2014 goals revisited + new 2015 ones

+ i'll just get the most cliche one out of the way right off the hop: get healthy! it felt so great when i was on the whole30 & eating clean...i need to remember that feeling when making food choices. i have a very sensitive stomach & could live more comfortably if i put more thought into my food choices. also, i've been paying for a gym membership that has been poorly neglected for months. time to get back at it! i know i have the ability to be in really amazing shape, but i'm also really awesome at eating entire bags of S&V potato chips (like, really amazing) no more!! i almost want to tell the employees at the convenience store across the street to ban me, unless i'm buying milk or eggs...yes it's that bad
+ i did another whole 30 in the spring & it went well, i didn't stick to my plan as much as i would have liked too once it was over but i cancelled my gym membership (which i wasn't using) & instead used that $$ to buy a few workout DVD programs that i can do at home that are more my thing. i stopped going to the convenience store for treats (as often as i was) because you still have to treat yourself sometimes!

...also, i've got baby fever, hard (don't freak out yet!). there are a few (read: many) things that i'd like to accomplish before i even start to think about this however maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an important first step to that process as well & it's never to early to make that a priority anyways
+ this wasn't exactly a goal (??) but i definitely feel like i made some changes in the right direction as to where & how i would like my body to be...this is a whole life thing, not just a goal you reach & then stop.

+ get my license. this will 100% happen this year because we already have a car waiting in the driveway for us, the motivation is right in front of our noses!!
+ this didn't exaaaactly happen, but hey Mikey did & we love driving! I will be going in the Spring because I don't want to take driving lessons in the winter! Seeing him drive makes me want to even more so.

+ set weekly & daily goals & remember that everyday is a new day to start fresh...cheesy but true when it comes to completing goals!
+ this happened sometimes, but not everytime.

+ be more patient. i get snappy too often with the ones i love (primarily mikey) & it's not fair to take whatever craziness is going on in my brain out on them/him
+ this is something I'll be working on my whole life & that's okay...getting better everyday.

+ save more money. budgeting can actually be fun...so can shopping, but i just need to remember how good it feels to have $$ in my savings account. we want to buy a house as well (not exactly a goal for this year as i don't think it's possible) but i'd like to be one step closer to making it possible
+ i took a step in the right direction by changing jobs which has made it so that I can start putting $$ into a savings account each pay cheque & that feels really good! Working a job where you make tips really helps with this!

+ learn how to use my DSLR camera...it's only been 3 years. example: i just went to jamaica for 7 days & didn't take a single photo
+ not exactly as I sold my camera haha but I sold it as I wasn't using it & used the $$ to pay off my visa which felt great!

+ i want to feel motivated, in all aspects of my life, whether that be to get up an hour early to get a workout in or come home & make a healthy dinner instead of plopping myself on the couch. i want to feel motivated & energized & less lethargic
+ I definitely felt good about my choices this year, not every single day but as an overall yes & I want 2015 to be even better!

+ i want to expand black&bronze. i want to feel proud of my little etsy shop & have time & love to put into it
+ I lost all motivation for my jewellery this year & that didn't feel too great, but you can't force creativity. With my new job I have more time & hopefully when I feel inspired again, that will bring me back to black&bronze because I do still love & miss it.

+ incorporate yoga into my life. i did hot yoga once & have done home DVDs a few times & always really enjoy it. i want this to happen. also i really want to try suspension yoga as well!
+ definitely in the right direction with this as I started a 6 week yoga class every Monday morning which will begin again in the new year. I wish/am possibly going to try to do 2 classes every week as I really love starting the week/day with yoga & wish I could every morning.

+ spend time thinking about what i want out of life, on a daily basis. life goes by way too fast & sometimes i feel so caught up in daily routine that i lose touch with what i want
+ slowing down & realizing that life isn't about what's happening next but what's happening now. Changing jobs & making my focus more on what's happening right now feels good. It's pushed me to actually think less about the future, but in a more positive light. I always use to think about what I wanted from my future waaay too much & putting too much pressure on myself & others around me. Appreciating each day for what it is is a much better way to live your life.

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so overall, looking back on 2014, I'd say I did a pretty good job, considering I didn't ever look back onto these & readdress what was going on, I'd say my focus was pretty good. Of course I have a few new resolutions, I kind of love making resolutions which is why it's better to make them all throughout the year rather than just at the beginning. This year I've decided to not have a wack of resolutions that I may or may not complete throughout the year, instead I will have a mantra, which I've chosed to be this...

