2017: A Look Back
2017 was a year of family, travel, and my long-awaited visa.
I started off the new year enjoying the snow with Killian.
A big change from the rain we get in Ireland!
We even went on a snowy hike with my amazing cousin Randy. We climbed up to Donut Falls, which was absolutely gorgeous with its icicles.
You can't enjoy the snow much more than a trip to Park City for some skiing and relaxation.
I worked at Ann Taylor for a few months this year with some of the greatest ladies before I headed back to Ireland.
The snow eventually melted and I got to enjoy some of the much-needed sun before heading back. This also included my first "beer hunt" on Easter with my grandparents!
My grandparents are two of the best people in the entire world, and their house is one of my favourite places, so I made sure to soak it all up as much as possible.
I also had a lovely time in Vegas with some family, getting to see Steve Martin and Martin Short.
It was eventually time to head back to my greener, rainier home. I was welcomed with open arms, lots of balloons, and some of my fave things.
The next few days were filled with all of the things about Ireland I'd missed (a.k.a. Killian and exploring)
Another was to my first hurling match!
It was time to buckle down- we started by finally redoing our deck! It felt amazing to have that done and dusted. Of course, with the Irish rain the moss has returned quickly, but it still looks vastly improved from when we got the place.
But then it was time to gather our pound of documents to send in for my new visa application. I'll be writing a blog post soon describing the entire process start to finish over the past few years to get this visa!
With a 6-month waiting period, it was time to get all of the adventuring out of the way before I could work! We started with a jaunt up north to see the Irish Open. It was my first time watching golf. Two new sports for the year!
While we were up, we did a little sightseeing and enjoyed the beaches, Giant's Causeway, and Dunluce Castle, which I have been wanting to see for years now.
Soon after we switched out our cold summer for a warm one in Greece with a very last-minute holiday. It had been 3 years since my initial visit to the island, so it was really good to see Kirk and John again and learn more about my family's history.
While we were over, we explored some of the ruins in Athens before heading back to Ireland. The heat was a massive change from Ireland!
Next was my surprise birthday gift: A trip to Amsterdam!
Back home, I fulfilled one of my Irish dreams of seeing how the cows are milked.
But the absolute best part of the year was when one of my favourite people came to visit me. Living so far away means I don't really get visitors, so I had a ton of fun showing her my favourite spots in Dublin and Wicklow.
I was lucky enough to have another friend come and visit. It was the perfect chance to finally visit Trinity library. How gorgeous are all of those books?! 🤓📚
My visa finally came through, and I was lucky enough to join the Junk Kouture team. It's been a blast working with them over the past couple of months!
During one of this year's bank holidays, I escaped to the seaside with Killian's parents to enjoy what was left of Arklow, Wicklow after the hurricane this year.
I also got to see more of Wexford, which is one of my fave areas of the island.
Back in the city, I went to see J Cole with Killian.
But it was back to the country when Sara came to visit. We took on Cashel and revisited our glory days in Ireland.
All in all, 2017 was a wonderful year full of conquered challenges and new adventures.
Where to next?