Thursday, December 31, 2015

Good Bye 2015

Hello! Happy New Years Eve! I hope everyone had a great 2015, and I think we can all agree that it went by too quickly. All of us have our ups and downs throughout the year- the good, the bad, and the ugly. Today I'm here to focus on the good that happened for me in 2015. 



I shared a lot of photos in my monthly updates, so I might pick a few things to share and try to focus on somethings I didn't share in those updates that are more towards myself and personal goals. I had a good year but I don't feel like it was very eventful to be honest. Which is totally fine because I'm a laid back homebody anyways!

Events

Last January I went to Snow Fest, which is a festival in Frankenmuth, MI, about 30 minutes away from me. They have this every year but this was my first time going. The whole down town is filled with snow and ice sculptures. It was super fun and it's hard for me to believe this was already almost a year ago. This is where I started filming for my 'document your life' videos and my monthly update posts too. 

Over Memorial Day weekend I went kayaking for the first time. It was super fun but I definitely felt like I got hit by a bus afterwards. The trip was very long and it took us I think 6 hours. It was a little much for my first time!

In July my husband and I traveled around Michigan in the Upper Pennsula. We saw the pictures rocks and tahquamenon falls. We also visited 3 out of 5 of the Great Lakes. Northern Michigan is one of my all time favorite places to visit. 

Fall was filled with a trip to the Renissance Festival and Cider Mills. 

We had a nice Christmas and got tons of nice and generous gifts. I really love seeing my niece and nephew open their presents. It's so magical for them and makes me so happy. I was going to do a Christmas haul post or video but I didn't have time before new years. If anyone is interested then I will still do one!

Exciting news 
Back in September we found out that our best friends are going to have a baby! On Christmas they announced that they are having a girl! I'm so so excited for them and their little family!!

Health & Fitness
I always make a goal every year to get into fitness. I usually fail but I did start doing some yoga this year. These pictures a from the summer time because I haven't been doing it a much as I'd like to lately. 

I also stopped eating meat this year. This has been something I've wanted to do since I was 14 years old. 12 years later I'm happy to say that I've stopped. I tried out a plant based/vegan diet and it was hard. I've never been a huge drinker of milk and I've never liked eggs (but gimme alllll the egg soufflés). I gave up yogurt and I haven't really ate dairy things like sour cream in a long times because it's unhealthy anyways. I haven't stopped eating cheese but that's not something I eat everyday so I can live with eat it occasionally. Trying out the vegan diet is what got me to stop eating meat though, so I'm happy I tried it out. I would eventually like to fully go vegan, but one step at a time. I'm not very conscious about buying breads with milk and eggs in it, but again that's not something I eat everyday, and things can't be perfect.  I do still eat pizza with pepperoni on it but that's as far as I go with meat. I get a lot of funny looks when I say I don't eat meat and some are un supportive but it's a matter that I've never really cared about what people think. I know I'm doing good for my body, the environment, and the animals on this earth. I've grown very, very passionate about animal cruelty and I'm not afraid to tell anyone my thoughts on it. This has been a a huge thing for me this year so even though I've just wrote a whole freaking book on it, I wanted to share.


Books
I made a goal to read 50 books this year. The goal was set a little high and I knew that, but I read 20. In 2014 I said I wanted to read 100, and then lowered it to 75- I read about 30. I set these goals high because in 2013 I read 67. I was happy with reading 20 this year and I might do a video or a post on which books I read! I've always wanted to make book related videos! I also read a few mangas this year which is a first for me! 

I think this post was a little bit longer than I intended it to be, so if you made it this far then thank you for reading! I hope you all have a great and safe New Years!


22 comments:

  1. Beautiful post Ashley! It looks like 2015 was an amazing year for you! I wish you all the happiness, joy, and everything else wonderful in 2016! Happy New Year!

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    1. Aww thank you, Pilar!! I wish you everything amazing for 2016 too!!

