2011 in review

It is that time of the year, when one looks back and thinks about the good and bad things that have happened in 2011.

On a personal level, I cannot say that 2011 was one of my best years. I was operated of a life-treating condition in March, and my son has been almost constantly sick since October. Obviously, if one would want to see the glass half full, we may say that I survived the operation and he has been getting better, but I'd like not to have a repeat in 2012. I also had a difficult time at work (thank goodness for sabbatical!). Finally, in 2011 we moved from Canada to Italy. As much as living in Italy has many perks (to cite two: the food and the fashion), I miss Canada in a number of ways and I am looking forward to move back in 2012! (BTW: did I mention that I forgot to bring my favourite Miu Miu black pants??) On the bright side, we took many great trips in 2011: you may remember the weekend we spent in Ottawa, our drive through France, and our summer in Italy and Belgium. I have seen a few great movies (on planes or on DVD, obviously) such as the King's Speech and, don't laugh here, Tangled (this one at the movie theater with my son) as well as many terrible ones (the award for the worst movie I have seen this year goes to Io sono l'amore, regardless of the breathtaking fashion and the excellent insight into the life of an Italian wealthy family). Although I had even less time to read books than to watch movies (my favorite Anne Perry's Christmas novel is still unopened on my Kindle), I discovered the novels by Kate Morton (The Distant Hours, The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden), and fell in love with The Help by Kathryn Stockett (I am hoping to find the time to watch the movie soon!)

There have been few fashion highlights as well. During one of our summer trips, I stayed at the most fashionable hotel I have ever been to: the Chateau de Bagnols in the Beaujolais region of France. Once in Milan, I had a glimpse of Fashion Week for the first time in my life. I have also set out on the quest to rediscover and update my personal style during our sabbatical year. In the process, I have recently let go of my obsession for Celine's handbags...

Yet if I'd have to point to the one thing I will always remember 2011 for, I'll say it is that I discovered blogging. My discovery has coincided with the rise of fashion bloggers such as Hanneli Mustaparta and The Sartorialist (two of my favorites) as one of the main players in the industry (if you want to know how and why, you should read the excellent pieces in the series "The Business of Blogging" by The Business of Fashion). Mom bloggers care about style and fashion, but there are not many moms who blog where fashion and motherhood intersects. My biggest accomplishment of 2011 has been to begin this blog to contribute to this discussion. 

I launched the blog in august and it is now close to 2000 hits. Your favorite posts during this time have been those about FW11 trends (especially for handbags and pants), about our summer trip to Belgium (especially the hidden treasure we discovered in Kessel-lo and my quest for the fashionable Belgian moms at a local fair), about the Celine obsession I recently let go, about my tips for reinventing your clutch, and about what to wear to go trick-or-treating with your kids.

I am grateful for and to all of you who like reading my posts! Stay tuned, 2012 will bring many more as well as two new series. Meanwhile, Happy New Year!

P.S. The image above is that of a card by Bonnie Marcus, who once worked for Diane Von Furstenberg. I discovered her lovely collection thanks to The Chic Spy and I am addicted to her designs (you may remember another one I used in an earlier post).