Happy 2017! I hope you all had a great start to the new year!

I celebrated my birthday last night into the countdown to 2017 with my hubby and good friends. I couldn't have asked for more.

Let me take a quick moment to talk about my 2016 highlights before jumping into the outlook for 2017.

I traveled to NYC in March for a weekend and stayed at the Dream hotel, which had been on my bucklet list for years.

In May we flew to Colorado and visited Denver and Glenwood Springs where we soaked in the hot springs for the first time. I also hiked up a mountain on a whim and lived to talk about it.

In August I visited Point Pleasant, NJ and went to the beach for the first time in years. We had a beautiful day where we played in the ocean like kids with no worry in the world.

I got married in September! It was a beautiful day with close friends and family. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

October brought on a mini honeymoon to Alexandria Bay in the Thousand Islands. We visited Boldt Castle and took a boat tour of the islands traveling between Canada and New York. It was a beautiful trip with beautiful fall colors.

In November we hosted not 1, but 2 Thanksgiving. One with friends and one with family. The food was a plenty and the conversations endless.

December I found myself dreaming of something I wasn't sure was possible. I enrolled and was accepted into a 200 hour yoga teaching training. I can't wait to see where that journey takes me...

Something noteworthy for me, I read 16 books in 2016. That may not sound like much, but for me that was a great accomplishment.

Now onto what 2017..

Lots of new opportunities are on the horizon. I will be starting yoga training in January. I'm planning to document my journey here on the blog. I hope you'll join me.

I'll be working on new ways to keep this blog relevant for not only me, but for you. Lots of ideas on my mind.

I plan to double my books read for this year and have decided to read a lot about travel and new places.

A honeymoon and a solo trip may also be in the works.

The biggest thing I'm working on this year is my own personal growth. Always learning and evolving. I'm hoping to have an exciting progress report come December.

What are you planning for 2017?

This is the time of year where you see everyone recapping their year and their favorites. I have decided not to do that this year. Not because I have nothing to recap or nothing that stuck out, but because I want to look forward rather than behind. I spent a good portion of my year struggling with my own demons along with all the crazy that comes with life.

I don't see 2016 necessarily as the culprit to having a said "bad year". We all run through cycles where things can be really good or they can be really bad. Sometimes right in the middle. It seems like more people were vocal about how bad this year was, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was the year.

I will be happy to see 2016 go, just as I am glad to see every year go. It's inevitable. Time continues, even if we aren't ready. I enjoy starting with a fresh slate to re-evaluate what I can do to make the next year better.

And if I must put out into the universe one great thing about 2016, it is this: I learned a whole lot about heartbreak and unconditional love all at the same time. It was a wonderful thing to learn as I was able heal some parts of my life that I was hanging onto.

Now onto to 2017 to continue the journey of healing. And a journey it will be..

I hope each and every one of you have a magical holiday. Whether you are celebrating Christmas or not, I hope the magic of the season brings you together with your friends and family.

We are quickly approaching the new year, which is celebrated near and far. I hope you can all reflect back on your year and apply what you learned to the upcoming year. We never know where another year will take us, but we do know time will keep on.

A friend of mine and I always send each other cards, where we end our writings with "20XX" will be our year!" and then we talk about our year and see if we felt it was our year. It really does put perspective into your thinking when you have someone to discuss it through.

As the year comes to an end and I get a little older, I can only hope to be my best self and never allow someone to take that away from me.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays to you all!