my biggest wins of 2016

This is so honest and beautiful, being on-line is hard and your work is
so great and helpful, so glad you had a great 2016, and 2017 will be
great also!!

This was so refreshing and exciting to read. Following you from afar (and a little bit of living vicariously through you, if I’m honest) is made so much richer by getting to share in your joys and achievements and the failures, too. Honesty is so precious, and I love how to spread it all over!

Keep up the wonderful work, Sara. Keep sharing your heart. It’s a lovely heart.

Such great words here, Missy. I’ve been on this road too – realising all the stuff we’re taught to believe is total nonsense, and restarting life as a result. It’s so freeing! So glad you’re in such a good place right now. Hoping 2017 brings even more your way! xx

Thank you, Marianne! So glad you liked my madness with Luke too. Hope you’re keeping warm over there! xx

Thank you, Kay! So sorry to hear you’ve had some issues with friendships too – it’s such a difficult thing to deal with. As you say – seasons change, and as I’m always telling Orla, nothing ever stays the same. Hoping 2017 brings fresh joy for both of us 🙂

Thank you, Deborah! That means such a lot. Hoping your 2017 rocks your socks off!

Ha! Proud? Do people ever really feel that way about themselves? Between you and me I wrote this post because I was having a day of feeling like a total failure, and needed to remind myself. Thank you for your happiness – I’m continually amazed and delighted by the support and cheerleading that goes on in this online world of ours! ❤️

Oh, both sorry and happy to hear about your diagnosis (i suspect you’ll know what I mean!). Hope you’re finding some treatment options that are helping you!
Have a great 2017. Let’s take on the whole world from our sofas! ?❤️

Thanks Sophie! Happy new year & have a glorious 2017! x

Oh thank you, Flora. Yep, I refuse to believe anyone just went to bed one night (with perfect hair, at that) and woke up successful. It takes lots of ups and downs, and often the hardest part is believing in what you’re trying to do and not tearing yourself down! Keep aiming and striving and doing! ❤️ Can’t wait to see what 2017 brings your way xx

Thank you, Jen. Looking forward to seeing what adventures 2017 brings your way!

Thank you Lulu! I sometimes feel awkward about sharing success, because it can feel so braggy and ungracious. But comments like this always make it feel worth it, because I know how much I depend on other people’s inspiring posts to help me keep going!

Ha! In my defence, it comes after approx 32 years of appalling bad luck, so it was overdue! You’re so right – we must refuse to accept that a year can ever be all bad. It’s a year where we lived, saw birds in the sky and ate our favourite foods and loved our favourite people. That’s always a win, if we think about it. Hope 2017 is a great year to help redress some of the balance! x

I’d love you to write that post! You’ve come such a huge way, and we’re always much better at reflecting and sharing on the bad stuff than we are on the good. I felt guilty about writing this post, but everyone has been so wonderful and positive! Thank you for sharing xx

Thank you Xanthe. I owe such a lot to your calm advice, wisdom and cheerleading! ❤️

Well done Sara! And thank you! It`s been fun to follow you in 2016. Especially the Luke Skywalker thing! Best wishes from Oslo.

Well done Sara, everything is so deserved, as I’ve already told you many times, you’ve worked hard for this and deserve all the goodness that you’ve made happen. I look forward to seeing how you make 2017 even better. xxx

they are some excellent things to have happened, and long may they continue for you. 2016 was a funny year for me, I might actually do a similar post to yours because if you said to me 10-15 years ago I would have done some of the things I did last year I would never in a million years believed it. I used to suffer from agoraphobia and even walking from my house to car would bring on the worst panic attacks. Last year though I did an advert for Garnier which should be out next month I think, so yeah I’ve came a very long way 🙂 xx

I think you may have somehow collected up all of the good luck from 2016 and snaffled it! You deserve every single on of your successes and you’re quite right that they come from creativity and hard work – no magic wand required 🙂 As for me, well the highlights always outweigh the bad because I refuse to let a year be overwhelmingly bad. There were some wonderful times and a lot of stress and angst but it’ll all balance out in the end 🙂

what a wonderful list! Congratulations I hope to be a bit more with it this year as I seem to be getting closer to myself. Succeeding with a chronic health issue is difficult, but totally worth it!

