Bold Acts Number Two and Three

Bold Act #1- At some point during Alt (which I leave for in a couple of hours), I will be wearing the above dress and shoes... Together.



Yes, I realize for some this is not bold in the least. I know that some consider leopard "a neutral" and wear it with with abandon -- with prints, with stripes, with prints and stripes.

I am not one of these people.

For me, leopard is a print, and (again, for me) prints are best teamed-up with with neutrals. So pairing the leopard shoes with a red and black print dress adorned with silver studs (the dress alone is waaay out of my wheelhouse) is a bold move on my part. Big time.


image via D Home

Bold Act #2 -- I resigned from my job of 13 years and accepted a position as an editor at D Home magazine (my dream job). So there's that too. Bold-o-rama!

I'll give you guys more details after Alt. Stay tuned...

some intentions...

image via anthropologie

I know this will come as a huge shocker given my type-A, list loving, OCD tendencies, but I am a fan of New Year's resolutions. Big time. I've made them religiously ever since I was a kid, and I tend to put a lot of thought into crafting them. No willy nilly resolutions here.

Last year was no exception. I went all-in on my resolution creation, even launching a blog to support one of them. And I managed to actually make some good progress against them (after all, the whole point in making resolutions is attempting to keep them, right??).

But I'm struggling a bit this year. It's not that I don't have goals. I do. But after such an intense month and our recent reminders of the uncertainty and fragility of life, I'm feeling a bit more, well, for lack of a better word...fluid.

So I'm going for something lighter this time around (something a bit more unstructured, that allows room for embracing the unknown twists and turns), by focusing on the things I want to do more of and some that I want to curb a bit in 2012...

So with that in mind, I intended for this year to include:


MORE
Making, Attentiveness, Art, Champagne, Cooking, Gratitude, Green Vegetables, Green Tea, Unplugging, Ballet, Listening, Risk Taking, Reading, Playing Outside, Kindness, Editing

*and *

LESS
Buying, Sugar, Busyness, Stuff, Over-scheduling, Distractions, Waste, Over-thinking



What about you guys, what would be on your more/less lists?

An Update On The "Mindful Consumption" (AKA Operation Simplicity)...

So...let's say you are trying to reduce the amount of "stuff" you bring into your life...you're trying to buy less, shop less. Let's say you even made a New Year's resolution to this effect, complete with "rules", such as:

• only buying things you envision having for at least five years


• only buying things you really, truly love


• and ending the year with fewer possessions than you started it with

And let's say you decided to broadcast said resolution to a bunch of folks and realized upon hitting "publishing" that by broadcasting it, you actually had to, well...do it.

Well in the off-chance that you actually did all of those things above, good news, I have this totally fool-proof way to ensure that you actually follow through on the resolution. Here goes: start a blog where you have to share every. single. thing. you buy for a full year.

It will work. I assure you.

Not only is it hugely humbling to commit to confessing all of your purchases (not just the ones edited for public consumption, but all of them), but it takes a lot of time. So all of the sudden, when you're say, standing in Target contemplating that cheap, shoddily made black knit beach dress that is pretty much identical to the other three currently taking up residence in your closet, you'll remember that you'll not only have to admit the purchase to others in a public way, but you'll also have to photograph it (if you can't find an adequate photo online) and post it to the blog. And all of the sudden, the time/admission factor outweighs the value of the dress and back on the rack it goes.

It's a pretty effective deterrent this "Operation Simplicity." I've been 100% in it for two full months now, and I can look back at everything I've purchased (pictured above...yes, that's everything for the past 60 days) and honestly say I feel good about *almost* all of it. Sure there have been a few mistakes, but had I not been doing this little experiment, I'm certain there would have been many, many more.

But more important, I look up at those photos and see many things that I truly love, and that (for me) is the real test of a good acquisition.

As for the amount... it seems like a lot of stuff, I realize, but during the past two months, I've embarked on a living room "revamp", gone to NYC and spent two full days trolling vast fields of antiques...so lot's of tempations. But to offset, I've been a bit of a rock star on the whole donating, selling, bartering, giving away front, so, as of now, I have offically purged more than I have acquired. Two months down, ten to go. I'm not afraid.

So I'm curious, for those of you that made resolutions this year, are there any tricks/tactics you have for keeping them? Do you do regularly do any type of (public or private) resolution "check-ins"? I just read Emma's resolution post and loved hearing about her progress.

