Well another one's in the books people... it's so hard to believe another year has gone by! 2017 was a year of ups & downs but at the risk of sounding braggy it was full of much more highs then lows.
This time of year at the salon can be pretty quiet for a change so I have a moment to breathe for the first time since like... Halloween! And just like the rest of the free world this is a time I like to take to reflect on the year gone by & be introspective on what I did great & what I can use a little help on... or maybe a lot in some cases.
I gotta say I feel pretty blessed. My business is booming & my family is healthy, happy & strong. The blog's growing & I can honestly say I feel very professionally & personally fulfilled.
I also turned 40 this year which to my surprise was not nearly as earth shattering as I thought it would be. With my young attitude & a little help from botox I don't feel a day over 35 lol. I traveled with my family to Disney World, spent our annual week in Cape May, attended my cousin's wedding in Georgia & spent the holiday season with my family in my hometown so this was a year full of family time... good thing we like each other... and still get along after all that together time!
Can I find a better work/life balance... absolutely. Do I need to lose some weight & get more physically fit... you betcha. Do I want to continue to grow my business & make more money... duh. So I have some things I need to work on in 2018 but I gotta say I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments in the past year.
So lets review! I'm gonna plow through this so hopefully it's not too much!
My monthly reviews proved pretty helpful this past year in sharing each month's major happenings & hair trends.
I also started a new series in 2017 called Hair Tip Tuesdays where I shared weekly tips on everything from changing your hair seasonally to how to properly use a bobby pin. To see all the years Hair Tip Tuesdays just click here.
In my ongoing Back to Basics Series this year I posted Back to Basics - Hair Dryers & Back to Basics - Bobby Pins.
The first major styling series of the year revolved around New Year's resolutions & workout hair... or basically how to look like a knockout while you workout. To see all the styles just click here.
My family continued our Disney obsession - and lets be honest my own personal princess obsession - with a huge family trip to Disney World with my niece & nephew. To see all the pictures from my time obsessing over Disney princesses & having a blast with the fam just click here.
For my 40th celebration in NYC click here. This pictures say it all...
For our annual week of quality time & fun in the sun in Cape May New Jersey click here.
I was off this year on Halloween so I went a little overboard - click here to see all my creations & some Halloween hair inspiration.
For my cousin's wedding & my first explorations of Georgia click here. Plenty of family pics & of course wedding updos by yours truly.
As Hair by Hal continues to grow I realized I needed a space to work & call my own. I had to find a space in my home that would work & the scary basement was the last resort. To see my basement makeover & it's transformation to Hair by Hal headquarters click here. I admit in this pic it looks like a Christmas explosion but I plan on sharing how the space will be used the rest of the year too.
The last huge push & final series of the year was my 12 Looks of Holiday hair. This was probably the biggest labor of love of the entire year. Creating these looks was a project but I can honestly say I love how each & every one of them turned out. To see all my Holiday hair creations click here.
Phew! I don't know how I smushed this whole year in one post - and this was actually just the tip of the iceberg if you can believe that!
Hope you enjoyed looking at my personal year in review & hope yours was great too! Best wishes for a wonderful 2018!
Cheers - Hal