2016 – phew. I’m not afraid to admit, this year really tested me in a lot of ways. At 29 I think I often felt in a hurry to make things happen this year. And in the moment, that often felt challenging, daunting and altogether frustrating. It often felt like I didn’t have the time to make this blog what I wanted it to be. Didn’t have the money to take the extravagant vacations I saw everyone else on Instagram taking. That I was letting the stress of my job effect the happiness I felt outside of the office. You get the picture. Not to mention a week I spent in bed with a kidney infection (and another with a stomach flu), a week I spent crying over my dead laptop and if I added it all up weeks and weeks spent worrying about when I’d have it all figured out. Oh yeah, and then there were those 5 weddings I attended in 5 months time. Which are all of course teeny tiny issues compared to those that the world at large faced this past year. But the funny thing is?
As I sit here thinking back on the past year here is what comes to mind:
Being at the hospital the night my only sister gave birth to her first daughter and made me an Aunt, laying poolside at The Standard hotel with Adam on our first trip to Miami, having a sleepover with my college best friend in town from LA and feeling like not a day had passed since we were 20, finding amazing live music/new food/great drinks at hidden little spots throughout the city and watching Adam continue to fall in love with this city as much as I always have been, laughing until I cried on a trip to New Orleans with my sister, driving through the most striking fall foliage on a road trip to Maine and attending a fashion show of a designer who I’ve admired since I was just a young college kid studying Fashion Design and dreaming of a life in New York City. And that kidney infection? Aside from the pain of it, I remember the way Adam painstakingly cared for me. That broken laptop? I now just think about the little East Village repair shop that went above and beyond to nurse it back to life. And all those weddings? I remember watching 3 of my cousins marry people I am so happy to now have as a part of my family and dancing until my feet hurt.
I’ve still got major plans for 2017 (more on that later), but in the meantime I feel so damn lucky for how this year turned out. Lucky to be surrounded by the most grounding, funny, wonderful group of family and friends, live in this magical city and wake up every day next to Adam who always reminds me that life doesn’t respond well to deadlines. And high up there on my list of things I continue to be grateful for?
All of you. And the fact that this little blog continues to let me share with you my stylish adventures and hopefully inspired you all to take a few more of your own. Every reader, every comment, follow and like truly means the world to me. So thank you. And because (aside from being a labor of love) I really want this place to be one that inspires you – please let me know what you like best about The Steele Maiden as well as what you’d like to see more of (or that’s new) in the coming year. More fitness, cocktail recipes, travel tips, looks for less? Let me know!
Without further ado, a look back at a few of my favorite posts. Plus, if you’re interested in going way back, my round-up from 2015 here.
This holiday post featured two of my favorite things – Adam and my Uncle’s ’54 Chevy truck (that’s been passed down for 2 generations throughout the Steele family).
Our Fall road trip to Maine was such a welcome moment of peace before the hectic holiday season descended. Between the lobster rolls and the foliage, Adam and I can’t wait to head back to explore more someday.
This photo (from this original post) turned out to be my most liked photo on Instagram of the entire year. Guess I wasn’t the only one charmed by this marigold yellow lace and burgundy suede combo.
This post was for a campaign with Ralph Lauren Romance fragrance, which was the first perfume I’ve ever worked with. Adam and I wanted to capture what romance in the fall really felt like for us, so we went back home to PA and shot these photos just after the sun had come up surrounded by miles of corn fields. They’re some of my favorite photos we’ve ever taken.
This was taken right after I had attended the Erin Fetherston show at NYFW (the one I mentioned earlier as being a big deal since I’ve loved her since I was studying fashion in college). I loved my outfit and the way Adam caught me running across the street with a cab in the background. The post felt like it captured the kind of fever the city is in during Fashion Week.
Another all time favorite shot Adam has ever taken. It’s one of those pictures (and one of those posts) that I’ll look back on and remember how it felt to be in our twenties and running around downtown with just a camera and zero agenda.
We finally made it to the Hamptons for the first time this Summer and it definitely didn’t disappoint. These pictures were taken on a particularly hot afternoon and we wandered down dead end roads, exploring the docks of forgotten homes that looked like the long lost sets of Grey Gardens or The Great Gatsby .
A snapshot from our annual weekend trip to my Uncle’s beach house in Ocean City, New Jersey.
Taken on the afternoon that I got my computer back and all of my photos and data had been restored, hence my look of contentment. I also think this is just one of those never goes out of style summer looks. Full post here.
I started incorporating more of my cocktail recipes into the blog which has been such a fun addition this year. These summer-y tequila cocktails were one of my favorites.
A country girl at heart, this simple All American look will always be my go-to signature style.
On one of my favorite streets in Manhattan in one of my favorite outfits I think I’ve ever worn. This post just totally encapsulates everything that’s good about summer in the city.
From a day trip to Rockaway Beach right before it had actually gotten warm in the spring and we had the place to ourselves.
One of my very favorite memories of 2016 – getting up at dawn on a Wednesday morning in May so that Adam and I could be among the first people up to the Top of the Rock (the rooftop deck at 30 Rockefeller Center). It felt like the city belonged to us.
Inspired by a photo of my Mom in the Seventies and taken at one of my favorite places in the city – the New York Public Library steps. Full post here.
One of those ‘Stop the car! Let’s take photos’ moments that I love. Adam spotted this endless field of yellow wildflowers on a trip home to Pennsylvania and I felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder in this post.
In two of the year’s biggest trends – off the shoulder/cold shoulder + fringe. These photos were right when the winter weather finally broke in New York and you could stand to take off your jacket for a few minutes.
Not my usual dress or skirt, but this nautical-inspired look in a blazer and jeans is still one of my favorite outfits of the whole year.
I had the chance to work with Coach – an American brand I’ve loved since I was a kid – this year and loved this detail shot Adam got of these shoes against Soho’s cobblestone. It’s always about the shoe shot for us. Full post here.
My favorite post from Miami. I had my first tan of the year and was feeling very Miami Vice between this minidress and enormous yacht as a backdrop.
Serenity blue and Rose Quartz were the Pantone colors of 2016 and this post proved just how well they paired.
After a nearly 3 foot snowfall left Central Park looking like a real life snow globe last January. I wore every layer I had to brave the cold for these photos but I’m so glad we made the trek. It’s always worth it.