Dream Believe Achieve: My New Year’s Resolutions

January 11, 2016

Dream Believe Achieve Sweatshirt c/o SheIn [runs Small! Go up one to two sizes. I’m wearing a Medium for reference] // Striped Shirt [Abercrombie & Fitch – not online] similar, similar // Jeans // Sam Edelman Booties // Rebecca Minkoff Bag [love the black too] // Kendra Scott Earrings c/o // Kendra Scott Necklace // Kendra Scott Ring // Tiffany & Co. Bracelet

2015 was probably one of the toughest, yet most rewarding years for me. I cried a lot. Laughed a lot. Felt lonely and defeated at times, but also felt accomplished and proud. Watching Harley grow before my eyes has brought me so much joy and love, my heart could explode! I also think Casey and I went through a ton of big changes together which brought our relationship to another level. Not having our families around, while raising our first child, dealing with job changes, and making important life decisions truly tested our marriage…ultimately making us stronger. He is such an amazing husband and father and I couldn’t feel more lucky that he’s mine.

I’m not huge on making resolutions every year, but I do think it’s important to set goals for yourself and want to be better and achieve more. There are so many things I’ve failed at [and continue to fail at] and I have finally learned to not beat myself up over them. Whether it was skipping a much needed workout, letting my inbox creep up to 800 unread emails, forgetting to follow up with a client, wasting money on something stupid, binging on carbs for days on days, or allowing too much time to pass before calling an old friend to see how they’re doing, I’ve grown from my experiences and mistakes – big and small, and I choose to stay positive and move forward.

I couldn’t agree more with this sweatshirt’s motto: Dream, Believe, Achieve. Is there anything better than turning a dream into reality?! I think not. So with that being said, I have big plans for me, my family, and this little blog of mine and I’m confident that 2016 is going to be a great year!

Here are my resolutions…

Taking Social Media Breaks: Social Media is an amazing amazing thing. The fact that I can keep tabs on my friends’ daily activities when they live hundreds of miles away is so wonderful. My Mother-In-Law tells me all the time how appreciative she is of my Snapchat videos because she feels like she gets to be a part of Harley’s day. I’ve also met some incredible people on Instagram who are now my good friends [in real life]. There really are so many positive things about it! On the flip side, we’ve become a generation obsessed with our phones, iPads, tablets, and whatever other gadgets that exist. If you’re out at a restaurant, take a look around and you’ll see how many people are more engaged with their phones than the person sitting across from them. It’s kind of sad. And I’m totally guilty of it! So that’s why I’m really making an effort to put my phone in another room at night when I have an hour or so with Casey before we go to sleep. I’ve even gone as far as deleting Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat off my phone for a day or two so I’m not tempted to ~~waste~~ spend time on them. And we have implemented a no phone policy at the dinner table, which I’ve always been an advocate for. There is a time and place for social media, but I don’t want it controlling and interfering with my life, so it’s nice having frequent breaks from it.

Having Designated Blogging Hours: I absolutely love blogging, but it’s on the bottom of my list as far as priorities go. Obviously Harley and Casey come first, and my day job helps support our family which is why it’s next in line. When I first started Sunflowers and Stilettos, I had zero intentions on making it a business. I didn’t even know that was a possibility! But over time I’ve realized that this is something I can do full time if I put more energy into it and manage it appropriately. Because I really do love it and it is important to me, I’m setting a certain amount of hours per week aside solely to focus on Sunflowers and Stilettos. Whether I spend the time writing a post or watching YouTube videos on how to operate my freaking camera, I’m no longer throwing it on the back burner. As one of my mugs says: “You have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyonce.” I have so many ideas and plans for Sunflowers and Stilettos and there’s no reason why I can’t find time to make them happen.

Purge!: I’ve had things sitting in my closet that I’ve planned on selling on Ebay or Poshmark for over 4 years now. I’m giving myself until the end of this month to have every one of those items listed. Anyone need a wedding dress for cheap?! Haha! Also, my closet and drawers are overflowing despite my yearly donations to GoodWill and my sister, Samantha. It feels so good to purge so that is something I’ll be doing for the next few weekends during Harley’s nap time.

Wake Up One Hour Earlier: I need “me” time and it’s almost impossible to have that during the day. I normally wake up before 7, Harley is up any time between 7 and 8, we then have breakfast and get her ready for school. As soon as I’m home from dropping her off, I’m on the clock with work. At 5pm, work is over and Mom duties take over. By the time we’re done with dinner and Harley is put to bed, the day has basically come to an end and exhaustion sets in. Casey goes to the gym every morning at 6am. I can’t go with him because one of us needs to be home for Har, but there’s no reason why I can’t wake up at the same time as him [5:45] and either do one of my Tracy Anderson or BBG workouts, have a cup coffee and read the newspaper without any distractions, or read through those 800 unread emails I mentioned before. Maybe I’ll get real crazy and watch one of my tv shows! I haven’t watched Bravo in months and it’s killing me!

Save More Money: Casey, Harley and I moved in with my parents three months ago when we made the move from North Carolina to Florida. We are starting to look at houses and figure out where exactly we want to settle down. I’m not so worried about not being able to find a house we love in our budget, but we want to be sure that we can furnish it the way we want and have some extra cash in case renovations are needed without depleting our savings. After renting for the last 6 years, we are so ready to be in a permanent home that is ours [especially before baby numero dos comes along]! So if that means eating out less or not buying a pair of heels I want, well – so be it. It’ll be worth it in the end!

And there you go ladies and gents! I’d say all of my “resolutions” are pretty reasonable. I’d love to hear about yours in the comments below! Wishing everyone a fantastic week 🙂 .