2014 came and went and it was by far one of the best years I've had. I was able to achieve so many of my pending goals and reconnected with some seriously special people in my life. I've selected three interesting favourites to sum up my year all of which made 2014 end on one really awesome high note. I welcome 2015 with open arms and if it's even a fraction like my last year, it'll certainly be a good one!

Board Games

So if I had to best describe myself as a person, child at heart would not be one of them (I'm more of an old soul), come to think of it my version of fun is sitting at home with a candle burning, selecting "random article" on Wikipedia quenching my thirst for knowledge. But if there's one old past time I wish to relive until I'm truly old and grey, it's board games. Just recently some old high school friends and I decided to meet up once a week at a local maccas (McDonald's for those outside Australia) and compete in various old school favourites including Scattergories, Balderdash, Pictionary and the OG of all games; Monopoly. The best part about this experience is not just a good reason to sit back and have a laugh, but that I got the chance to see my oldest and best friends from school again. Funny enough we started in October and one of my 2014 resolutions was to surround myself with fun-loving positive company again which I'm so glad I got to do before the year ended. If you have a competitive edge, want to test your knowledge (or patience!) or just want a good excuse to see some old friends, board games is by the far the best way to do it. You learn more about people AND yourself, and you have a tonne of fun! I recommend everyone pull out the old dusty game from out the cupboard and start having some nostalgic fun! Below is a pic of my friend Emma's board game collection - it can't get any cooler.

Georgia Jade

One of my biggest achievements last year was finally opening this blog. It had been on my to do list since I was out of high school but I never quite worked up the courage to go ahead and do it. Writing has always had a huge impact on me, but I never found purpose to get back into it until last year. Georgia has been a friend of mine since forever and last year she took a huge leap of faith and launched GeorgiaJade.com to the world. I was so awe-inspired by her courage that she literally paved the way for me to start my own. She is definitely not only my favourite bloggers, but probably one of my favourite people of 2014. I learned a lot from her and it has been so utterly refreshing seeing a girl like her empower others through her craft. She has been beyond supportive and I owe her a tonne for her help and guidance. If you haven't checked her out already, go ahead and click the link above or watch her awesome tutorials on YouTube. She is currently in England with the love of her life, but I cannot wait till she is back here in Oz. Georgia if you're reading this, miss you girl! Here's a snap of her latest OOTD, isn't she fab!?

 

Samsung NXmini Camera

Last but not least one of my biggest purchases of 2014 was my brand new camera. And while this might not have provided the most significant impact of the year, it confirmed that I was for real about blogging and I was prepared to take this really seriously, in a good way of course! I'm far from the type to throw a good $400 on anything high-tech, or gadgety (hello! Do you know how many pairs of shoes I could buy!) but I was ready for the next creative push in my life, and why not upgrade the quality of the one item that's going to help document everything I have to share with the world. It took a lot of research and some tiresome window shopping before I selected the Samsung NX-mini. This camera is awesome, and whilst I can't give you all the tiny specs (not because I shouldn't, but because I simply don't know enough in detail) what I can tell you is, it has a "selfie" capability, otherwise known as an articulating screen, which is PERFECT for a rookie like me. Secondly the filtering options are endless, although I'm pretty certain most cameras nowadays offer the same, but this is all new to me so it's super exciting. It also comes in a bunch of cool retro colours, but white was the cheapest so...yeah. Oh, and I can't forget it has inbuilt wifi connectivity which means I can snap and send via email or across certain social media, which I highly recommend for those who hate connecting wires and USBs, much like myself. I was previously using my Samsung S3 phone camera which wasn't too bad at all, but the resolution is highly comparable, and I enjoy the expanded spectrum of adjustments I can make that most phone cameras fail to provide. This camera is fantastic for newbies alike, but beware if you are purchasing online (I got scammed by a popular site), I recommend buying from Kogan if you're interested.