Happy New Year, darlings!
It’s the end of another year, and as I say every year — where the hell did it go? I feel like I blinked and August turned to Christmas Day. And now it’s the end of the year, and whilst people gear up to have a New Year’s Eve party or… whatever people do on NYE, I’m gearing up to consume garlic bread and bourbon and give a middle finger to Another Shitty Year. Here’s 2021 In Review, a little look at my year.
2021 In Review
Covid, Cancer and Mental Health Struggles
Let’s start off with The Bad Stuff, huh? 21 months later from the first lockdowns and guess what; covid still rules the roost. It’s difficult to be completely positive about the year when you spent a lot of it inside and even more fearful of it than 2020. But vaccines are now available, and with them comes a little more freedom, I suppose.
Of the worst things to hear in general, my mum was diagnosed with bladder cancer back in May. She’s a fighter and it was found quickly, though. She had a round of chemo and a long course of radiotherapy, and although we’re not fully out of the woods, she’s definitely doing better. Fingers crossed in the new year we get more concrete news and can move on from this, though! This is possibly the only part of my life I’m staying hopeful of, to be honest with you.
Mental health struggles? Yeah, we’ve spoken about that in the last post, didn’t we? It’s not been an easy year for my noggin, honestly. I’ve become pretty isolated through covid fears and home working and being a bit useless. To add to that, TikTok has made me realise a lot of my personality quirks might actually be ADHD, which is a whole other thing to look into in the next year.
New Additions and New Positions
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though! My job changed in January last year — I took over the Social Media channels at work whilst we found a new Social Media Manager and started working from home. It was a welcome change from being furloughed and just waiting for the world to re-open. I ended up staying on as we closed our Covent Garden store, and now my job’s super diverse. I now get to work from home, work on my photography skills and learn new things all the time. That’s pretty cool!
As well as new positions, as a family we welcomed two adorable new Nephews! As my nieces grow into Actual Human Adults, it’s nice to have some babies to add to the mix. And of course — my personal highlight of 2021 was welcoming a little black kitten to our household! Bear was found in a tree and ended up moving in with us in September, and now my life (and hands) will never be the same. He’s a tiny nightmare, a sweet baby boy and my joy, honestly. Having him keeps me on my toes, gives me more structure to my day and makes working from home easier. As someone that’s never owned a pet of their own, it’s a lot of learning, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Family Time and Doing Stuff
So I spent the beginning of 2021 quarantined with my brother and sister in law due to her having covid. I also spent time with them and my mum during her first two weeks of chemo and a few decent breaks back home, too. I actually spent a lot of time with my family this year! Me and my sister in law spent a good few days down the beach together, and that’s something I’ve really missed since lockdown. We’ve all become a lot closer, and I honestly look back at summer with a lot of yearning. Take me back to fish and chips on the beach!
Some Cool Shit Happened!
It’s kinda funny, when I look back at 2021, I feel like nothing good happened. But honestly? So many cool things did happen! I turned 30, which was alright! I got to model a new range for Vendula London in the beginning of the year, too, which was cool. Although, to be honest maybe should have happened before my fifth year of employment ;). I got to be part of and model for the size expansion from Revival Retro, which was a bit of an honour. Earlier in the year, I was also featured in an issue of Simply Sewing about plus size sewing. This was so exciting, especially when I saw how much I featured in the segment! I felt a little fraudulent, of course, because I haven’t sewn much recently, but it was still pretty fucking cool.
On the subject of sewing and modelling, I was also part of some incredible projects in 2021! Firstly, I was the plus size model for Tilly And The Buttons’ Skye and Iris patterns! TATB expanded their sizing in 2021, and I finally got to use a TATB pattern because of this — and I can recommend them wholeheartedly. Such great patterns with super easy-to-follow instructions.
And then — in literally the same weekend — I also modelled for the most incredible plus size sewing book from Cashmerette, Ahead of The Curve! Although I’ve yet to make anything from the book myself, I end up looking through it a lot just to absorb all the fit knowledge. If you haven’t yet, have a look at my book review to learn more.
Sewing and Creativity
I’ve actually not made much this year, sadly. My style’s changed a bit, my motivation has been elsewhere, and I’m also a bit of a lazy boy. But I did make a few dresses, all of which were gingham — who would’ve guessed?! But I’ve been creative in different ways throughout the year. I’ve been painting more, working on my bullet journal skills, painted and redecorated a whole living room and learnt a whole new skill! Funnily enough, weaving has to be a new favourite pastime, as it requires less active thought and a bit more mindless activity, which is good for a brain like mine! Although that reminds me that I need to finish my autumn woven scene soon…
And That’s My 2021 In Review… How Was Yours?
I’d love to hear about your year, things you’ve done/learned and how you feel about the new year in general!
I’m not one for resolutions at the new year, but one of my general intentions is to blog more, so hopefully we see each other more in 2022!
I hope 2022 is a better, safer and stronger year for everyone!
Remember to follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily outfits in my stories, on Pinterest for my inspirations and on Twitter to read my thoughts on a semi-regular basis!
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