This year was a year of M O M E N T U M. Like I could feel the earth moving under my feet as I trusted my instincts and allowed myself the space and time to dare to dream bigger and do more. It felt really nice to feel like I was moving in the right direction. 

2022 Year in Review

In 2022, I stepped back and thought about how to really, truly achieve the goals I had. I began planning for the next few years of my businesses and made decisions that would allow me to achieve those goals. I tracked my analytics and my goals diligently and worked to assess what was working and what wasn’t. 

This year my Paris, Perfected business grew by over 4000% (!!!) I could have been stressed by it but instead I was fueled by it. I put things into place that I thought may never happen and it felt so good to be acting on things vs. just dreaming about them.

I also started an Instagram account for the business to have a home for all my Paris photos and I also had such fun creating Paris-centric content on TikTok following re-focusing my presence on the platform to be entirely Paris related. That community grew by over 5,000 this year! I also launched a new Paris, Perfected newsletter that I am looking forward to growing in 2023. 

I made updates to the product based on client feedback and launched a host of new offerings including a What’s New in Paris offering for return clients as well as introduced London, Perfected. I worked with over 300 clients in 2022 and closed out the year by announcing that I have joined a travel agency called EMBARK Beyond which will allow me to access additional resources, offer more perks to my clients and overall scale my business for the direction in which I see it going in the next few years.

If you were a Paris, Perfected client this year – thank you so much for trusting me with your trip to Paris. I truly have to pinch myself that I get to do this for a portion of my living.

And in 2022 wit & whimsy remained the place I got to connect with so many of you. 

2022 was the highest trafficked year for wit & whimsy since I began the site back in 2006. I hit a major traffic milestone I had been working towards for over two years! 

2022 was also the most profitable year since inception which was a major motivator for continuing to invest in my team and assess where I spend my time. My site saw the most engagement it has ever seen, I tripled my newsletter following (beating my subscriber goal by 1K!), had my highest months of earnings and I worked hard to think about how to do things differently and how to consistently show up with value and as my authentic self.

This year I also hired a new assistant! As my businesses have evolved, I looked into what I needed support in the most. She has made my life and work so much more manageable. She’s helped fuel additional growth and change things up and I’m grateful I’ve made the investment into having her creativity and ideas drive further momentum. 

On the professional front, this year I published 224 blog posts – less than years prior. This was purposefully as I worked to better spread my time across the other areas in which I am constantly creating – most importantly exclusive posts for my newsletter subscribers but also Instagram, TikTok, LTK and Pinterest.

The year’s most popular posts were:

• My Favorite and Most Worn Shoes + How I Take Care of Them.
• Some of My Wardrobe Favorites Under $200.
• What to Wear in Paris in the Fall.
• Westman Atelier Review – Is It Worth It?.
• All My Travel Essentials.
• 16 Best French Beauty Products.
• Capsule Wardrobe Basics: High Quality Items To Build On.
• Best Shoes to Wear in Paris.
• Jenni Kayne Apparel Review.
• The Best Sezane Essentials.
• Merit Beauty Review.
• Clothes in My Closet I Can’t Wait to Wear This Fall.
• How to Dress for Paris in the Summer.

This year I was honored to carry out brand collaborations with dream brands including Sephora and the majority of my campaigns were repeat clients which makes me really proud – Sarah Flint, Talbots, Brooklinen, Vuori, Inez, M.M.LaFleur; among others. Truly a major highlight for me this year was designing and launching my M.M.LaFleur Fall Capsule collaboration.

When I type these brands out I have to pinch myself to remind myself it was all real. These partnerships are what allow me to create the content I want to create – and your support of them is what makes them possible. Brands now have more data than ever to be able to see who drives sales so when you guys make the effort to shop via my links to give me credit for your purchase – it allows these collaborations to happen. 

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for supporting my collaborations – commenting on them, liking them, sharing them – they allow me to write all the unpaid, unsponsored work you see on wit & whimsy’s channels throughout the year.

In 2022 I made major strides in setting boundaries. I stopped posting on social media on weekends. I stopped replying to messages and emails on weekends, too. I took a vacation without working!!! And I moved my personal essays to my newsletter vs. publishing on my blog for all to see for forever. These were hugely important strides for me as a Creator who has been sharing her life online since 2006.

