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hat // coat (old, similar) // leather leggings // clutch (old, similar) // shoes
This year I want to try new things and experience more. That is my resolution. I noticed that I tend to find a routine, get comfortable with it and become married to it. This is especially true when it comes to my style. I know exactly what I like and what looks good on me, so I veer towards it. This year I want to step outside my comfort zone, and staying true to myself of course. I am not jumping on every trend, dying my hair, or painting designs on my nails, but I want to push my limits a little more. The outfit above is a comfortable zone, with it being all black, yet wearing leather leggings and a hat is something I would normally never do. I always thought I wouldn’t be able to pull them off. Maybe I can’t, but now it won’t stop me from wearing them!
Since I am pushing the envelope of fashion, I started to think about things that I should start doing this year, rules to live by, and make myself a better me. So here are 15 things do to this year!
1. Cook dinner 4 times a week. Sure I love to try new restaurants and the whole experience of dinning out fascinates me, but I also enjoying cooking. It is easy to get home from a long day and think the last thing you want to do is prepare a meal that will take 30-40 minutes to make. Cooking for yourself really is so much healthier for you. I know exactly what ingredients are being used, and I tend to make healthier choices than if I went out to grab something to eat.
2. Realize you never know what could happen tomorrow, so live each day fully. Enjoy each moment that you are in and learn to be happy. Decide to wake up each day happy and full of life. I have been trying to do this everyday of the new year, the first thing I do when I wake up I say to myself “I am so happy!”, and it really makes all the difference in the world. I have seen a huge uplift in my attitude all day. To me living your life to the fullest isn’t about being the one that jumps up on a bar to dance or climbs a mountain. The person who lives life to the fullest is someone who realizes each moment is a blessing.
3. Put down your phone. If you are attending a wedding or out to dinner with your family, don’t spend the time looking at your phone or trying to get the perfect Instagram pic. You will miss opportunities of fun, laughter, and being with the ones you love. A picture last forever, but the feelings of being in that moment, laughing with loved ones, will be more beneficial for you. I am THE WORST at looking at a phone. As a blogger, I am connecting 24/7, glued-to, want to marry my phone. I am trying or going to try to put my phone down and enjoy the moment more…. god help me.
4. Buy yourself a bottle of champagne, turn up the music, and dance alone in your house. Haven’t done this before? Well my friend, you are missing out on an important life experience. Learn to have fun alone. Enjoy your own company. Not to mention this will put you in a great mood and will have you falling back in love with yourself. I am not ashamed to say I have done this a few times and I had a blast each time.
5. Exercise! Just Do It, as Nike would say. The benefits of exercising daily, even if it is just walking around your house 20x, it will do wonders for your body and mind. Get on a health kick and become obsessed with living a healthy lifestyle. This year I want to enjoy working out instead of viewing it as a way to lose weight or get fit. I want my mindset to be, this is fun, even when I am cursing the instructor in my mind. Exercise should be something you enjoy, find a workout that you love this year.
6. Fall back in love with an old interest. For me this is taking a dance class. I have been dancing since I was 3 years old, but somewhere in my mid 20’s life got in the way and I stopped taking classes. I miss the fun that I had learning a new routine and performing. Remember when you were younger and you loved painting or writing or playing a sport, rekindled that love this year.
7. Stop waiting and start doing. Now is the time to jump into your dreams head first. No more waiting, I am telling you time is up! Last year I jumped started on my dreams and it has been the best thing I could have ever done, and it is only just the beginning! I have so much more up my sleeve that I want to do, some I am a little afraid of putting out there, but I know it is time to just do it.–there I go again with the Nike quotes.
8. Go out more. Yep, you heard me! Go out more. Netflix will always be there, spending time and experiencing moments with your friends and family may not always be an option. I am not saying to become a party animal and drink like you are 21 again–the good Lord knows we won’t be able to recover from it. I am saying spend more time enjoying life than watching life happen on TV. I am wayyyy too guilty of this, hello Making a Murderer, so this year I want to enjoy the company of real humans beings more.
9. Stop caring what others think of you and start caring what you think of yourself. We are all so guilty of this. It is hard to not think about. “what will they think if I said this or did this?” “does so and so like me, like my ideas, think I am smart?”. I find the older I get, the less I care about people’s opinions. I used to be consumed by it, cared so much, was afraid of doing things and acting a certain way because of what people may think. Now I’d rather be alone and like myself, than with a room full of people who make me want to hide who I am. And most importantly, stop criticizing yourself–start loving who you are!
10. Start crossing things off your bucket list. We all know you have one! If you haven’t updated it in a while, make a new one. Start with what you know you can cross off–something as simple as start a workout routine or spend the weekend in New York. I am a huge advocate for bucket lists, I have been carrying around one with me since my freshman year of high school. Life is about experiences, you will never regret doing something you have always dreamed of doing.
11. Pamper yourself. Listen, your aging–I am aging, we need to put a stop to this madness. Lets start pampering ourselves more through facials, get a massage, get your nails done, apply a facial mask a few times a week, and find a skin care regime. Find a regime that works best for your skin and stick to it. You will thank yourself in 20, 30, 40 years. Or stay forever young like I am doing.
12. Eat dessert first. Have you ever had dessert for dinner? Well I have (a few times) and it was the best decision I have ever made! Every once in a while it is ok to fall of the bandwagon, treat yourself, and have ice cream… for dinner. Just make sure it isn’t a normal nightly routine.
13. Host a party. One thing that I have always wanted to do is host either a dinner party or a holiday party. When you live in a shoe box in New York, it puts a damper on hosting more than 2 friends in your apartment. Hosting a party is a lot of work, but you will have so much fun planning and decorating and seeing all of your favorite people in one room!
14. Go on an adventure. Whether that adventure is traveling across seas or jumping out of an airplane. It is time to have adventure in your life. The time will never be right, you will never have enough money, and work/family will always get in the way. This year I want to have the adventure of a lifetime.
15. Stay optimistic. This year I say we all stop being negative and start believing good things are going to happen to us. I am now trying to make it a point to think positive on certain situations. That it will all work out for me, and I will get everything that I have ever wanted. Things will work out for the best for you. If you do not get the job you wanted, there will be a better job out there for you. Life is better when we stay positive!