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    2016 Resolutions

    new year's resolutions
    Sharing my resolutions on this blog worked out really well for me in 2015, so I’m doing it again this year. It was really awesome to be able to look back on my resolutions for the year and see what I had accomplished, as well as remind myself as to why I set out to pursue certain goals. Let’s hope I can say the same thing for 2016! Here are my goals for the year:
    Take care of my mental health and practice self-care. I want to set the intention to make time to take care of myself whenever I’m feeling down or stressed out. I also want to carve out time to just focus on myself, whether it be by taking a bubble bath, practicing yoga or writing in a journal.

    Practice better time management. I’ve always been a go-with-the-flow type of person, but I’ve realized that I need to start putting things in a calendar if I’m going to be able to deal with everything that is on my plate in 2016. While it’s hard to build new habits, I’m going to try my best to stick to this goal.
    Make new friends/date. My goal is not necessarily to be in a relationship this year, but to make the effort to put myself out there. If anything, I hope that it will allow me to get to know Portland a bit better than I currently do. While I’m not planning to document my dating adventures on this blog, I figure I’d put the intention out there so that I can hold myself more accountable.
    Take better care of my body. When it comes to this goal, I’ll be happy if I simply manage to eat more veggies. Now that I’m getting older, I’ve realized that I need to be more mindful about the things that I put in my body. I’m looking forward to experimenting with recipes and finding new ways to incorporate vegetables into my daily diet. I also want to get back into an exercise routine, since I haven’t been very good about working out since I started grad school. Lastly, I want to make sure I get more sleep in than I have these past few months.
    Shop responsibly. While my budget doesn’t always allow me to purchase items that are fair-trade or help the environment, I want to make sure that I do so whenever possible. Just like last year, I want to continue to focus on shopping less and spending more money on quality pieces.
    Add variety to this blog. This is one resolution that I failed at last year. While I did publish the occasional recipe and DIY tutorial, most of the content on this blog consisted of personal style posts. I want to make an effort to change that this year and really use this space to its full potential.


    Make time to disconnect. I want to spend less time in front of my phone and away from social media, and more time connecting with family and friends.Thanks for reading through my goals for this year. Is there anything in particular you want to accomplish in 2016?

    xoxo,
    Helen
    Outfit

    Dressed in Black and 2015 Goals

    Photos by Sarah Veyna
    Outfit Details:
    Anne Klein Satchel
    Forever 21 Sunglasses
    Tommy Girl Coat
    Forever 21 Marled Sweater (Similar)
    Old Navy Skirt
    Madewell Ames Boots (Available In Suede)
    This whole outfit post is just an excuse to show off my new Madewell boots that I bought as a very early birthday present to myself. I was a little hesitant to buy these boots when I saw them in store because buying them meant spending a significant portion of my clothing budget for the next three months. Thank goodness that my friend Carly was there to make me realize that buying these boots would be a great investment. I’m so happy with my purchase because I haven’t stopped wearing these boots since I got them. They go well with so many of my outfits, and I also love that they’re something that I know will be in my wardrobe for many years to come.

     

    I have to admit that it took me a while to come up with resolutions for 2015, and I was never the kind of person to make them until recent years. The reason that I never felt inclined to make goals for the new year in the past, is that I used to think about resolutions as being extreme and restrictive goals, such as going on a diet. I’ve come to realize that sometimes making goals is about searching for new opportunities. In the past year I made a goal to start a blog and travel. Although I hadn’t taken a trip in almost two years, I managed to fit in trips to Portland and Austin in 2014. I also documented those trips and many other things on this blog. In hopes that 2015 will be just as great as last year, I thought I’d go ahead and share some of my goals with you.
    2015 Goals
    Practice being more flexible with whatever life throws. If you followed my blog last year, you might have noticed that there were several times that I mentioned that I was feeling like I was in a rut. I tend to be very hard on myself when life doesn’t go my way and it often leads me to feeling anxious and depressed. I really want to do my best to break that cycle in 2015 and focus on being grateful for what I have.
    Spend more quality time with family and friends. When times are rough, my family and friends have always been there to listen and offer me support. I think my negative attitude sometimes drives me be very self-centered at times, but I have to remember that much of my success is largely due to the wonderful and loving people that surround me. It’s only fair that I strive to show them all the same amount of care and love that they do me.
    Be less materialistic, save more money and be more mindful about the items that I do invest in. I plan to achieve that goal by reducing the amount that I spend on clothes and learning how to appreciate my existing wardrobe. I was reading this post by Emma of A Beautiful Mess called “Being Content with My Closet,” and I definitely agree with Emma in that learning how to be content with your wardrobe is a good way to practice being happy with what you have in other aspects of your life. I recently donated/sold a huge bag of clothing, and I was ashamed at how many of the pieces that I got rid of had only been worn once or twice. I want to grow out of the habit of shopping impulsively, and purchase items that will enhance my existing wardrobe.
    Put an effort on being healthy and place an emphasis on self-care. I want to make sure that I get enough hours of sleep every night, eat breakfast every morning, eat my vegetables, and take time to relax and unwind.
    Move to a new city. As many of you already know, I’m applying to grad school and hoping to move to a new city by the end of this year. I’ve lived in Pasadena all my life and went to college only a half-hour away, so I think it’s time for a change. Living in the LA area is great, don’t get me wrong,  but I feel that living in this city has certain barriers that are preventing me from living my life to the fullest. I want to move somewhere with a more affordable cost of living, better public transportation and where I have a stronger sense of community.
    Read more books. I spent way too much time procrastinating on social media and online shopping. I want to make a serious effort to turn off all electronics by a certain time, and set apart some time to read a book.
    Continue to grow this blog and use it to its full potential. I started this space so that I could have an outlet to express my creativity and grow my skills set. Although I did a lot of that in the past year, there’s still much more room for growth. Instead of having such a large focus on outfit posts, in the future I want to include more travel, DIY tutorials and recipe posts.
    Those are my resolutions for this year! There are many of them, but I feel very confident that I can accomplish them all in the upcoming year. I’ll definitely keep you updated on my progress. Since you all managed to read through all of my goals for the year, it’s only fair that I get to hear your resolutions. What are some of your plans for 2015?
    xoxo,
    Helen