I have been procrastinating writing my goals for 2020 because it felt like the biggest challenge! When you tell one person your goals over a glass of wine it feels intimate. When you tell thousands of people your goals it feels like being naked on stage. People are going to judge regardless. I feel so vulnerable as I am about to hit the publish button.

Before I dig into 2020, let’s look back at 2019 and how I did.

Goal 2019

This year, my focus is self-care. After being so burnt out last year, I know that this has to be a focus for me. I will share more about what this looks look like as the year goes on.

Reality. I made some big changes when it came to this and it happened naturally. It took me so long to get to this point. I am talking YEARS. I finally learned to let go a bit when it came to working for myself. This meant not being on Instagram or on my phone 24/7 and taking some time for myself on nights and weekends. I am not quite there but I feel like I made some big improvements to my workaholic lifestyle of 2018.

I started going to acupuncture and it really allowed me to check in with my mind and body on a weekly basis. I cut down on my migraines significantly and totally believe in the healing power of acupuncture.

Find love… This is more of a personal wish than a goal. I know that you can’t force anything. I have kissed a lot of frogs over the years and I am really hoping this is the year that I find love.

About love… I am keeping quiet about this one.

I have been making it to dance every single morning and I have been joking with the girls that I want to see my abs by Summer. I think it is a fair goal to want to see them by bathing suit season. I doubt a six-pack will happen but after one straight month, I have seen two out of six. The rest are hiding under croissants.

Reality. I still only see two out of the six and I am totally okay with that.

Improve my Conversational French by June. I will be in the South of France with my family at the end of June and I really want to feel more comfortable in my conversational French. I made this goal before finding out Caroline was moving back to France. Since then, I have been meeting with her husband to speak French. I have been able to hold some very lengthy conversations about my weekends in French and I have been known to tell a joke or two. My fear of making a mistake is holding me back but I am slowly letting go of this.

Reality. I really let this one slide after Caroline moved back to France.

Be early or on-time more often than in the past. Today, I arrived at dance 5 minutes early, which means that I have been early for an entire month! How many days does it take to form a habit? I think I am on the right track.

Reality. I did SO well with this in 2019. I hope I can continue in 2020.

Take more candid photos with friends and family. While building out this blog post about finding my community in Paris, I realized that I had very few photos of me and friends. I have thousands of photos of Paris but I rarely take photos of myself. I need to worry less about how I look and just have fun at the moment.

Reality. I was able to hold to this one throughout 2019 and I am happy that I was able to capture moments throughout the year. Now the challenge is to print the photos. Some of my favorite photos were from my family vacation with the kids but I don’t post photos of them for privacy. But, I do need to get some of those printed for home.

Business:

I would love a book lead by the end of 2019. I plan on working on A Year in Paris in hopes of pitching it to an agent/publisher.

Reality. I worked on images for A Year in Paris in 2019 but I am not any closer to a book lead. I feel like I have been so discouraged by the whole process I put it on the back burner.

In 2018, the blog was just shy of 500,000 page views. The growth was huge and this year I want to continue to grow and hit 1,000,000 page views by the end of 2019.

Reality. I didn’t hit 1,000,000 page views but I increased 45% with a total of 680,669 page views for the year.

Increase my mailing list to 10,000. If you want to help a girl out you can subscribe here.

Reality. I came in a little over half of my 10,000 goal.

Double last year’s blog revenue.

Reality. I didn’t hit my goal but I came really close and I am so proud of the growth and how much I learned over the last year.

Visit Paris three times in 2019 and explore a new city I haven’t seen yet. Last year, I came up with the idea to alternate between Paris and a new city each time. This way it challenges me to get outside of my comfort zone and see something new. I really want to see Chantilly for a day trip outside Paris. When I am in the South of France with my family I hope to visit Grasse or Menton. The blog has been centered around Paris for the last few years but I know a lot of readers have been asking to expand outside of Paris. I am open to suggestions if anyone has them!

Reality. I made it to Paris 4 times in 2019 and I loved every single visit. I am so happy I made this goal happen. Some visits were longer than others, but I was able to capture the city in different seasons which was the big goal. I was able to visit Sydney (first time to Australia), London, Amsterdam and Menton, France too. It was a very full travel year.

2020 Goals

It is important to set goals and also share what you want. I am a big believer in the law of attraction and the power of manifestation. I already signed an exciting contract at the start of 2020 but I won’t be able to share any details until 2021!

