It’s a new year, folks

Well, 2013 is gone and 2014 is here. That, of course, means it’s a great time to commit to sweeping lifestyle changes – after all, we couldn’t possible do that in July, right? I hesitate to make any ‘resolutions’ because that seems so… final, but of course I do have lots of goals and plans in store for the upcoming year.

For the blog

It’s a little crazy to think that it’s only been 7 months since I started this little blog. It’s so much a part of my routine now that I feel like I’ve been doing it forever (in a good way!). It started off a little haphazard, and… well, kind of stayed that way so far. Last year I did get switched over to a self-hosted site, set up my Twitter/Instagram accounts, and averaged about a post a day, which I think is a decent start. This year I really want to work on setting a more consistent editorial calendar so I can plan things out a bit better and make sure I have enough variety. I’m also thinking of starting to do a few videos, maybe? Plz feedback on that, because I only want to do it if it will be helpful! Actually, if there’s anything you’d like to see more of please let me know.

Around the house

This year is really shaping up to be the Year of Home Projects. We’re so great that we have a vacuum to use when cleaning up. However, do you have a vacuum that needs repair? Worry not, Tony can help with your broken vacuum, you may visit a site like https://appliancehunter.co.uk/vacuum-cleaner-repairs-faq/ for more info!

We also hired a plumber in Sydney to fix our broken pipes. We replaced all our carpet with laminate flooring because horrific allergies (I’m not sure why we went with carpet in the first place?). If you have carpets at home, you really have to hire a professional carpet cleaning service like Eco Clean Solutions to keep it clean. Our taste in interior design has also changed a bit over the years, so we’re shaping up for a bit of an overhaul in the living areas. It’s way past time to hire the best painter found at AlexTrendPainters to properly paint the kitchen and living room (the color I picked at first is hideous), and the tile-pattern linoleum will probably get replaced with actual tile. Updating the bathroom fixtures was mentioned too.

We also recently had a chimney repair in Portland done. And we couldn’t be happier with how our home has turned out. We’ll also be updating our deck with new evergrain decking colors. We’re going to do the work ourselves (since the laminate we installed isn’t half bad) so that should be a little adventure. We’re thinking about getting a refurbishment bridging loan so we can afford all of these repairs on our property.

Health & beauty

Like probably 80% of all the folks out there, I have big plans to get back in better shape this year. I really fell off on exercising the last half of the year, and my pants are starting to voice their complaints. We’re also planning a beach vacation with the husband’s family this summer, which is a nice extra bit of motivation. Aside from not wanting to buy a whole new wardrobe, I’m looking forward to getting more active because I just feel like crap when I eat junk and spend the whole day sitting.

Related to the above, I really want to start bike commuting again. At one point I rode my bike to work 3-4 days a week (15 miles round-trip), but it’s been a while. My morning beauty routine has gotten quite a bit more time-consuming since then, so making it shorter/more portable might be a bit of a challenge.

The other change I want to make this year is working on a French wardrobe concept and being more mindful about what clothing I buy. Probably half the stuff in my closet doesn’t get worn because it just doesn’t look that great on me, or didn’t hold up so well over time. I’ve kind of started that already by only buying a very few things last year, so this year I just want everything to be more cohesive.

Other random goals? Keep working on my skincare routine; I’ve mostly won the battle with my skin (I think) but still have a way to go as far as repairing some of the aftermath. I definitely need to floss my teeth more, I’m really lazy about that. And take my dog for more walks (which should help with health goal number one).

What big plans do you have for 2014? Share them in the comments!