Starting Fresh

Happy new year! It feels wonderful to say 2012 has begun, and that's partly due to this nice long weekend. My husband and I spent New Year's Eve with my sister, her husband and their adorable baby. We had margaritas and burritos -- and a lot of laughs -- and then we went home and rang in the new year in bed with the pup. Neighbors even set off fireworks in the park behind our house at midnight! The rest of the weekend, we relaxed at home and enjoyed the last few days of our Christmas decorations (I love how the ornaments from our Disco Christmas party cast cool patterns on the ceiling). What's even better is the long weekend continues today.

I hope your new year is off to a fantastic start!

Photos by me. 

Five Things

It's hard to believe 2010 is coming to a close. On the last day of the year, it's nice to look back at the past twelve months -- and also ahead at the year to come. I'm not really the new year's resolution type, but here are a few things I'm happy to have done this year and a few I hope to accomplish in the new year.

Five Things I Got Right in 2010

1. I traveled a lot. I started the year with a vacation to the Dominican Republic with my family and ended it with an amazing trip to London with my husband. And in between were smaller adventures to Chicago, San Francisco and many destinations closer to home.

2. I gave up sweets. The day after Christmas last year I stopped eating cookies, cake, ice cream, candy and other sugary goodies. It was really hard pretty much every minute for the first few months. But then I stopped missing junk food (for the most part) and found new appreciation for fruit and healthier fare. I feel great now!

3. I learned to judge less. I'm by no means in a perfect place with this, but I had a realization that the things other people do that annoy me are not necessarily flaws in a right-versus-wrong way. Rather, they're things that are simply different from what I tend to do, and that's okay --good, in fact. This might sound obvious but it's made a difference to me. I'm now trying to approach these situations in a new light and learn from them.

4. I got a great haircut. Finally, I think I've found a style that suits my fine, straight hair. It's a shorter cut, like this one, and I love it. It looks chic, if I do say so myself, and since I no longer need to use a straightening iron and it saves me a lot of time getting ready. Hooray!

5. I took time to appreciate. I've made a conscious effort to take note of how great things are. Even the small moments. Especially the small moments. Sitting at home with my husband and our dog, for instance, I'll think about how wonderful that is and how many blessings I have in my life. Appreciating something good sort of doubles the gift of it, no?

Five Things I Want to Do in 2011

1. Make more time for art. Drawing, painting, sculpting, designing, doodling, tinkering -- these are among my favorite things to do and yet I rarely fit them into my day. I want to change this and I hope I do.

2. Tackle big projects at home. I finally want to get our living room looking and feeling right, and I'd love to update our kitchen. I have ideas in my mind for both rooms and with a little luck I'll make them a reality this year.

3. Move more. I don't want to make this the typical "work out more" resolution. I hope I do exercise a lot in the new year but more so I want to make time for the things I enjoy, like talking walks with friends, practicing yoga and dancing. Definitely dancing.

4. Show my love. I want to be a better wife, friend, family member and doggy owner by doing things daily to express my love for them and my gratefulness that they're in my life. How wonderful it would be to do something nice every day for them.

5. Maybe start a family. My husband and I have been talking about of having kids for years -- with varying degrees of readiness. It was more of a concept for a long time, a discussion that typically ended with a declaration of "yes, someday" or "for sure, in a couple years." But we're in a new place now and excited for what might come.

Happy new year to all! I hope 2011 is full of joy, surprise, gratitude and love.

Photo from here.

Just Enough Sparkle

For the first time in longer than I can remember, I'm planning a low-key New Year's Eve. And I'm really looking forward to it. Instead of hitting the town or a friend's party, my husband and I are going out to a nice dinner with my sister and her husband. And we'll have champagne waiting at home to ring in the new year later with our little pup.

Even though it should be a pretty relaxed night, I still want to wear something a bit sparkly. This shoe should do the trick!

Photo from here.

Happy New Year!

We're off to ring in the new year at a party with friends, champagne and hopefully lots of laughter and dancing.

I hope 2010 brings good things for everyone!

Photo from here.