A Little Bit of a Check-in on The Resolutions

I thought it would be a good exercise to do a monthly update on the resolutions (here and here to keep myself in check and ensure I’m actually paying some attention to these things I set-out to do at the beginning of the year.

I’ll spare you guys the long-winded intro (for once) and just charge in with my “assessment” of how I’m faring on each goal. Here goes:


#1 Be Lazy – I have to say, this “laziness” initiative may have been my most genius resolution of. all. time. Kidding aside, I’m really proud of how we’ve embraced this goal of doing less. Almost half-way through February (as a side note, can you believe we’re almost half-way through February!?), and I’m still pretty diligent about keeping our calendar sparse. I’ve become far more comfortable with saying, “no” (admittedly not one of my strengths), and all four of us are happier and more relaxed for it. We’ve been more creative, more spontaneous; we cook more, read more, play more… It’s been a bit of a game changer. That said, I do see how easily we (and by “we”, I mean “me”) could fall off the wagon on this one, so I’m being extra-vigilant about it. We’ll see how it goes.

#2 Embrace Effortlessness – I’m not sure I’ve actually done anything specific toward this one…not actively anyway, but I do have this photo from the J. Crew catalog pinned on the inspiration board above my desk because it’s just well... “effortless incarnate”. This is what I’m going for friends. This is it (but with bangs, a smoky eye and a necklace thrown into the mix). In lieu of flowers (and I love flowers), I did ask Bryan for that sweater she’s sporting for Valentine’s Day... so one step forward, yes?

#3 Purchase (Extremely Mindfully) – For the past three years, I've done some period of a spending (or shopping) hiatus as a way to help sort of re-set my consumption habits. Taking a break from acquiring stuff helped me better appreciate what I already owned and re-think why I wanted to buy certain things in the first place. It was a good exercise all around...financially, aesthetically, mentally. But I don't think it was enough. I mentioned when I shared my resolutions that I've made progress on this one, but that I wanted to "master" it (at least as much as I'm capable of "mastering" something). So I thought I needed to switch things up a bit and think bigger than just the hiatus.

Enter "Operation Simplicity."

I've decided to start sharing everything I acquire for the next 12 months. "Acquire" is the key here, as I'm not planning to bore you (that is, those of you that want to come along on this scintillating journey) with all my expendable purchases. I'm not going to post the lattes or the lip gloss or the birthday presents for the girlie's classmates. Those aren't things "staying" in the house. I'm just going to record the stuff...the things that we'll end the year with, the things that I am certain I will have for at least five years.

And since one of my goals is to end the year with less stuff than I started it with, I'll also occasionally offer-up up a few things I'm ready to pass-on for sale... plus there will be some giveaways (It'll be my way of thanking you for keeping me on track).

I'm not going to lie, this whole exercise scares me a bit (more on that below), but I really believe when you put a goal out there, when you invite others to be a part of it, thus feeling some accountability to those people, it will change you. (I shared that same thought earlier this week in relation to my time writing Raising Foodies, but I think it applies here too...)



#4 Get Smart – Though I’ve yet to actually sign up for any sort of “learning opportunity”, I am starting to streamline the things I’m doing so that I can be more focused. To that end, I (somewhat reluctantly) “retired” (for now…note the reluctance) my little food blog. Trying to regularly post there and regularly post here was too much with the other commitments I have (you know that whole family, household, day-job thing). I think it was a good start. I am also actively researching a photography class. Now I just need to enroll.

#5 Practice Gratitude – I'm not nearly doing good enough on this one. This is my official kick in the pants…no idea why it’s so hard to stop each day to be thankful. It’s shameful. I’m pausing right now as I write this to be grateful…hang on. Ok done. That felt good.



#6 Court Fear – I am proud to say that I’m actively perusing three different projects that are scaring me (actually one kind of {and sorry for the vulgarity} scares the shit out of me). The first is the aforementioned “Operation Simplicity”…it scares me to commit to sharing everything I acquire this year. It’s daunting; I’m not going to lie. But I’m going with it. I might share some info on the other two in future “Resolution Updates”, we’ll see ;-)

The Resolutions -- Part II

image via By Its Own Design (from a beautiful book that Honora made!)

Alright, time for the next three of my six 2011 Resolutions... Here goes:


#4 -- Get Smart.

