It's that time of year again. The time we take a look back at the last 365 days and contemplate the accomplishments we made, the failures we'd rather forget, and the goals that lay ahead. I have to say that transitioning into a mother of two has been quite the adjustment. London turned one this year and with that celebration I took a few steps closer to freedom. We still have milestones yet to come, but I've gradually been able to grant Amy West Travel more and more of my time again this year. I love having the privilege of being both mom and business owner, and through it all, I appreciate you my amazing readers sticking with me through thick and thin. Here's a look back at the best of 2016, and a glimpse into what 2017 promises thus far.
Top 5 Blogs of 2016
This spring we had the pleasure of partnering with Visit Houston and experiencing one of Texas' finest cities. Our kids got to taste Tex Mex, watch a Rodeo, blast off at the Johnson Space Center and get hands on at a Children's museum. We discovered how kid friendly this growing city truly is and really had a fantastic time. Catch the full story for the complete list of "must see" destinations. I learned from this post how much you, my readers, want to read about family travel. Because of the success of this post I have begun to adjust my travel planning to include more kid friendly destinations.
With the success of Houston on my heels I was eager to accept Visit Tampa's invitation to visit. I specifically requested a kid friendly itenerary so we could bring you the best in family travel Tampa had to offer. We were not disappointed. So many great restaurants and attractions await. Get caught up on the entire post and find out what you have been missing from this bayside city.
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| Photo by Agnes Lopez |
In addition to family travel you guys, like me, love to eat. I was pleased to see how popular this post on Southern Dishes in Jax was. How many have you tasted?
Following suit with the Southern dishes post was this article and TV segment I posted on brand new restaurants in Jax. I also did a popular follow up of this post with 6 more restaurants. This will become a regular spot thanks to it's popularity. Thanks for choosing Amy West Travel as a trusted resource on where to eat. I'll keep doing that hard work of researching all these great new restaurants.
5. How I lost the Baby Weight
In other News.....
Ironically, after eating all that tasty food, you all wanted to know how I lost the baby weight. Falling into the fifth most popular spot is this post on how I lost my baby weight, which really is just a big encouragement to moms to relax, and take as much time as you want to be you and enjoy your kid. There is enough pressure on us to be perfect these days. Love the skin you are in and be proud of your body, which gave you the ability to produce a child. That is my message to you all when it comes to baby weight.
Here's what 2016 looked like for Amy West Travel by the numbers:
Freelance Contributions and Other advances:
- Blog Posts = 62 Blog Posts Including This One
- TV Appearances = 22 Live TV Appearances including The Chat and River City Live (See all my on air segments on my Media page here.)
Freelance Contributions and Other advances:
- Contributed to a group article for Huffington Post
- Became an official on-air contributor for Wander Jacksonville, Jacksonville's official visitor information Network, launching in January 2017.
- Came on board as a contributor for Where Guidebook
- Named a top 10 Travel Trolley Best Luxury Blogger
- 2nd Year Contributing to 10Best.com
- Began partnering with World Market as an on air lifestyle contributor in North East Florida
- I'm pleased to report I'm now working with RewardStyle and LiketoKnow.It since July (if you notice my shopping widgets you can thank RewardStyle. More info to come soon on how to shop on my site.)
Looking Forward...
I don't want to give it all away but I will leak that we will be traveling to California in April of 2017 with our girls. This will be my first time to the West coast in two years, and we are super excited for our girls to experience this stunning part of the country. Aside from that, look for more trips to Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia. We are looking at Chicago, New Orleans, New York, and a few destinations across the Atlantic as possible travel destinations. In the meantime I'll be bringing you more great insight on how to travel stress free with the family, where to find the best eats, and how to live life with style.
Thank you for your faithful reading and support of my site. Without you, all this would be for naught. Here's to another great year, and more adventures than we can all imagine.
Until then...
Enjoy the Journey!
xo- Amy West
Copyright © Amy West Travel. All rights reserved. Photography by Journey Productions Media.
