Do you throw a little (or big) celebration? Treat yourself to something you covet? Take a vacation? Splurge on a dinner for you and your friends? Do something unusual or out of character?

Life is full of milestones – acing a test in school, getting a promotion at work, saving enough for something special, big birthdays, every anniversary, etc. And we’re big believers in celebrating the big and small milestones. It’s what keeps us inspired and moving forward.

Once we’ve put an issue to bed (magazine speak for sending it to the printer), we celebrate by going out for a drink together. It’s a small, simple ritual that allows us to mark one milestone before we move on to the next. There are six of these each year, and if one of us is sick or out of town, we simply wait until we can mark it together.

But this issue, we’re celebrating our two-year anniversary, so we chose to do more. Of course, we’ll still have that celebratory drink because it’s important to us, but we’ve chosen to mark our second full year by saying “yes” to several incredible opportunities.

While working on this issue, we were interviewed by Samir A. Husni, a.k.a Mr. MagazineTM (his name is trademarked for a reason – he’s a legend in our industry). It was a true honor to be asked, but an even bigger honor when he praised our work, congratulating us on bringing “journalism, good quality journalism, back.”

Immediately after this issue closed, we both served as judges in the New York Business Plan Competition, selecting the most innovative student-led startups in the state. Our peers hailed from businesses like Amazon, Airbnb, Apple, etc.

Then, Justin headed down to SUNY Purchase where he was asked to spend a day helping students fine tune their job interview techniques. And Gia was interviewed by bestselling author Fran Hauser as part of Yellow Studio’s The Founder Series.

And while we’re even busier than before (even though we didn’t think that was possible), it’s an honor to be asked and a joy to participate.

Also…part of “saying yes” is to say yes to local organizations. As we grow, so do our partnerships. This season, we’re working with Caramoor, Gather + Goods, Jacob Burns, The Pleasantville Music Festival, The Pound Ridge Partnership and Westchester Land Trust. Each one is meaningful to us, and we’re proud to do what we can to help.   

And yes, we’re just two people who definitely do a lot, as you can see from our masthead (magazine speak for the page that lists our staff & contributors – it’s on page 8), we’re now overflowing with local talent. From writers and artists to sales and marketing, our “people count” is more than five times larger than when we launched. And if things go according to (business) plan, two years from now will look completely different as well.

It’s been a tremendous honor to mark another year with all of you. We’ve truly enjoyed telling your stories, connecting you to your neighbors and serving as the official magazine of northern Westchester. We’re looking forward to year three.

But right now, we’d love for you to join us in this milestone celebration. So, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage (it’s okay, we’ll wait), and raise it high. Cheers!