Cobalt layers, yoga challenges and fear

What a month! Just when you think things are going to slow down...well, let's be honest - they really never do right? Not if you want to make time for all the things you love on top of all the things you HAVE to do? 

I'm doing the 30-day Detox Yoga Challenge at my studio and with frigid -30 temperatures, bundling up after dinner to head out into the cold has not been the easiest. But I feel a heck of a lot better because of it. Let me clarify - I'm not doing all 30 days - my goal is 3 days a week for the month. But I've been surpassing that because it makes me feel so good. I go to bed dead tired but feeling good about the small things I'm accomplishing to feel healthy. I've already planned to drop down to a twice a week pass post January and keep it going. 

I haven't been taking many outfit photos lately..but one thing that's been on my mind is furniture. For those of you who have followed me for a while, you know that once upon a time I painted vintage furniture. Well it's fallen aside lately and I recently offered to do a piece for a friend's wedding social draw not only as a gift to her (because she's lovely and deserves it) but because I wanted to motivate myself to get creative. So I've been wandering through my furniture archive in the basement trying to get inspired by a piece, a colour, a finish, a design....fear is holding me back from getting started. But I will push through the fear...(like I did with hot yoga :) and I will push myself just a little further in this life. Something I can look back on with pride.  

So I want to ask you friends...what do you do to push yourself? How do you make sure you don't just 'sit still' in life?

cobalt dress - ASOS Curve (on sale here)

grey cardigan - Gap (buy here)

scarf - gift from my mom from Italy

necklace - local boutique

tights - HUE (from The Bay)

booties - Steve Madden via The Shoe Warehouse (old)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on getting motivated....

Have a lovely week and thanks for being here!

Spending and Style Resolutions for 2013

 

Can you believe it's 2013? Time flies by so fast and all I can do is shake my head. Where does it all go? We had a very busy holiday season over here - lots of back to back huge family gatherings, mounds of fantastic food and plenty of lovely treats and gifts. We're so blessed as far as all the loved ones we have so close. Even though it was hard on my introvert side to be so over-scheduled, I chose to focus on the positives and use up my energy for the precious time we had together. Then I slept for 4 days straight....ha!

Looking back on the year, there have been some high highs and some low lows. I'm happy to move into a bit of a fresh start. Have you made resolutions? These aren't super specific, but I've put together a few intentional plans to help guide my spending this year:

1. Allow myself to indulge in the things that bring me joy and improve my health. I really love restorative yoga classes but they come at a price and I always feel guilty about the cost. I'm going to let that go...it feels good, it's good for me and I can afford it if I make certain budget choices.

2. On that note, I'm going to really concentrate on buying less. Don't get me wrong, this shopaholic will never go cold turkey but I'm going to have to really love it to shell out the money.  It's got to be figure-flattering and decent quality. Some things to help me along with this are disabling all the sale emails I receive (except from a couple of favourites), shopping less often and sticking to a monthly budget.

3. I used to really be obsessed with prints when it came to clothing. I felt they better camouflaged my bits and bumps. But truth is, a closet full of prints gets dated really fast...so I've been moving towards more solid coloured pieces I can mix and match together - then leaving the prints to scarves and other accessories. I still have plenty of print in my closet - but now I'll have more timeless pieces mixed in. (see outfit below for an example!)

4. I'm going to consciously work towards some major goals. Jack and I married in our 30's with all kinds of money stuff going on with each of us. Having someone else in my accounts scared the crap out of me! We finally sat down and made a plan to join our money, set goals and start saving together, as a couple. It feels good to make the commitment and I like having a partner to do it with.

oatmeal cardigan - Gap

cream top - Old Navy

turquoise scarf - Winners

navy knit jeggings - American Eagle

brown boots - Famous Footwear

Some other things I hope to do in 2013 that are not specifically related to money include....

• Get back slowly into furniture painting - I'm starting by working on a donation piece for a friend's wedding social raffle
• Clear out extra clutter in our house, so we'll be in a better position to sell next year
• Swap some of my coffee for tea
• Add leafy greens and new veggies to my weekly grocery list
• Go for a swim a couple of times a month
• Remember to tell my friends and family how much they mean to me whenever I can :)

How about you friends? How will you be guiding your life, home spending or style decisions this year?

Wishing you love and happiness for the coming year! Thanks for still reading, I'm glad you're here.