My Yearly Recap: 2021

Another year has just flown by!  Truth be told, I seriously can’t believe that it’s the start of 2022.  I don’t even know where the time has gone.  However, with the start of a new year, it’s always time to reflect on the past years’ pros, cons, and accomplishments.  I have done a yearly recap of my blog since I started my blog back in 2018.  Feel free to check out the yearly recaps for 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Anyway, do you like to reflect on your past year?  It honestly helps me appreciate how much I accomplished or how to reassess for the New Year.  Without further ado, check out the yearly recap below!

January

• Pros
  • Started the year off with my first ever Youtube video (as a guest) with Rini of Rinisphere
  • Did a blog post about my Covid-19 vaccine experiences and got a lot of positive feedback from it
• Cons: 
  • Did a unique blog post about blanket scarves and it did not perform as well
  • Posted my first Instagram Reel of the year and it didn’t perform as well

February

• Pros: 
  • First guest blogger of 2021:  Richa of iScriblr
  • Bought back my Mid-winter blues post and it performed twice as much as before
  • My first brand collab of the year (Rituals of Sakura)
• Cons:
  • All my Valentine’s posts did not perform as well

March

• Pros: 
  • Did a fun post about getting out of a creative rut that performed well
  • Did some fun new camera angles and tricks for this months’ pictures
  • Took my first trip of the year to Gatlinburg, TN
• Cons:
  • Since I batch my content, the pictures for this month were taken in February, in the snow
    • My readers wanted some spring content so the creative pictures did not perform as well

April

• Pros: 
  • Started my spring content with some fun pictures
  • My first travel post since 2019
  • Posted a highly requested post regarding Media Kits and it performed well
  • My hubby got his first “Influenster box”/product to review (for 2021)
    • He was super excited since his years of photographing me for my blog has finally paid off for him
  • Collaborated with my first clothing brand:  Ougess Dress
• Cons:
  • My travel diary did not perform as well

May

• Pros: 
  • Next guest blogger:  Explore with Me, Hannah Marie
  • Visit my family in NY for the first time in 18 months
  • Pitched a collab to some ethnic bloggers in Memphis and the post performed so well!
  • Celebrated 3 years of blogging (woo-hoo)
  • Started using Grammarly to help with the grammar of my posts
    • My posts have been performing much better with correct grammar
• Cons:
  • Struggled with figuring out when to take pictures for the blog

June

• Pros: 
  • Requested topic:  Recommended apps for bloggers; post performed well.
  • Collaborated with a lifestyle brand:  Laloras Official
• Cons:
  • Struggled with coming up with blog post topics
  • Requested topic:  Loungewear to workwear; did not perform well

July

• Pros: 
  • Celebrated 5 years of marriage with my hubby in St. Lucia
    • Also took time off from the blog and Instagram to enjoy my time in St. Lucia
  • Requested post:  Influencer Marketing Platforms; performed well
  • Collaborated with my first local Memphis Boutique:  Style Palette Fashions
• Cons:
  • After taking a week off, it was harder to get my Instagram and blog posts to perform as well as before

August

• Pros: 
  • Celebrated one year of being a dog parent
  • Guest starred on my first ever podcast:  Dish it out Didi
  • Collaborated with two major brands:  Blowfish Malibu and KISS cosmetics
  • Ougess Dress Boutique loved my work from earlier in the year that they wanted to work together again for the fall
    • Super excited to have built a good relationship with a brand
• Cons:
  • Was behind on coming up with fall content

September

• Pros: 
  • Got my first food collaboration:  Revive Superfoods
• Cons:
  • Could not batch my October pictures early because no pumpkins were available as of yet.

October

• Pros: 
  • Collaborated with MVMT/MVMT for her and eShakti
    • These brands have been on my list for a while, so I was super excited that they reached out to me
  • Collaborated with my second clothing boutique:  Rotita Official
  • Style Palette Fashions was impressed with our collab earlier in the year that she wanted to collab again for the fall.
• Cons:
  • Between my birthday, Diwali, Halloween, and Fall Festivities, it was hard to give myself some self-care time.

November

• Pros: 
  • My first Instagrammable Places post and performed well
  • Pitched to Wonderland Memphis again and they were excited to work together again!
  • Took a week off during Thanksgiving to spend time with my family in NY
• Cons:
  • Like earlier in the year, the time off did affect my views, etc.  However, I wouldn’t change a thing.

December

• Pros:   
  • Finally got around to doing a 12 Days of Giveaways for the holiday season this year
  • Holiday content performed well
  • Took the week off from Christmas Eve till the beginning of January
• Cons:
  • Constantly putting out content this month, especially the week of Christmas, led to burnout
  • After taking my week off, my first post didn’t perform as well.
    • However, the time off was needed for my self-care and burnout

And that’s a wrap for my Yearly Recap of 2021, for my blog.  Overall, I think it was a good year.  I had some blog goals that weren’t met for this year so, I’m manifesting that they happen in 2022!  Do you push your goals to the next year?  Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for tagging along for the past three years of my blog.

Much love,