& of course found an adorable Pinterest photo to accompany it. Because 'Be here now' can mean many things...like making resolutions in the now to make changes all year instead of at the beginning of a new year, or putting down my phone & living in the moment, or taking a moment every morning to meditate or do yoga or enjoy a hot coffee. It could mean that I spend more time with friends, take more deep breaths, spend more time with Mikey...it can mean anything I want it to, but mainly appreciating things as they come instead of looking towards to future, and I dig that. 

Happy New Years!! Make some resolutions or create a mantra, or hell, do whatever the fuck you want because it's your life anyways :) Love to you guys. 

grey //

my wardrobe already consists mostly of black, white or grey but this fall i've been extremely drawn to greys both in fashion & in everyday life. we're re-painting our apartment & all i want are different shades of grey (50 shades of grey?) on my nails, grey, if i think i could pull it off my hair would be silver, heathered grey has always been a big 'pattern' in my closet, haha the closest to a pattern i'll ever get & with that being said, here's some greyspiration from pinterest lately...because grey doesn't have to mean sad &/or boring.

currently //

eating 

chewy chocolate chip cookies with a coffee with hazelnut creamer in it, mmm.

drinking 

lot's of coffee & green tea these days! 

practicing

yoga (soon-to-be) thankfully getting back into that on a weekly basis!

mastering

 the art of minimalism; really trying to make a change.

listening

alt j's cover of 'latch' from the bbc live lounge - dear god, so good. in fact if you search bbc live lounge covers you won't be disappointed

 

reading

 nothing currently, but i have plans to hit up the library tomorrow.

watching

suits! oh man i'm so in love with that show right now!

walking

just about everywhere (as usual) & going for lots of runs lately (again) too!

wearing

less than i would like to be at this time of year. i want boots & scarves & layers & this damn summer heat has been over staying it's welcome. i should be wearing this:

baking

 i don't do much of that. last time i 'baked' was those pop-in-the-oven pillsbury cookies (pumpkin spice, mmm!) but generally i try not to keep baked goods in the house or i'll eat 'em all.

working

i just changed jobs & so i'm not working crazy hours like i was. having time to myself again has been absolutely lovely...plus i am loving my new job!

travelling

last time i travelled was to toronto last weekend to do the CN tower edge walk, which was incredible incase you were wondering. i'd like to take a road trip soon with this dude as well...

  

loving - how beautiful this season is!! the sidewalks have been covered in orange leaves on my runs lately & i'm in love.

feels like home.

mikey & i have been in our place for 3+ years now. we've been together for 6 1/2 years & for the first 4 years of me living here, we moved once a year until we found this place. because we moved so much in those first 4 years, i guess i've always thought of most spaces & places as temporary. i've never really put a lot of love into a space because in my mind we'll be moving in a year or two. a few weeks ago i realized that we will not be moving for probably another 3-5 years or until we can afford a house & so i've started to want to make this one what i know it could be. we asked our landlord if we could do some painting & make some aesthetic changes to the parts of our place that we don't love & he said yes! we're going to start this soon & so naturally all i can think about is paint colours & spend hours on pinterest looking for inspiration.

most of the pieces & decor in our house are beige or a shade of brown (like in the first photo) & so naturally that makes me feel like we should keep the walls a taupe or beige or stick to white. i do love a crisp white wall. mikey isn't as keen on white on white & so i've been looking into colours & i've been so drawn to greys. i know nothing about interior design, i like what i like but i've pinned a lot of photos lately that have me excited about changing around our little space.

i deep cleaned the kitchen, bathroom & living room the other day. i embarrassingly enough hadn't done that since we moved in. of course i have cleaned but not a scrubbing-the-baseboards kind of cleaning & it felt really good!! next up is the bedroom & my office/closet room...& then the attic (dear god, the attic) the attic is mikey's jam space for his band & so i shouldn't say that i will be deep cleaning it, as much as he will be. i'm sure you can imagine the amount of empty pbr cans & general crap that is up there; when cleaned it's actually a great space, so it will be nice once that's done too. 

i bought a new shower curtain & bath mat for the bathroom. it's crazy how such little changes like that can make a big difference. next we'll be replacing some of the crappy plastic drawers that we have for the bathroom & our bedroom (with items my parents had aside for us!) & that will make it feel a little more grown up as well. i just want to feel good in this space. i've always liked this place...it's just never really felt like a home. i know that we can't afford to buy a house for another several years, so in the meantime i'd like for this one to feel as much like home as possible. 

if i remember, i'll try to take some before & after shots. i know i always like seeing those!