I cannot believe how fast 2014 has gone by! If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have witnessed some snippets of these highlights already…here’s a more in depth look. A year of highs and lows, here’s a look back at my highlights and favourite things!
TEA. I love tea. Well, the Irish are known for loving their tea aren’t they?! And getting to try new flavours is always exciting am I right?! Anyway, the teas pictured below, being some of my faves are now staples in my tea obsession.
New to me this year, this is my favourite Teapigs flavour that I’ve tried. Delish!
Tea. A “hug in a mug” whilst studying, doing article work & blog post planning!
And who knew that their was such a thing as a Christmas blend of tea?! I sure didn’t, but boy was I thrilled I picked up this bag of Christmas goodness on a whim recently! Bonus: House of Tea is Irish made too!
Some friends were kind enough to send Christmas care packages all the way from Boston and Michigan in the U.S and included was this Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Apple Spiced Tea! I’d tried cinnamon tea before in Boston and adored it but the spiced apple in this tea, takes it to a whole other worldly tea level!
And with my love of tea comes my love of mugs. Not just any mug, might I add, no…pretty, festive and funky mugs all attract me.
Nails. Like most ladies I really enjoy getting my nails done. It’s lovely to treat yourself once in a while and it allows for a bit of “ME” time in this hectic world. I feel refreshed and recharged after a bit of pampering don’t you?!
Some favourite nail colour combos from this past summer and my festive nails for Christmas 2014.
These pictures also include my love of fashion faves midi-rings and plaid!
Meeting and getting to know on a more personal level, fellow bloggers such as Aoibhe Devlin of The Secret Obsession Blog and my colleagues in the writing world such as Úna and Louise from Tabitha magazine which I contributed to in 2014, has been lovely.
Blogger meet ups have been such a fun place to meet and make new blogger friends and my first official meet up, the Halloween Dublin Blogger meet up was especially so! Thanks to Elaine from Ruby Laine Makeup for organising the event. Also, a shout out to my blogger buds Nirina Plunkett of Killer Fashion and Filomena Kaguako of Enhance What’s Yours, as well as Nadine Stephens of the Parma Violet blog and Emma Sheehan of Mastering Your Makeup, who made me feel SO welcome. Good times girlies!
Selfie fun with fellow bloggers Nirina and Filomena…absolute babes!
Fashion, Beauty and Skincare stars for me where NYX lipglosses, statement necklaces, (which I did an article on here: http://lovetabii.com/2014/05/09/the-statement-necklace-effect/ )and this skin saviour from La Roche-Posay.
Favourite movie of 2014: Gone Girl. Captivating and a true pleasure to watch. Another fine film notch on Ben Affleck’s acting belt!
Favourite TV shows of 2014: American Horror Story – Coven. My fave of the AHS shows so far!
Irish drama: Love Hate – Nidge & Fran. ‘Nuff said.
Sons of Anarchy – Seriously, Kurt Sutter is a genius!
P.S. I have the final season of SOA to watch so please, NO spoilers!
I also love a bit of Parenthood Homeland and Revenge!
Favourite song of 2014: This is a tough one and I can’t choose just one, so because it’s so upbeat and I love the message in this song…I’m going with Taylor Swift – Shake It Off. Yep, I officially became a Swiftie!
Other faves on repeat this year were: Iggy Azalea – Black Widow.
Ed Sheeran – Sing & Thinking Out Loud.
Jessie J, Arianna Grandé & Nicki Minaj – Bang Bang.
Fifth Harmony – Bo$$
Arianna Grandé ft. Iggy Azalea – Problems. Can you tell I love a bit of Iggy?!
Kimono Love:
The annual Irish Georgian Society Summer Drinks party took place at beautiful Lissen Hall, where I went out of my comfort zone and embraced one of the biggest trends this past summer, the Kimono. Not one for following every trend, I’d rather pick the ones that suit my personal style and incorporate them into it. Turns out, I love this trend!
Discovering Ireland.
I love nothing more than discovering or re-discovering places in Ireland. Growing up here, I enjoyed many holidays (vacations – for my U.S readers!) galavanting around and continue to do so. Hail, rain or shine (yes, it’s true, summer in Ireland you can experience all four seasons in one day) one of my favourite things to do is to take a drive and discover tiny villages, lavish stately castles and homes, haunting castle ruins, woodland walks and cute country pubs with a roaring fire, to lunch in after all of my exploring! How about you guys?! What do you love about Ireland? Have you visited Ireland before? Tell me!
My blog. Having had a blog on Instagram for over a year now, starting my official blog has been a priority of mine for the last while. I gave myself the time frame of Christmas 2014 to launch it…and here I am!
Speaking of Christmas…it’s my favourite celebration of the year! I love everything about it…the build up to it, the wrapping of presents, the songs (hello Michael Bublé!) how everywhere is festively dressed and the calm that descends on Christmas Eve when everything is done and it’s time for the Christmas ham sandwiches…
Looking forward, I hope 2015 is good to us all. Here’s to Good Vibes ONLY this coming year!
I personally hope to achieve more life goals and experience new people, places and things. I appreciate every opportunity that comes my way, and look forward to many more!
What are your hopes, goals and dreams for 2015?! I’d love to know.
Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR and thanks for stopping by!
Gail. x
This post is not sponsored. All views are my own.
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