Post in collaboration with YOGI TEA®

I started last year not really knowing what it would hold – for my personal or professional life. 

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while now will be familiar with my backstory. There may even be some of you who’ve only heard about me recently – got some catching up to do – take a peek here and here.

I started blogging back in 2009, after graduating from uni with a BA Hons Visual Communication (Documentary Photography) degree, and have pretty much documented everything in my life worth mentioning since then. I didn’t become a blogger for fame or fortune, I did it accidentally. It was purely a bi-product of my curious nature, and something that turned from a hobby that I committed to alongside my full-time job – to something that has enabled me to set up as a freelancer. Wondering how I become a full-time freelancer in London? Take a look at this vlog.

When the guys from Yogi Tea contacted me to work with them on their latest campaign #goldenmoments, it was the perfect opportunity to re-live a few of my golden moments from 2017 and share with you all my exciting plans for what I’m about to embark on next. So, here I am, feeling pretty zen, sipping on a cup of warming turmeric chai tea, putting my virtual pen to paper.

I guess, somewhat annoyingly, these last two years have been spent getting over the sudden breakdown of my short marriage, and the journey towards finalising my divorce. There may be some of you who are as tired of hearing about it as I am, but I know that – from all of the posts that I’ve shared these last 8-years – it is the ones that are written from the heart that resonate most deeply with my readers.

But it also teaches you an incredible amount too. I’ve learnt to live in the moment. To take things, people and experiences as I find them. To not judge. To not expect too much. To cherish the little things.

It isn’t all roses though, I’ve definitely become a little bit cynical, but at the same time incredibly grateful for all of the good people that I still have in my life. For me this means taking each day and opportunity as they come, and – if they make me happy – giving them my all.

With this new, funny, somewhat distorted view on life, I started 2017 with the hope that this year would be better than the rest. That this one would be different. 

I still didn’t have a clue if I was ready to love again. I was clinging on to my old London flat and juggling my new freelance life. The only thing I really knew was that in 2017, I wanted to create more opportunities to boost the travel side of my blogging, get out of my overdraft, and migrate my old blog over from tumblr to a new Squarespace home.

For the last Golden Hour of 2017 I spent New Year's Eve in The Lakes with my parents, nephew and one of my best friends, Katie. It was one of the most magical NYE's I've had in a long time!

My Golden Moments of 2017

1. Building blossoming brand partnerships that take us places, between Lucie Loves and Kia

2. A whirlwind romance. Sharing golden hour with a special someone on a rooftop in Madrid.

3. Singing along to Sampha at Roundhouse.

4. Bagging a brilliant 5-month freelance contract at Ogilvy PR

5. Doing a 17-night driving tour of America’s Deep South with my best friends.

6. Making new friends and seeing Michael Kiwanuka at Wilderness Festival.

7. Toasting my divorce!

8. Exploring the Scottish Highlands with my family.

9. QEII Blogging Talk

10. Watching my TV debut on Channel 5’s one-off TV show, In Solitary - An anti-social experiment with my best friends (I've filmed a Q&A video answering all your questions about the experience, which will be up on YouTube in a few hours! Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch)

11. Traveling to Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam,Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Seoul, Stockholm and Budapest!

12. Finally updating my old tumblr blog to a shiny new Squarespace site (find out how to become a contributor)

To the future!

I want to make 2018 a year to remember. So what am I going to do differently? I moved out of my Kew Gardens flat in September and into my mate’s spare room. I knew it was only a temporary arrangement, and that it was better than signing a 12 or 18 month contract on a place in London with exorbitant rent, when I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to stay in London in 2018.

Leave London, you shriek!?

Well, you see, I’ve had this thought going round and round in my head for a while… Q. Where could I live on £500 a month elsewhere in the world? (see my Au Revoir, London post for more deets) 

I’ll be heading to France at the end of January 2018 to tick off a few more of my life goals. The plan? To finish writing my book, experience living in a different country, and *hopefully* learn a new language... do some yoga and run more. As it happens, Yogi Teas are said to support active, health conscious holistic lifestyles. In that case, I’d better pack a few boxes in my suitcase!

I’m looking forward to sharing updates from my French adventure with you all in the new year! Watch this space!

Over to you!

What were your #GoldenMoments of 2017 and what do you have planned for 2018? Share them with us by tagging Yogi Tea on Facebook and Twitter. 

P.s. I’m intrigued to know who reads my blog posts, and would be interested to know how you first found out about my blog? Drop me a comment and let me know…

About Yogi Tea

Yogi Tea’s roots stem from the 3,000 year old Indian Ayurvedic teachings about the balance between mind and soul.

In 1969, Yogi Bhajan, a master of Kundalini Yoga, moved to the West and brought with him his wisdom and knowledge of yoga, as well as an aromatic tea spice blend, later nicknamed ‘Yogi tea’ by his students.

Over 40 years later, the legacy lives on and Yogi Tea has a selection of over 40 unique, complex tea blends designed to promote wellness and balance.

As a pioneer of Ayurvedic herbal and spice teas, Yogi Tea is committed to organic farming methods. This natural and sustainable approach to farming, ensuring no synthetic pesticides, mineral fertilisers or genetic engineering is used, helps preserve the Earth’s beauty and vitality.

Photography - James Barley