Life Laid Bear

December goals

(This is about the best family photo of us three we could get)

We are back from an amazing trip to see my parents for Thanksgiving. We were gone for 4 nights and it still seems like we needed another two weeks. We did a ridiculous amount of Christmas shopping, eating and laughing. As usual, my parents are just great to be around and I am so thankful for that. I can't wait until Christmas when they come to visit. 

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we are full steam ahead for the Christmas season. This season will be filled with many firsts as we haven't had many chances to start new traditions in our last two married years together. Like most newlyweds, It was filled with trying to be with both sides of the family around the holidays. Now that we have this down, this year we are making it a priority to start some of our own traditions. We couldn't be more excited. 

Our goals are simple and I hope to have them all checked off by January 1. 

- Find a perfect for us tree. This will be our first year with a real tree. 

- Finish up the Christmas shopping. 

- Spend more quality time together. No excuses. 

- Decorate the house. We were seriously lacking last year. 

- Make an amazing Christmas dinner for both families. 

- Make someones day with genuine kindness. 

- Pay it forward. 

What's on your December list?

today I welcome 23

Hello 23. I am so glad to see you. This year is the year. The year of accomplishment, the year of triumph and the year of more doing and less thinking. So to say I have high hopes would be an understatement. 

This year I have very few goals. Three actually. 

 One: The first will center around a baking series. I really want to accomplish something new this year. By accomplish, I mean really do something that is value added. Learning new skills in the kitchen is always value added in my book and of course to Kyle's stomach. I will talk more about the series tomorrow! 

Two: Live a debt free lifestyle. This past year has been a big change for our little family. At the beginning of the year, we decided to make efforts towards living a debt free or very little debt lifestyle. We have made HUGE steps towards our goal, and this next year we will get there. 

Three: Travel as often as possible. It really goes hand in hand with number two. Less debt equals more travel! 

Twenty three feels very much like all of the other years I have lived, but with a new out look and a renewed sense of hope for what is to come. 23, you are going to be the best year yet. 

P.S.  My favorite guy delivered my favorite cupcake to work today. This is chocolate with peanut butter icing. Amazing. 

November goals

Oh boy, November I am so glad to finally see you. You are my favorite month of the entire year for so many great reasons. My brother turns 18, I turn 23 and my mother also has a birthday this month (for my own safety I will refrain from telling her age). On top of that, I can finally blast my Christmas music and it will be accepted. Or atleast tolerated. The hubs hates when I try to put it on in August. Anyone else try to do that?

- Read read read and then read some more. 

- Take more pictures of the family. All four of us.  

- More time outside drinking coffee. The weather is beautiful. 

- Keep your nails painted. I always feel more inspired with pretty nails.

- Get the 23 days of Christmas activities together (more to come about this).

- Get Christmas cards in the mail by the end of the month. 

- All Christmas shopping completed. 

- Buy a car! Total wishful thinking at best

- Make atleast two new family traditions. 

My goals this month are just fun. I have nothing that I feel pressured to do. I am not going to do anything that I don't want to do. Celebrating, getting ready for the holidays and being thankful. What could be better?

want vs. need (car edition)

I have mentioned a couple times over the past months that our household is car shopping (we are a one car family at the moment). Well that wasn't really true, I was actually being stubborn. Yes, I said it. I was being stubborn. Copy it, save it, print it out. You won't see it again. I was actually telling myself that I wanted a certain kind of car, and that I was not going to look at anything else. That was foolish of me. I now see that. You ask why? Well because five months later I am still without a car. So for the past two weeks I have been kicking myself. It is one of those "Oh, I have seen it and now I don't want anything else" hissy fits that I know everyone has. 

Need - something you have to have 

Want - something you would like to have that your brain tells you that you need

Those definitions sometimes get tangled in my head. Especially when we are talking about car shopping. When I started looking around I pictured a newer midsize SUV with navigation (you need it to get around), sunroof (you need it to get a tan while driving), leather (you need it because it is pretty) and low mileage. Of course, I didn't think this would be difficult to find in our price range. Boy was I wrong! I could have easily told Kyle that we would work it out, and we could afford the more expensive car, that we could give up some of the other things fluff things in our budget. But instead of over extending ourselves into a car payment we aren't comfortable with I began to scale down my picture perfect car. 

This brings us to real time and the issue of having to wrap my head around being an adult and giving up some of those expensive luxuries. My husband knows my weakness when it comes to money, when I hesitate to buy something, he always asks would you rather have the money or the item. So I am trying to bring that thought process to this gruesome situation. Who else out there dislikes car shopping? I sure do. 

Does that mean that I should only buy a junker of a car? No, I still need something automatic because well I can't drive manuel. Life is meant to be lived, not survived. I believe you should treat yourself to some wants along the way, but do it to the point you can afford it and still enjoy it. 

The question I get to now ask myself is "would I rather have a top of the line vehicle or spend that money on my family and our experiences together?" When you look back, will you remember what you drove or that fantastic vacation to Bora Bora (I wish). 

Anyone else have any situations that require you to think about it being a want versus a need? I would love to hear how you handled it. 

 

October goals

Any month that starts off with a trip to Target and a PSL is a good one to me. This month is a little crazy for us. We have two weddings, a bachelorette party in Miami, some travel, fall shows are back on and a whole lot of wedding shopping. In October my goals are fun, and I am excited to get started. Our weekends are filled, so we don't have a whole lot of time to get the important work done. By important, I mean play work. Not real work. Who does real work these days? Oh you do? Sorry about that. (Play work is stuff like sitting by the pool on Saturdays and watching True Blood marathons)

- Read as much as you can. Finish at least two books.

- Don't miss an episode of Scandal! Are you with me?

- Take the dogs for a walk atleast twice a week.

- Drink more coffee on the back patio.

- Have the first open windows night

- Get the book section up there all typed out.

- Go to bed earlier, even if it is only 10 minutes.

I am entering October with a fresh start. I wrote about getting back to the basics this past month and I meant what I said. It is time to let all of the non-necessities go and make room for those loved items.

I made a really tough move towards this last night as I ripped through my closet and grabbed everything out that didn't fit, looked raggedy, or was not truly my favorite piece. I don't want anything that is not a basic or I can't stand to part with it. It is cluttering my life up. Who needs that? I am so excited to start fresh (as our budget will allow, of course).

I hope your month is the best yet. What are your plans?

September Goals

September, I am really putting a lot of weight on you being great! The heat needs to go, and the breeze needs to make its way in to Florida. I keep saying this is the turning point in my year. The time when I start to really come out of my shell, or more like come out of the house. I just don't like walking out of the house and feeling like I need a shower. September is that perfect mix of warm sunny days and cool breezy nights.

This month I have a couple things on my to do list. Most are pretty simple, and I plan to spend the majority of the month planning fall festivities with my man and pups. Again, so excited.

- Start Christmas shopping and list making. 

- Fall party at the end of September. 

- Decorate the first weekend after the 22nd (first day of fall).

- Enjoy the house more. Everything feels more complete after working on the house all last month. 

- Fall cleaning and purging. 

- At least one trip to see the parents in Jacksonville. 

- Have as many pumpkin spice lattes as humanly possible. I wait for these every year. 

September, you are my jam. Don't let me down.