Happy New Year! I just can’t believe 2022 is just a few short days away! I hope you had a magical holiday with your family and friends. The holiday season can be a difficult one. If your holiday was not all that you hoped I wish you a fabulous start to 2022. We hosted our annual Christmas Eve and as always everyone had a great time. We have crafts, bingo, a special cocktail, presents, and lots of food! On Christmas day we hosted a small brunch with the boys. Bobby was on duty Christmas Eve.
2021 was certainly full of ups and downs. Could we have imagined that Covid would still be taking a toll? Bob and I both had it in the fall but our symptoms were mild. We were vaccinated in the spring. We spent the spring at our home in Arizona, always great to escape the cold Midwest winters! We didn’t have any visitors this past spring but looking forward to welcoming guests back soon. We enjoy hosting our friends and family for visits. The summer season always finds me at my happy place, the gardens, and flowers. My herbs went crazy this year and I always had a supply of mint and chives for cooking. I made it a point to try to get out for a long walk each day and just connect with nature. I still am doing that now on nice days! Bobby got married over the summer and that was certainly a special day celebrating with family and friends! We took a quick trip to Chicago for some shopping and a ballgame too. Love walking around the city. We took a few other trips out to AZ and a trip to Florida in the spring but mainly stayed around our home this year. I love spending time decorating for the seasons and puttering around the house. We had many extra doctor visits and unfortunately, Bob’s eye surgery was not successful. He suffered too much damage in his fall. That has been a big one.
I learned many lessons this past year. The biggest one is that sometimes friendships aren’t meant to last. It has been a hard one to end friendships with people that you thought would always be in your life. I learned a lot about people and when you are going through something rough you really find out who your friends are. I let some go and to be honest, it has been very freeing. I am blessed to have friends that I know I can count on anytime. My circle became smaller but I became happier. I learned that life can change in an instant. We never would have imagined Bob’s fall from a ladder last year and that his injury is permanent. But the silver lining is that his injuries could have been so much worse. I learned a lot about myself this year and what I am capable of. I expanded my business and ventured out into YouTube, newsletters, and more content. I even am a co-author of another book being published soon. Stay tuned. I learned to give myself a break and realized that I put too much pressure on myself to do everything. I give myself a break and do things just for me!
2022, I am ready and looking forward to all it has to offer. I know it will offer many challenges as each year does but we get through them and always come out stronger on the other side. There will also be many wonderful things to celebrate and to celebrate the little things in life. I am looking forward to spending the winter in Arizona and Spring Training. Hopefully, a trip or two with my friends too. 2022, bring it on! Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and fabulous 2022!
Cheers,
Carrie
Carrie Kelly is an Interior Redesign Industry Specialist and Lead Designer at Carrie Kelly Designs specializing in interior redesign, seasonal, and home decor helping clients create beautiful spaces in their homes without the time and expense of a full remodel. She is also a Personal Stylist with Carrie Kelly Boutique, a boutique featuring all things monogrammed and personalized for your unique style. Carrie is also the author of Pineapples and Sweet Tea, a Lifestyle blog, and co-author of the #1 best-selling book The Art of Connection.
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