Courage: to look myself in the eye and be honest about my shortcomings, accepting myself as I am, but with the understanding that I can improve; to take on dreams that scare me beyond belief; to love and be loved; to imagine this little blog could lead me to something more.
Simplifiy: Yes, this is a picture of my stash and sewing paraphernalia. No, this is not all of it. This is just one way in which I want to simplify. Whether it be through pure organization, or in combination with realistic purging. I'd also like to limit my thrifting outings and budget much more than I have in the past. In other ways, I aim to simplify our entire home...not to the point of minimalism to an extreme, but to find a happy medium. I feel we lead fairly simple lives, as it is, having cut out cars, over burdened schedules, and a hectic lifestyle. But there is still a sense of chaos that I'd like to calm, and by meditating on this word each day, I hope to achieve it.
When considering goals for this blog, I started scribbling away with ideas, a schedule of sorts, and all the while keeping in mind these two words: courage and simplify. I haven't made any hard and fast decisions, I feel the blog will evolve with time, as most things do. However I will be following a loose schedule and testing out a few things. Thrift Style Thursday will be a regularly repeated feature. Quick "Fix" Friday is another that I'd like to make a more regular feature: simply put, quick projects taking 30 minutes or less (refashioning, mending, diy) to get my creative 'fix'. I'm playing around with the idea of another feature that will focus on beauty: by this I mean, the beauty in each of us, finding that beauty through uplifting and encouraging one another, by taking care of ourselves (body & soul), learning to dress our bodies well, to feel good about ourselves, and working to achieve health. This could play itself out in any number of ways, and is still very nebulous as I work through what it may look like on this blog, but I'd love to collaborate with other bloggers for this project. Anybody interested is welcome to let me know, but as I simplify this idea a bit more, I'll write a post on it and extend a more formal invitation :).
Well, if you are still with me as I ramble on, I thank you. You are appreciated and valued. Any and all feedback you give just helps make this blog a little more uplifting (for you and for me), so drop me a line! Hope you are well...
Peace,
Andrea
Happy New Year! These sound like fantastic goals for the coming year. I too am focussing on simplifying my sewing stuff, as I am finding my current stash overbearing and stifling. I look forward to reading your new features and to see how your goals play out!
ReplyDeleteThanks Helen, good luck as you go through everything!
DeleteThese goals sound fantastic! I Love the idea of using theme words, almost as a mantra, for the entire year, and I love your choices!! Lots to think about, but I am so excited for the coming year! :)
ReplyDeleteYay! Loving your posts and looking forward to all you'll do this year, too :)
DeleteThose are two excellent words to live up to. You've reminded me I did a one-word mantra a couple of years back - the word was health and it really helped me focus. It was all-encompassing (eating, activity, making medical appointments, de-stressing, etc) but easy to stay focused on because it was just the one word. Interesting how the mind works sometimes! Thanks for jogging my memory on that. I think the idea of simplifying is one that I really need to think about too. I've been trying to declutter for two years and while I've made some progress, I could do better. Looking forward to your posts in the new year, as always.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Jenny, I'd love to hear updates on your blog of how you do this year :) Hopefully as I go through my decluttering I can post progress and tips!
DeleteI'm very interested in the beauty idea. It has been a sign off line on my blog for a while now, to show our individual beauty to the world. I would be interested in exploring this more. I also love to thrift, and upcycle, so the other ideas also interest me. Isn't it fun blogging? So amazing touching people all over the world. I love your blog and those words for this year are very powerful. I haven't chosen any for myself yet, but we did write a time capsule letter for ourselves to open next new years! Xo JJ
ReplyDeleteOh, I like the idea of writing a letter...Something to encourage us at the end of the year! Great idea :)
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