This year I turned 37, celebrated living in New York City for 11 years and I worked on making my apartment *my home*. I painted the ceilings, took on adding custom shoe shelves, got a new mantel for my bedroom, installed window treatments and had fun finding two chairs at an antiques fair and made them my own. I FINALLY got a couch!

I nested and I soaked up Brooklyn. I had my best friends visit and laughed and smiled till my face hurt. I saw a lot of Broadway shows (Hamilton! Moulin Rouge! Tina! Company! The Music Man! Funny Girl!) and made memories across Manhattan and Brooklyn. I cherished the three visits I got with my niece over the course of the year and I celebrated my brother’s wedding.

And when I wasn’t home I was making memories elsewhere. In Scotland, in London, in California, in Upstate NY and The Berkshires, in the Carolinas. I spent a blissful and much needed true vacation living la dolce vita in Italy – finally visiting Lake Como and Venice both of which had been on my dream travel bucket list for quite some time. The time away from Instagram those days changed my life and opened my eyes to the importance of stepping away – even if it means loss of engagement statistics and loss of revenue. 

This year I spent quality time with my most loved ones and they cheered me on and filled my cup. 

This year I made four trips to Paris to continue to scout spots for Paris, Perfected and market the service. The trips were so busy and fueled by espresso and adrenaline. But they were so fruitful. 

My trip to Paris in March was an important one in particular. I booked it three weeks before because I had a guttural reaction that my life was feeling too much. I needed an escape and a way to just *be* and a solo, (largely) non-work trip to Paris for a few days was the pause button I needed. I feel proud on looking back on that. I listened to my intuition and made it work despite obligations and scheduling fears. I carved the time out for myself and I feel it set me up for success in the months that followed. 

And there were also so, so many good memories made in Paris this year. On my most recent trip a follower turned to me and asked “You are living my dream. How on earth did you make this happen?” And I took a pause – as I often find myself doing – and just really told her I can barely believe it is real life, either. But every day Paris, Perfected reminds me that great ideas and fulfilling dreams can come out of the blue and change your life for the better.

There’s so much ahead for 2023 that I am looking forward to when it comes to this business. Thank you all for championing me on this dream that has become a reality.

This year I battled a lot of negative self talk. About my body and stage in life and imposter syndrome. It was a year of having to try and remind myself of value and difference and what truly matters most. I had to give myself pep talks, carve out time for my mental health and set up boundaries to people online who were negatively impacting how I felt about myself. 

It was a year where I fell out of my best habits. My travel schedule and my general work load, I struggled to stay committed to the things I know my body and mind crave and truly need. I look forward to a reset in the new year that will allow me to realign myself with better habits and routines that nourish me. 

And I feel my momentum this year came at a cost, too. I sacrificed my social calendar for work too frequently and was less communicative with my loved ones – allowing texts and emails to go unanswered too many times as I moved too fast.

Dealing with the misalignment in my habits, the negative self talk and my negative body image this year has me thinking towards 2023 and how to make impactful, small changes. I’ll be spending part of my holidays away from my brands thinking of how to achieve this.

Thank you all so, so much for being a part of this community and this year’s successes. Growing this community drives my sense of purpose with creating content that not only makes me excited but more importantly, that resonates with all of you. 

As I did last year, I end this year with deep gratitude for my health, for the health of my loved ones and for the deeper relationships forged in the face of continued uncertainty and struggle. I am looking forward to what 2023 has in store (if you’re on my newsletter list you already got a sneak peek at a major dream of mine that is on the books for Q1!)

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. You are the reason I get to do what I love every day. And for that I am forever grateful.

I have one last blog post that will go live the day after Christmas if you’re in the mood for some sale shopping for yourself but otherwise I am now out of the virtual office! I’ll be returning to regular programing January 6th.

Turning off for a couple weeks at the end of the year has become an important practice of mine to close out the year for the past several years. I’m grateful this job allows me to take time when I need it and I finally am going to do so. I have already started plotting all sorts of posts for my return in mid-January and know I will look forward to reconnecting with you all when I sign back online after a period of rest. In the meantime, I’ll be spending time away from my screens – reading, baking, going on walks and being with family.

May you and yours have a wonderful new year and I look forward to reuniting with you all soon!

xx,

Meghan

You can see past Years in Review here.

You May Also Like:

• My Favorite Sephora Purchases of the Year.
• The Best Shoes to Own for Fall & Winter.
• All My Travel Essentials.

[Katie Donnelly Photography; Carter Fish Photography and Ashley Gallerani Photography]