Personal

Eat Clean and Healthy. I started this at the beginning of 2020 and I really have enjoyed meal prep and eating well. I would love to continue this for the whole year. I have challenged myself to try new foods including vegetables and trying new recipes. Feel free to drop some of your favorite recipes in my inbox!

Give Myself Grace. By this I mean, to not be so hard on myself. (Some friends are reading this and shaking their heads right now.) I am so tough on myself when things in business and life don’t go the way I want them to. I need to learn to let go and trust that I did the best I could. Not everything is going to be a home run and I need to be ok with that outcome.

Read More Books. I read a ton of articles throughout the week for Links I Love but I am terrible with books lately. I used to keep a book in my tote bag to pick up when I had any free time, on the train or waiting for a friend at a restaurant. My biggest challenge last year was not having a backup book once I finished one. Right now I currently have a large stack on my nightstand. I am drawn to historical WWII books but I am hoping to mix it up a bit with other book genres. What was the best book you read in 2019? I am looking to add to my stack.

Travel more in 2020. Okay, I know I covered a lot in 2019, but I am not done yet. I started 2020 with my first trip to Colorado and I will visit Utah this month. I am really happy that I have the opportunity to see parts of the US that I haven’t seen before. I would love to get back to Italy this Summer. Italy was my first love before France and it has been a few years since I have been to Capri and Positano. Trips to Paris will be twice maybe three times this year.

Learn to Relax. I was on an amazing trip to Mexico at the end of 2019 and letting go to relax was the hardest thing for me. Throughout the year I am constantly on the go thinking of new ideas, challenging myself and making sure things run smoothly between all my sites. I honestly don’t know how to let go and completely unplug. This goes along with giving myself grace.

Business

In May, I will be taking my first group trip to Paris with 20 girls! I am so excited for this adventure. I usually travel solo so this will be a very different experience. I would love the opportunity to do this type of trip again leading a smaller group of girls by myself at the end of 2020.

Continue to grow and expand The Print Shop. I am still learning on the go when it comes to Shopify and photography. I am self-taught and I am constantly reading and learning to become a better business person and photographer. I was up 35% to LY in 2019 and I would like to continue that growth for 2020.

I am determined to get my email list to 10,000. I am working on a strategy for this and it is a big focus for me. My weekly emails are a bit time consuming for me as far as content but it allows me to reach so many of my readers in their inbox on a consistent basis. I love hearing back from readers on feedback from blog posts and questions about travel to Paris.

Blog Series. I started a Concierge Insider Secrets Series in January and I have three more lined up. I would love to do one of these every month of the year for a total of 12. I am learning so many new spots around Paris from these interviews.

Blog Revenue. I am still in the mindset of wanting to double revenue from 2019. I have learned so much in the past year and I am ready to keep pushing forward making this a bigger part of my income.

Blog Traffic. This year the blog turns 4! I was at 680,000 page views. I would really love to crack 100,000 for at least one month and reach my million page views goal this year.

Along with that, I am ready for blog partnerships. This is a big goal of mine for 2020. My blog revenue comes from affiliate marketing. I would love to partner with brands that I believe in and use. Some of my dream brands include Le Creuset, Caudalie, Sézane, Everlane, and Sur la Table.

Last year, I visited the hotel The Saint James for drinks and a tour. I would LOVE to stay here for just one night. The hotel is so charming and set just far away from the center of the city you wouldn’t know it was there. I told my friend Katie the other night that if I made my goal for 2020, I would book a night here at the end of the year.

Christmas in Paris. I was so close in 2019 and I loved every hint of Paris I saw around the city. I left just before the Christmas markets opened. I would love to make it for a few days in December in 2020 to really enjoy every bit of Christmas.

Tips for Making Your Goals

Find an accountability buddy. I am lucky to have not one but three! My friends Ashley, Tammy and Katie keep me in check throughout the year. Share your goals with someone you trust and check in on each other throughout the year. Goals can be broken down into bite-size attainable benchmarks before reaching the big goal. Just because you have one bad month, doesn’t mean that the year is over. Get back up and keep going. When it comes down to it, growth and progress are the most important parts.

My friend Ashley introduced me to Stretch Goals last year. They are a way to push you even bigger than you ever imagined. I will goal set a number and she tells me to think bigger! Thank you, Ashley!

What is your big goal of 2020?

Photos of me by Carolina Caruso