New Year’s Eve Thoughts 🥂🎩🎊

Greetings on this last day of 2019!

I was going to republish my How to Purge Your Closet post today, but I decided at the last minute to share some things that are on my mind. (That post has been recently updated, so if you are feeling the urge to purge, definitely give it a read!)

I wanted to write more of this at the end of yesterday’s post, but I ran out of time, and it was also getting mighty long. So consider this a mid-week Coffee Talk…

New Year’s Eve Thoughts 🥂🎩🎊

From perusing my Facebook and Instagram feeds, I gather this has been a rough year for some, a victorious year for others, and for most of us, a little of both.

I’m definitely in the 3rd category. It’s been a good year mostly, although there were some disappointments. I’m still bummed about our canceled trip to Austin last spring, but hopefully our Paris trip in May will more than make up for that!

The kids all had a good first semester of school, and they’re all healthy and happy, which brings joy to this mama’s heart. D loves apartment living, C has become quite the little home chef, and R has found her tribe in the marching band.

Paul has taken on some additional responsibilities at work, and he’s enjoying the new challenges, but it will require more travel. We’ll have to see how that plays out. Even though the kids are older, our home life always feels a little deflated when he’s away.

As for me, I’m struggling a bit with a funky hip issue, which is making it hard to stay motivated to exercise, and I’m also having a hard time keeping my weight in check. Hi, perimenopause!

I’ve been dabbling with intermittent fasting, and I’m hoping to hit it hard in the new year and see if that helps. I’ve been reading Delay, Don’t Deny, in case you’re interested.

Looking Ahead to 2020

I don’t make resolutions or choose a word, but my plans for 2020 include:

a trip to Paris with Paul to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary

I’ve never been to Europe, and I am SO looking forward to this trip!!! Praying that all goes well and nothing will derail our plans this time.

a kitchen update

I’m ready to start Phase Two of our home design projects, and the kitchen is next. We aren’t sure how much we want to do, but a new sink and counters, a tile backsplash, and appliances are definitely on the agenda.

I’m looking forward to the updates, but I kind of dread the process… especially if we decide to paint or replace the cabinets. We’re meeting with a designer next week to discuss.

a couple of blogging conferences

I’m not sure which ones yet, but I enjoyed the one I went to last month. It’s important to invest in my business in that way, and I need that time with other women in the industry to talk shop and compare notes and inspire each other.

a 6-day posting schedule

I’ve been posting 7 days a week for as long as I can remember. I like the pace, I enjoy the daily comments, and I usually have more than enough topics to fill all 7 days. But as my posts get longer and more time consuming to put together, I need to scale back just a bit.

I’m going to start taking Saturdays off and see how that goes. My weekly recap emails will still go out on Saturdays, there will just be no new blog post.

a subtle shift in the focus of the blog

I’m moving away from posting so many new outfits, and doing more try-on hauls, daily outfit roundups, and topics related to how to put outfits together.

There will always be outfit posts and new products cycling in and out of my closet that I’ll want to share with you, but this year I really want to focus on quality over quantity. That’s much more in sync with my own shopping habits and personal style aesthetic.

As we sit here on the brink of a new decade, I can’t help but wonder what the future will hold for the blogging industry. SO much has changed in the past 10 years, I can’t begin to imagine how things will look 10 years from now.

On the other hand, there is one thing that hasn’t changed: Content is still king.

No matter what new social media networks might crop up or how the algorithms change or how sophisticated websites get, content is king and authenticity rules. The cream will always rise to the top.

I’ve always believed that and operated under that philosophy, and it’s served me well so far.

So with all that said, once again, I want to thank you for being here. I know I said this yesterday, but it always bears repeating: I could not do what I do without you.

Sometimes the pace of this job can be overwhelming, but 95% of the time, I have to pinch myself to believe that I actually get to do this for a living.

Even my daughters, who see crazy amount of hours I put in some days and my angst over deadlines and negotiations and the occasional cranky commenter, tell me that I have a dream job. And I do. So thank you.

Whether you go out or stay in tonight, I hope you all have a fun and safe NYE celebration. Happy New Year! 🎊