Hi Everyone,

Wow...this year has really flown by! I know that's something we all say but in this case, I really mean it! As we slow down a bit before the holiday break, I wanted to take a moment of reflection and bring you all the behind the scenes of my Top 12 Moments of this year.

JANUARY

I rang in the 2017 New Year in Australia. Although I have been to Australia numerous times, we explored new territory on this trip with a special visit to Byron Bay as well as the Whitsunday Islands & Great Barrier Reef. Upon return to the states, I celebrated the announcment of my collaboration with Disney. My new series [The Red Carpet](http://) along with the release of my first ever video installation was all inspired by the iconic Minnie Mouse.

This moment really took the cake for the monthas Minnie is hard to beat! The first month of the year, January really packed a lot of punch, thoughso I must give honory mention to shooting the final installment of my Parker series as well as a very fun trip to Utah with Veuve Clicquot. Pssst...keep a look out for brand new ski aerials from this trip...shhhh.

FEBRUARY

It's always exciting releasing a brand new series, but the series I revealedthis monthwas a bit different from a lot of my other work. Bon Voyage, a series of photographs that invites you aboard a first class journey with some of our favorite iconic personalities to celebrate the timeless joy that travel brings to us all.

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Shot during an actual in-air flight, the California based members-only airline, Surf Air, flew me and my team 30,000 feet in the air in order to capture this thematic series.Releasd on Valentine's Day, I was thrilled to see how well received it was by our audience as well as have it featured on Vogue.com. To see a full Behind the Scenes on this shoot, look no further than right here.

MARCH

Just in time for Spring Break season, I released a huge new collection of beach aerials from three popular islands of Hawaii:Maui, Oahu and Kauai.

Regardless of what island is most special to you, it seems like everyone has some sort of connection to our 50th state. I have always been partial to Kauai but on the trip to capture these images, I was able to spend more time in both Maui and Oahu. In fact, I was able to do enough to warrant thisTravel Guide for all three, if one was so inclined to island hop.

APRIL

I was back on the road in April, this time to photograph the second installment of my series Far Far Away. Myself along with three Team GM members traveled to Bolivia to shoot a slew of new concepts as well as enjoy as many cultural moments, as we could. I shared a Jetset Journalentry on the trip as Bolivia is truly an uniquely special place.

Another major moment in April, we officially released the newly designed GrayMalin.com. Unbeknownst to most, we had quietly been working on our new website since 2016. For anyone who has built a website for your business, then you know all of the work that it entails. I hope you all have been enjoying the new face and many new features of the website and lifestyle blog!

MAY

May was a big month for the brand withnew photography and product releases, including ourGray Malin x Santa Barbara Designs® outdoor umbrellas collaboration. It was also a big month for me on apersonal level, too as I shared my Happy & Healthy storyfor my annual diet to prep for summer, including the dreaded Before & After photos.

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It's never easy to put yourself out there in such an exposed way, but the outpour of support and encouragement I received from all of you was truly touching and beyond appreciated.

JUNE

So....Much...happened in June! Kicking it off, I invited you all to tour my newly renovated Pool House and Backyard. Having a pool hadbeen a long time goal of mine, and this year it was officially accomplished with a pool house in tow! It was an epic addition to this year'sCalifornia summer, and I couldn't have been happier with the way it all turned out. It was also a month of fun collaborations including the second collection of Sperry x Gray Malin shoes and the Ladurée X Gray Malin limited edition macaron boxes.

For the top moment of June, though I have to dedicate it to the release of the third and final installment of the series, Gray Malin at the Parker. This post is a great overview of all three shoots paired with terrific behind the scene moments.

JULY

With summer in full swing, I spent a good amount of July on (a working) holiday. It was prime time to be collecting images for future releases, but I certainly made time to enjoy my surroundings, too! We celebrated the 4th of July in quintessential Americana fashion with a trip to Nantucket. The resulting images of this trip as well as our specially curated Travel Guide are some of my favorites of the entire year. Later in the month, though is when things really got decadent as I traveled to Lake Como, Italy to explore this iconic luxury destination.

Completely captivated by my time spent in Lake Como, I couldn't wait to releaseimages from this trip. As early as the following month, I revealed a selection of aerial images from Lake Como as well as a helpful Travel Guide.

AUGUST

As just mentioned, I released new images from Lake Como at the beginning of August. Well, needless to say, July was a productive month, as we also revealed new aerials from Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

For anyone local to Los Angeles, though you were able to enjoy a very fun yet chic collaboration with LA's own,Alfred {Coffee + Kitchen}. For the entire month of August, our limited edition Gray Malin designed coffee sleeves were available to take your daily coffee break up a notch.

It was also a fun month for blog posts, including my Top Rosés of Summer and the best way to plan a Destination Bachelorette Party.

SEPTEMBER

September was a trying month as we all watched in horror all of the hurricanes wrecking havoc in numerous destinations...many of which I have photographedfor my beach aerial series, Á la Plage. To help aid in recovery, we donated a portion of proceeds totalling in $10,000 to the American Red Cross. Then on a lighter note, I was able to travel with Team GM in its entirety to my family's summer home off the coast of Lake Michigan. I truly cherish moments with my team, especially when sharing such a special place to me with them.

OCTOBER

Okay, so October was arguably the most intense yet exciting months of the entire year! It was a huge one for new products, photography, celebrations and a collaboration that was simply made for anyone with a bad case of wanderlust! I released my second book, ESCAPE and paired it with an 8 city book tour. Thank you: LA, NY, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Dallas and Philadelphia! It was such a joy meeting so many of your smiling faces and hearing about what the book meant to you.

It also marked the release of a brand new product, the Gray Malin candle collection, which has been a long time coming! I wanted the vessels and the corresponding scents to be perfect, and I'm happy to say that my patience was rewarded, as I'm simply in love with all three.

This month also marked the release of Far Far Away II. We celebrated with a very special gallery show, which is something I rarely do, so it was an extra special night! By the way, all of this happened during the first two weeks of the month.The third and forth weeks were just as exciting, though as we launched theAway x Gray Malin luggage collection...to much success and fanfare! I have loved seeing all of the tags on Instagram of you all sporting your new luggage for the holiday season. To end the month off strong, everyone was invited into the newly redesignedGray Malin studio.

NOVEMBER

After a month like October, one would think that I'd take it easy the following month. No such luck this time around, but I'm not complaining. November was a month I'll forever cheish, as it marked the move into our brand new house and a sentimental goodbye to our first home. Be sure to followalong here as well as on @graymalinpersonal, as we'll be sharing a lot more of the new house in the new year!

DECEMBER

To close the year out, I thought it'd be fun to give a hint of what's to come! Everything is coming full circle as later this month, I will release brand new ski aerials from Utah. Yes, the Utah trip I mentioned loving in January resulted in some beautiful new winter images, and I can't wait for you all to see! In the meantime, though...lets enjoy a little aprés ski moment.

And there you have it, but to be honest,this list really just scratchedthe surface of this incredibleyear.I am truly grateful and humbled by everything it has brought me, and I am so excited to see what's next for 2018! Thank you all for following along and I look forward to continuing to share it all...every step of the way.

Cheers,

xx

GM