2017 In Review: Travel & Living Lovely

I am going to start at the very beginning. 2017 was a big year for my fiance and I. We both changed jobs, moved to a new apartment, and started making progress into a new lifestyle together for the better. Yet sometimes I feel that I haven’t “made it yet.” In your twenties (and I’m sure, at any age) it can feel like life is not always going where you want it to. I have noticed that the feeling of not doing or being “enough” is very prevalent in people my age.

I hear many people say that they want to travel more, have a career that has an impact and is also enjoyable and meaningful to them, that they want strong relationships to their friends, families, and their significant other. Most of all, I hear that people want to experience more of life.

In this day and age, most people I know have some means of taking a photograph with them at all times and with cell phones and social media, taking photos has become very common in our daily lives. Do yourself a favor and round up (in order if you can) all of your favorite moments and photos from 2017 starting in January and ending in December. They don’t have to be perfect Kodak moments, but choose photographs you love because of who or what is in them, how they make you feel, and what is meaningful to you. These photographs have stories and memories. Collect these images together and look at them from the whole year through. Chances are, you did more, loved more, laughed more, and accomplished more, than you have remembered. Here is to celebrating 2017 and looking forward to 2018! 

I have collected my own compilation from local adventures, dates, family outings, vacations, holidays, and simple moments at home. I look at my own collection of photos when I feel like I haven’t done “enough.” It simply reminds me of all that I have already done, and acts as a reminder for all the people and events I have to be thankful for. It helps to ground me to the present and accept that there is no “there” to get to. Instead I need to focus more on right here. Ice skating in January. The Women’s March in Washington DC. Easter in New York City. 

Witnessed and photographed my mother’s Memorial Day wedding to the man of her dreams. Traveled back to Bel Air, Maryland. -The place Matthew and I made our first home together. Charleston, SC. Savannah, GA. Richmond, VA. More adventures at home in Connecticut. Had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my sister Jennifer’s wedding! <3 North Carolina and Tennessee. Kayaking trips and flying a plane. New York City to see Lady Liberty. The 9-11 Memorial. Time spent with great people. Taking Matthew to see hot air balloons take off at sunrise. An exciting birthday adventure in NYC. I had the honor of being a bridesmaid again for my cousin Karissa’s gorgeous wedding. Konrad, the photographer who took this photo is going to be our wedding photographer as well. VO Photographers are amazing and I highly recommend you check out their work. My first sailing adventure. We spent an evening at the shoreline at Stonington Borough for our own engagement shoot with VO Photographers! We had another one of those milestone moments where we were all, “Oh my goodness! We’re getting married!!!”More autumn adventures around Connecticut. A new nephew!My good friend Kari’s proposal.

I photographed several truly memorable weddings this year! Halloween in Salem, MA. An anniversary trip to Vermont. Taughannock Falls in Ithaca, NY.Saw the Macy’s Day Parade in NYC for Thanksgiving. 

Celebrated Christmas with our loved ones. 

To everyone that follows and support my photography and blog; thank you so much! It means the world to me to do what I love to do and share it with all of the incredible people I meet in person and online. Thank you. Cheers to an amazing 2017! Here is to an even better 2018.