I mentioned in my looking back post that most of last year's worst moments occurred when I wasn't trying hard enough (or trying at all)...when I was well, sort of "phoning it in". It's hard friends, I'm not going to lie -- I feel like I spend most of my time doing three differently things at once, all of them shittily. (I know, I know...but it's a good word, yes?)

So part of the "doing less" this year is an attempt to be better at what I am doing, being smarter, more focused. (I love this article via Abbey about not letting all of the little constant distractions {like that ever pinging blackberry} prevent you from doing the really great things.)

I want to be a better listener (because that's when you're really learning), I want to dive into a few things and get really good at them, I want to "specialize" a little more and "generalize" a little less. I also want to make it a priority to read more. I'm rarely happier than when I'm reading, and I read an abysmal number of books last year...

Here are a four specific goals I hope to meet in 2011 to get my learn on:

• Read 15 books (doesn't seem like a huge number but oh so much bigger than last year's total)
• Finally Learn how to (really) use my camera and seriously hone my photography skills
• Learn Photoshop or Illustrator.
• Become a geography rock star (Every time Audrey asks me where a country is I have to tell her to ask Bryan...sad.)

completely killer bookshelf image via Quiero

#5 -- Practice Gratitude.

I think one of the most genius ideas of 2010 was Chelsea's pact not to complain for a week. So simple and lovely, yet it somehow seemed revolutionary to me. I mean really, do I want to go through life boring people with complaints of how busy/tired/hot (think the entire month of August) I am??

I think, for me, the best way to curb the complaining is to amp-up the gratitude. I want to spend a few minutes of every. single. day. of 2011 pausing in gratitude, reveling in it.

I have a good life. I need to acknowledge that more.

image via my lovely mary ruffle...


#6 -- Court Fear.

So I saved the hardest one for last...

I'm not so much of a risk-taker. I tend to play it safe...almost always. I read this quote on Abby's blog a few months ago, and it's constantly rattling around in my head:

"Any idea that makes us nervous or scared that it won't happen, we know we're onto something"

Usually when an idea makes me nervous or scared I sort of mentally abandon it and go the low-risk route instead. It's sad, (and frankly a little embarrassing to admit) but true. And in the past year, I've met and become friends with several amazing ladies who are risk-takers...they own their own businesses, they jump at new opportunities, they're fearless (or at least they seem fearless, which is important in and of itself). It's inspiring.

I want to court fear more in 2011. And honestly I'm not exactly sure what that means or how to do it, but I'm not scared, so that's something...

Tree Man poster (yes, I am afraid of heights) via the amazing Debbie Carlos...

The Resolutions -- Part I

the magical "Familiar Objects" by Claire Nereim


As promised, today I'll share the first three of my six new year's resolutions for 2011. (I have to say, it feels awfully strange not to have weekend scenes this week.)

Pulling these together really is one of my favorite rituals of the year...and you know January (oddly) might actually be my favorite month. I love the quiet, the organizing and cleaning and sort of readying, the promise of a new year stretched out all shiny and hopeful ahead of us...

I can't help but feel a little buzz in January.


Ok, here goes with part I of the resolutions. I'd love to hear what's on your list this year!

***

#1 -- Be Lazy.

This one isn't as bad as it sounds...I promise. I'm not planning to shirk responsibilities or lounge about watching trash television. Rather, the idea/hope is to do less, in fact to sometimes do, well, nothing, to avoid the temptation to fill all the empty spaces in our calendar with plans and projects, to sit around and daydream more.

I'm a pretty social person. I could have friends over or go do something almost every day of the week. I'm also a planner. I like a plan, I can't help it. My hubby on the other hand... is not. He likes huge stretches of alone time. Don't get me wrong, he likes people, he just doesn't feel the need to be around them non-stop... And the girlies are pretty social little creatures, but they're kids, so they need a hefty dose of downtime (certainly more than I've been giving them).

We reached a "need for downtime" tipping point late last month when all four of us seemed to be walking around with a sort of permanent glazed look in our eyes. We were all irritable and snappish. I had become an over-scheduler extraordinaire, and there was something on the calendar for us pretty much every day in December. It was a majorly bad scene friends. But truthfully, (and sadly) it probably had to reach that point for me to change my over scheduling ways; I needed the wake-up call.

