2017 in Review - what a year we had over at The Home Cook's Kitchen! Weddings, travel, family, houses, blog wins, and a little furry golden addition to the fam!
OMG how is it 2018 already!? I SWEAR every year goes by faster than the last.
2017 was really my year I must say. 2016 was tough, but 2017 was a year of epic adventures, changes, challenges, wins, and just a really, really was a good year!
We had a beautiful Christmas and New Years, just laid low and spent time playing with Archie in the snow ice and headed up the mountain for a nighttime boarding session! We had an epic Christmas feast for just the two of us, leaving up with a shit ton of leftovers (not complaining) and I made my show stopping pavlova (recipe to come this summer!)
While it was a little sad not being able to make it home for Christmas, we started a few Christmas traditions that we are hoping to continue in the future.
I thought for my first post of 2018, I'd just give a quick recap of some of our 2017 highlights, as well as what we are bringing to you in 2018!
2017 in Review
The Wedding
On Jan 7th 2017 Adam and I were married in Australia. It was the most glorious day and I will cherish the memories we have from that day. Being able to spend our special day with family and friends was just incredible and it was the best day of our lives!
The Honeymoon
In May, Adam and I travelled to Mexico and Cuba for our honeymoon! Mexico was absolutely amazing and we just had such a blast! Cuba was not our favourite place to visit, but Playa del Carmen was probably one of our favourite places we've visited before!
The House
In July, Adam and I got a beautiful new rental home. The space we were previously living in was very small and poky and was basically driving us nuts. Our new house is spacious with a beautiful open living room, fireplace, spare room aka blogging space, a yard and basement. It gives us the opportunity to create our own projects and is just a lovely house to come home to! *also I realised I have zero photos of my house!*
The Road Trip
In September, Adam and I and Adams best friend Dan went on an epic week-long road trip to Yellowstone. It was the first time we've ever been to Yellowstone and it was honestly one of the best trips we've taken! We started at Hells Canyon in Oregon, headed out to Craters of the Moon, then made our way into Yellowstone.
Yellowstone was just amazing, and it was so nice to finally get some time out camping!
From Yellowstone, we went to Cody Wyoming and experienced our first ever rodeo! Which was interested to say the least!
The Parents
In July, my parents flew in from Australia and spent a month in the states. I flew over to NYC to meet them, before they flew back to Portland to spend some time with us. They absolutely loved Portland and were so happy to finally see our lives over here!
The Travel Diaries
Apart from our trip to Mexico/Cuba, our road trip and my trip to NYC 2017 was a year of epic travel around the states.
I went to Denver for a football trip in June. Adam went to Milwaukee and Orlando for work conferences. We both went to San Diego for a football tournament in October, and we went to Olympic National Park for the first time.
As well as travel around the states, we also had some epic adventures in Oregon. Mt Hood was a frequent trip for us over the ski season. Bend was also on the travel cards for a food festival in June, and we took a few trips to the coast!
The Puppy
Probably our biggest and most life-changing news of 2017 was the arrival of Archie, our now 40(ish) lbs 4 month old puppy! Archie arrived to our place late October and is quite possibly the best thing that's happened to us!
He is absolutely gorgeous, cheeky, adorable, smart and we are just so in love with him! We can't wait to see him grow into a beautiful adult dog and can't wait to keep taking him on new adventures in 2018.
The Blog
Since launching back in February this year, THCK has grown exponentially in terms of traffic but also as a business that I'm developing and becoming really proud of.
We had a post go viral in July via a yummly website which brought in a huge amount of traffic that kind of kick-started the rest of the year! I have so many amazing plans for 2018 that I am really excited to share with you!
My top 5 favourite posts in 2017
- Salted Caramel Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - this recipe is my all time favourite homemade ice cream recipes!
- Joan Kiss Biscuits - this was the first recipe I posted using my new camera lens and it's a recipe that I'm really proud of. I love making recipes from my childhood!
- Baked Brie with figs and pomegranate - this recipe was SO fun to style and I loved being able to make some beautifully festive recipes this year!
- Oven baked Yukon gold fries - hands down BEST FRIES EVER.
- Watermelon Mint Feta Salad - my all time favourite summer salad! A reminder of good times!
This year has been a year to prove to myself that I can make THCK my full-time business and I can't wait to see it progress next year!
The New Year to Come
2018 is going to be the year of the hustle. In other words, working really hard to continue to grow THCK as my business!
I am still aiming to post twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and am hoping to bring you WAY more menu plans and meal plans!
I am also hoping to bring you a little surprise to celebrate THCK 1st birthday!
Adam and I have a few more travels plans next year. Our next big adventure is in June/July. We are going to London and Latvia for two weeks and I am SO excited! Adam has never been to London before, so can't wait to show him my favourite sites. Then we are heading to Latvia for a weeklong festival.
Adams family background is Latvian/Swedish and we are meeting up with his family in Riga for the 100th song and dance festival! I've never been to Latvia before but can't wait to see the culture and history of the place as well as learn about Latvian crafts and food!
We are also hoping to plan a trip to Australia sometime in 2018 too! And are planning a road trip to San Francisco to pick up new passports!
Other than that, we are both really excited to take Archie out on some adventures around Oregon. We are thinking heaps of hikes and camping in the warmer seasons as well as seeing how he'd go running behind us on mountain bikes!
All in all, 2018 is shaping up to be a great year!
And we also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to our loyal followers who are constantly coming to our site to spread the love! We are so, so thankful to everyone who has read our posts, or who has followed us along on our various social media sites! Without you guys, THCK would not nearly be as successful as it has been this year and we are so grateful for everyones support!
Wishing everyone a happy, safe and healthy 2018 full of love, happiness, good health and of course, new adventures!
Lots of love,
Georgie + Adam
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Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
I'm so jealous that you're going to London. It's my favorite city! And I've always wanted to go to Latvia--I've heard the food is amazing so I can't wait to hear all about it. Congratulations on all your big 2017 news and I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store!
Georgie says
isn't london amazing!! love it! Adam said Latvia is really cool, and there is a lot of wild strawberries, fish, fresh tomatoes with dill and other goodies to eat! Cant wait! wishing you a happy 2018 as well lovely x
Deepika|TheLoveOfCakes says
Your 2017 was an eventful year! From wedding, to a new house and to a new little pup!! Everything is amazing!! Wishing you a adventurous 2018, filled with travel and lots of other happy things to do!!
Georgie says
2017 certainly was eventful! Thanks Deepika! wishing you an amazing 2018 as well 🙂
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
Loved reading about your year Georgie - what a fantastic year you had!! Congrats on everything, and I can't wait to see what 2018 brings for you!! Cheers!