2015: A Draft

Why hello there! I’ve been AWOL for the past week as I came down with a horrible bout of gastroenteritis. Yeah, thanks a lot 2015, I like you too!

Man alive did I feel bad last week; the type of ill that doesn’t want a cup of tea, their laptop or even an episode of Game of Thrones. Jon Snow was not gonna fix this one, my friends. Needless to say, blogging and everything else went out the window and my bed was my very best friend. But I’ve pulled my socks up and I’m nearly on the mend, so I thought I outta say coo-ee. Coo-ee!

So, 2015? Well, to be frank I’m not making any big plans. Last year was enough (in a very good way – minus dad’s health) for me to cope with and it was a big reminder that this body of mine likes things very simple.

I do have hopes for the year but very simple ones that I know will make me feel rich inside and out. I am so, very thankful for my health (hopefully I’m OK!), the OH, our home, my career, family and friends that everything else is just a bonus, right? So here’s a few things that I will be concentrating on going forward, a draft if you like, that may change as the year unfolds. I’m open to more exciting stuff but I’m also revelling in the simple things that my two-week Christmas holiday taught me.

1) Have lots of houseplants. I’ve already been to the garden centre and picked up beauties including a Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera), Cacti, Dracaena, Aphelandra and a Joseph’s Coat! I want to get used to caring for plants indoors before I tackle outside. Let alone growing our vegetables in Spring/Summer.

2) Read books. Every single year I add this to the list and every single year I read about 10 books. I spend far too much time on the laptop and not enough with a good book. Hopefully my next plan will help with this…

3) Weekends are for fun and relaxing ONLY! Last year I got into a habit of working a lot during the weekend and it’s only been the past two weeks that I’ve realised I don’t need to do this anymore. I have enough time now to work purely 5 days a week and that’s it, leaving me weekends to do house stuff, go on adventures and read books!

4) Save money. Since buying the house, all our extra spends have gone back into the house; buying furniture, DIY stuff, oh and Christmas of course. Now I’m really keen to start saving a few pennies whenever possible.

5) Trying new recipes and rediscovering old ones. I want to cook simply everyday food that’s healthy and tasty, that’s all. Then I want to bake ALL THE CAKE at weekends to feed my sweet tooth!

6) Learn new skills. This is very vague and can end up turning into one of those New Year’s resolutions that never happens. So instead I’m going to get better at using my DSLR camera. I’m going to a workshop at the end of the month and I have a few Photo Walk’s planned so I can practice my new skills too.

7) Wear red lipstick more. I hardly wear makeup and when I do, I never touch it up throughout the day. Slack Alice, I am. But I do realise the magic and pure brilliance of a good red lipstick and how quickly it can cheer up my pasty face in a flash, and with minimal effort too.  I bought a Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick in hot pepper recently and I love it. It applies like a gloss and, you guessed it, has a matte-like finish like a lipstick.

8) Love our home with all my heart.  Now we have settled into our home I’m looking forward to taking our time with it and bringing it to life with furniture we love and care about, and textiles that I could have a hand in making. I don’t care how long this takes, we’re here for the long run.

9) Have fun outdoors. I got roller skates for Christmas as did my friend and our mission is to embarrass ourselves in the local park and watch a few roller derbys too. I spent Christmas roller skating in our attic bedroom (and banging into stuff) and could not stop laughing. Best. Present. Ever. Watch out Hebden bridge for Wheely Murdoch!

We also think 2015 is the year we get our own dog. Oh my. We’ve been looking after lovely Candy the past three weeks and we know this gentle and fun breed is the one for us. We’re going to do more house stuff first though and perhaps go on holiday before puppy craziness begins…

10) Get back to basics with the blog. I managed to have a bit of a tidy up on the blog and I changed the theme over Christmas (I hope it’s a tad more mobile friendly) but there’s still a little tinkering to do. I hope you like?

Content wise I’m focusing on things that mean the most to me that I hope you will enjoy too. In 2015 you’ll see more Hebden Bridge goodness, our home, personal (and longer) posts of my rambles, photo walks and outfit posts.

As always, thank you for reading this little space of mine.

(All photo’s via my Instagram feed)

 ♥