Happy New Year, frynds! We so hope your breaks were loaded with family time, TV time, pizza time, and refraining-from-taking-a-shower-too-frequently-time. We know ours were. And as we say adieu to 2015 (which we’re completely fine doing) and hello to 2016, we wanted to share some of the things we want for ourselves in the coming months:
1. EXPLORE NEW HOBBIES.
In my 20s I picked up hobbies more often than drunken frat guys pick up freshmen girls. I took DJ lessons, knitting, photography, ballet, surfing, skateboarding lessons, you name it. For some reason with marriage came a general comfort and complacency these past few years. Yikes. I don’t know what the next thing is gonna be, but I want to challenge myself outside of the usual work/marriage/couch paradigm. What should I learn next?!
2. VOLUNTEER: DO MORE FOR OTHERS.
Am I the only one having semi-existential thoughts running thru my mind that go something like this: What else is there in life? What more can I be doing?! Well, aside from my family’s advice of GETTING PREGNANT IMMEDIATELY AND GIVING MY MOM MORE GRANDCHILDREN, I’ve thought about it and looked into it, and one of the most fulfilling things I think I can be doing in my life is giving back, and giving my time to help others. For me that’s historically meant volunteering at a nursing home. I love it. LOOVE it. But what else can I do?
3. DO MORE YOGA AND MEDITATE. MAKE THE TIME.
Yoga makes me feel like I’m getting a good washing from the inside out, like my insides are sparkly clean and all my Doritos-infused impurities are exorcised along with any negativity. I n-e-e-d to do it more often. I have to. Throw in some active meditation there and I can just see myself feeling more at peace/less anxious in general. Maybe by putting it out there, it’ll happen 🙂 PS: I just went to look for a motivational yoga pic and ultimately decided this one above, of my trusty co-blogger Steph, would do just fine. How hawt is she?!
4. LOOK UP FROM MY PHONE. OPEN MY EYES (LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY) TO WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND ME.
When Ed Sheeran recently announced he was taking a break from his phone, computer and social media for an extended amount of time, this quote from him hit a nerve: “I’ve had such an amazing ride over the last 5 years but I find myself seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes so I’m taking this opportunity of me not having to be anywhere or do anything to travel the world and see everything I missed.” What am I missing out on by looking at my phone and computer all the time? I pledge to wean myself off that rectangular thing this year. I just need to figure out how. Any advice?
5. TALK TO MY FAMILY MORE.
I mean, look at ’em. They’re pretty great. The older I get, the more precious my time is with them, and the more I wish I could be around them a whole lot more. But unfortunately we’re all spread out, and I’m gonna have to figure out ways to talk/Facetime with them more. ‘Cause at the end of the day, they’re what matters to me most.
1. LEARN TO SURF.
I’ve been watching everyone else do it since I moved here 2 years ago, and it’s high time I ponied up and got on out there. Sure, I’m scared I’ll get snarfed by Jaws, but a) there’s as big a chance of that happening as there is of me winning the Powerball, and b) I refuse to – within reason – let fear get in the way of something I really wanna do. I get such a peaceful, calm feeling every time I get next to the ocean – almost like I can breathe deeper and see everything more clearly; GYAH it’s good for your soul. And I can’t imagine how much that feeling is amplified when you’re sitting out there on your board at daybreak, just listening to the water gently lapping against your board.
2. GIVE BACK.
Like everyone else, I’m way short on spare time, but between yoga classes and girls trips and Boho parties, I already do plenty for myself. There have to be sweet old blue-haired ladies who need someone to paint their nails and tell stories to… kiddos who need a mentor… and animal shelters with pups who desperately need to be walked and loved. I know everyone has a gift or two, and I know one of mine is making the people around me lighter & happier. So this year, I really wanna lend a hand where I can and try to spread some of that around.
3. NETWORK MORE.
I haven’t done this much in the past two years because well, until recently I was working as a Design Assistant, and there’s a tricky balance in a professional situation like that. I haven’t gone to the blogging conferences I’ve wanted to, I haven’t really blogged about design much or promoted Covet Living or networked with other bloggers and designers. I haven’t reached out to my design idols or sought out a mentor, which I would LOVE to have. I’ve had not one but two run-ins with the casting folks for HGTV – the most recent of which I was a close runner-up to host a new TV show – but afterward I didn’t really make an effort to stay on their radar, and I have no idea why. But ain’t nobody got an excuse in the world for any of the above… right? C’mon! All that changes this year.
4. DRINK LESS.
I love a glass of wine at the end of the day or a beer with my burger as much as the next person, but my wallet is fatter, my waistline is thinner, my head is a little clearer and DANG my skin looks better when I lay off the booze. I did a month or two at the end of 2015 where instead of a glass of wine with dinner, I would do a huge glass of water instead, and I was surprised how much I didn’t miss it and how much fresher I felt in the mornings. Not drinking can be tricky because alcohol usually goes hand-in-hand with being social – but I’d really like to moderate a bit more this year. Just for my own health and happiness.
5. SAVE MORE.
I will tell you something embarrassing and that is that I’m horrible at saving. When I worked for big Fortune 500 companies and had my social security, taxes and 401K taken out automatically, that was great. But since I’ve been a 1099 employee / independent contractor and had to do it on my own, I haven’t done a great job at putting certain amounts aside into their respective pots. So this year – in fact, this weekend – I’m making it easy for myself and setting a new budget, setting monthly saving goals (and having a portion of my paychecks go directly to a savings account), opening an IRA, and taking out what I have each month for “discretionary / spending money” in cash so when it runs out, it runs out. Credit cards are just too easy to swipe… (ps did you know that you typically spend 20% more when you have cards in your wallet vs. cash?).
That’s all she wrote, folks! What are YOUR resolutions goals for the year to come? Inspire us 🙂
xoxo,
