2016 - The Highlights

Wow I can't believe it's been so long since my last blog post! 2016 was a year of big changes, both personally and within the blogging community and if I'm honest the last few months have left me feeling rather lost and uninspired. So rather then blog when my heart wasn't in it I've ended up taking a much longer than expected break. Over Christmas I've had a good think about what direction I want to go in the future and after coming up with some new ideas I'm excited to be blogging again, starting today with my 2016 highlights:

A new career

After 10 years training and working as a doctor 2016 was the year I finally had the courage to change careers. It's not all been smooth sailing but it was definitely the right decision and I don't have any regrets about leaving. I feel like I've learnt so much in just 6 months and I'm excited to see what the future holds career wise.

Weddings

2016 started with the most beautiful winter wedding and throughout the year another 2 close friends got married. It was so lovely to see the couples celebrate their love and all three weddings were so beautiful and personal. We're also planning our own celebration next year and I can't wait to start a new wedding series on the blog.

Travel

March saw us travel to India for a friend's wedding in Hyderabad as well as a visit to Mumbai, Delhi and Agra. It felt so surreal to be standing in front of the Taj Mahal, an image that we'd all seen a thousand times before and I loved experiencing all the local food and culture during our time there. More highlights on the blog here.

2016 was also the year that a friend moved to Berlin for work and we ended up organising an impromptu visit for his birthday. The city has so much history and a really artistic vibe too with paintings and street art everywhere. We took advantage of the warm weather visiting all the historic sites including Checkpoint Charlie and the remnants of the Berlin Wall as well as dining at some great cafes and beer gardens all around the city.

Goodwood ladies day with Dove

A day at the races was something that I really wanted to do this summer and I was so lucky that one of my favourite brands invited me as part of their 100 colours celebration. The day was all about being as colourful as possible to put their deodorant to the test and I have to say it definitely passed with flying colours! We were treated to a delicious lunch and afternoon tea, all whilst sipping on champagne as we watched the races from our private box. A big thank you to the PRs and to Sarah and Dani for making it such a fun day!

Health and fitness

2016 was my second year running and I feel like this was the year that my mentality towards exercise completely changed. Previously it was always something I had to do to stay slim but this year I've finally come to appreciate the health and mental benefits. There's nothing like that post exercise feeling and although my body shape hasn't really changed I always feel so much more clear headed and happier about myself after a workout.

In terms of highlights I ran the Great City 5k run as part of my new job, achieving my fastest ever speed and towards the end of the year ran my longest distance at 13k as well as bringing my 10k speed down to 10:06 minutes/mile.

I hope you've all had a great 2016 too and I'd love to hear what your highlights were in the comments below!