It is the end of the year…time to reflect on the past and think about the future!

2013 has been a good year.  A year filled with a lot of bright spots for COCOCOZY and a lot of character building moments for me personally.  I started off the year saying my one resolution was to handle things with grace in 2013.  I think it is very easy to be graceful in good times.  The trick is managing the grace in more challenging times.

For COCOCOZY, my home furnishings brand, this was THE year.  We launched a partnership with Tommy Hilfiger, I was featured on Architectural Digest’s website, I birthed a line of wonderful rugs, started several new collections with license partners, I saw my textile designs on t.v. and in magazines and so much more.  All good moments…easy ones to handle with grace.  (Although truthfully, I did find myself in those moments getting a bit nervous…worried about what I could dream up next for the brand…I enjoyed the moments gracefully…but fretted about my next spectacular move…)

On the personal front, the year was made wonderful because of my amazing guy TE, my family (mom and sis DS) and my best of friends (FF, AM, JH, SN, BN, A.Ro, AT, AG and so many more).  I had lots of good times and did things that I had never done before, like riding in a helicopter with no doors over the island of Kauai with TE.

There were many challenging moments too in 2013 (deaths in the family, family members getting sick, moving out of my house for months, and a few other surprise “tests” throughout the year)…I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do…and I for the most part handled stressful moments with grace.  I had moments where I broke down certainly (the unfortunate raised voice, pouting, stomping of a foot here or there)…but generally as the hits kept coming in 2013, I decided to take each one on as they came and tried to do the right thing to be fair, honest, and thoughtful.  It happened naturally…probably wasn’t entirely about grace but instead my coping mechanism. I mean really, what are you supposed to do when faced with the “not so good”…?  In my book, you face it head on and deal with it.

Now onto 2014…what will I resolve to do…who will I resolve to be? Hmmm…thinking…thinking… This is tough…

I think I will resolve to “step back”…not get bogged down in the details…”step back”…not micromanage as much with the hope that I will be able to think and act more strategically and effectively.   My version of “step back” is not to slack off or take a hands off approach, it is to pull back just enough to see the big picture both professionally and personally.  Making the most of things long term instead of trying to design every moment the way I want it in the short run.  When it comes to COCOCOZY the business and in my personal life, I have everything dreamed up of exactly how I want it to be…when something is not quite the way I had planned…I find myself diving in (and perhaps creating a lot of anxiety) and trying to make it exactly like I had envisioned – micromanaging.  This year, I think I need come at everything in business and in my personal life from a bit of a different perspective to help take everything to the next level and to make the road to getting there smoother.

I like this photo…a model walking down the runway during a fashion show dress rehearsal…she is laser focused on the end goal…she is not worrying about the details…she is prancing down the runway with a larger goal in mind…her eyes up…confident…dead set on the future…not distracted…stepping forward towards the bright light…and “stepping back” from anything that could take her out of the zone.  She sees the forest for the trees. She is me in 2014.  Maybe she will be you in 2014 too?

Happy 2014 dear readers…thank you for your support, love and encouragement this last year.  I look forward to continuing our dialogue on interior design, fashion, life and more in 2014.  I wish you a new year filled with love, happiness, and your dreams come true!  I do.

Happy New Year to my dear mom, my sis DS, larger family and good friends…and to my dear sweet guy TE.

Happy New Year!

xo
Coco

Photo: Fernando Colon