We are kicking off 2018 a few weeks late around here because we had a rough start to this year.  After starting the year not feeling great health-wise, me and my sons were involved in a very scary car accident on the first day back to school.  We are all TOTALLY OK and I am extremely THANKFUL and AMAZED that it wasn’t worse……..but the experience did leave me incredibly sore, tired, and honestly I was in pretty low spirits for a few days.

Over the last weekend, though, I started to feel more like myself then I had in a while — as I physically felt better the cloudiness in my head started to clear and I was finally able to think about the year ahead positively.  When I was really able to focus on the next steps in my life, I came up with 5 one-word resolutions that describe my plan to make 2018 a slower-paced, but more focused year.  Now I’m putting them out into the world to help hold myself accountable to my goals…..

Photo by Lauri Tripaldi Photography

Enjoy…..time with my kids, time with my husband, time with friends, time alone.  I’m going to put down my phone/computer/paintbrush and enjoy doing one thing at a time instead of trying to squeeze in fun between my to-do list items.

Relax……well relax in my style.   Mutil-tasking is basically like breathing to me…..but I do like to sit down on a Sunday morning with a few chapters of a book and a cup of coffee for an hour so I’m gonna make that happen more this year.

Prioritize….first I need to prioritize all the balls I have in the air, then I need to just throw some of them away.  Separate out what I need and what I really want, then let go of the rest.

Grow…..or concentrate on focused growth – test out new skills, buy more/better tools, and expand my business.

Organize….basically everything in my life needs to be organized right now – from my thoughts to my closet.  This year I’m keeping a notepad next to me at all times, getting rid of what I don’t need, and embracing the “keep only what brings you joy” mentality.  Which leads me too…..

Living Room / Dining Room

I don’t want to say too much about these two rooms as I’m planning on tackling them for the Spring One Room Challenge so I’ll share all my ramblings with you then, but I’ll just say that I  have big plans for these two rooms including lots of trim detail, beautiful wallpaper, another (yes another) faux fireplace, and of course lots of custom built pieces.  In the end these two rooms are going to be bright and relaxing with just a touch of formality to set them apart from the rest of the house.
 
Pantry

My pantry took a big step forward when I added the behind the doors shelves last year, but I didn’t touch the inside.  Once we say goodbye to those dreaded wire shelves, my plan is to replace them with sold versions and invest in all the bins, containers, and turntables I will ever need.

Basement Shelves

Not the most exciting, I know, but I wanted to finish the storage section of our basement last year but never got around to it.  Like the pantry, not only will we build new shelves, but also buy the storage solutions we need to store things the right way.

Jon’s Closet

I never finished the floor in my husband’s closet so for his birthday/father’s day present this year I said I would re-design it into his dream space (not his words of course).  Nothing crazy here, but there will be some personalized solutions and also some good practice before I tackle my behemoth of a closet down the line.

Master Bathroom Tile

One day our master bathroom will get a big re-model, but that’s not in the cards budget-wise yet.  This year I’d like to finish the last small upgrade I have planned before we gut the rest and finally install the backsplash behind the sink.  You can see a sample of the tile I have picked out in the corner (it’s a soft wood tile that almost matches the floor). 

Backyard Fire Pit
Every year we try to fit in at least one big job in the backyard – so far we’ve done the patio, fence, swing set, planter boxes, and the patio table/chairs…not to mention my husbands ongoing battle to grow the grass!  This spring the plan is to get started on a fire pit area that will sit right under the morning room windows.  Some things are still up in the air but I know I want it to be filled with pea gravel and have room for a fire pit and a couch where we can relax on summer nights while the kids play.

Command Center

Which is what we lovingly call the wall that separates the living room from the kitchen and houses our schedules, shopping lists, laptops, and general life supplies (oh and my Nemesis Alex lives there too).  Right now I have a secretary desk that I bought from Target shortly after we moved in that is really cute, but just not the right fit.  I’m going to replace it with a slightly larger piece that has both open and closed storage as well as charging stations for our Ipads and phones.

Garage?
I’m tentatively putting this last on the list because I’m not sure the scope that we will be able to cover this year.  I would love to completely clear it out, organize everything, and build out my workshop……..but I think we will reasonably only be able to really accomplish the first one.  So I’m setting my goal at de-cluttering and coming up with a design plan for 2019.  If we get more done that will just be gravy.

So there we go – now all I need is Mother Nature to cooperate so I can leave the house!  Oh, and a new car would probably help too.  We’re going to kick some tires this weekend so wish us luck.