That’s a Wrap 2018

And that’s a wrap 2018! Hard to believe it’s over. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday and a happy New Years!

My Thats a Wrap 2018 post is overdue, but I am blaming it on my broken wrist. I have gotten much better at typing with my brace!! I can finally put my thoughts down here on how 2018 went from a blogging perspective and personal perspective! If you want to read my 2017 post, find it here. Overall 2018 was a decent year, definitely not my best though. It feels like it went so fast, yet when I think back to where I was at the beginning it feels like 10 years ago.

Styledjen Wins

I started 2018 at 2,100 followers on Instagram and ended with 30,200. Holy crap lol! It makes me wonder what I will look like at this time next year!!

I ended 2017 with 9 brand collaborations completed, and ended 2018 with 448 (that is 50x more collabs in 2018). WTF. I was absolutely drained this year, and now I see why!

Ended 2017 with 22 published blog posts and 115 in 2018.

Celebrated 1 year of Styledjen on Instagram and the creation of this blog!

I collaborated with some of my dream brands this past year! Some of the bigger companies I worked with are Nordstrom, Amazon, TJ Maxx and Dyson! I luckily loved all my collaborations and got to work with all the amazing marketing ladies (and gents) behind those brands.

Personal Highlights

Celebrated my 1 year anniversary to my amazing husband! I don’t know what I would do without him!

Moving from Atlanta to Tampa after 6 months of long distance with my husband. Read about that here.

Starting a new job with a new company and actually not minding my job!

Traveled all over Europe, which was amazing! Find my guides here.

Was unemployed for 7 weeks, which was absolutely amazing. Although long run, I don’t wish to be unemployed again because I literally gained weight being at home blogging all day. The fridge was always tempting me!

Bought my first home decor items. After years of moving a lot I didn’t buy much because moving is such a pain with a lot of belongings. I have finally bought lamps, a rug, couch and wall art. Seriously makes such a difference and makes this place feel like home!

Got into the best shape of my life thanks to HIIT for 4 hours each week.

The Low Points

Long distance (for 6 months) was draining! Not from the standpoint that I need to be with my husband 24/7, but the travel involved to see each other was exhausting. Having our household divided in two was also tough, I think we both lost a bunch of things because of that! I don’t think I will ever do that again the next time we move for one of our jobs.

During the end of my time in Atlanta I was in a pretty bad place in life work-wise. I won’t go into much detail, but I had issues with my manager and the almost 80 mile both ways commute was wearing on me. It was also extremely difficult to manage my growing blog while being in a managerial role at work.

I pushed myself to exhaustion pretty much the entire year. I went absolutely crazy with brand collaborations and just got to a point that I was working 24/7 (real job and blog). When you love something so much it is hard to not work on it 24/7, but I really need to find time to enjoy real life. It got to a point that my husband took over cooking, cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping because of all the blog work. I want to find a better balance this year. I want to be able to go out to dinner and wear these clothes I am posting!

Unfortunately, I didn’t reach my weight goals. I am determined this year to get there!

Breaking my wrist SUCKED, especially since it was my dominant wrist. For a few weeks I did not feel like myself because I couldn’t work out at all, barely shower and couldn’t do my makeup and hair with one hand.

2019 Resolutions

I want to grow Styledjen like I did in 2018, but reduce the amount of brand collaborations so that I can find better balance with real life.

I also would like to reach my fitness and weight goals. My biggest deterrent right now is the broken wrist. I will be in a brace until mid-March so I am focusing on leg workouts and healthy eating.

Thank you for reading Thats a Wrap 2018! I am so thankful for all of you reading.

And it wouldn’t be a post without an outfit! I love this wintery take on a Spring dress with the faux fur vest!

Sizing reference: I am 5’4″ and typically XS in tops and 25 in bottoms.