Looking back on 2019 so far…
You’ll be well aware by now that I love setting myself goals, they’re never overly unrealistic so they serve more as reminders than anything else. I have a Notes folder full of lists of small tasks to get through, which I mostly forget about completely! I find it so motivating to go back and see how much I’ve done without even realising.
At the start of this month I thought I’d check up on my New Year’s resolutions in my 2019 goals post, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I’d already achieved in the first half of the year. There’s been a few setbacks with my operation and other hiccups, but I’m on the right track and I think as long as I’m always making small steps forward, it counts as progress!
Here’s a rundown of how my goals have been going so far…
A New Project & A Possible Move
The year got off to a good start as we viewed a flat, made an offer and had it accepted – it was a pretty quick and easy process, but now we have the keys things haven’t been so smooth sailing! I always find it so difficult to find reliable builders, and often they’re booked up months in advance. We started to do a bit ourselves (rip up the carpets and strip the wallpaper), but with my broken wrist we’ve had to put that on pause.
I’m hoping work starts in August, which means I’ll have some updates to share with you too. I don’t enjoy this part but I know it will be worth it when it’s in better condition! I just hope it’s relatively stress-free…
We haven’t decided if we’ll move in to the new flat once it’s finished, for now I’m just enjoying having another project!
Changing How I Work
I’ve been trying to find a good balance of routine and spontaneity for a while now, I find that if I’m sitting at my desk writing too much then my stories (and now vlogs) become very boring, but if I’m out doing too much, I feel guilty that I’m not technically working. I think I’ve definitely found a bit more of a flow this year, and having help in the form of Shauna, my assistant, has helped massively too.
Every week we plan out which days will be desk days, which days we’ll shoot in the flat and which days we’ll head out and shoot an outfit post or a campaign. We’re also a lot more in tune and organised on the whole, dedicating time to campaigns and also just to creating content for the blog! I feel a lot more at ease with how we work and a whole lot more productive too!
Bringing Back The Blog
I said this was going to be the year I dedicated the majority of my time to the blog and I’m really happy with my progress! I’ve always adored blogging, and I think Instagram and now YouTube can work around everything I create for here. I’ve got a good variety of personal posts and beauty edits and a few interior roundups, and I love what I’ve been working on lately – a lot of it is quite spontaneous in some ways, and other posts are planned weeks in advance. It works well for me, and I’m hoping to get some changes made to my design soon too, which should help you find old posts easily too.
My TV Debut
Filming Scotland’s Home of the Year last summer was such a big part of my life, and yet I couldn’t share much with you! I was so nervous and excited when it aired but honestly it could not have gone better – your support was incredible, and this month I got the news that there will be a second season! I never had my sights set on TV but I loved seeing it all come together – I just know round two will be so much better too.
I’ve had to keep August and September free for filming so things may be a little quiet over that time – the filming itself means lots of travelling, long days and not a lot of time for me to do anything else, but I’m hoping I’ll be more prepared with scheduled content this time around. Wish me luck!!
On To The Little Things
There’s been so many smaller aims I’ve been working towards too, like more trips with my girl group (we have one coming up in a few weeks!), and just generally being more present when it comes to the people in my life. I put a lot of time in to my friendships and I’m so proud to have a really amazing group of friends that I adore.
I used to worry that I should have more blogger friends, but I’m not in London enough to really nurture relationships and I also feel like having a life in Glasgow is more than enough for me. I’m so lucky to have the people that I do!
Also on my 2019 goals list was to do a bit more work to the shop, which we managed to tick off a few months ago. The shop is looking so good at the moment, obviously it’s definitely more Jordan’s thing than mine but I love to help out when I can. I know he values my opinion and it’s fun to be involved in something without having to fully commit!
I also wanted to go back to New Zealand which we did in April, it was one of my favourite trips which made it even harder to leave. I already want to go back, but finding the right time is near impossible – hopefully we can spend some proper time over there at the start of next year!
I also got the two piercings that I said I wanted to get (a Tash rook and a daith piercing), and I’ve been reading a whole lot more too – I think I’ve read about 15 books this year already without even thinking about it.
Another goal I set myself this year was to shop less but buy more investment pieces, and I think I’ve done really well with that. I have a post coming on this soon actually, but it feels good to be rewearing outfits and keeping my shopping to a minimum!
At the start of the year I still wasn’t properly back in a fitness routine because my previous personal trainer had moved on and I hadn’t found a class I loved, but in January I found a new PT and I had been pretty solidly hitting up the gym until my accident. Last week was my first week back with a broken wrist and it went really well! This was a big goal for me because I wanted to feel comfortable in my fitness routine and I’m so glad I have a good thing on the go now.
What’s Still To Come…
I’ve been feeling a bit restless lately because my wrist meant I had to turn down plans, but now I have a solid couple of months of filming and travelling! I feel like I should have savoured that down time a little more…
After filming for the show last year, Jordan and I went straight off to Bali on honeymoon and I’d love to do that again. I have some family here in September and October, and as soon as they leave Jordan has a reunion tour for his bands 10 year album anniversary, and so I’m hoping we can get a big trip booked in for November! Last year I needed a break post-filming (it’s exhausting, did I mention that?!) so, so badly so I hope we can get away at some point. I’d love to do Sri Lanka and the Maldives, so here’s hoping!
Of course I’d love to make some changes to our wee flat, although we’re thinking once the new flat is ready we might move in there for a few months so we can get a bit more work done to our current place. I try not to stress myself out with things like this, I’m just going to see how we get on.
I’d also like to keep at YouTube now I’m back, I think I’m able to keep on top of the blog as well as videos and Instagram. I’d like to do a few more structured videos, but finding the time to do it regularly is so hard.
So there we have it, a bit of a reflective post halfway in to the year! I thought I hadn’t managed to tick off that much this year, but seeing it all laid out like this has made me feel a little bit proud. The year isn’t without it’s bumps and hiccups, but I’m trying to focus on the positives always!
Have you made any progress with your goals for 2019?
