2012: The Magical Moments of the Year That Was
December 30th, 2012
2012. Oh, what a year. The biggest and most transformative 12 months of my life, without a doubt.
The first part of the year can be summed up as B.U.S.Y. Turning the wedding around in five months – and trying to ‘do it all’ – was a little nuts and quite often I found I was thriving on adrenalin and gotta-get-it-done-ness rather than good, natural energy.
The obvious lesson for me here was that I needed to learn to ask for help - sooner. Got it.
After the wedding, everything began to flow beautifully and opportunities started showing up all over the place. I learnt to deeply trust my intuition and measure all my decisions up against how a situation makes me feel. I turned down one promising gig because I knew I wouldn’t be able to give it the attention it required, but more importantly, because it would take me further away from my other dreams and desires.
I’ve never regretted it. This was just one instance of gut-knowing in 2012.
It’s been a year of enormous growth, new friendships, plenty of aha! moments, milestones, tears, laughter, dreams come true and pure, juicy love. Below are some of the stand out moments…
Bloggers Meet Up
January kicked off with a bang with a Gold Coast/ Brisbane bloggers meet up at Stingray bar. Nothing better than getting out from behind the computer and meeting the amazing ladies you’ve been conversing with online in “real life.”
Sydney
February was soon upon us and Ramai and I headed down to Sydney and had an awesome weekend exploring the Northern Beaches (the first time we’d checked out Manly, Avalon, Palm Beach et al and we shall be back!)
Read all about it:
Melbourne
I also flew to Melbourne for my best friend’s birthday and my first wedding dress fitting (!!) The above pics were all I snapped – clearly I was too busy enjoying myself to whip the camera out.
Alexander Wang Goodness
The other notable occasion in Feb? Becoming a proud mama to this gorgeous Alexander Wang creation, a shoulder-breaking hunk of a bag that hasn’t left my side since.
Astro Reading
March rolled around quickly and became one of my favourite months of the year.
First up was an eye-opening, energy-filled astrology reading with Tali Edut of AstroStyle, and having recently listened to the recording again I can tell you that everything we discussed has unfolded exactly the way Tali said it would (she even said “I could see you doing something like Marie Forleo’s B-School,” which I’d completely forgotten about, AND GUESS WHAT, I DID!)
Read all about it:
Engagement Photo Shoot
Not long after my reading, we met up with our wedding photographer Ali Mitton for our engagement shoot in Byron Bay – a fun day with lots of laughing, kissing and staring deeply into each other’s eyes (haha!)
Sweet observation: Ramai always seems to be on my left – coincidentally, my “weaker” side – which is rather symbolic of our relationship. He really is my perfect complement – the fine detail to my big picture thinking, the calm to my enthusiasm, the left to my right.
Read all about it:
Hens Party
And then it was all about the laydees for my hens weekend – the best freaking two days ever!
I got to play stylist (any excuse). We belly laughed… uncontrollably. We danced. We drank mojitos from mason jars. We revelled in the depth of our collective friendships, and when I woke up on the Sunday morning, my heart, well it overfloweth with love, so it did.
Read all about it:
+ Making Me Happy: The Hens Party Edition
Selfish for 27 Days Featured Guest
In April, I was a featured guest in Susana Frioni’s Selfish for 27 days, speaking about the ways I manage overwhelm through positive reinforcement, visualisation and a bunch of other positive tactics.
The rest of the month zoomed by in a blur, knee deep in wedding to-do’s.
Read all about it:
+ 6 Weeks Today: The Wedding Countdown is On
+ Behind the Scenes with a Bride-to-Be: 5 Weeks to Go
Wedding Dress = Ready + Invisalign = Off!
May entailed flying to Melbourne to pick up my wedding dress (tears!), more wedding organisation, and after 12 months of everyday wear, getting my Invisalign off. Big grins all round.
Read all about it:
+ Behind the Scenes with a Bride-to-Be: Under 3 Weeks to Go
Guest Blogger on The Wellness Warrior
I was also invited to be a guest blogger for one of my favourite sites The Wellness Warrior.
Marrying the Man of My Dreams
The most magical day of my life happened this year – June 2, the day I married my best friend and soulmate, surrounded by the most important people in our lives.
I was never in a big rush to get hitched as Ramai and I have always “felt” married, but I have to say, sitting here with my husband six months in, it does feel different… in the best possible way. I couldn’t be more in love with this beautiful soul.
Read all about it:
+ R + R Get Married: The Ceremony (Part 2)
+ R + R Get Married: The Reception (Part 3)
+ R + R Get Married: Party Time (Part 4)
+ R + R Get Married: The Details (Part 5)
B-School
Two days after our wedding I started Marie Forleo’s B-School, an eight week online business/ entrepreneurship course that, with absolutely-no-hyperbole-at-all, has changed my life.
I knew B-School would give me the push I needed to steer my ship in a new direction, but at the time, I wasn’t entirely sure when that would happen or how it would all unfold. I now know.
I started coaching with Susana who was my ‘accountability coach’ for several months and along the way, I’ve formed gorgeous friendships with inspiring (and aspiring) biz women in the B-School Facebook group. Again, total game-changer. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
+ Pop the champers, In Spaces Between also turned 1 in June (hooray!)
Hotel Weekend
Oh hi July.
First up was a relaxing winter weekend at QT Hotel, where we ate, drank delicious cocktails and I drifted off to heavenly place during a spa treatment at spaQ. Yum.
