Before 2018 fades into the dust, I decided to trip back through Nine Cent Girl to rediscover what a fabulous year it truly was for me. Travel loomed large this past year, as did love with the family and outdoors, and having fun with fashion. Yes to questioning life. I still lend advice on just about everything in post after post, perhaps rather lavishly, but in all honesty, I do so for myself as well as all of you. I wrote this retrospective post for those of you who may have missed a weekly entry or two last year, or, just in case you’d like to revisit. Ready? Let’s do this wearing a splashy pink wig, and glasses that reflect the world back right back to you, as I wore for: “A Light Exists in Spring.”

Favorite new spot? Well Italy tops the list, perhaps because I finally got to Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Lake Como. Of course the art was remarkable, but the all food was unforgettable!

I can only try to tell you just how spectacular eating is in Italy. Pasta, yes, but the cheese, coffee, olives and tomatoes, are all something to write about it, and I did just that last April: I Love Italia

Not only did I eat well, I was quite fortunate to slip into the Mediterranean. That tops everything.

Gratitude pops up in so many of my posts. Mother’s Day was one such time, and with the help from the words of Langston Hughes, I could let my three know exactly what they mean to me in: May Days.

Living surrounded by forest and along the spine of the Green Mountains, I am buoyed by nature. It retrospect, I find plenty of weeks where solace is found, whether it’s Winter or Summer or any day in between. Those cold winds, tear right through doldrums like no other, and hiking through a mountain pass did just that.

Nine Cent Girl has been a platform for me to work through our shifting political landscape too. At times I have been at odds with the world, or feeling just lost with the dominate climate, but writing this blog has helped me through this challenging year: Resistance is one such post where I imagined how my father would have reacted to the current Republican party and the negative reactions to Kaepernick and other brave NFL players, attempting to use their power to educate.

I’ll leave you with one last post titled: Trip of a Lifetime. I mean, how can that not be a post worth rereading! Leaving Vermont early on an August morning, my spouse and I hit the highways to cross this big and beautiful country of ours, driving through state after state, to California, and then, after an extraordinary week with our children, we drove back.

Each year brings a million moments to learn from, adventures and challenges too, and 2018 is no different. We are grateful to have more laughter than sorrow, more love than many, and so many reasons to look forward to 2019. I promise to keep my eyes open, with my sight on the stars.