As we say goodbye to 2013 and welcome in 2014 I like to look back at the past year before I make my New Years Resolutions.
Fortune Cookies
2013 was a great year for travel. Gourmet Getaways enjoyed a driving holiday across New Zealand, 2 trips to Singapore, a trip to Malaysia and 2 trips to Thailand. The first Thai holiday saw us lounging on the beaches of Phuket. For the second Thai stay we drove across the mainland and took a ferry to Koh Samui. It’s a long way to go for dumplings, and warm ocean water, but a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do.
Chinese and Thai Temples Smiling Buddha
The highlight of my year in wine would have to be the Grant Burge degustation dinner at Port Macquarie.
Grant Burge and Julie Carlyle
It was a fantastic event showcasing wonderful wines by an amazing man! The original Singapore Sling at “The Long Bar” would be another great boozy moment, although they are too easy to drink and hideously expensive! At “Taste Sydney” I got behind the bar and perfected the art of preparing a Lime Mojito with the help of Mixology, great fun and a valuable lesson ;).
Grant Burge NV Blanc de Noirs
My top food moments of 2013 start with our first trip to Thailand where Mr GG and learnt how to make some our favourite Thai dishes. Food trucks are another phenomenon that have excited my taste buds and I am pleased to say they are now making an appearance in Coffs Harbour. High Tea in Singapore, Hawker Food at the Maxwell Centre and Roti Canai in Malaysia all enriched my eating life in 2013.
2014 New Years Resolutions
So with 2013 done and dusted, what are my goals for 2014?
Travel
I already have some international trips booked for 2014, these are return visits to countries I know and love. So with that in mind…
1/ Visit a new country this year.
There are a few hot contenders on the travel front. I would love an Italian Cooking Tour, but equally high on my list is eating tacos in Mexico. Where ever I end up, the goal is a new country!
Pasta Making in Italy
2/ Visit a new wine region in Australia.
I would dearly love to visit Margaret River for both the food and wine but I also have a soft spot for the Yarra Valley. I have visited most wine regions through to the Clare Valley but a lot of these were before the advent of blogs. I feel that it’s time for a Gourmet Getaways road trip, with the aim of exploring some of the beautiful wine regions Australia has to offer.
Image Stantons at Rutherglen Vineyard
3/Given that our Gourmet Getaways travel falls into the categories of either a romantic trip for two, or a family holiday, I would like to feature more accommodation catering to these styles of getaway. All going well readers can expect some gorgeous B&B accommodation to be featured on the site and some family friendly holidays to tempt readers.
4/ Food goals are a little harder. I love all good food so eating yummy things is always a priority. I would like to visit a truffle farm at harvest time, learn how to get the pork crackling to work on my roasts and make gnocchi. For those who are gnocchi cooks, I am sure your scratching your head at this one, but I am scared of a disaster! This year I will attach gnocchi head on!
5/ To balance the food, wine and travel I would like to add some Zen to my life. I am aiming for 2 sessions of yoga per week. Again, not a huge aim, but realistic for me. I have discovered a program that I really enjoy, and because it’s online I can continue my practice when I travel.
Yoga Online Program
6/ Monetisation of Gourmet Getaways. At the moment Gourmet Getaways earns approximately $230 per month in gross revenue. Although this varies from month to month, it’s not a windfall by any means. I would like to steadily increase the revenue Gourmet Getaways achieves. My goal would be a consistent $400 per month. Still only a pittance, but then I love doing what I do.
7/ Self publish a book for kindle and iPad. I know exactly what I want to publish, but I seem to be going forward in baby steps. I’d like to see this goal completed before the end of the year.
So there we have it, 7 New Years Resolutions. I think that’s enough for the moment. Now it’s time to work out how to achieve them.
What are your New Years Resolutions? Do you set goals each year? Are they personal or business related? Let me know in the comment section below.
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