So 2011 will be the year of doing less, chilling out, and daydreaming...because really, it's when you're busy doing nothing that all the magic happens.

#2 -- Embrace Effortlessness.

It started with the bangs...the bangs that will give me an additional three days this year to do nothing.

The bangs have made me (wait for it) low-maintenance. I'm not even sure that the bangs are my best look, but no matter, I'm keeping them. Forever. My hair has never, ever been easier to do. I can wake up, brush it, and go.

A little background: I spent the better part of 2010 wielding a curling iron in an attempt to replicate my "dream hair"...it took a lot of time, and made my hair a bit of a fried mess, so the bangs are a total game-changer. I feel so footloose and fancy free.

So my second resolution is to find other ways this year to embrace effortlessness, to streamline, to be (as Michelle geniusly coined it) "low-fi".

I think the coolest girls have this down pat.

the lovely francoise hardy...effortlessly rockin' the bangs.

a totally "low-fi" Sally Singer via into the gloss, which I *might* be a leeetle bit addicted to...

#3 -- Purchase (extremely) Mindfully.

This one makes the list every year, but I can't help it, I want to master it. I want to be ruthlessly discerning and smart and yes, mindful in every. single. thing. I purchase this year. All of it...clothes, things for the house, stuff for the girls, even with what I buy at the grocery store.

I have this quote (copied off a postcard from the Portland shop, Canoe) pinned above my desk. I think it's a good litmus test for deciding if I should make a purchase...

"How many things have you purchased this year that will become valued possessions? How many things will you soon discard?"

I also love this article found on Zen Habits...I'm going to really try to use the list of parameters in the piece as my guiding principal for how I make all my purchasing decisions.

I want to only buy things this year that I could see myself (truly) owning forever...

image via a lovely being...

image via Primoeza...

Some Looking Back...

I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about my goals/resolutions for the new year.

I’m a resolution gal, I can’t help it... I like the rituals that mark the passing of time. I also like the idea of self-examination (maybe a little too much). So in thinking about what I want 2011 to look like (understanding of course that like most years, despite my trying, it will likely just do its own thing), I thought it would be good to start by checking in on 2010.

I re-read old blog posts fairly frequently, but in the almost four(!) years that I’ve had this blog, I’ve never gone back and read an entire year of posts in order. Suffice to say (especially if you're long winded like me) it takes some time, but I would highly recommend it, as it was incredibly enlightening and therapeutic.

Here are some of the stand-out moments (for me) of the past year:

***

1. Museums (but then again, for me, a good year always involves copious museum visits)...

2. California with Audrey...and meeting Baby Josie.




3. A french fête...and a cowgirl one too.




4. A "first-time" photo shoot...



5. And "the summer of self-improvement"...







6. Experiencing NYC through Audrey's (totally awe-struck, gobsmacked) eyes...

7. Austin getaways and magical hotels and 10-year anniversaries...

8. Meeting a slew of amazing women at Alt...

9. A blissful week at the beach...

10. Surprise "staycations" for the girlies...

11. And snow...lots of snow. (Or at least lots more than we're accustomed to.)

12. Meyer lemons and strawberries and tomatoes...

13. and teepees...

14. Decorating projects (for other people and for ourselves)...

16. Dark nails and life changing bangs... (More on that later.)

17. And of course, roller coasters with Audrey (on the hottest day of the year).

Now here’s the thing, if you had asked me a couple of weeks ago how 2010 was, I would have likely said, it was “ok”… I might even have said it was “rough”, as for a couple of months there toward the end, well, it was. For lack of a more eloquent turn of phrase, I was getting my butt kicked... a lot.

But after taking the time to go back and look at the year honestly, to pause in gratitude for all the new opportunities and adventures and chances to stretch myself, all of the sudden the butt kicking seemed less dire. I could put it in perspective. The truth is, most of the year's worst moments occured when I wasn't trying hard enough (or trying at all) or when I was focusing on the wrong things or placing too much importance on a not very important situation.

In other words, there was a lesson in the butt kicking. But isn't there always?

Now that I've done my "looking back", in a twist up of my normal "schedule" (see, again with the chill), I'm going to post my 2011 resolutions/goals in two parts on Monday and Tuesday of next week. (I know you're waiting with bated breath.) But what's a blog without a bit of good old fashioned navel gazing, yes? ;-)

Have a splendid weekend friends!!