Hello 2020…
The start of a new year AND a new decade, eh? What a time! I hope you all had a lovely start to 2020.
I don’t particularly look forward to New Year’s Eve myself (which I shouldn’t really say because it’s the anniversary of our engagement!), but I do love the turn of a new year. There’s something about all that relaxing and over-indulging that makes me want to kick-start my goals as soon as January 1st arrives.
Of course, I have entire lists of goals for this year! I wouldn’t say I’m an overly driven person, but I do love to have a bit of a plan for the year ahead. None of these resolutions are unmanageable or unrealistic. I tend to jot down the more achievable tasks just to keep me on track, and anything bigger that comes my way is a bonus.
01. Finish the new flat. This is top of my list! I always wanted it to be a slow process, something we could dabble in as we had the money and time. With last year being so unexpectedly… unexpected, I didn’t know we would fall so far behind with it.
The good thing is I feel ready to move home now, whereas before I was dragging my heels a bit because I didn’t want to say goodbye to our current flat. We’ve lived here for almost 6 years, it’s our first proper home and I adore it, but I’m so ready for a new chapter! Roll on the renovations.
02. Move! We’re hoping to be in the new flat at some point before summer, if all goes well. We stripped the flat back to it’s bare bones, and finding tradesmen, planning etc. has been a mission. I have learned A LOT, but it was always my plan to learn from our mistakes so when we eventually find our forever home, we will nail it!
03. See my dad. After Jordan, my brother and I came back to Scotland from New Zealand, my dad also left to go to Australia where he has a boat. He’s currently in Sydney, and my family and some of his friends have been visiting him. He doesn’t want to come back to Scotland yet but I’m hoping we’ll be able to get to him at some point. When I last said goodbye to my dad at the airport, I didn’t know when I would see him next… I really, really hope it’s this year!
04. 30 Countries before 30. A long time ago I set a little personal goal to see 30 countries before I turn 30 in December, I think I’m 4 away from that target! I’m not actually sure I’ll do it since I keep going back to my favourite places, and we also don’t have any trips planned this year at all. I’d love to go to Ireland, Hungary, Japan and Sri Lanka… but that seems very optimistic! I’ll probably end up booking a last-minute trip to like, Belgium the week before my birthday.
05. Watch Scotland’s Home Of The Year! The show that I co-judge will be back on BBC Scotland (available throughout the UK) in the Spring and I really can’t wait for everyone to see it. The homes this series are INCREDIBLE, we were so lucky to get a chance to snoop around them but wow, competition was tough. I’m hoping I’m home to see the first episode air this year as last time I was in New York, I totally missed all the excitement.
I don’t believe in setting unrealistic resolutions, but I love the feeling of a fresh start! It’s a good time to take stock and think about the months ahead…
06. Step up my fitness. I’ve been a pretty regular gym-goer for the last few years, but I’ve never been truly serious about it. I mean, I’m pretty dedicated to going (with my PT three times a week and usually alone a few times too) but it’s mainly for routine, to clear my head and to make me feel better for the chocolate and wine I have at the weekend! This year I would quite like to step it up a notch, push myself a bit more and set myself a few goals too, so here’s hoping I can see this through.
07. Do something out of my comfort zone. I am a sucker for staying within my comfort zone, I hate the feeling of being out-with my limits… but that isn’t always ideal! I want to try new things a little more this year; with work (new directions with my blog posts, new content on Instagram), and in general life too.
08. Build my Instagram audience. I’ve been doing Instagram for a long time, I’ve shared a lot of my life on there and I’ve built up a great following, but I have been feeling a little uninspired lately. It feels like my audience is replacing itself, I get the same amount of followers as I do unfollowers – not necessarily a bad thing but I’ve definitely hit a plateau. I’m not going to be too hard on myself though, I’ve had a rough couple of years so it’s fair that my head wasn’t totally in the game! I’m looking forward to testing the waters with new uploads and more of a positive outlook.