Read all about it:
The Village Markets Bloggers Breakfast
Later that month I joined a bunch of gorgeous Gold Coast/Brisbane bloggers (Lori from Eight. Ten. Ten; Jas from Fizzle Out; Liss from Daydream Lily; Ally from Unknown Pleasures; Jess from Konstantinos; Sammi from Chase Dakota; Sophie from Peppa Hart Bride; Carly from Mumma Electric) and our hosts, Marissa and Sarah from The Village Markets for a chilled out morning of eating, chatting, wandering and shopping.
Pretty much the perfect Sunday morning, no?
eBook
In August I released my first eBook, More Magic All the Time: 20 Ways to Create Your Best Life Ever which has found its way to the hands of 3000 peeps in the past four months.
I also created, with the help of Sian (who designed the eBook as well) a downloadable daily planner to help us all hone in on the most important stuff every day. Practicing gratitude is, of course, front and centre.
Both are yours for free so if you haven’t already got your copies:
+ Download the Make Magic Daily Planner
The Lifestyle Transformation Guide Featured Guest
Jess invited me to talk passion, balance, overwhelm and everything in between on video for her revolutionary wellness program, The Lifestyle Transformation Guide, which hit the interwebz in September.
Thrilled and honoured to have been part of such an incredible – and important – offering.
Read all about it:
+ The Lifestyle Transformation Guide
Another Wedding
In September, I also got an insight into what it’s like to style someone else’s wedding (well, the putting-it-all-together part anyway, the overall look had already been created by Judi from Little Gray Station).
Read all about it:
Cosmo Bride
Ahh October, the month our Big Day was featured in Cosmo Bride magazine!
Such a beautiful keepsake (for when we’re old and grey and our grandkids ask “What’s a magazine?”)
Problogger
I went back to Melbourne in October for the Problogger event, where I had a ball meeting a bunch of wonderful bloggy – and B-School – babes (and catching up with the gals I already know). I also met Sarah Wilson (stunning, smart as hell) and Chris Guillebeau (beyond lovely).
Read all about it:
+ Problogger Event 2012: The Full Wrap Up (Pt 1)
+ Problogger Event 2012: The Full Wrap Up (Pt 2)
Interviews
2012 was a big year for interviews (I’ve lost count but let’s just say there were many – which is awesome, because I love being interviewed!) but one of the highlights was popping up on Betty Means Business in October, a killer site run by a fellow B-Schooler.
Read all about it:
+ Making Me Happy {direct link to interview here}
Friendship
2012: The Year of Ze Woman. Or should that be, The Year of Soul-Rocking, Heart-Warming, Effing Excellent Friendships?
Either way, it’s been all about strong bonds and feminine power in my world this year. From special moments with my best friends, to deepening new friendships online and at my now-former job, I’ve often marvelled at how lucky I am to know so many ass-kicking, dream-chasing, wild-horses-wouldn’t-hold-me-back kinda women.
Connecting, collaborating and making a commitment to cheer each other on always is so, so powerful. Dear Universe, more of that in 2013 please!
Turning 30 + A Mini Break in Byron
Birthday month! November is always an exciting month for me and this year was no exception, particularly because this birthday was a special one – the Big 3-0.
On the brink of 30, everyone started telling me how your thirties are the best years, how you just “know” things that you previously would have doubted and how you care less about what others think and more about what feels right for you… and I have to say, it’s true! Turning 30 was a noticeable leap forward for me.
To celebrate me shimmying into a new decade, Ramai took me away on a holiday to a gorgeous beach house in Broken Head in Byron Bay for five days, and my nearest and dearest came down for a day ‘n’ night of good food, cocktails and dancing. Perfection.
Read all about it:
+ Thirty
Kinesiology
I started seeing a kinesiologist (Anita Crosbie) in November which was definitely the catalyst for what happens next in my 2012 story.
From the first treatment, I learnt how out of harmony my energy was, where stress was impacting my body and the limiting beliefs that were keeping me in my comfort zone and away from living a completely aligned life.
Anita said “Things usually start happening pretty quickly after kinesiology” and ain’t that the truth, sista?! I was initially working towards leaving my full-time job sometime around May 2013, but a month after my first kinesy sesh I stepped into my boss’ office and handed him my resignation letter after 4.5 years with the company.
It was time.
Quitting My Full-Time Job + Starting a Business!
Which brings me to this point. Let me tell you about a week that will always stand out as one of those “defining weeks” in my life.
We’d come home from my Byron birthday festivities on the Monday and I went straight to my second kinesiology sesh. Jacked up on delicious energy, I raced home for my first coaching call with Julie Parker – who I’m thrilled will now be mentoring me on a longer-term basis – and by the end of the call I knew that I would be leaving my job before the year was out. It would be an extraordinary end to an extraordinary year and would allow me to regroup over the break and start 2013 fresh and with a new direction.
Julie said “There will never be a perfect time” and I tucked that truth in my pocket, spun it around in my head a few hundred times, and on the Wednesday, included a few lines in my newsletter to let you all know that I was taking “expressions of interest” for bright sparks wanting to work with me on a one-on-one basis.
By Friday, I had 30 clients locked and loaded, the majority for one and three month packages. Ta dah! A coaching biz was born!
I resigned the following Monday and the last few weeks have been a big ol’ swirl of action and ideas for a massive 2013. I’ve never felt so sure of anything and know that this is just the beginning of a thrilling ride.
And finally, 2012 had a whole lot of this…
Running, op shopping/ decanter collecting, green goodness, healthy treats, crafting, Burleigh love, 11:11, guidance, neon and succulents.
Thank you so much for your love and support and for being an integral part of the In Spaces Between community (and hey, kudos for making it to the end of this EPIC post!)
2013: we will, we will ROCK YOU. We’ve got this.
Poster: Work is Not a Job
