Five Things I'd Like To Maybe Try and Possibly Do This Year (AKA My Attempt at Resolutions)

Alas, this photo has nothing to do with my resolutions, I just really like the crystal encrusted tumbleweed situation.

I am a list writing, intentions setting, resolution making girl to the core. It is, without a doubt, my thing. But this year I decided not to rush into the whole goal creation enterprise. Instead I channeled a "design-minded" approach to my New Year's resolutions and applied the oft-cited wisdom that you should live in a room for a bit before you decide what to do with it (i.e. see how things are going to shake out, how you're going to use the space and all, before you pull the trigger on a sofa that cost more than your first car.)

So I exercised a little restraint and allowed myself to marinate in 2015 for a whopping 14 days before declaring what I was going to focus on this year. What shook out were five things that pretty much address what I haven't been digging about my life of late. They're the things that consistently seem to nag at me/vex me/throw me off course.

In keeping with my slow and steady ethos, I eased into these bad boys for the past couple of weeks, and friends, I'm feel like they just might (might being the operative word here) stick. And if they don't, well then no sweat, there's always 2016 (see: # 5).

1. Learn Geography

via am visuals

I am more than a little bit embarrassed to admit that if you presented me a blank world map, there's an awfully good chance that I wouldn't be able to identify where Sweden is. Nu er det nok! (Or for those of you not fluent in Danish, this shit has to end.) It's shameful.

I'm done being geographically challenged. I'm done with the girlies going to Bryan when they need to know the exact location of Mali. Fin; Fini; Flippin done. I've downloaded some world geography apps. I'm studying the atlas.  It's going down.

2. Cook Something

via food 52

(Preferably with candied ginger involved.) This one is a bit of a no brainer. I like to cook; I'm (relatively) good at it; it's healthy; it's less expensive than eating out; my family digs it; it's cozy. And yet, I've found myself in our neighborhood Italian joint or staring down a pile of take out menus far more often than I'm comfortable with over the past year. I need to get all Nike on this action and just do it, yes?

3. Embrace My Closet

via my pinterest

I've been pretty meh about my closet for a while now. There's a lot in there, and I can confidently say (because I did that hanger trick) that I wear about 20 percent of it at best. Here's the thing, I know exactly how I want to dress. And apparently I'm consistent. Case in point, over the holiday break, Christine (easily one of my most stylish friends and an actual stylist) perused the "sartorial inspiration" Pinterest board I created several years ago. After some scrolling, she looked up and said "this is how you dress already," and then, and this was the real nugget of wisdom (obvious but so spot on, as most nuggets of wisdom are), "You just need more of what you love and less just so/so pieces."  Bam!

She also urged me to get over the fact that I don't wear color and just embrace the damn black. "Dress for yourself," she said. Full stop.

So in a revolutionary move, I have taken all of the so/so pieces out of my closet and moved them to the guest room. If I miss them, I'll go back for them. If I haven't touched them in 6 months, then see ya later suckers. What's left in my (delightfully sparse) closet are the greatest hits, enabling me to finally pinpoint where I need to fill in the blanks (and it's not with another black tank top). And since whatever I do purchase isn't getting shoved alongside a bunch of poorly made, average (at best) things that I only sort of like, the pressure will be on. The new stuff has to live up to its counterparts. I'm going hard core here friends. I've dallied with this closet business before. But this time it's on.

4. Switch It Up

via Vanessa Jackman

To shake up all that aforementioned sartorial consistency (ahem, black), I'm gonna keep things exciting by breaking out of my comfort zone a little on the bells and whistles. There might be some, say, red lip action, or perhaps the smoky eye will take a wee hiatus, or I might ditch all the jewelry (every last bit of it) for a few days. Watch out, I'm getting crazy here.

And, wait for it, I'm also taking this one outside of the personal arena (think: switching up my commute, not looking at my iphone first thing in the morning, eschewing my trusty morning almond butter-slathered english muffin, and other "keep it fresh" activities recommended by all those v. smart creativity experts).

5. Chill Out

via a well traveled woman

This one might be my most important resolution/goal/intention of the year, as I've been in desperate need of calming things down for quite some time. You already know of my whole rage against "the busy," but what I haven't shared is that along with "busy," "crazed," and "overwhelmed," my vocabulary is also heavy on the "I'm sorries."

Now apologizing in and of itself is obviously not bad, but apologizing because you're always late/haven't returned a call or an email or a text/forgotten your best friend/cousin/uncle's birthday (hypothetically of course) is not a good scene. And the attending stress that goes along with all the "I'm sorry" action is a real bummer (and I'm talking chest tightening, palm sweating, just this side of a full-blown anxiety attack stress here).

So chilling out a little this year is at the tippy top of my list. Here's my thinking. If I do less, say yes to less, and focus more on the really important stuff (like the action in that manifesto above), then I'll likely screw up less. And if I screw up less, I'll have to say I'm sorry less. And if I have to say I'm sorry less, I'll be less stressed. Thus chilling out accomplished. See how easy that was?

Here's to a home-cooked meal filled, well-dressed, red-lipsticked, chilled out, geography nailing year friends. Wish me luck.