t seem to be going your way. In 2019 I invested a lot of time in back end items on wit & whimsy that you may not have recognized. I updated my Shop and revised my Menu on the site to make navigation even easier. I built out a sub category entirely dedicated to Paris content, too. I also revised my newsletter so you can be a subscriber getting every new blog post or just my monthly recaps and began monthly investments in SEO.

Most notably on wit & whimsy this year, in large part thanks to the shift in my mindset following some poignant moments early on in 2019, I ended up penning the most significant, personal and viral post I’ve ever written in 13 years of blogging. My heartfelt, real and raw words shared in Thoughts On Being Single in Your 30s spread further and wider than I could have ever imagined. When I hit publish, I had hoped a few dozen would find solace in it. But tens of thousands have now read the post and the messages, comments, emails and conversations that followed (and continue to come in!) after I shared something so deeply personal filled my heart with love and my eyes with tears. I can never begin to express what it meant to connect with so many people about this tough topic but it forever moved me and it is something I’ll never forget. It was a true marker of 2019 for me and I find it amazing that I continue to get DMs, emails and comments related to the post. I penned my follow up thoughts here. Thank you to everyone who opened up to me and shared their heart with me following the posts. I was truly stunned by the reaction and so very touched by the words you all shared with me.

Half way through the year, my life and my career felt a new spirit being breathed in and to say I was ready for it would be an understatement. With the launch of Paris, Perfected I re-ignited my entrepreneurial spirit and found new joy in my corner of the internet. I got to share my love of Paris in a new, more meaningful way and it was truly a highlight for my entire year. I inked a partnership with Galeries Lafayette (the major department store in France) for Paris, Perfected clients to benefit from and began conversations for even more exciting developments for future clients that I am excited to build out in 2020. I had hoped to book 40 clients between the launch in late July and the end of the year and I was blown away when I booked nearly 100 (!!!) It was amazing to see how many of you supported this new endeavor of mine! Merci, from the bottom of my heart.

This year I got to work with some amazing brands for wit & whimsy that truly made me excited to create content. Everlane, Barbour, Ann Taylor (here, here and here), Sarah Flint, Talbots (here, here), J.McLaughlin (here, here) Ibotta (here and here), Caudalie, Inez; among others. I still have to pinch myself when household names like these trust me to tell stories on their behalf. Thank you for supporting the content I create with these brands throughout the year! It is not lost on me that the reason I get to work with these partners is because of you all! This year I was also invited to London with Merlin Entertainment which was a huge highlight of my year.

I also hosted my first and second in person reader meet ups! It was so invigorating to meet so many of my readers in real life this year and it truly touched me when people said it felt like I was their friend through the content I share. I feel so lucky to have such friendly, generous and supportive readers and followers. If you came out this year to these events thank you!

I welcomed so many new readers here this year and it truly renewed my sense of purpose with creating content that not only makes me excited but more importantly, that resonates with all of you. Thank you for making me feel heard, for all your encouragement and for opening up with me through your comments, DMs and emails. Hearing from you guys is why I continue to put my heart and hard work into my content day after day.

Thank you for trusting me with your purchases and thank you for inspiring me to keep reaching and to keep dreaming when it comes to experiences I want to create and share.

In my personal life, this year I was so lucky to visit a place I’ve always dreamed of going: Australia! (Recaps and guides to come in the new year!) I also spent my birthday in Paris as I had hoped and got to return to my beloved city in November to build out Paris, Perfected. I had one of the very best Falls ever as well visiting the Catskills twice and this year I also went to DC several times – once for a press trip and also to see friends two other times as well as a quick few days in Saint Michaels, Maryland. I did my first ever yoga retreat, went apple picking multiple times with friends this Fall and soaked up the best of my favorite season in the city. Over the summer I returned to Provence and the French Riviera and had the loveliest time with my friend Merritt, went to LA to see friends and spent time with all my best girlfriends from college in Palm Springs and once again spent some blissful summer days on Nantucket with my friend Carly. This year I also became a godmother, welcomed friends and family to NYC for fun visits, went to the New York City ballet for the first time, explored my city, ate so many good meals, saw some great shows on Broadway and as usual, kept falling in love with New York City. I also decided to really prioritize my mental and physical well being by going to acupuncture regularly which felt like mini therapy sessions, provided quality time off my phone and led me to less chronic headache pain than I’ve had in nearly two decades.

During this summer however though I was also dealt my own personal health blow when I was diagnosed with skin cancer. The new reality had me re-thinking a lot of my lifestyle choices and led to me to a path of cleaner products and overall deeper self awareness. Life felt more fragile and now my scar serves as a reminder to be purposeful with my sun care choices and to use my platform to spread awareness around the importance of skin health. For better or worse, it made 2019 a year I will always remember.

I’ll be taking some time off for the first couple of weeks in January when it comes to creating new blog posts but will look forward to sharing lots more with you all in 2020! How exciting that we are starting a new decade. Near the onset of the last one was when I began plotting my plan to move to New York – time truly does fly. I already have so many ideas for things I want to accomplish in the new year and can’t wait to take some time in the coming weeks to put pen to paper on getting organized for all things w&w in 2020! In the meantime you can follow along with me on Instagram as always.

I want to say a heartfelt thank you for following along with me, engaging with me and being such wonderful readers. I am so grateful for each and every one of you. May you and yours have a wonderful new year and I look forward to reuniting with you all soon!

xx,

Meghan