2018 the wrap up

As I near the end of that sleepy time between Christmas and new years I pause for a little reflection and blog the heck outa what went down during the year. How about you, do you pause to reflect? I find it’s a great way to acknowledge achievements, wins, losses, good times and bad. I can pack it all down, learn from it all and put it all to bed ready for the shiny brand new year ahead. Ok, grab a cuppa and strap yourselves in ladies because 2018 was a bloody big year, here’s some highlights!

January kicked it all off, I finally (after 19 years) painted inside my pantry and you all loved it, you can see more HERE but I can’t promise it’s as neat as the day I made it over. In fact the glass containers are gone (just not practical) and have been replaced with matchy-matchy plastic containers and the paint has chipped already. At least I have pictures of that one day I had a perfect pantry 🙂 I also got tired of looking at ALL the jobs that needed doing around the house so later in the year I made a list, called in the team from Supreme Property Maintenance and they got some shit done! I know I have promised a blog post and yes…it’s coming. Outsourcing is the best!

 

I started at Pilates and bloody loved it! I went 4-5 days a week for six months and then…nothing. Winter came and cold mornings and bleary days messed with my exercise mojo and it got harder to get up and go to classes. I’m hoping I find my Pilates mojo again in 2019.

Our home was featured in the Sunday Mail Home Magazine, which is kinda cool because it’s not new or flashy, but it feels like a home…our home. You can see more of that HERE.

I started working with Taking Shape in February and wow, you ladies have loved all that I have shared. Bringing diversity in style, sizes and labels is what Styling Curvy stands for and partnering with Taking Shape has been a wonderful addition to that. I also had the pleasure of being key note speaker at their managers conference in Melbourne, gotta love a business that celebrates and educates it’s staff.

I partnered with Adelaide Casino sharing some fab dining options in Adelaide and you all went crazy for this date night pic. The kaftan is Libby Watkins. Grin courtesy of gin:-)

The Hospital Home Lottery invited me to partner with them, which was ace because I am an ambassador for the recipient of funds raised, The Hospital Research Foundation does good things for people facing health challenges and their research programs save lives.  I got to play in the lottery home and we sold out in a flash. Fingers crossed my numbers come up this year and my ticket is the winning ticket. You can see my collab HERE

We kicked off the Styling Curvy community catch-ups here in Adelaide with a fun spin on the river Torrens courtesy of the BBQ Buoys. Now is the perfect time of year to grab a few mates and book your own fun day out with the BBQ Buoys, you can cook your own lunch as you cruise the river or enjoy a grazing box with some fab SA wine or beer. More Styling Curvy community catch-ups were held in Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Toowoomba and Hervey Bay, what a pleasure it is to meet you all and see you all connecting with each other.

The Huz and I enjoyed a few relaxing escapes like this stay at the historic Mount Lofty House. I can’t believe we had never visited! I have now requested a birthday stay there in 2019 and am looking forward to the restaurant views…and their milk bread!! Read and see more of what we did HERE

In April I kicked off my third year as The longest Table ambassador, raising funds for The Hospital Research Foundation through bringing people together to eat and end cancer. I’m looking forward to doing it all again in 2019. Aside from these group fundraising efforts I have personally raised more than $300K for cancer research and better patient outcomes since my diagnosis in 2012…proud of that!

I hosted two Styling Curvy On Tour Bali tours…two! I pinch myself that I get to host these tours, a chilled week in Bali is always welcome but spending that time with some awesome ladies is an absolute treat. You can read more about each tour HERE and HERE. I also jumped aboard a getaway to Hervey Bay for some whale watching and good times with several ladies I met on my tours, how bloody marvellous is that! What wasn’t marvellous was the plane trip home, that one time I shat myself on a plane. Read more on that HERE

The Huz and I headed off in May for holidays to Japan and I fell head over heels with all Japan had to offer. This holiday really was a dream come true and I would head back there in a heartbeat. Read more about my trip HERE. Oh, and I loved the electric bike culture so much I purchased one for myself when I returned home, time to dust it off after Winter. What’s that?… we’re half way through Summer. Ok OK, you can’t rush these things!

In June I launched ‘Lifestyle Basics’, a very special collaboration with Adrift. Since forever, I have wanted to have my own clothes label and as a teenager I would spend most weekends on my bedroom floor sketching designs and dreaming. My little biz ‘Styling Curvy’ has a way of making my dreams come true and when Adrift offered to collaborate I said ‘YES’…and so did all of you, you guys bloody loved it and it was a sellout. Thankyou!

