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Goals for 2023

January 13, 2023 by jessica Leave a Comment

We’re a couple of weeks into the new year, but it hasn’t exactly been a slow start. Last weekend, we drove to Michigan and welcomed this darling little cat to the family. I saw her Petfinder listing on New Year’s Eve and immediately sent the link to Dave, intending to submit an application the next morning. By then her listing was already removed due to too much interest and my heart just sank, but I sent an inquiry regardless and received a response within a few minutes. The agency was sifting through applications, hoping to find someone with prior Bengal experience, and it so happens that we were the perfect fit for the little lady! She’s such a sweetheart and was a champ during the six-hour drive home. It’s been so wonderful to have a cat around again, not to mention incredibly fun to discover her little quirks. (The little chirp she makes is the cutest!) Naming her was my first priority for 2023 and we chose Lily. You can follow her Instagram here. Here’s what else is on deck for the year:

TRAVEL SOMEWHERE NEW

It’s my perennial resolution, but it’s one that brings me so much joy! We don’t have anything booked for the year yet, but that’ll change soon. We had purchased the United Economy Plus annual subscription before our trip to Europe last year, so we need to get more use out of that investment before it expires in July. A ten-day stint abroad in June sounds pretty enticing!

PRIORITIZE TIME FOR HOBBIES

Last year, I began taking pottery lessons and absolutely fell in love with it. It’s so satisfying to take a lump of clay and transform it into something useful — even if it’s just a slightly wonky bowl. I’d like to continue taking classes and sign up for a studio membership this year when an opening comes available. I’m excited to see how my work will progress with more practice on the potter’s wheel.

Additionally, I’m growing fond of gardening. Last year, I was successful with tomatoes and habaneros. This year, I’m going to expand my little urban garden and install a raised bed. Vegetables aside, I planted a lot of perennial plants last fall and I’m eager to see what comes up in the spring. I’d like to start defining some areas of our yard with plants. I’d say “landscaping,” but I don’t want to give you the wrong impression and suggest that my skills are anything other than beginner!

SPEND LESS, SAVE MORE — AND PARE DOWN IN THE PROCESS

This is a holdover from last year, but one worth repeating. We have boxes in the basement that we haven’t opened since moving in five years ago. We desperately need to go through everything, donate what no longer suits us, and get organized. And with that, be thoughtful about what comes into the house. Not only is it a more sustainable way of living, everything needs to go somewhere and anything we purchase needs to be amazing enough to justify the space to house it. Spending less will also help me with my goal of putting 20% of my take-home pay into savings this year. (I had been saving 10% of my monthly income and I can finally bump it up now that my student loans are paid off.)

TACKLE A FEW HOME PROJECTS

As I shared here, our next project is to revamp our bedroom. It’s fine as it is, but it’s just that. Fine. I want our bedroom to be a space we look forward to spending time in; and it wouldn’t hurt if it looks like it belongs in a Schoolhouse ad. I’d like to replace the bed (we actually had it delivered this week!), repaint the accent wall, install curtains, swap out the lamps, and add more art. We’d also like to find a vintage dresser, but that’s less of a priority as it’ll be more difficult than sourcing the other items. Then, we’ll start working on the guest room. Right now, it’s painted, a new light fixture is installed, and we have a dresser. However, it’s not much of a guest room without a bed! On the first floor, I’d like to purchase a cabinet for our dining room to store our serving pieces and glassware. Preferably one with glass doors, so we can get a glimpse of what’s inside.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: new year's goals

Happy New Year + Goals for 2022

January 3, 2022 by jessica Leave a Comment

I hope your new year is off to a wonderful and stress-free start! We celebrated the dawn of 2022 with a few of our close friends (all vaxxed and boosted, of course) who came over to play games and share in entirely too much bubbly with us. It was the perfect way to ring in the new year, and we followed it with a weekend of much-needed R&R — and a deep clean of the house. (Never mind the errant pine needles that’ll pop up over the next few months!)

If the last two years has taught us anything, it’s that even the best laid plans will have to pivot and adapt to uncertainty. I’m sure 2022 will be no different, but I’m still a fan of outlining a set of goals to keep us on track for the new year. Here’s what I hope to accomplish this year:

1 | TRAVEL SOMEWHERE NEW (MUNICH!)

Traveling to a new destination is a perennial goal of ours and one that we’re always happy to check off our to-do list. Assuming the pandemic eases up this year, we’re planning to visit Munich for Oktoberfest this year. We already have our hotel reserved and are researching the other place(s) we’d like to visit while we’re abroad. It feels a bit surreal to be planning an international escape after the last two years, but I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to travel safely and responsibly later this year. And, if not, well, the hotel is refundable.

2 | SHARE MORE HOME CONTENT WITH YOU + HERE’S WHAT’S ON DECK

Our bathroom renovations are scheduled to begin on Feb. 15 and I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to see our vision come together for the spaces — and to bring you along for the ride! In addition to that huge project, here’s what else I’d like to accomplish this year: repaint our main bedroom’s accent wall (I’m no longer in love with its current color), hang curtains in our bedroom, finish the guest room, continue honing my budding green thumb with more plants and flowers in our yard this spring, find the perfect armchair for our upstairs office space, finally organize the basement and workbench, and close up the inoperable door to the original porch of our home (you can see the door on the right of the opening image in this post).

3 | SPEND LESS, SAVE MORE — AND PARE DOWN IN THE PROCESS

First off, I should be able to pay off my student loans this year! That loan felt insurmountable post-graduation and I can barely believe that I’m in the homestretch! Additionally, I have a target number to increase my savings account by this year. It’ll essentially have me saving twice as much each month as I did in 2021. It doesn’t seem unrealistic, but it is going to require that I actually make a budget and stick to it. I think this will be good and will help me continue to strive for fewer better things. I want to be mindful of my purchases and ensure that each one is something that I’ll either use regularly or that will spark joy. Along those lines, I need to do a real purge around the house. We have boxes in our basement that we haven’t opened since moving in four years ago. Some are old photo albums and will stay, along with the prettiest Kate Spade dessert plates and cake stand I just don’t have a home for in our kitchen. (I resolve to bring out the cake plate for special occasions this year!) Other boxes are full of miscellaneous things that don’t have a place in our lifestyle. I have a difficult time letting go of material items because I feel so guilty for having spent the money in the first place, but it’s not doing us any good in a box.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: new year's goals, new year's resolutions

Goals for 2019 – The First Six Months

January 1, 2019 by jessica Leave a Comment

 

New Year's Resolutions for 2019 on Bedknobs & Baubles

I love the start of a new year, especially the fresh slate and sense of optimism that comes with it! But as I was reflecting on the past year and thinking about some of my goals for 2019, I realized that I seem to forget what were my priorities midway through the year! This year, I’m looking at things in six-month increments. It’s enough time to actually work toward some of my goals, but having a midyear check in will help keep me accountable and allow me to reflect back on what’s not working and why.

TRAVEL SOMEWHERE NEW

If you’ve been a longtime reader, you’ll know that this is a perennial goal of mine. I think it’s important to continuously expand your horizons and see new parts of the country and world. For me, travel is inspiring, fuels my creativity, and honestly travel makes me feel like a better and more interesting person. We traveled a lot last year, visiting London, Austin, Portland, Seattle, New York City, and Chicago. The latter was the only city I had already been to (and numerous times at that; it’s only a couple of hours from Madison, so we get there at least once a year). This month, we’ll be traveling to Florida’s Gulf coast to visit Dave’s parents who rented a condo for the month. We have Sweden on the radar for this spring (assuming work schedules and travel costs allow), and we’ll add on a to-be-determined destination abroad during that trip. It’s tempting to go back to our beloved Brussels or visit Copenhagen again because one week in that gorgeous city wasn’t nearly enough time.

GO WITH THE FLOW

I’m not the most chill person and I may have a tendency to overreact and be a bit dramatic. This year, I’m going to do my best to be more understanding and relaxed whenever an unexpected curveball is thrown my way. Along with this, I need to stop taking as many things personally.

TAKE SELF CARE SERIOUSLY

No, I’m not talking about doing face masks and soaking in the tub. I’m talking about being more active, drinking more water, reading more often, and eating better. My 46-year-old uncle died rather unexpectedly on Thanksgiving and it was an eyeopener to me that at age 35, I really need to start taking steps to take care of myself so that I don’t find myself with a slew of health problems ten years from now. I do need to lose weight. I lost 15 pounds in 2018 … and then gained it all back during our hectic travel months and the holidays. While discouraging, if I could do it last year, I can easily make it happen again with a little willpower! I’ve also been making sure I drink at least 64 ounces of water daily (but aiming for 100 ounces each day). This is such a small thing, but it’s made me feel more energetic and keeps me from mindlessly snacking when I’m really just thirsty.

AROUND THE HOUSE

I had a lofty list of goals for the house last year and didn’t accomplish as many as I naively thought possible. That said, we did find the perfect dining room table and chairs, painted our upstairs hallway, made significant progress on painting the doors and removing old paint from the hardware, purchased light fixtures for five rooms, and had four dying trees removed. We probably should have done more, but it’s such a balancing act with time and money. Here’s my must-do list for the first six months of 2019:

  • First of all, share more home-related content! I’d love to give you a better idea of where I’m spending my time and some of the things I’ve learned improving a fixer upper.
  • Finish installing our living room sconces. We bought sconces months ago and only installed one. It was such an annoying process that we got discouraged and put it off. I’d actually like this done before the end of January.
  • Paint the remaining three doors, strip the paint from the hardware, and hang them.
  • Hire someone to fill in the unnecessary doorway between our bedroom and guest room. (Long story short, the house was a two-flat at some point. Our upstairs guest room was a kitchen and our master was a living room. Instead of having the tenants go into the small hallway to access each room from the original doorways, a previous owner cut a doorway between the two rooms … and did a shoddy job at that. In fact, the “trim” is plywood. It’s a more difficult job than just drywalling each side, which we could do ourselves, so we’ll need to hire someone. I’ll share photos and talk about it more soon!)
  • Hire a painter to tackle our stairwell. I’d like to do wallpaper eventually, but I don’t want to live with the ugly yellowish paint that’s on the wall until I have money saved up. I’d rather have it painted white (or maybe an accent color) so it’s less of an eyesore for the time being.
  • Replace the storm door at the front of the house. It’s in such poor shape and incredibly ugly. (I have no idea how to install a door, so that’ll be an adventurous weekend!)
  • Add a screen door to our back deck, if the existing door and frame allows.
  • Add an exterior motion-sensor light to the garage.
  • Paint or stain the deck and front porch.
  • Figure out our gutter situation so the rain doesn’t just dump directly from the roof onto the deck. (I’m not sure if they simply need to be cleaned out or if we need more gutters.)
  • Buy curtains for the dining room. Our house is close to the neighbor’s property, so we’d like to do sheers or linen curtains for privacy, but also to allow light to come in.

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images: 1, 2, 3, 4

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: new year's goals, new year's resolutions

2018 New Year’s Goals

January 1, 2018 by jessica 9 Comments

New Year's Goals 2018

FEWER, BETTER THINGS

I know this is the Cuyana tagline, but it makes so much sense for where we are in our lives. We have a lot of possessions — which became evident when we moved — and the last thing we really need is more stuff. I’m trying to get out of the habit of impulse purchasing or feeling like I need something new to scratch an itch, or in terms of our home, feeling like we need a transitional piece that acts like a placeholder while we hunt for “the one.” I have a few lofty items that I’d love to own this year, namely the Gucci bag I’ve been saving for, wallpaper for our stairway, light fixtures for the entire house, and a dining room table and chairs. Having clearly defined purchases makes it easier to pass up the impulse items. I’ve also thought about limiting myself to just one or two sartorial pieces each month. It’d be an interesting challenge to whittle down a wish list to just a couple of purchases, but I could see it sucking a lot of joy out of fashion. Maybe worth trying for a few months, though!

TRAVEL SOMEPLACE NEW

This perennial resolution is my favorite. I think it’s important to expand my horizons and see a different part of the country or world. Plus, it’s so much fun to experience a new location! Last year we only took one vacation, and fortunately it was to a new-to-us location: New Orleans. It was difficult to justify additional travel when we just purchased a house and were feeling financially stressed as we adjusted to a new budget. Hopefully we’ll have more travel flexibility this year. We already have London on the books for April (with the flight and hotel already paid for, so that’s taken care of!), and have toyed the idea of going to Iceland for a week in the summer. I’m not sure if Iceland is realistic, so we have a couple of domestic ideas in mind. (After last night’s subzero temperatures, I wouldn’t mind ringing in 2019 somewhere with a beach!) And, while this is more than a year away, I promised Dave that we could go to Japan in 2019 or 2020. (Maybe if I write it down here, I’ll feel accountable for making it happen?)

MOVE MORE

Challenging myself to lose a certain amount of weight or commit to an ambitious workout schedule isn’t going to happen. However, I am looking to make healthier changes to my lifestyle in 2018. (Gone are the days that I could reliably lose weight just by reducing my calorie intake!) I’m starting an exercise regime that I can accomplish at home (twice a week sounds realistic to start) and once the weather gets nicer, I’m committing to at least one bike ride a weekend to get out an enjoy our neighborhood, Madison’s parks, and the surrounding lakes.

AROUND THE HOUSE

When we purchased this house, we knew there’d be a lot of work to do to make it our own. It was largely abandoned and hadn’t been taken care of or updated over the years. We’ve made impressive strides in the first six months of ownership, but there’s still a long list of things to do! We keep a shared list on the “Notes” app that allows us to jot down every project that comes to mind so that we can prioritize them. I won’t get into all of the projects, but some that I’d like to do tackle this year include:

  • Finish painting the trim and doors.
  • Finish painting the hallway and ceiling. (We’ll need a professional painter for part of the wall and ceiling that we can’t reach over the stairs.)
  • Repaint the guest room since we hate the grey we originally picked.
  • Replace the storm door at the front of the house. It’s in such poor shape and incredibly ugly.
  • Replace the remaining light fixtures … for seven rooms.
  • Buy a dining room table and chairs.
  • Purchase a living room rug, preferably vintage.
  • Add a screen door to our back deck.
  • Have a contractor come in to give us quotes on renovating the bathroom, closing off the opening between the master bedroom and guest room, and renovating our front porch/sun room. (It was originally a porch, but had been closed in at some point. We’d like to add more windows and give it an interior face lift so it’s a space that we’ll use.)
  • Get quotes on wallpaper installation for the stairway. (I’d love to make wallpapering a priority for 2018, but it all comes down to money.)
  • Get quotes on skim coating the kitchen to get rid of the awful textured walls.
  • Have an electrician install exterior outlets.
  • Resurface the driveway and add a parking pad to the side of the one-car garage.
  • Add exterior lights to our side entrance and the garage.
  • Paint or stain our deck and front porch.
  • Figure out window coverings. We’re likely going with roller shades because they fit the period of the house and they’re affordable.

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images: 1, 2, 3, 4

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: new year's goals, new year's resolutions

2017 New Year’s Goals

January 1, 2017 by jessica 3 Comments

lace front wigs

Happy 2017! A new year brings with it a renewed sense of optimism and excitement for the months ahead. Sure, we have a certain president to contend with later this month, but let’s move beyond that for now and focus our attention on happier pursuits: the things we’d love to accomplish in the new year. Setting out with a list of resolutions for the year sounds daunting (and oftentimes unrealistic), so instead I’m framing them as goals. These are the items I’d like to work toward in the coming months and, honestly, I might not accomplish any of them. That’s okay. Setting goals rather than resolutions means that even the small steps forward are successes worth celebrating.

MORE OUTFIT POSTS

I’m sure Dave is super excited about helping me accomplish this 2017 goal, but they’re the most popular posts and, honestly, my favorite ones to do. Plus, photographing my sartorial hits (and misses) helps me hone in my style and encourages me to be more creative, which leads me to my next goal:

STOP OVERTHINKING CLOTHES

Fashion should be fun and personal style should be a creative journey unmarred by overthinking things like cost per wear and “Can I wear this with three items I already own?” Year after year, my favorite purchases typically fall into one of three categories: impulse purchases that struck an I-have-to-own-this-now chord, uniquely designed items that I love to wear simply because they’re fun, or expensive items I actually had to save up for. (The latter is certainly the anomaly, but it applies to designer duds my bank account can’t handle on a whim like my Hermès bracelet.) Of course, I don’t want to just throw money at anything that catches my eye. I’m working on finding the balance between identifying the items I’ll wear a lot and making sure they’re not just boring basics. And, really, if an item is just that good, I’ll figure out ways to wear it. I also want to get out of the habit of only purchasing individual items because they’re versatile. Why not buy an entire outfit because it looks great together?

TRAVEL TO NEW DESTINATIONS

I can’t let a New Year’s post go by without my perennial goal to travel to new destinations. Last year, we ticked Copenhagen off of our travel list and also visited Nashville. We’re planning to visit Arizona this spring. (I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon and I hear it’s kind of a big deal.) We’d also love to head back to Europe this summer. London is high on our travel wish list as is Iceland, but we’re open to any destination with a deal on airfare. I also really want to spend a long weekend beached at, well, the beach.

BUY A HOUSE

Last year was an emotional roller coaster with our house hunt. (I never expected to feel so devastated after losing out on the only house we liked enough to put an offer on.) The real estate market in Madison is tough with low inventory, but things are starting to come on the market again and I’m optimistic that this is the year we’ll finally become homeowners. This also means we’ll finally get rid of some of our ugly hand-me-down transitional furniture. It just doesn’t make sense to buy things like new couches until we know what kind of space we have to work with.

EAT OUT LESS OFTEN

With the aforementioned plans, we’ll have to find ways to cut expenses throughout the year. Dining (and drinking) out is a huge line item that can be trimmed. Not only is dining out multiple times a week expensive, it’s also doing a number on our waistlines with the calorie-laden meals. Besides, I enjoy cooking. It’s a fun, creative way to unwind after a busy day at the office. So, here’s to getting mileage out of my Bon Appetit subscription with more meals at home in 2017!

Happy New Year! 

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: new year, new year's goals, new year's resolutions

Hello!


Jessica Hamm
Hello there! I'm a first-time homeowner updating a 1920s house in Madison, Wisconsin. I have a penchant for travel and a love of costume jewelry. Follow along for personal style, travel, and lifestyle content.

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Over the weekend, we drove to Michigan and welcome Over the weekend, we drove to Michigan and welcomed this little lady to the family! She’s a two-year old snow Bengal that was surrendered after being bullied by the other cats in her home. We’re pretty sure she’s a seal lynx point Bengal, which has Siamese in the lineage, based on her vibrant, slightly crossed blue eyes. She is the sweetest, softest, most playful, and unbelievably talkative little girl. We’re crazy about her! 

We haven’t picked a name just yet, though. We have some ideas, but we’re waiting to get to know her personality more. 😊

#bengalcat #snowbengal #snowbengalsofinstagram #schoolhouse #schoolhouseelectric #schoolhouseliving
Looking back at the changes we made to our home in Looking back at the changes we made to our home in 2022. 

#homerenovation #homedecor #home #ckstyleaccordingly #showemyourstyled #homeremodel #thisoldhouse #1920sHouse #dominomag
Merry Christmas! My own Christmas tree isn’t a Merry Christmas! 

My own Christmas tree isn’t as tinsel’d as this one from the Christmas museum in Salzburg nor does it rotate. Consider these goals for next year. 

@salzburgerweihnachtsmuseum @visitsalzburg #visitsalzburg #salzburgaustria #austria #salzburg #christmastree #vintagechristmas #tinsel #vintagechristmasdecor
I made @csaffitz’s raspberry almond thumbprint c I made @csaffitz’s raspberry almond thumbprint cookies and they’re delicious, but a lot of work and they don’t hold up well. If you’re planning on them this year, don’t add the jam dollop until just before you’re ready to serve them. The moisture gets sucked in overnight. Still good, of course, just softer than the first day. 

#whatsfordessert #dessertperson #clairesaffitz #clairesaffitzrecipes #christmascookies #holidaycookies #baking #cookies #bonappetit
I absolutely fell in love with the charming Austri I absolutely fell in love with the charming Austrian city of Salzburg. Head to the blog for a photo diary, sightseeing recommendations, a list of restaurants and bars we enjoyed, and where to stay if you’re planning your own getaway. 

#visitaustria #visitsalzburg #salzburg #salzburgaustria #travel #travelphotography #condenasttraveller #travelandleisure #feelaustria
The first snowfall of the year isn’t so bad when The first snowfall of the year isn’t so bad when it’s this pretty … and when the sidewalks and roads are still too warm for it to stick there. All of the aesthetics without having to shovel! ❄️
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