Happy 2015, my sweet followers! I don’t think I’ve said this recently (or enough), so I now want to thank you so much for reading Snapshots & My Thoughts. The past six months have been rather exciting, not just because Isla has come into our lives and made us happier than ever before, but also because my little labor of love has had some fun partnerships (BABYBJORN, Rifle Paper Co., Carter’s, Honest Co., Dr. Browns, amongst others!) and more than doubled in readership. In addition, I recently created a Facebook page and a blog-dedicated Instagram account (are you following along?), and I have more exciting content for you in the near future.
In the spirit of New Years resolutions, I’m sharing seven of my own today (but have many more!): [1] Get more personal, [2] Improve my skills, [3] Prioritize my family, [4] Read more books, [5] Be more present, [6] Give up control and [7] Practice being content. I’ve explained all of these in detail below. What are some of your resolutions? I’d love to read about them in the comments below.
One quick favor to ask of you! Would you mind filling out this anonymous survey with a few quick questions (five, to be exact) about the blog content? I want to make sure that I’m giving my readers content they enjoy, and this survey will definitely help me do that.
This summer, I started my ‘Week in Review‘ posts, which honestly felt like an ‘easy out’ for a post. There was no research involved, no scouring the internet for photos, no design decisions to be made… it was just me (well, us). I simply recapped my previous 7 days, and I started to see a trend – these posts get higher views and comments than any other post in the week.
When I filled out the ‘Tour Through Blogland,’ one of the questions asked ‘what makes your blog unique?,’ and I struggled with answering that. I want to make Snapshots & My Thoughts unique in that it’s about me and my life, not in a narcissistic way, but I want to get more personal with my readers. Life is not always rainbows and butterflies, and I think it’s important to be transparent and more real. This is partly inspired by Brighton Keller (of Brighton the Day) – the other day she posted this on Instagram and started the hashtag #beBRIGHTbeREAL, and I love it.
[photo by Paige Budde of Awake Photography]
When I think about ‘what I want to do in life,’ I am so conflicted. I love calligraphy, stationery design, photography, floral design, party planning, interior design, vegan/healthy baking and cooking, writing, fashion, traveling, etc. Sasha always reminds me that I cannot do all of this (although it would be nice!). So this year, I want to pick a few of these hobbies and sharpen my skills in order to do something with all of this burning passion I have!
Blogging with a 6 month old who naps for an average 80 minutes a day is extremely difficult. When you’ve got such limited time, you cannot sit down and blog during the day, especially if you’ve got laundry and dishes to be done and a house to clean. And then there are errands, like groceries and dry cleaning. Not to mention working out (obviously not a necessity, but it is to me!). So sadly, blogging happens after dinner and dishes are done, when Isla is asleep. Time with my sweet husband gets sacrificed all too often in order for me to blog, so in the new year, I’m going to prioritize him. This may mean he spends more time with Isla on Sundays, so I can line a few posts up, or it means that 5 posts a week just isn’t going to happen anymore!
[photo by Taylor Lord]
For Isla’s first few months, I was reading a book every two or three days. I spent so much time nursing that I felt I needed to do something productive and thankfully, chose to read on my iPhone or Kindle (remember the Summer Reading List and Summer Reading List Part 2?). Fast-forward three months and Isla eats in under 10 minutes, so instead of diving into a good book, I fiddle around on blogs or Instagram. I want this to stop in 2015. I miss reading. I want to read for fun during the day, and I need to open my Bible before going to bed at night. I used to do this in college and when I traveled for work, and now I’m ‘too exhausted’ when I get into bed in the evening. So, any good suggestions?
This resolution ties in closely with the previous note about being on social media less. I could rename ‘Be more present’ as ‘Get off my iPhone.’ Sasha always gets onto me about how my phone is attached to my hip, and in 2015, it won’t be. I’m already a pretty sketchy text messager, and sadly, I’m about to get worst. But I do love a good phone call. So call me if you need me, because my phone might not be by my side. I don’t want Isla to grow up thinking that we need our phones to entertain us. I want her to know that she is all I need.
