2022 in Review
2022 was a big year for CCCH! In June, I finally updated my website after 7 years of the same look. And I also hit some personal page view goals at the end of the year (yay)! As I’ve done for the past four years (2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018), I went through my 2022 posts and picked out the most read blog posts that were published this year as well as a few of my favorite outfits. I could see myself repeating any of these outfits again in the future.
I also recapped the books I read, picked out my favorites (so hard!), and recapped my travel. Perhaps my favorite (or least favorite? ha) part is looking back at my purchasing trends, including spilling how much I spent on clothes this year (as always, I’ll be sharing my best and worst purchases of the year in their own post next month). Let’s go, 2023! ✨
READ NEXT: 2021 in Review
2022 in Review
MOST READ BLOG POSTS
MY FAVORITE OUTFITS
READING RECAP + FAVORITE BOOKS
In 2022, I finished 30 books, 10 of which were audiobooks! (Of note: The Rosie Effect and the two books photographed on the beach below were read in 2021, and I finished two audiobooks and a library loan this month that haven’t been shared yet.) I originally set a goal of 15 books, then increased it to 24, then increased it again to 30. Audiobooks were THE game changer for me this year; I started listening to them regularly in August. I’m thinking about a goal of 40 (or 50? or MORE?!) books in 2023 because I know I can get through audiobooks quickly!
Out of the 30 books I read this year, my favorites were The Vanishing Half, The Wedding Date, When We Believed in Mermaids, We Should All Be Millionaires, Cover Story, and How to Keep House While Drowning! It’s so hard to pick! I’d recommend pretty much every book I read.
In 2023, I’m leaning towards a book-buying ban. I own so many books (physical and digital) that I’ve not yet read, and I have hundreds of books on my wish list through the library. The only exceptions will be made for Kindle books that are on my wish list and $2 or less (these are books I want to read but that aren’t available through my library or books that will complete a series I already own on Kindle). I also might make exceptions for a few preorders, because it’s fun to buy physical books and to support authors that way (and give a gift to my future self)!
I use StoryGraph to track my reads! It’s an alternative to Goodreads that was founded by a Black woman! You can import your Goodreads data if you use that app and want to try StoryGraph out. The best part is the multitude of STATS!!! Fun stats, though, haha—stats you actually want to look at, like your most-read genre, how many pages and books you read every month, etc.! I love the year-end roundup and am looking forward to seeing mine soon. Plus, you also get curated recs! If you join, add me as a friend—my username is cottoncashmerecathair!
TRAVEL RECAP
Travel was light this year because I needed to save my PTO for all the travel I have planned in 2023! In the spring, Korri and I flew to Tempe, Arizona, and to Seattle, Washington, for gymnastics. It was my first time visiting Arizona! Our trip to Tempe was short and sweet but fun—we ate two delicious dinners at Postino Annex and two delicious breakfasts/brunches at Snooze next door. We also visited the Desert Botanical Garden to see the Chihuly in the Garden exhibit! So cool. The weather was beautiful, and I didn’t see any scorpions so I call that a success. 😆 Since it was a quick trip, I shared a few snaps and recommendations on Instagram.
We traveled to Seattle for the NCAA Gymnastics Regionals competition at UW. It’s three days of gymnastics and marks the start of postseason. There’s a play-in meet on day 1 with the bottom 2 teams, then the round of 32 is on day 2, and then the sweet 16 is on day 3. The top 2 teams from each regional site (4 sites, 8 teams total) advance to nationals! In 2022 they added a rest day in between the round of 32 and sweet 16, so we spent 4 days in Seattle.
We stayed near the UW campus, which was wonderful—we spent lots of time walking through the campus to the arena. The cherry blossoms were blooming, and the first annual U District Cherry Blossom Festival was happening! My mom and step dad came to visit us on our off day, and we went shopping and out to eat. It was a super fun trip even though Boise State wasn’t there (they were sent to Oklahoma for their regional and we had already bought everything for Seattle because I was convinced they’d be sent there).
After that, I didn’t go anywhere until the end of July, when I met a gymnastics friend in SLC to attend an elite meet, the U.S. Classic! It was four days of competition (men’s and women’s) and we had so much fun! It’s awesome that we’ll be seeing some of those gymnasts at the Olympics in the future.
Korri and I didn’t travel again until mid-October, when we decided at the literal last minute to hop on a flight to Seattle to attend game 3 of the ALDS between the Mariners and Astros. It was the Mariners’ first time in the postseason in forever, so the stadium was electric and we had a lot of fun! The game went to 18 innings, and we actually had to leave before it was over (but after the Astros had finally scored in the top of the 18th) to catch the last flight back to Boise. I recapped our whirlwind day trip in an Instagram reel!
A couple of weekends later, we flew to Los Angeles to see the Seahawks take on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. That was a quick overnight trip, but we got in early on Sunday and left late on Monday so it was basically two full days. We went to the game on Sunday—Seattle won, whoop! The next day, we went to Dockweiler Beach, which is right next to the airport, and we lounged and watched lots of planes take off (including an A380) before walking down to Manhattan Beach and catching a ride back to head home. A few days after getting home from LA, we both had COVID, and that was the end of our travels for the year lol.
Idaho Recap
While not entirely travel-related, I also blog a lot of cool things to do and places to see in Idaho! It got its own page to live on when I redesigned my site over the summer. This year, I shared 9 blog posts with content ranging from things to do in Boise in winter and during the holidays, food truck fries I love, local nonprofits to support, things to do in eastern Idaho, and more! Over on Instagram, my Boise summer bucket list reel was my most successful of the year!
CLOTHING BUDGET RECAP
Now for the fun part: the annual clothing budget/wardrobe additions recap! 😅 It’s always eye opening to see the stats laid out like this. After December 2021, I added 7 new items to my wardrobe in January and February 2022. Most of my winter wardrobe additions happen in December because of the great late November/early December sales (in December 2022, I added 5 items and those are included in my annual total below).
In spring 2022, I added 10 new items to my wardrobe, half off which I bought in March. I added 14 new items in the summer (June through August), including a pair of shoes gifted by Sarah Flint and a replacement pair of shoes from Everlane. I also made quite a few returns in the summer (six total).
Fall is always a big shopping quarter for me because of my birthday in September. In fall 2022, I added 10 new items to my wardrobe, 6 of which were purchased in September. I also made a lot of returns in the fall (and still have some waiting to be mailed): seven total. You can find all of my 2022 wardrobe additions in one place on this Pinterest board.
In total, I spent $2,550 on clothes this year (less than I spent in 2021). I was a little over my $2400/year ($600/quarter) budget, which I increased from $500/quarter this past year to allow for more flexibility. The overage was easily covered by earnings from Poshmark sales. Changing sizes really threw a wrench in my wardrobe options as it turns out.
Even more random facts from 2022:
Total number of items added: 46 (down from 50 in 2021) (Note that this number includes loungewear but may not include things not counted in the budget!)
Total number of items from my “main” closet sold on Poshmark: 41
Added 6 new pairs of jeans, 6 new pairs of pants, and 6 pairs of shoes
Added 3 new pairs of shorts and 3 new sweaters
Added 2 new pairs of lounge/sweatpants
Added no new jewelry
Purchased 2 new-to-me items via Poshmark
Received a pair of shoes gifted by Sarah Flint (review and outfit here)
Spent the most money on my Amour Vert Frankie pant ($118; worn here) and the least on the Target The Earth's Atmosphere graphic tee ($5; worn here)
Top brands/retailers: Madewell, Everlane, Quince, Nordstrom
New-to-me brands/retailers: Universal Standard, Allbirds