09. Book a summer holiday. Having a little summer holiday to look forward to is my favourite feeling! We try to always go on a casual European escape each year – somewhere cheap and easy to get to like Mallorca or Ibiza. We find a cute villa or hotel near the sea and spend a few days resetting and getting some vitamin D. I would love to go to Menorca this year, but no doubt we’ll end up back at one of our usuals!
10. Push myself with work goals. I’m the very definition of “if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got” – I am, for the most part, happy doing my usual blog posts, daily Instagram stories, and I’m forever grateful to get to work with some of my favourite brands too! But beyond that, I don’t have too much of a plan… I can’t imagine writing a book at this stage of my life, I’m not sure what the bigger picture consists of (although I do, at least, have my TV side gig!).
I have started to believe myself worthy of more, so I’d like to put a bit more of a five year plan in place at some point – I might do a blog post on this so keep your eyes peeled.
11. Plan a big trip. I keep saying we’re going to plan another big trip away, something like our honeymoon in Bali which was so much fun!
Last year we were in New Zealand a lot so we couldn’t go anywhere else, but I know we won’t make another trip over there for a while so I’m thinking about where we can go next! I keep reminding Jordan that I turn 30 this year, so hopefully he’s keen to plan a little something…
12. Read 30 books. Last year I managed to read 26 books without even trying, I didn’t have a goal in mind when I started and it didn’t even feel like I read that many while I was doing it. This year I thought I’d actually push myself to read more – I love reading so much, and I feel my most content when I’m switched off from life with a book in hand, so it really is the perfect goal. You can follow along on my Goodreads account here if you’d like.
13. Build a capsule wardrobe. Now we have more space in our new wardrobes and I can finally see everything I own in one place, I’d love to buy a few more forever pieces that I can wear time and time again. I want a few investment pieces I can hang on to, rather than flimsy fast fashion that doesn’t wash well and goes to the charity shop after a few wears! And maybe I could be a little more adventurous with my outfits too…
14. A new chapter. It’s been a while since Jordan and I have reassessed where we’re at, but I know we’re both itching for a change. It might be the last year the coffee shop is open, it was never something we planned for the long-term and it’s a crazy amount of work. Way more than we expected! We’ve been working up to this for a while because I know we’ll be so sad to see it go…
I’m hoping this means we get to travel a bit and concentrate on other projects, there’s so much we want to do!
15. Feel happier with my content. I said last year that I’d had a bit of a wobble with my content (which is to be expected when you’re going through Some Shit), and I really want to get out of this funk! When I’m blogging consistently, shooting photos that I love and uploading to Instagram often, I feel really happy with where I’m at. I want more of that this year, I want to leave my comfort zone in terms of photography, share more of my life and also blog more random little posts too! I want to work with more brands I love, create beautiful imagery and feel happy with everything I put together.
16. Plan the next steps for our flat. Our current flat has been our home for so long, but as I said above I know we’re ready to move – it’s time to make our mark in a new home.
We had hoped to keep this flat on and rent it out, it’s such a lovely place that it would be a shame to see it go, but I’m really not sure if I can deal with the work involved! We shall see…
17. A family reunion. With so many of my family members in New Zealand and now my dad in Australia, I have no idea when we’ll see each other next! There was some talk of meeting up somewhere towards the end of the year so I’m really hoping this happens – don’t worry, I’ll play the 30th card again.
18. A month abroad. This is one thing I’m desperate to do, we had planned to do this before we got engaged but it never happened in all the wedding excitement (maybe Jordan’s plan to distract me?!). I really wanted to do six or eight months in New York, but now I think I’d like to rent an apartment in Europe and live like a local for a couple of weeks. It’s my dream!
19. Take care of myself. Stress, grief and anxiety have got me feeling like a fragment of my former self, so I’m making sure this year I look after myself! More self-care, less work guilt, no time replying to negative comments and way more rest. I want to feel my best all year round!
20. Make the most of it! This may seem like a lot of goals, but it’s more just notes to keep me on track. They’re the sort of goals that can rollover to next year, but I do want to make a dent in this list a little. I want to find joy in the little things, feel like I’m making a difference and do it all while still having fun and living well. I think it’s doable!
So here’s to a new chapter, a new year and a new decade! What are your resolutions this year?
