Fashion Friday: New Year’s Eve (If Only)

Well here we are, the end of another pandemic year.  None of us thought we’d still be here, ESPECIALLY here, with infection numbers through the roof, plans cancelled and anxiety rampant. But we are. And if I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that sometimes things are just hard. And there is no answer. At least not an immediate one. We can only trust time to reveal to us how we should and can proceed and in the meantime, try to make the best decisions we can with the information we have. This goes for a lot of things, not just pandemic behavior. Life is messy. It’s not straightforward. Things happen we never thought would, good and bad, and people come in and out of our lives willingly and not so willingly.

While I really love the concept of a “new year” (I’m very excited to declutter and refine our “stuff”) I think it can be rife with disappointment. If we make our goals too lofty, too “pie in the sky”, we are bound to fall short and that can set us on a path of self-doubt and internal flagellation worse than where we began before setting our intentions for the year. So here is my list of things I HOPE to continue doing, change and discard in 2022 (but no promises…)

Continue:

• Physical health and well being. I’ve worked my ass off this year thanks to Peloton and online classes, and at 42, having had two babies, I’m in the best shape of my life- and it has nothing to do with appearance (although finally getting a little bit of a butt and flat tummy is nice) I am STRONG. Like, way stronger than I thought I could be. And it feels good. And I want to see where it can take me.
• Committing to make my business stronger, more efficient and better. I’ve taken some steps to begin this process, and I want to take more. I want to invest in myself, believe in what I’ve built and will continue to build and again, see where it can take me.
• Therapy. This year has done a number on my mental health, not gonna lie. I’m back in therapy once a week (via phone) and I’m so glad I have it as an outlet.
• Friend Time. It’s hard for moms to do this, but I’ve made a point to increase spending time with girlfriends. I’m planning another getaway with my bestie since our trip to Arizona was so fun and rejuvenating, and sometimes you need to sacrifice to find time to surround yourself with the people who just make you smile and are there for you no matter what.

Discard:

• Spending energy worrying about things and people who drain me. Full stop. I’m a pleaser and a worrier and I spend way too much mental energy on things that are a complete waste of brain power and heart.
• Lack of gratitude. It’s not flattering to admit, but I see more faults than wins. This is an innate part of my being that I’ve held since I was little. It’s terrible and I gotta stop that nonsense.

Change/ Add:

• Spend more time outside. Take hikes, walks, teach Henry to ski, just get OUT. It always, always helps my mood.
• Plan two trips. I’m bad about this but I want to take a week in the summer and go to Nantucket with my kids and go somewhere this winter as well. Just for a weekend. I get anxious with the little one and traveling, but she’s a trooper.
• Stop operating in fear and instead in confidence. I’ve been waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me for decades, time to stand confidently on it and make choices from a point of power.

And also, DRESS UP MORE! I’ve been craving dressing up for events, or just going to dinner! Hopefully once this surge is behind us and (hopefully) this becomes an endemic- we can go back to entertaining, gathering, dressing up and feeling good. On that note- three outfits I wish I were wearing to a glamorous party tonight (click images for links):

Again, thank you for being so amazing again this year. 2022 will bring my 15th blog anniversary and I want to find a way to really celebrate it. It’s not nothing, there aren’t many people who have stuck it out for 15 years! I love you guys and hope you know the absolute JOY your voices bring me. It’s why I plan to do this for 15 more years.