Happy New Year guys! I know January 1st is just another day but the new year always feels like a fresh start to me. 2016 was full of ups and downs but yet I am very fortunate that my downs were not all that terrible. I went into 2016 excited and ready to tackle anything that came my way. This year I would say instead of excited, I am aware. 2016 was the best year I’ve had creatively. I was on the Becky Higgins Project Life creative team and did a guest post on her blog, I was invited to appear on Jess Forster’s podcast, Pocket Talk, and I was asked to teach a class at Big Picture Classes. I also made it into the Kellie Stamps and Color Cast design teams. I never would have imagined I would have all these opportunities, much less all in one year. Tomorrow, January 3rd, will be The Lovely Pear’s two year anniversary. That alone means so much to me, being able to continue my little blog that could. I have put in so much thought and hard work into this blog and it’s been worth it to me because of all the friendships I have formed on social media with my fellow creatives!

I’m not participating in Ali Edward’s One Little Word, not because I don’t want to (believe me the want is there!), but if I was, my word would be “Freedom”. Maybe listening to a lot of George Michael has inspired this word, but I would choose it because this year I plan to free myself from any negativity. 2016 was one of my most stressful years, mainly because I let myself become influenced by negative people and negative thoughts. I even confided to my mom that I had been feeling very negative towards people and about life in general. I knew I had no reason to be/think that way and I was missing that happy-go-lucky side of me. Even though this was a rough year mentally, it really taught me a lot. I may be in my thirties but I feel like I’m still trying to figure it all out. It all boiled down to knowing and appreciating the positive people I have in my life. My family and my real friends, people who care about me and are genuinely happy for me.

Ok, it’s getting pretty deep up in here but I think you guys know what I mean and I’m sure many of you have been there.

So on to a more happy topic, I want to (re)share some of my favorite projects from 2016.

I’ve put a lot of thought into how I want to do my documenting for 2017 and I have decided to do a 9×12 Project Life album with monthly spreads and continue doing an “all about me” mini album.

At the end of my Year in Review: 2015 blog post, I shared my favorite picture that I took that year and I thought I’d do the same again for this post.

So instead of Freedom 90, this is Freedom 17. I hope I have another great creative year and a much more positive one and I wish the same for you! Thank you from the bottom of this Texas gal’s heart for taking the time to visit this blog and reading my posts!

Here’s to 2017!