You loved it so much that we decided to do it all again and in December we launched the Henley Collection, named after my beloved Henley beach because each piece is perfect for sunshiney summer days. You can shop the last of the styles HERE

I stretched outside of my comfort zone and dabbled in video in 2018, I wanted to freshen up how I delivered content to you all so gave video a crack. I strutted in my Modibodi underwear, walked the walk in Frankie4, shared fresh looks from 17 Sundays and Taking Shape, launched Lifestyle Basics plus there were makeup and tan tutorials, and of course my regular Friday night live @5 videos on Facebook. I learned alot from doing the video productions, mostly that they take alot of planning and work, are an investment and were sometimes testing because technology is my nemesis, but for the most part they were creative and fun and you all seemed to love them! What I didn’t learn was how to add a video to my blog and all my team are on holidays…so here’s a still from a video. In my undies…again!

 

I also added to the Styling Curve team, Shannon (top left) joined us in January and hooley dooley was that a good decision. There is NO WAY I can do all of this by myself, running a small business is challenging and there will always be elements that just aren’t my jam. The bits that bend my brain, are outa my knowledge scope or just take me away from what I love doing I now outsource.

This gives me space… to be creative, to connect with you and to work on my business. It can be a leap of faith to outsource, but find the right people and you will have no regrets. Along with Shannon who helps out with blog content I also have Karin (my right hand girl on top right) who helps out with tech stuff and newsletters, Karin also waved her magic wand this year and freshened up my logo (did you notice?) and gave the blog a fresh look too and she is always working behind the scenes on new things I want to bring you.

Let’s give thanks too to my two fabulous photographers Kim (centre) and Dana (bottom left) who take some of my outfit pics. While I used to head out every morning with a tripod and snap a pic of my outfit I found it was time consuming and battling the weather was frustrating so this year I invested in regular photo shoots, batching several outfits into one session ready to share when I actually wore the outfit. While the photos are taken by pros what we don’t do is edit the heck outa the pics, I want the photos to be natural and am always sure to keep filters at a minimum because we need the colours to be true to life, nothing worse than ordering an outfit and having it turn up and be a completely different colour.  The photo shoots have taught me loads and we have now got it down to a fine art, no mucking around, oh and yes I do shoot in public places and strip down on roadsides or in carparks…soooo not glamorous! Although, we do always have fun, especially when sessions end with a coffee…or cocktail! That’s Josh my videographer bottom right, who has seen way more of Styling Curvy in 2018 than he bargained for

We travelled to Tassie for a very overdue visit, we said we would go there for our honeymoon 24 years ago but had a baby instead. We loved Hobart and can’t wait to get back to see more of Tasmania. In fact I did LOADS of travel in 2018 which included 37 flights, 11 road trips and some rail travel (in Japan). Phew, I’m exhausted just thinking about all that travel but I loved it all!

I also loved the campaigns I was involved in, including the ADRIFT every woman campaigns which highlighted women in rural areas and included a shoot in Toowoomba and fashion show in Roma and Orange. Rural women and the backbone of their communities and should be celebrated for all they do, Bravo to Adrift for shining a light on them and also raising much needed funds for charity along the way!

Once again in September/October I was styling up some Spring Summer fashion at Rundle Place, a whole month of personal styling with amazing women who allowed me to push them outs their comfort zones. How fabulous is this wall at Rundle place, couldn’t resist a selfie there!

I was so fortunate to host or speak at several events, like this day spent at Frankie4 HQ (below), a live video swimsuit launch with Curvy Swimwear on the Gold Coast, a garden party event with Kennedys Boutique, So Brave cancer Fundraiser event, Adelady Longest Table dinner event and Strathalbyn Breast Cancer Fundraiser. I also spoke about body image alot too, and ran workshops on style and body confidence at Burnside library, Naracoorte and The Birch House in Murray Bridge. I love when I am able to connect with you all, women are rad creatures and have so much to offer and I love to hear their stories. Thankyou all for allowing me to do what I love.

The Huz turned fifty and I threw a ‘not so secret’ surprise party. It went off without a hitch and we all gad an ace night, including the Huz. Read and see more HERE. Speaking of family, the youngest moved out of home and in with his girlfriend in October, making us ’empty nesters’. What a privilege it is to parent but those little fuckers will crack your heart wide open over and over, including when they move out of home. We love them both and are proud of them both. We also love washing once a week, smaller utility bills and walking around in the nuddy sometimes so this empty nester stuff suits us.

 

Oh, and I wore a stack of fabulous fashion! I collaborate lots of amazing labels and am fortunate that they let me do my thing each and every day. No words put in my mouth, no censoring and I’m able to choose each and every outfit I share ( don’t like the product I return it). If you would like to see my curvy girls shopping guide list click HERE

 

It’s been a full year, sometimes insane but you know what…it all fills my cup. Life is for living and I am here to grab life by the ponytail and live the shit out of it! Thankyou to each and every one of you who join in by reading the blog, attending events, following on social media, commenting or reading the newsletter. Without you this little community doesn’t tick and my business doesn’t exist. You’r a fab bunch and I love my little corner of the internet, thanks for making it fun, warm, cheeky and united!

2018 was ace, but i have a feeling 2019 will be even more rad. Are you ready to come along for the ride?

Til then

Jen x