photo source

Every year I set resolutions and every year I only make it about halfway to completing them. Well, some years I’m more successful than others, but mostly I’d say it’s 50/50 that I complete everything I want to do. One of my favorite resolutions was to try at least 6 new things in 2012. I think I did maybe 3-4 things, but I have a lot of good memories of them so I would say it was a success. This year I have several resolutions I’m hoping I can stick to.

photo source

Life

Focus more on experiences and less on material things. This seems like a good one to start now with the little one on the way. I want him to have so many fun experiences that will help shape his life and personality. I will focus on trips, events, and local outings that will instill in him a love of community and adventure. Saturday morning farmers’ markets, trips to the park, and petting goats in a petting zoo; these are the experiences I want him to have.

Focus on my health and learning as much as I can about the rest of my pregnancy, labor & deliver, and being a good mother. I’m a pretty healthy person to begin with but it’s easy to fall off the wagon, especially now that I still have really strong sugar cravings. I want to make sure I’m being mindful of what I eat and how much exercise I’m getting, both now and after the baby comes. This is also a good one to start now so that I can model it for my son when he gets older to ensure he grows up as healthy as possible. I’m already signed up to take all of the necessary classes — childbirth, postpartum and newborn care, breastfeeding, etc. — but I will also research some parenting methods and choose the one that I think will be right for my family.

Read more books. My initial goal was to read at least one book per month, but I realize that might be slightly difficult when I’m sleep deprived and taking care of a newborn. Maybe just 6 books this year? No matter the number I decide, I will put the phone/social media apps down and pick up books more. I received so many good ones for Christmas this year that my list is already halfway made so, as long as I spend my time wisely I think I can do it.

Write more letters/send more cards to my friends and family. You know that feeling you get when you open the mailbox and find a handwritten envelop containing a handwritten letter or card? For me, it’s awesome and I’m so grateful because it lets me know someone is thinking about me. This year, I will not only take more time to think about the people in my life but to show them that I’m thinking of them with a nice letter.

photo source

Blog

Write more content. It’s not that I don’t love taking picture of my outfits but I’ve always wanted to be a writer because I love writing. When I was a kid, I wrote stories all the time and won several school and county contests with them. Somewhere along the line I stopped writing for fun and I want to get that back. So, along with journaling more and writing more stories for myself, I will focus on creating some original and fun content for the blog. I’m not sure what that looks like yet but I think I can make it happen. And don’t worry, there will still be plenty of outfit posts!

Post more often. Along those lines, I will make sure I’m posting more often. I’m aiming for 3-4 posts per week. That seems simple enough but when life gets busy, it’s easy to put blogging to the side. But I will do a better job of holding myself accountable and if I’m writing more content, then posting more often shouldn’t be a problem.

Take better pictures. When Nick bought me a fancy camera for Christmas a few years ago, I was so excited to learn all about lighting and camera settings and all those things that would make my pictures look amazing. I read a few articles and tried a few things but I never really put much effort into it. This year, I resolve to learn and comprehend more about lighting, ISO, aperture, exposure, focus, etc. etc. This also applies to my Instagram photos, as well.

Grow my readership. I think this is every blogger’s goal, and while I don’t necessarily look to become famous or anything like that, I would like to create content that is fun and engaging for a lot of people and, therefore, gain more readers. I’m going to start following some of the advice offered by other bloggers on how to grow your blog, pay more attention to SEO, take better photos, etc. so that I can really start to feel successful in this little hobby of mine.

There you have it: four life goals and four blog goals. I’m feeling super optimistic about this year and the future, so I’m telling myself I can do it. And I really believe that I can! I’ll also try my best to follow up with periodic check-ins to help hold myself accountable. What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

My birthday is New Year’s Eve and this year I turned 32. As a kid, it was awesome because I got to have a party or celebrate however I wanted and then stay up until the ball dropped, drinking sparkling grape juice. As an adult, it isn’t quite as glamorous simply because I now have to compete with the holiday. Kids always come to your birthday party because there are no bars or clubs or better things to do. Your party IS the thing to do. As an adult, you have to make your party pretty enticing to convince your adult friends to stop by before heading to the other festivities. I’ve been throwing a birthday/NYE party for myself for several years now and these are the reasons why I always try to have an amazing spread, fun decorations, a fun activity, and plenty of booze at my parties. With the baby expected to arrive in the spring, this was my last party for a while. But we made it pretty awesome!

The Food

Our menu consisted of black bean sliders with chipotle aioli, charcuterie tray, sausage balls, mini corn cakes with smoked salmon and dill, a veggie tray, a fruit tray, a dessert tray from our local Fresh Market, and some bomb-diggity short rib queso dip that I didn’t get a picture of because it was in a slow cooker on the counter.

We accompanied our charcuterie tray with cornichons, honey-roasted mixed nuts, and green olives.

In addition to all of this food, our friends also brought side dishes and drinks so we were definitely set on delicious noms all night!

The Decorations

I’ve been using the same decorations for years. I got them pretty cheap at Party City and box them up after the party and keep them safe until the next time. I think they work pretty well but Nick hates them because they do look so cheap. Oh, well. They’ll have to do until I can afford some fancy schmancy decorations, which will probably be never so plastic decorations it is!

The Fun Activity

This is another activity I do every year: setting up a resolution station. This year I simply taped some black craft paper on the wall and outlined it in strips of leftover glittery wrapping paper. I set out gold sharpies for my guests to write down their New Year’s Resolutions if they felt up to it. I have several resolutions this year that I’ll be sharing with you all tomorrow.

I’m really grateful to all of my friends that were able to make it this year. Like I mentioned above, it’s the last soirée we’ll be having since our little man is coming, so it was nice to feel like I went out with a bang!

Last couple selfie of 2016. It’ll be ‘just the two of us’ for only a few more months!

It’s that time of year again! 2011 is slowly coming to a close. Christmas (for those who celebrate) is this weekend and Hanukkah (for those who celebrate) has just begun. And Kwanzaa (again, for those who celebrate) is next week. Then there’s my personal favorite, the winter solstice! The new year is right around the corner and we’re all probably thinking about our New Year’s Resolution. Okay, maybe not all of us, but I’ve been thinking about mine. Like most people, every year I make a resolution about some big life change that I’m adamant about, like saving money or eating better, and I swear that I’m going to stick to it come hell or high water and then by January 14, it’s already forgotten. But this year, I’ve come up with something pretty good. And it’s so good that I’m actually really excited about it and have plans to start it early.