Looking back on 2020, it feels like a whirlwind of “what just happened?”. It was a year of our world being turned upside-down by the scary and unknown. Everything that we thought would happen, didn’t. I quickly learned to dissolve any expectations I had, and so much of the horrors happening around the world put a lot of perspective into our life. I truly have never been so grateful to be at home, safe and healthy with my family. Instead of looking at this year as “what didn’t happen”, I want to look at this year with a grateful heart of what did happen. Because there was a lot of beauty that still took place around us, we just had to pay extra close attention to look for it at times.

Here are 20 moments we are grateful for from 2020…

In January, we travelled back to California to visit friends and family, and in hindsight, we are so grateful for that trip, as it was the last time we were able to see many of our loved ones.

In February, we headed to the Bahamas to shoot our Gal Meets Glam Spring/Summer Collection. What we didn’t know was that it would be our last one for GMG with our amazing team. We are all grateful for that trip and for the generosity of Amanda Lindroth for hosting us at her beautiful home.

In March we launched our collection with Margaux NY. I am so proud of this collaboration and grateful to Sarah and Alexa, the founders, for the opportunity to bring our aesthetic to life in shoe form. We couldn’t keep the mules in stock and had to re-order multiple times!

In April, we launched our Little Gal Capsule for GMG, with the prints designed by my sister, Lauren Taylor Creates. This is without a doubt, my most favorite GMG Collection, as it was inspired by my daughter Clementine and was our first dip in the children’s space. We sold out within hours thanks to your amazing support, and I donated all of my profit to Baby2Baby.

In May I celebrated my first Mother’s Day. Not a single day that goes by that I am not immensely grateful for my daughter and all the joy and humility she has brought to my life.

In June, Thomas celebrated his first father’s day. He and Clementine have such a special bond, which I love so much, as I never had that growing up. I am so proud of the father he has become.

We spent most of our very hot summer at the beach with our water-loving girl. We made lots of trips out to Sullivan’s Island when the beaches opened back up and had a wonderful weekend at Kiawah.

In the middle of summer, we announced the closing of GMG Collection, and as painful and heartbreaking as that was, I felt like I was finally free to express myself again. It was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made, but I am very grateful to be on the other side of a very difficult situation, with a new found perspective and ability to be in control of my business and brand. With that, we launched our new website, Julia Berolzheimer, and were overwhelmed with the outpouring and love and support from you all!

In July, shortly after the launch of JB, we announced our collaboration of homeware and tabletop items with Amanda Lindroth. We were lucky to have been able to shoot most of this back in February before travel shut down, which made that time feel even more precious. It was incredible to see our vision brought to life in home products, something I have such a fondness for, and am very grateful to the AL team for the amazing opportunity.

Thomas and I were both grateful for slow times at home over summer enjoying the beauty around us. In the past, we had missed so many of these moments since we were always on the go for work and barely home for more than a week or two.

Our first travel since Covid hit in March was a road trip to Highlands in NC where we stayed at a friends home rental. It was our first time leaving home in months and we were grateful for a safe way to still travel and explore. We brought all our own groceries and cooked every meal at home, which was actually really fun and made the time more meaningful.

In August, we celebrated Clementine’s First Birthday! We are very grateful for the quiet time this year has allowed us with her, and to see all of those special milestones that happen within that first year.

We took another road trip to Tennessee to Blackberry Farms, a place we had been wanting to visit for many years. With such vast open space, we felt as though we were the only people there. We loved getting out and exploring the rolling hills and natural beauty of the area.

In September, thanks to my husband’s family, we had a safe way of traveling back to California to see family that we would have otherwise not been able to. We know how fortunate we were to be able to do this, and for that, we are so incredibly grateful.

I am so thankful for many moments throughout this year where perspective put everything into place for me. I have never been more grateful for the health of my loved ones and to be able to be near and with them during tough times.

The best part of this year has been watching Clementine grow from a baby to a little girl. She is my world and every single day with her is the greatest gift on earth.

I celebrated my 30th birthday in November. This year, I am especially grateful to be able to age and grow older with my loved ones.

After spending almost a year apart, I was finally able to see my sister Lauren for Thanksgiving. We had been waiting for this moment all year! It was so hard for her not to be here to see so much of Clementine growing up and the rapid changes that happen over the first year. We are so grateful for that time we got.

We kicked off Christmas extra early this year, as it felt much needed for 2020. We put our tree up before Thanksgiving and enjoyed watching the magic of the holidays through our little toddler’s eyes.

If there is one thing we are grateful for this year, it was learning to let go, to be present and to put others first. When times got tough, we reminded ourselves of what is truly important and what really matters- we are together, we are healthy and we are safe.