Where does the time go? It seems like just last week I was ringing in 2014. These past 52 (!) weeks though have definitely been an exciting time for me, and I can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store.

I’m a very sentimental person, and reflecting back to see how far I’ve come—and how far this blog has come—in 365 days was such a fun exercise. I know this coming year will also bring a lot of excitement as I begin grad school, learn more about photography with my new DSLR camera, turn 25, and continue to gain responsibility at work.

Until then, here is a look back at some of my favorite moments from the year. Thank you all for following along, and I hope you all have a fantastic New Years Eve!

At the beginning of the year, this blog was something I worked on in my free time without really telling anyone—designing buttons and headers for Blogger, coding everything to my liking, creating an editorial calendar—to prepare for the launch, and in April, I took the plunge and wrote my first post. By May, I was ready to start promoting A Touch of Teal on my social networks—something that seems so simple, yet it is so scary to open up your hard work to public critique!

In July, I was so thrilled to feature my first collaboration with Trend Tribe, and began realizing I wanted to treat my blog more like a business than a hobby. I researched like crazy, found Lisette, and hired her to not only redesign my site but to move my site from Blogger to WordPress. I am so glad I did!

The fall brought more collaborations (and a few more here and here) and my first giveaway. I also used my negotiating skills to buy the clean domain name—atouchofteal.com—no more hyphens! Which means you can now email me at katie [at] atouchofteal [dot] com—cool right?

Up next for A Touch of Teal is business cards, more DC networking events, more collaborations, and the creation of more great content. Be sure to follow along with me here daily, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and via email—just sign up using the button on the sidebar!

I love traveling—always have, and hopefully, always will. While my friends and I definitely aren’t in the place where we can take a tour of the Italian Riveria on a whim, we definitely make the most of airline deals and summer Fridays.

In May, I met up with my friend, Emma—check out her blog here!—in Nashville, Tennessee for a long weekend. We explored Downtown Franklin, where I bought my favorite dress with a bow on the back. Along with her brother, we explored Vanderbilt bars and downtown honky tonks. All I want to know is, when can I go back?

The summer was full of weekend getaways to Ocean City, Maryland, New York, New York, and my personal favorite, Atlantic City, New Jersey. That was the trip where we missed Lord Scott Disick by a week at Harrah’s Pool After Dark, and ended up meeting Drake Bell instead. That was also the trip where we cabbed home in a limo because it was cheaper than a yellow cab. Only in Atlantic City, my friends.

To wrap up the summer, my family escaped to Ocean Isle, North Carolina for a week, where we toured the One Tree Hill filming locations, drank wine, and celebrated my Grandma’s 85th birthday. That trip was also the longest amount of time I’d taken off work since I began in May 2013, and it was so needed!

I usually stay put during the fall, but this year I headed up to the City of Brotherly love with Monique where we fell in love with the very Parisian city, but also the free happy hour at our Embassy Suites. Following that trip, was a whirlwind tour of Charlottesville (#obvi) for pleasure and South Bend, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois for work.

Today I am heading to Charleston, South Carolina to kick off my 2015 travel schedule. I’m hoping to make it to Miami, Las Vegas, and/or New Orleans this year—fingers crossed!

When I started this blog, I didn’t know if I would make the foray into outfit posts or not—but it has been fun so far and allowed me to work with amazing photographers, like Cydney and Lisa.

Because of a fashion collaboration, I wrote one of my favorite posts ever about UVA. I also had the opportunity to share two of my favorite pieces of clothing—the Express Portofino Shirt and my go-to back skinny jeans. Then there was that time I walked all over Old Town Alexandria’s cobblestone streets in heels. A word to the wise—don’t do it.

I have a few more fashion posts up my sleeve for next week, and am excited for the days when it’s not 30 degrees outside on a shoot!

And of course, there were many vineyards to hop around to—Stone Tower and Bluemont top this year’s list—more DIYs than I can count, two family weddings, and an awesome new roommate, which meant a lot of apartment decorating.

Though for the ups to be up, there have to be downs. My Nana’s death reminded me of my own mortality and turmoil at my alma mater hit close to home. But you know what they say—a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. Bring it on, 2015!