Best of Feast + West 2018

Here’s a look back at the last 52 weeks of 2018. The Best of Feast + West 2018 remembers my favorite and most popular posts from the year. 

Wasn’t it just the other day I was here writing The Best of Feast + West 2017? You mean to tell me an entire year has passed? 

HOW?

Father Time does it again. 

2018 was a fine year. Some quick highlights: This year, I… 

• Got ENGAGED to my sweetheart, Chris, in San Francisco! (This one had to go first, duh.)
• Visited 15 cities and nine states. Most of them for work, but a few for fun too. One of those states, Utah, was for the first time! Just eight states to go before I hit them all… 
• Attended the first-ever Pinterest in the making event in San Francisco — so amazingly cool. 
• Saw my pal Meghan get married in Denver! The best. 
• Went to my brother’s wedding in the summer and welcomed my sister back to the U.S.A. after living abroad for 10 years — so happy for them both! 
• Checked out The FOMO Factory in Austin on a date with myself. 
• Saw Barack and Michelle Obama’s portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in D.C. 
• Finally ate at Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar! (It was delicious and worth the hype.) 
• Went ice skating for the first time in probably 15 years. I did not last long but it was so fun! 
• Took a cocktail class from one of my local idols, bartender Colleen Hughes. 

Writing this out, it makes me realize what a busy year it was. Definitely a mixed bag. 

Looking back on my plans for 2018, I hoped to give myself more me-time, space for personal growth and grace for not getting more done. I didn’t want to be so stressed and anxious all the time. And it worked, mostly. 

I got back into yoga and in general spent more time away from the computer outside of work. I even found time to delve into craft projects like embroidery and handmaking lots of my Christmas gifts this year. (I see you, Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur.)

For the first time maybe ever (but hopefully not the last time), I had all my presents wrapped before Christmas and I felt so organized and light. 

At the same time, 2019 also feels like it wasn’t so busy. 

Here on the blog, I only posted 38 times, making this my slowest year yet, in some ways. (Hi, I’m trying not to beat myself up over here. I miss you guys!) 

But! On the other hand, it’s also been a great year of growth.

Even though I haven’t been posting as frequently, I’ve been working on things behind the scenes, such as rephotographing, videoing and updating older but popular recipes.

This is so that when new folks find them, they are current and of the same caliber of the newer content I’ve been creating the last few years. 

I also taught myself to edit video and animate illustrations (with lots and lots of help from Chris!) but it’s been really fun, and challenging, to learn. 

Also, my blog traffic and advertising income are more consistent and higher than ever, and that’s in large part due to the hard work I put into the blog in previous years. Go you, Past Susannah! (That’s me, giving myself grace.)

Not to mention all the new things I’ve learned via blog posts, conferences, courses and podcasts. 

Oh, and Chris and I started planning our wedding! Which is a whole other thing. We’re tying the knot here in North Carolina in September 2019, and I absolutely cannot wait. 

But good gosh, wedding planning is definitely time-consuming. I’m having so much fun but trying not to get too caught up in the details and stress. 

One of the perks of a long engagement, though, is that you have plenty of time to plan! 

2018 was definitely a learning year for me, and I hope 2019 is too. I never want to stop learning. 

I’ll be sharing more about what I anticipate for 2019 soon, but in the meantime I wanted to take a moment to share the best posts on F+W this year — your favorites and mine. 

And here were the posts that were your favorites last year: