new year’s resolutions

2016 Resolutions

January 4, 2016 by jessica 10 Comments

Happy 2016! Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I was excited to get back to my weekly routine on the first Monday of the year, but I am happy to have the holiday hoopla behind me! After a month of travel — and a flat tire on Saturday — I’m ready for a few weeks at home. And, it’s a good thing we don’t have plans this month. I’m going to need the extra time to get started on my new year’s resolutions:

CLEAN, ORGANIZE, PURGE

Dave and I have lived together for almost five years and we’ve accumulated quite a few things in our small apartment. Now that we’re becoming more serious about our house hunt, I’d like to spend the next few months going through our place and getting rid of the items we don’t love. I don’t want to move things into a new home if we’ll never use them again. I’m planning to go through my wardrobe in January and donate or sell unused items in February. After that, I will be going through the boxes I moved from my old apartment and never opened since. It’s a daunting project, so I’m heading down memory lane one box per weekend until the project is done, which should be completed by March.

FEWER, BETTER THINGS

This really goes hand-in-hand with the previous resolution. I’m growing tired of clutter. To be fair, it’s partly because we have a small apartment, but it’s also because I haven’t been as thoughtful about new purchases as I could be. In terms of clothing, I’m planning to cut back on the number of purchases during the year. Last year’s Pinterest board for new wardrobe additions shows that I added over 100 items in 2015. As much as I love clothing and accessories, that’s a bit much. (You can view my 2016 additions here.) This should be a fairly easy task to accomplish. I’m sticking to a stricter budget this year with $750 per season earmarked for clothing and accessories. This isn’t to say that I’m solely focusing on wardrobe classics again. I have enough of those. I simply want every sartorial purchase I make in 2016 to be very much “me.” For non-wardrobe items, I want to spend time looking for the “right” item and not throw money at something that will work for the time being.

TRAVEL SOMEPLACE NEW

My broken foot last year led us to reconsider some of our travel dreams. I wasn’t sure exactly when I’d be healed and how far I’d feel comfortable walking, so we revisited a few of our favorite U.S. cities. This year, we’d like to expand our horizons and travel to new destinations. We’re talking about visiting Copenhagen in the spring and taking a fall road trip to New England. I’ve always wanted to go to Maine and eat my weight in lobster rolls.

LOSE WEIGHT

…and speaking of weight, I need to shed a few pounds this year. My ambitious goal is to lose 20 pounds. I was on my way last year until my foot broke and I fell out of my exercise routine. Oh well, it’s a new year and a new chance to get myself in better shape! After college, I lost 70 pounds and have since gained back 35 of them. It’s incredibly hard, but I need to prioritize my health as I get older. Besides, my sluggish metabolism needs a kick in the arse with Jillian Michaels! I’d like to give myself little reward at each five-pound benchmark. Any ideas? (That said, I’m focusing more on total wellness than the scale itself with clean eating and exercise three times a week.)

JUST FOR FUN

Try two new recipes each month.

Keep champagne chilled for even the smallest special occasion.

Search for the perfect bar cart.

Wear bold patterns and embrace color.

Buy a new mattress.

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New Year’s Resolutions

January 6, 2015 by jessica 15 Comments

When I was little, my mom made a cross-stitch piece for my bedroom with the inscription “Each new year’s a chance to see your dreams become reality.” That piece is packed away with the rest of my childhood decor, but what a wonderful phrase to bring back at the dawn of a new year. Everyone seemed to be strong out of the gate with their 2015 resolutions, but I needed extra time to collect my thoughts about the new year.

TRAVEL SOMEWHERE NEW

This is a perennial goal of mine and one I think should grace everyone’s list. Last year, we were fortunate enough to travel to Belgium and visit Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges. We made a stop in Amsterdam (a repeat for me, but new to Dave) and took a Memorial Day roadtrip to Louisville, a city we visited a couple of years prior. I love the balance of revisiting favorites and mixing in new destinations during the year. So far, we’re talking about an April trip somewhere warm, like Puerto Rico, Mexico, or Florida, and a December trip to Europe. Visiting Christmas markets in Europe is a major bucket list item for me. It’d be incredible to check that off the to-do list this year! (However, I’m a little worried about how much holiday decor I’ll end up bringing home!)

LOSE WEIGHT

Ugh, I don’t know how the pounds crept up over the last year. When we got back from Belgium, I was 20 pounds lighter than I am now! All of the beer fests, eating out, and ordering pizza really did me in–and it’s not like my slowing metabolism is helping anything! I need to get back in shape. I’m armed with my FitBit, a Weight Watchers membership, and Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. (Any other FitBit users want to be friends on the app? My cousin joined and I’m surprised at how motivating it is to see her daily steps add up.)

FIND FASHION FUN AGAIN

The last few years have been about curating a wardrobe of quality basics. It was a fantastic learning experience that taught me to value quality clothing and forgo shopping at fast fashion stores. However, it put the emphasis so much on basics that I ignored the things about fashion that make me happiest: unexpected fabrics, big prints, and color. I want to have fun with clothes again, while still adhering to the principles I worked so hard to incorporate: quality over quantity and no impulse buys.

MIND MY MONEY

I say this every year, but adhering to a budget and saving money is becoming more and more important as I get older. I spent time last weekend working on a realistic budget that allows me to tuck away and invest a decent amount of money each month, while still allowing myself $250 per month for clothing. I’m going to scrap the six-month clothing budget that I was trying (it would have continued through February) and start fresh this year with a monthly budget. The six-month allowance was too tempting to go overboard at the beginning and I’d like to keep all budget-related items to a calendar year. I’ll allow any unused portion to roll over to the next month and, as always, a portion of blog revenue and eBay sales will be added to the budget. I’m also starting a 2015 Pinterest board of all new wardrobe additions, both gifted and purchased. I’ll share more about this in January’s budget recap in a few weeks.

WILDCARD RESOLUTIONS

Stop letting dishes pile up.

New Year’s Resolutions

January 2, 2013 by jessica Leave a Comment

This year, I will:

Learn to make Thai food. We order Thai multiple times each month. But $30 for each meal (delivered, of course) really adds up. It can’t be that hard to make on my own, right?
Pad my savings account. I’ve chosen a goal that’s ambitious, yet realistic, and I’ve determined the amount to tuck away each month. There will be less impulse spending and fewer dinners out, but it’s more important to have resources for “rainy days.” (Or a down payment on a home someday!)
Go on vacation!
Lose 20 pounds. The scale has slowly been creeping up over the last two years. With my 30th birthday this year, it’s time to put more emphasis on being healthy. I started P90X on Monday (ouch!) and have signed up for Weight Watchers. Losing the weight before May 30 seems doable.
Shop like an editor. Curb impulse purchases. Carefully consider what I’m purchasing and why I’m purchasing it. Think about how each item will work in my wardrobe. Curate a closet of quality items. Invest in classics and unique statement pieces (they keep things fun). Use a budget of $200 each month as a guideline, but allow that to rollover into the next month to save for big ticket items. Report back with what I’ve purchased each month as a way to keep myself accountable.
Purchase a bar cart.

Do you make annual resolutions? What would you like to accomplish this year?

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