Happy 2019, everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with loved ones. I was terribly sick over the holiday with a respiratory infection, but was still able to spend a little time with family – including our nieces, who we only see once or twice a year. I spent the rest of the holiday week resting, watching some series on Netflix, knitting and reading. I especially enjoyed reading How to be Parisian Wherever You Are, which is comprised of light, quirky observations about the contradictions of Parisian culture. It was a thoughtful gift from my friend, who knows I am enthralled with all things Paris.
As promised, I want to be better about posting my outfits here, rather than just on Instagram. Since today is the first day of work of 2019, I decided to wear something both comfortable and polished to set the tone for the new year.
For Christmas, Matt surprised me with this VETTA blazer dress, which I had written about here and on Instagram a bunch of times when it was released this fall. It is an oversized blazer, dress and vest all in one, with sleeves that zip off (but in a much trendier way than say, those zip-off pants that used to be a thing). It is made in New York City of deadstock fabric.
To keep it from looking too fussy, I paired it with a simple t-shirt from Pact, high-rise jeans from Everlane and Chelsea boots (similar here). My bag is my usual, from Cuyana.
Over the last week, I’ve been thinking a bit about goals for the new year. I recently read that resolutions aren’t necessarily the best way to think about what you want to achieve, because they frame your actions as something you will always do. This can make people feel discouraged if they don’t manage to adhere to what they said they would, and this all-or-nothing approach isn’t in line with me trying to be kinder to myself in general. So I have goals this year, not resolutions.
For my first goal of 2019, I want to do another closet clean out. I have a lot of clothes set aside to list on Poshmark, but the reality is that I rarely get around to taking photos and listing items. So they just create a whole lot of clutter. I also have some things I didn’t wear at all this season, and it is probably time to part with those. I’ll be using a Clean Out Bag from Brass Clothing for this project. The pre-paid mailer sends old clothes directly to the Brass recycling partner and diverts textiles from landfills. This week only, Brass is offering a chance to win $500 in credit to refresh your wardrobe when you buy a Clean Out Bag. Read more here.
I’m really excited about this; it will help me dispose of my clothing responsibly and also help me figure out which items are worth taking the time to list on Poshmark. Brass has also offered me ten bags to give away to my readers for their own closet clean-out, so keep an eye on my Instagram for that post.
Some other things I’d like to do this year:
- Continue to improve my knitting skills
- Take a French class
- Bring my lunch to work more often (I am notoriously lazy about making my lunch, and am spending far too much money buying it)
- Slow down, whatever that ends up looking like. Maybe that means spending less time on social media. Maybe that means puttering around the house a bit and working on some projects I’ve wanted to do, but “never have time” to do – like gardening. Take baths? I don’t know. I want to create space in my schedule to do the things I want to do, rather than feeling like I constantly have a list of things I have to do. Do you know what I mean?
Is your 2019 off to a good start? Have you set any goals?
xx
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Thanks for the reminder about the Brass Clean-Out bags! We just found out that we’ll be moving across town in two weeks, and that’s a great way to ship off my old items that didn’t sell on Poshmark. I’ll keep an eye on your Insta for the giveaway, but either way will send my stuff in for recycling!
Oh, and Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! If you want to go ahead and claim a free Clean Out bag, you can use code WHOLEHEARTEDCLEANOUT. 🙂 I just haven’t gotten around to taking my Insta-worthy photo yet! Congrats on the move, you must be so excited!
Hey we both have the goal of learning French this year!! Duolingo has been helpful for me because it is so interactive. French Together (.com) also has some great comprehensive articles (such as the various ways to say hello/thank you/you’re welcome and which varients are appropriate in which settings). They also have a course you can purchase and download, but I have yet to do that so I can’t give feedback.
I also completely understand your point on making time for what you want to do instead of letting the list of ‘have to’ railroad your life. This is a large part of why I decided to learn French. Unlike my other hobby (sewing) it’s easy to practice during small chunks of down time regardless of where I am.
I have a few other “goals” in the back of my mind, but I’m not focusing on them too much. I don’t want to get discouraged when they don’t pan out. Instead I think I’m going to focus my efforts on just French. If some of my other unspoken goals pan out- all the better!
Hi Lauren, thank you so much for these tips! I really would like to get a bit conversational with French since one of my best friends lives in Paris – it would be so useful! I am not familiar with French Together, I will definitely check it out.
I too have had this approach – goals and not resolutions, for similar reasons. Will tell you specific ones when we speak next but I am also planning to learn a new language (Spanish,) I wish to learn some form of making clothes (and since my mum was super good at it, I was considering starting with knitting as she can teach me) and lastly, I too need to pack more lunches.
Also, long and slow baths with salts, aroma therapy, and my favorite music playing in the background is literally the best routine I started in 2018. And it is better for the environment as bucket baths enable me to save water too! Definitely recommend it 🙂
I love how we have such similar goals (also, not surprising)! Looking forward to our next chat.