Oh, what a happy Sunday it is!

Shakira released a new single this week featuring Rihanna called Can’t Remember to Forget You. I’ve been listening to it on repeat for days on end. If there’s one thing you should know about  me, it’s that I LOVE Shakira. Love might not be a strong enough word. I adore/cherish/worship/idolize/etc. etc. her. She’s the best person in the world, in my opinion. If you don’t agree, it’s all good, just don’t tell me!

This Week’s Top 5

1. Shakira. Are you at surprised to find that Shakira is number 1 on my list of favorite things this week? Really should could be on every list but we have to be realistic, right? I’ll be honest, this new single isn’t my absolute favorite that she’s done, but it’s definitely not bad. I don’t love Rihanna, which might have some small influence on my feelings toward the song, but I’ll listen to and adore anything Shakira does!

2. Hobbies. If you search this blog back far enough, you’ll find that one of my favorite activities is belly dancing. I’ve taken a break for about a year because of work and school, etc. but classes started back Wednesday night and we jumped right into learning a new choreography! It felt good to break out the hip scarves!

3. Library. I’m a graduate student taking two online classes this semester. I’ve realized that trying to study at home is extremely distracting. The dogs always want to cuddle and/or play (and it’s really hard to ignore their cuteness), the computer has social media, the television has shows, etc. Luckily, there’s a public library near my house where I can go to study and work on assigments without [much] distraction. So, I’ll be spending a lot of time there. 

4. Nick’s Cooking. On the nights I have class in person, I have to commute over an hour and a half each way. On those nights, Nick cooks dinner and he is a very good cook. When we first met, I would make him cook me ramen because, for some reason, his always tasted better than mine. That seems to be true of most everything (except eggs… I’m really good at those). He’s a great cook and I love it when he cooks for me.

5. Sunny Afternoon Walks. With Nick and the dogs. Exercise, sun, fresh air, and quality time with the family. There really isn’t anything better than that!

Photo of the Week:

Speaking of sunny afternoon walks, we try to take  them most weekends, weather permitting. This past weekend, we brought the swanky new camera along and got some pretty pictures. This is one of my favorites!

Outfit #3

I kind of felt like Elle Woods in this outfit, with all the pink. But pairing the pink with navy shoes and blazer toned it down a bit and made it feel professional. It works because the two pinks are different enough that it’s monochrome without being too matchy-matchy. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’m taking some creative liberties with my challenge. The top, skirt, and shoes are in the original 30 pieces list but I added the navy blazer and scarf.

Nick admitted that he didn’t love the scarf with the outfit so I took it off and you could better see the cute sequin detail on the pocket of the sweater. I would have added a nice necklace if I knew I wouldn’t be wearing the scarf. I’ll admit that isn’t one of my favorite outfits that I’ve ever worn, so this might be the first and last time it sees the light of day. You win some, you lose some.

I present to you the first outfit of my 30 for 30 Challenge. It was fairly easy to put this look together, but then I figured it would be easy in the beginning. I wore this to run some errands and then to a small dinner party, and it was very comfortable. I didn’t realize, however, until I started writing this post that I’m wearing red, white, and blue so here’s to being patriotic in the winter!

These are fleece-lined tights. I got them from my auntie for Christmas and this is the first time I’m wearing them. Let me tell you, they are amazing. Where have these been all my life? These boot socks were also a Christmas gift from our housemate, Chris. He did a great job becaue these things are amazing, too. You should get definitely get some!

Pinterest is the best for fashion inspiration! I’ve found so many amazing fashion blogs with beautitful women sharing their super-smart and creative outfits and advice. And shoes I would have never considered purchasing because I didn’t know how to wear them suddenly make sense! Ever since I discovered Pinterest, fashion inspiration and fashion blogs, I’ve wanted to do a 30 for 30 challenge but I’ve always been too afraid… afraid that I would be too limited and wouldn’t be creative enough. But, it’s a new year and I’m trying to get serious about fashion blogging, so I’ve finally decided to do it!

The rules are almost too simple: Take 30 items from your closet and make 30 outfits. What I really like is that this isn’t necessarily a 30-day challenge as Kendi pointed out (because I’m not great at completing those) but it’s a 30-outfit challenge. So I don’t have to try to create something new EVERY day, just when I’m feeling inspired.  My own rule for the challenge is that I’m not counting accessories toward my pieces so things like scarves, belts, jewelry, etc. will be added to the outfits each day. I’m really looking forward to this challenge because it’ll get the creative choices flowing.

I’ve chosen the following 30 items:

Alright, 30 pieces from my closet to make 30 outfits. This is going to be fun!

Photo via Pinterest.

I’m not very good at making New Year’s resolutions and probably even worse at following through with them. My favorite one, however, was to try at least 6 new things within the year, which turned out to be a good one because I did end up trying a lot of new things. I tried to repeat it as my resolution for the following year but wasn’t nearly as successful.

This year I wasn’t even going to attempt a resolution until I saw this wonderful guide on 2 Girls 2 Cities blog. It was inspiring and seems like a realistic and manageable list so I’m giving it a shot.

A bad habit I’m going to break: Picking at my cuticles. This is a real problem because I’m constantly picking or biting or cutting at my cuticles until they bleed and it’s very painful. I think it’s a nervous habit so I’d like to start directing that nervous energy elsewhere, ideally harnessing it into something more productive.

A new skill I’d like to learn: Networking. You always hear that when it comes to your career, it’s all about “who you know.” This year, I would like to work on my networking skills and get to know more professionals in my field and make connections that might help me advance in the future. As a graduate student, I feel this should be a valuable skill.

A person I hope to be more like: Leslie Knope. Technically, she’s a fictional character but she has been more influential to me than some real-life people. She’s ambitious, ridiculously driven, hard-working, and passionate and she makes things happen.  I want to be more like that in school and in life, and especially in my future career. 

A good deed I’m going to do: Volunteer. As a graduate student, I don’t have a ton of extra free time, but I’m incredibly lucky to not have to work this semester so I see no reason why I can’t devote some time to giving back to the community. This year, I would like to accept more volunteer opportunities.

A place I’d like to visit: New Orleans. If I play my cards right, I might be able to go in the Fall while attending a major public health conference. I’ll have to save money and work hard but I think I can make it happen!

A book I’d like to read: For Christmas, I asked for a ton of books and got most of them, so this will be an easy one. The next one on my list is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.

A letter I’m going to write: If it counts, I would like to get better at responding to emails/text messages/other means of correspondence. Emails will sit in my inbox for embarrassingly long amounts of time before I get around to responding and, it’s silly, really, when I could just respond right away and take care of business.

A new food I’d like to try: Traditional Creole/Cajun cuisine. Jambalaya, crawfish, red beans and rice, remoulade, etc. If I get to make that trip to New Orleans, then I’ll be set!

I’m going to do better at: Blogging. I have a new camera, new ideas, and won’t be commuting to school quite as often this semester thanks to online courses so I hope to create better content with better photos and more consistently in hopes of growing my readership and growing as a writer. This means putting more time and effort into my posts, which is exciting and inspiring.   

So, there you have it: some little improvements I’d like to make, little adventures to strive for, and overall a better me in the coming year. 2014, here I come!

What are your New Year’s Resolutions?