Sami Mastrario Personal

Recap of 2019!

What a wild, exhausting, and crazy ride 2019 has been. In case you didn’t know, I bought a house. ?

But 2019 has been so much more than my house despite it taking up so much of my latter part of the year. It has been a year of clarity, of investigation, a year of taking a step back, going on different adventures, and quite frankly, a year of rest.

This year, I have really found a true understanding of me as a person. I have deep-dived what it means to be an Enneagram 5 and fully embraced my intense niche-driven research tendencies. From that research, I have learned a ton such as: more about the family that built my house, reading allllll the documents/watching all the hearings in regards to the Impeachment saga, learning tips and tricks on redoing a kitchen on a budget, finding the perfect Moroccan rug, and even learning all I can about the Jim Reeb case from the Civil Rights Movement. You name it, I probably put a couple hours of reading/research on the topic to become a better informed citizen (and to suit my neurotic tendencies of hoarding data).

But this has also been a year of rest- sort of. I took a major step back from my second job of photography this year and just gave myself grace. Instead of spending an evening at my friends’ house on my laptop editing, I played games or watched movies. Instead of designing advertising and writing website content, I read more books. I binged shows that were delightful. Some were terrible. I did what I wanted and it was incredible.

But yes, alas, the rest of my year was kind of not restful but I was proving that I am WOMAN, hear me ROAR. I tackled project after project practically on my own for my house. It was an intense 5 months to say the least. Whether it was putting together my guest bed, painting a faux wallpaper in my laundry room, putting together my kitchen island, or heck – sanding and painting and hanging cabinets, I proved that just because I haven’t done it before, doesn’t mean I couldn’t do it now. I did have a lot of my wonderful friends and family step in a few times and help and that has been such a blessing too.

My highlights in 2019:

Met up with the a lovely blogger friend Hillary and had a wonderful day in ATL just discussing life, the internet, and travel.
Beached with my fam in March
Flew first class internationally for the first, and probably only time. It was magical. I need funds, hun.
Experienced Paris at sunrise with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
Walked the canals of Venice.
Twirled my way through the rainbow island of Burano.
Roadtripped through the Alps to see Lake Bled, Slovenia.
Ate my way through Chicago. Literally all the food.
Took a side trip to Banff, Canada. No big deal, it’s just a winter wonderland.
Toured the Hudson House before it was mine.
Ate some jam up southern deliciousness at Mary Mac’s Tea Room.
Walked through ATL Botanical Gardens with my Moma.
Beached again.
Did someone say a cavern tours because YES.
Moved out of my home of 3 years into the newest adventure- a green carpeted, but oh so charming 100 year old house – the Hudson House.

Click to see the house tour before I moved in!

the Hudson House

A weekend in North Georgia roasting marshmallows, picking apples, and climbing a graffiti covered mountain with my favorite people- my family!
Flew my oldest nephew to California for his special 10-year-old trip with Aunt Sami. Went to a Disney park for the first time – for both of us!
Chopped off my hair.
Hosted my first event in my own home. I only had a minor meltdown. As an introvert who values their private space, it was a major step.
Turned 29 and didn’t even freak out about it. Age is really not affecting me yet.