2015 | Goals + Resolutions.

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The first couple of days in January always seem to fly by so quickly, in fact the whole time between Christmas and New Year never really registers as proper days of the week and I'm forever mixing my Tuesdays with my Saturdays.

My New Years was a quiet one with a home firework display, board games and a few drinks but it was nice to see in 2015 firing party poppers and sharing New Year's resolutions with friends.

Last year was the first time in a while that I didn't really set many strict resolutions and it was kind of nice to not have that hanging over me. That said, I did try and make a few changes and a lot of them have stuck. I have managed to improve my fitness in the way I wanted to and have been much better at staying in touch with friends - both of which have made life much nicer in different ways.

So, I figured now was as good a time as any to share a few of my resolutions with you.

Keep Saving:
2014 was the year I finally started to knock this one on the head, and I think Charlotte from Gin and Ginger put it best, once you get to a certain age, it's pretty satisfying to have more than £50 worth of savings at the end of each month. With this looking to be the year that I get a mortgage and buy a house, this is more important than ever. So while I'm pleased that toward the end of last year it started to finally work out, I think it's really important to keep this at the front of my mind and keep going for 2015 because it will totally be worth it.

Print More Photos:
I'm going to start printing out a few photos each month to keep on top of things, so that unlike last year (right now in actual fact, really), I won't have to print photographs in bulk that I've had for ages but never got around to. It will be nice to put more photographs in frames and have more albums.

Travel More:
After not leaving the UK in 2013 at all, I ventured slightly further afield in 2014 with trips to Portugal and Belgium. With a trip to Hong Kong booked for May this year and plans for another villa holiday in the late summer, 2015 is really shaping up nicely. I must say that although I've been lucky to be able to go on great family holidays to Florida, Brittany and Hong Kong before, I've not really travelled so it would be nice to go to a few new places when going to HK and maybe add another new country to visit when planning other holidays for this year - it all might be a little hard to squeeze in in-between buying a house though - a new adventure in itself - but we'll just have to see what happens!

This short list, in addition to 'shaking it off' and officially dropping the jean size I've been working on (it's been working) in the last few months are what I hope for 2015. No 'new year, new me', just things that have been easy to put off. What are your New Year's resolutions?

Goals for October.

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September feels like it passed in a blur, it's the first time in ages that I've managed to get so many posts 'out there' though and I'm really pleased with that side of things.

Starting a new job has completely messed with my routine in the last couple of weeks though so the start of a new month, feels like as good a time as any to take stock and plan ahead.
After all, when you're staying home because you're as skint as a mint, all you can really do is make lists and plan... and do housework, too much housework.

• Be a better friend – Take more time catch up and 'be there'
• Manage time better – Spend less time vegetating on the sofa and more time doing things
• Make more me-time – It's not to push Moon away, but I think it's important we pursue our own interests from time to time
• Play with Doll more – We've noticed that Doll actually loves it if we take a few minutes out to properly play with her, with real toys as opposed to just winding her up. When we do this, she'll then sit with us and I mean with us, not near us and generally is much nicer. I know it's a silly cat-owner thing to notice, particularly after almost three years but I want a happy cat and it's such a small thing for her to ask for among the other things she needs
• Embrace the new routine – I don't like change but I didn't like where I was before everything changed so this change can only be good. It will only work if I try to slot it in around things I really want to be doing, did I say change enough?

I'm hoping to not stress myself out quite as much this month and take it all in my stride. Having realised that since my birthday I've been caught in some really unnecessary drama that doesn't concern me, what I've really been needing to do is concentrate on myself and I think sometimes that's how it needs to be.

Hope you have a relaxing, chilled out Sunday.

Resolutions.

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I feel like my New Year's Resolutions for 2014 are incredibly obvious and easy ones but to give me a reason to keep it up, I figured sharing it with you was as good a way to motivate myself as any...

Although I do often feel as though starting a new year with a list of things to do does feel a little cliché, it still feels like the right way to start - beginning it all with a fresh head and some new goals.

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1. Read More.

This is something I've been doing really well with in recent months, having read three books since August, it's definitely something I don't see why I can't keep up and I would so like to be able to do a few reviews a la Becky Bedbug. I have so many beautiful books that are just taking up space on my bookshelves longing to be read and I have a feeling it's going to feel so good once I get around to it.

2. Save more, spend less.

One that's been on my list for a few years now and I feel that turning 25 in 2014 means it's really about time that I nip it in the bud. I found a great source of saving tips on Pinterest, the 52 Week method is my favourite and seems like a good place to start. 

3. Eat more healthily & exercise a bit...

Feeling like a 'bit of a girl' about this one and it's one I'd love to be able to do privately and come out surprising everyone with how great and self-motivated I am, but it doesn't work like that so this is the year I'd like to have more patience for it. I don't even really want to do it for any particular reason, it would just be swell to have a lot more energy and I'm hoping this would do it.

4. Take back my lunchbreaks.

This is a bit of a tough one. Sitting behind a desk all day is all very well and good and I actually do quite enjoy my job but, and it goes very much hand in hand with 'Resolution #4', I just need more fresh air. It's just another thing that I think might combat day-to-day lethargy.

5. Be better at staying in touch.

I think this year has been a great one for making new friends and seeing old ones, but I still feel like I can do better. If we stay there, we'll have been living in our little flat for two years in April and I feel like I should have had more of my family round or at least been better at extending an invitation. I also want to keep up more with birthday cards, maybe not always presents but definitely always cards - it feels quite grown up but I quite like that.

6. Sort out the 'frame situation'.

Moon and I have so much framed stuff on our walls, and I like that, but we also have quite a few things that are yet to go up. All we'd need to do is rearrange a few things but the main thing stopping us is lack of nice frames for our lovely artwork that's yet to go up. Why's that a problem? Well, because all we need to do is get measuring and go buying, it's quick and simple but we're still putting it off - at least if it gets to this time next year and nothing's been done then I can recognise that we might have a problem.

7. Print more photographs.

I'm not too bad at sharing photographs but I'm terrible at printing them. I know it's something my Gran would like me to do and I've actually got a (huge) folder sitting on my laptop waiting to be printed. This is the year I do it, then I'll have photos to go into albums and up on the wall (if we ever sort out that darn 'frame situation).

So there you have it, what are your New Year's Resolutions? I'm just hoping I've picked things that are nice and realistic, funnily enough, Buzzfeed seems to think so.

Monday Resolutions.

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I'm feeling creative, after finishing up Sunday evening with some real-life scrapbooking and watching the visually stunning Only God Forgives, I'm starting the week feeling a little more inspired than usual.

This week I hope to:

1. Sleep more.
2. Catch up.
3. Keep drawing.
4. Read more.
5. Concentrate.

Come on, Monday, let's do this!