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  2. What a lovely and beautiful post, Ashley and a great way to close the year. Looks like you had a great 2015 and hope 2016 will be another brilliant year for you!

    ps: You're not the only one who is not doing yoga as much as you like, I completely stopped for roughly two weeks now, before Christmas until now. I'm taking it super easy and will be back working off my arse to burn the calories next week. LOL!

    Reflection of Sanity | StayLean Tea Australia Giveaway

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    1. Thanks so much Shireen! And sometimes it's hard to get back into it when you stop for a little while! does it count that I think about doing it everyday LOL??

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  3. Its so awesome looking back on all the year had to offer, and I love that you always look on the bright side of things :) I've made it my resolution a few years in a row now to become vegetarian which I keep failing miserably at. Now that I buy most of my own food though, I'm hoping this is the year I can transition to being meat free :)

    eightbitbeauty.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you!! And that is so awesome that you want to become a vegetarian!! Changes that like hat can be hard. I've never liked meat but I stopped eating red meat first, and then white meat, so I did it slowly and I think it helped!

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  4. Aww such great memories!! Congrats to your besties! I need to get back into yoga classes. I find it challenging cause I'm not very flexible haha but I love how it makes me feel mentally. Wow girl, reading 20 books is amazing!! Go you! Happy New Year lovely! All the very best. :)
    ♥NY
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    1. Thanks Natalie! And I'm not as flexible as I use to be either but that comes with time and practice I think! And happy New Years to you too girl!!

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  5. Yay Ashley! 2015 was great for you and I can't wait to see what is in store for you this year! What a wonderful post!

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    1. Thanks so much Margo! I hope you had a great
      New Years and I hope 2016 is amazing for you too!

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  6. Lovely post, your kayaking trip sounds fun as does your travels with your husband! Congratulations to your friends, thats so exciting!! Happy New Year!! x
    Freyas Fashion Chapter

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  7. 2015 was great to you, can't wait to see what 2016 has in store! I stopped eating meat when I was around 12, it only lasted about 2 years. I couldn't deal with not eating pizza anymore. LOL! Nowadays I really only eat chicken and fish, I can't stop eating those for sure. Wishing you the best 2016! xo

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    1. Thank you Lily!!! And actually I still will eat pizza with pepperoni on it. For some reason it doesn't gross me out like other meat does! I hope you have an amazing 2016 as well!

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  8. LOL I can definitely relate to feeling like I was hit by a bus after a long day of just walking around! Michigan looks like such a pretty place to live. I'd love to see a Christmas haul/presents post from you :)

    I'm wanting to go down the same path for vegan/vegetarian - I'm just starting out! I've been mostly a plant eater anyway, with some occasional meat because yo it's tasty haha. I don't think it's a bad idea to let yourself slip sometimes, though I guess it depends on what level you are on the ladder. I don't get why some people can be so unsupportive or give you funny looks when you do something that literally has nothing to do with them and isn't physically or mentally harming anyone!

    Also I thought you were gonna say you and hubs were gonna have a kid for the exciting news hahaha!

    becky ♡ star violet

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    1. thats so exciting your going to try vegetarian/vegan Becky! And no I don't think eating it occasionally is bad. you can think of it more like 'treating your self' if you want to eat it sometimes! It's hard to start out and it takes a lot of time so don't give up!

      And where I live in Michigan isn't as pretty as the pictures I showed! Northern and western Michigan around the Great Lake areas are beautiful though!

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  9. I thought it was so cool the different places you visited Ashley. I always like to see what's going on in someone's State. There are always so many interesting things. Congratulations to your friend! A baby is a blessing :) Your health and exercise regime is always on point! Keep it up! It's so beneficial.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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    1. I always like to see what's going on in other states too!! I'll try to do more posts if I do anything special in different cities in my state this year too like you were going to!! And a baby is a blessing, I'm so happy for them! Thanks so much Kim!

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  10. It looks like you had a pretty good year and some great goals for 2016!

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  11. Thanks for sharing a bit of your year! It looks like you had a good one! I would love to see a book video or post if you get into doing those. I'm always looking for book recommendations!

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    1. I'm always looking for book recommendations too! I'm glad to know you'd be interested if I did videos or posts on videos!

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