[photo by Ryan Ray]
Here is something that won’t surprise anyone who knows me well: I am a huge control freak. Like, a really, really big one. I have been a perfectionist since I was in elementary school. I remember crying because I was afraid of getting a B in my 5th grade science class (who cares?) and then I went to college and made straight A’s because I cannot stand the thought of not giving everything 100% (and seeing the return). This can be extremely tiring for me, and especially for others around me. It is hard to live with a control freak, and so I want to allow my close friends and family to make decisions that I may not agree with, but to be okay with the outcome regardless.
It’s easy to throw up your hands and say, ‘That’s fine, just do it your way.’ But that’s being grumpy (guilty!), and so as part of my resolution to give up control from time-to-time, I want to make sure that I do it sweetly and with a happy, genuine heart. Yes, this is going to take some work (ha!).
Ah ha, being content with life ‘as is.’ This is a culmination of various aspects of the above resolutions. Given that we are bombarded with images of beautiful homes, gardens, meals, people, etc. all the time, living with permanent jealously is easy nowadays. This is a huge problem with today’s society (in my opinion at least). I don’t want to spill too many of my thoughts on this topic, as I’ll be sharing more on the ClassPass blog soon, but I want to practice with being content with my life as it is now. This means not obsessing over a home extension, moving houses, buying new clothes, etc. I want to just be satisfied with today.
[no idea why I chose this photo of my breakfast in Bali, but I just did]
Happy New Year! Cheers to 2015. May it be the best year yet.
20 Comments
Happy New Year, Ailee! All wonderful things to work toward for 2015 🙂 Just don’t lose sight of all the amazing parts of yourself. One I can go on about is your generous heart. You have inspired AND assisted me in bringing my own blog into the world. (It’s gonna be born today, btw!) You helped me live my big, exciting dream in 2014. Pretty powerful, you are. Not to mention, beautiful and a wonderful mother! I hope you get all you strive for this year and fully appreciate all that you already are. XOXOXOX
I 100% support ALL of those resolutions and will make sure S&MT readers are kept up-to-date on how Ailee holds up throughout 2015 🙂
I’ve been trying to put my resolutions in words, and you summed up all of mine. These are all the things I will work on in 2015 too. We can hold each other accountable! Happy New Year!
xxChristie
http://www.KiKiMac.me
PS – I kind of wish my REAL was like Brighton’s. Huge, fabulous kitchen with marble countertops, perfectly pedicured toes, an expensive sweater, Movie star hair, no blemishes, a glass of wine that tells hilarious jokes, and an attractive man cooking me dinner (wait, I do have that).
…But this year, I will be content.
I love your list. And your heart.
Big hugs friend.
xx.
Sounds like your heart is in the right place. 🙂
Happy New Year!
Such great resolutions. Mine are pretty similar. Put down the phone! Be more in the moment!!
Great list! My husband always tells me to hang up and hang out, definitely something to work on in the new year. I read so much when we were in Fiji last week now I just need to keep it up, it’s hard when it’s so much easier to reach for your phone and scroll through instagram instead. Also- do you have a travel guide for Bali? That’s on our list for this year.
happy new year!! superb list – you have such a lovely writing style, Ailee!
Happy New Year, my favorite Petrovics! 🙂
Love this list! I shared mine on my blog last week. 😉 I definitely need to work on being more present and prioritizing my family more. It’s so true about blogging and sacrificing time somewhere. I’ve come to terms with not being a blogger who posts five times a week, and it’s totally okay! 🙂 I love following you and your family along, and I’m looking forward to the more personal posts. Those are my favorite. I’ve also LOVED watching your beautiful blog take off and am excited to see where it takes you in the new year. Cheers, friend! P.S. We must get our girls together for a play date!
Thank you so much! Your list is wonderful. You are so sweet – I would LOVE to get our girls together!!!!
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