Staying indoors and bundled up as much as possible this week got me thinking about winter, the new year, and resolutions. I’ve never really been one to make “resolutions”. In all reality it’s because I’ve never been very good at keeping them; going to the gym more and eating healthier are so vague after all. Instead I drew inspiration from around the web and started putting a list together of things I wanted to aspire to do or accomplish in 2014 — some little and silly, others a bit bigger, but nothing so momentous that they are out of reach. I figure if they’re written down and on the internet for all to see, maybe they won’t be forgotten about and tossed to the wayside like all those other resolutions past.
1. Launch (at least one of) the two websites I’ve been wanting to put together, but instead have been putting off. One of these sites will track our home renovations. I own the domains and have a live-in web designer so there’s really no more excuses.
2. Travel somewhere new. It doesn’t have to be out of the country, but out-of-state at least would be nice, to just visit and explore a new-to-me place.
3. Unpack and organize EVERYTHING. We still have boxes at my parents that need to be moved over to our house, our garage and basement are both still full of things to be unpacked, and the little room I’d love to turn into a library has defaulted to our misc. indoor storage. We have lots of little interior projects that need to happen still, but it will feel so good when everything is in its proper place.
4. Send more handwritten notes. I’m a sucker for a greeting card and will buy cute ones at the store and we even design our own. Now I just need to get better at mailing them out.
5. Put away money each week. A little or a lot, it doesn’t matter so long as something is being tucked away.
6. Exercise a little bit every day. I hate traditional exercise, but I’ve started keeping track on a calendar of push ups done at night or sit-ups in the morning. So long as I’m doing a little bit every day I feel like I’m doing my body some good.
7. Read more. I love to read and I want to make a point to do more of it this year. And I love new book/author suggestions.
8. Take time to look through at least one magazine each month. I get a lot of magazines, and the piles of ones that have gone untouched is depressing. I need to allow myself the little luxury of taking the time to flip through, front to back, one magazine each month without feeling like I should be doing something “more productive” instead.
9. Send little care packages “just because”. Getting a cute card in the mail is an instant day-brightener, but getting a package in the mail is even better so I want to try to send a few sporadically out to friends and family over the next year, just because.
10. Organize my computer. Ask the bf and he’ll vehemently tell you that he considers me an “electronic hoarder,” and well, he’s not exactly lying. I want to take the time to go through and purge what I can, store what I need to, and get a real folder system implemented to keep track of what’s what.
11. Set up an Etsy account for CreativeKindle. For those of you who don’t know, the bf owns a little company called CreativeKindle, so yea, that makes him my boss. We design websites and marketing tools for small businesses and individuals, but over the last couple of years we’ve also branched into custom invitations and paper goods. When we’re not doing customized pieces, we like to play around with other ideas for print goods and I think Etsy is the perfect marketplace to introduce some of those products.
12. Host a fancy dinner party. One where everyone dresses up, and there are multiple courses and real invitations, the kind sent out in the mail.
13. And throw together a few game nights too. I love games. Board games, card games, video games, charades, it doesn’t matter, I think it’s just fun to get a bunch of people together to have fun, laugh a lot, and play like kids.
14. Unplug for an hour each day. Sleeping doesn’t count for this one. That hour can be spent reading a book (#7) or flipping though a magazine (#8), or maybe even cooking or d.i.y.’ing, just as long as it’s spent away from the phone, computer, tablet, and television.
15. Sleep out under the stars. I used to camp as a kid and I grew up in the Pine Barrens surrounded by trees and nature. Now that we live right outside of Philly, we don’t see the stars quite like we used to. One night, preferably in the summer, I’d love to just go somewhere to sleep outside and pick out the constellations.
16. Camp out in our own house. This one can be indoors in a good old-fashion blanket-made fort or out back in a real tent, but phones will be prohibited and s’mores will be required.
17. Get a piñata. I love piñatas; always have, always will. I’ve been wanting a sparkly one to hang for decoration, but I also wouldn’t mind getting one to crack open at a barbecue with friends.
18. Go to a museum. We live so close to two of my favorite cities, New York and Philadelphia, but we don’t visit museums nearly as often as we should. This year that changes.
19. Spend a summer day in the Poconos. I ski and the bf snowboards so we’ll sometimes travel up to the Poconos in the winter, but my family always had a house up there when I was younger and it’s one of my absolute favorite places to visit even when there’s no snow on the ground. This summer I want to drive up and spend the day just having an outdoor adventure in the mountains.
20. Swing on a tire swing. Or a rope swing, I won’t be picky. Bonus points if said swing is over a body of water to splash into.
21. Have “surprise days.” This one was inspired by another one of these sorts of lists I read somewhere and I just loved the premise. The bf and I will each plan out a day, with a set budget of course, and we’ll take each other on an escapade.
22. Picnic on the beach at dusk. I love the beach, but the beach at night is almost more beautiful than during the day, when it’s quite and full of electricity. I’d love to take a spontaneous trip with a packed picnic and watch the sun set and the waves roll in.
23. Try our hand at a spending freeze. No online ordering, no frivolous shopping. I’m setting this one at 3 months for now. Necessities don’t count and neither do those unused holiday gift cards. (Wish me luck.)
24. Have a girl time at least once a month. We all have conflicting schedules these days so once a month seems most feasible. Dinner, brunch, a movie night in, a night out dancing, whatever, just so long as it’s estrogen-filled — no boys allowed.
25. Try something new once a month. Maybe it’ll be a new language, maybe a new hobby, maybe just a new nail art technique. Something out of my normal comfort zone that gets those brain muscles moving.
{J. Crew cardigan, hat (similar from J. Crew), and flannel (similar from J. Crew); Tretorn for J. Crew sneakers (similar from Nordstrom); Target dress; Asos necklace; Ray Ban sunglasses; misc. tights}