This is so great – congratulations on an amazing year! I found this post so so inspiring 🙂

Aw thank you Lucy! I’m always blown away by our community and how it celebrates instead of competing. So much love! x

This is a lovely post! I’m so pleased you had such great things happen this year! I’m sorry to hear about the friends, I’ve had a really tough time with someone this year who was once a close friend but things change, seasons come and change and we grow and move away.
Happy New Year!
Kay xx

Love this post! Bravo on your successes and double bravo for shouting about them. And for not attributing them to luck #fangirling x

I know exactly how you feel about a diagnosis being a highlight of last year. I discovered I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and dysautonomia (basically POTS but my blood pressure results were slightly out of the pattern they require to call it POTS!).

The relief was so strong and though I’m still processing everything at least I know what’s wrong and what I am able to do to help it. 🙂

Wishing you an excellent 2017 to follow up your great 2016.

All those achievements and even recognising the ‘bad’ ones is amazing. You must be so proud and I’m so happy to see you succeed!! xx

Love this post! You bloody go girl! Big high five! Wishing you a brilliant 2017 :)) xx

Meeting new friends was probably the top thing of 2016. You amongst them (can I call you a friend? can I, can I?) and meeting with old friends, going places to see them… and despite all my whining (heh) meeting my old schoolmates and finding out that we haven’t changed that much, we’re still the same dorks who grew up together from 4 to 13. I realized that the bad years came after that.

I’m working on your number 10, I’m working on it, some days are harder than others, but this year, through my friends (the new and the old) I’ve realized that I’m likeable, that I’m worthy. And that leads me to the last thing (I promise I will leave it at that, altough there’s much more to say)

I’ve allowed myself to dream again, to want things… not material things, personal goals and projects. They’re not too big, they’re manageable, and 2017 will be the year to give them a try, to give myself the chance to do something. Even if it’s scary (learning to drive is on the list, it terrifies me).

Happy new year dear Sara. I hope all of your dreams come true. That all of your endeavours and projects succeed, because you’re worth it.

All the love xxx (and kisses to Orla!)

ps. as I’m writing this there is a movie on tv here, about a certain space farmer stranded in an apparently desert planet…

I love this! For me it’s just been sort of a year to realize things I’ve been thinking my whole life aren’t necessarily true. like I don’t need to have 400 million “friends” when I have lots of great people in my life. I am great at what I do at work, as much as I hate saying that…but I was picked for employee of the year! So I must be a good employee even though I tend to beat myself up for not being good enough. I don’t need to lose 50 lbs to be happy! I am able to move around and eat fairly well…so there is zero reason to give up cookies forever and ever in my life. Moderation. I don’t care anymore about “fashionable” clothes. I like pretty clothes that look nice…but I don’t need certain brands. I don’t “have” to wear makeup every day. It’s fine if I get wrinkles. We don’t have TV and the longer I go without it…the more I appreciate not having screens blaring in our house all the time with gloom and doom and marketing brainwashing. But I also don’t believe in zero technology ever either. I just feel like it’s been a year of mellowing out, reconnecting, and getting rid of the extra noise in my life. Which includes stuff. I’ve gotten rid of tons and tons of stuff. and there is so much more! But the more I get rid of, the easier it is, and the lighter I feel. I will never, ever been one of those people who can own only 100 items and fit everything I own in a suitcase..and that is totally fine. But I do not need A LOT of the things I thought I did, or was told I did by ads/stores/sales. I quit buying fashion magazines because I feel like they are similar to the news in brainwashing/making me feel bad. I’m hopeful for this coming year as well! – Missy

This is so cheering to read! You have clearly worked incredibly hard and I am delighted at your success -it is very well deserved.