Friday, January 1, 2021

It felt weird to type 2021! I am going to treat 2021 like I would a cat. I am going to not expect too much and I am going to tread lightly. Sorry to any cat lovers out there – this has been my experience!

I mentioned earlier this week that I am feeling a bit out of sorts with all of the uncertainty that 2021 holds. Will things really get better? Can I be an effective virtual teacher? Will I go back to teaching in person in a couple of months? Will my kids be able to stay on campus for the second semester? How will the vaccinations go? So many unknowns… Are you feeling this way, too?

I am going to eat my lucky foods today and take it one day at a time or one week at a time, I guess.

I took my Christmas decor down on the 28th. I love it for about a month, but then I crave minimalism, you know?

A student gave me an Amazon gift card so I ordered this pothos plant(upon many of my readers’ suggestions for an easy to care for plant; yes, Amazon truly does have everything, including live plants. I think I will need to play around with locations so that it gets the right amount of sunlight. Also, I am doing Thirsty Thursday where I water on Thursdays if needed.

Tip for your mantel: Look around in other rooms of the house for books and Knick knacks that fit your color scheme. It’s amazing what you can find just from shopping other rooms of the house. It’s good to see all of your rooms with fresh eyes and moving things around can be really good!

I chose these books that are light green and blue with gold lettering. I am pretty sure these were purchased at a used book sale by my boys many years ago. They were big into educational books.

I decided to keep my faux greenery up along with my twinkle lights. The wine glass does not stay there. Don’t be afraid to mix real and faux. I think it works.

I also decided to keep up my rustic sparkly antlers for a woodsy look. I love this little piece of decor that I found at my school’s craft fair a few years ago. My friend got one, too.

Monday morning at 8:00 I went to Trader Joe’s on a mission – to get plants (and a few other needed items). I think they were in between seasons with their plants and I need to go back. They still had poinsettias and evergreens. I am thinking they will get new plants in soon.

I did pick up these three small plants for $7.99 each. I also should check my Kroger’s plant selection. I’m trying to become a plant lady!

I am not sure about this space yet. I am still thinking… For now I have the giant monogram pallet I made with my friend Beth at one of those DIY workshops and this little plant.

I also ordered some tiny little battery powered lights from Amazon that I plan to incorporate with some plants. You can find them here.

I have really only spruced up my living room with this decor. The combination of greenery and twinkle lights is making me feel calm and happy.

I have a lot of Valentine’s decor so I am sure I will add that in and take some stuff away come mid to late January.

2021 Rules for Amy:

I am cautious about resolutions so will call these “rules” or “guidelines”.

-Get outside every day. If it is a sunny day, I especially need to get outside before it gets dark. Record/write down the official time of sunset. We have already made progress! The shortest day of the year/day with least amount of sunlight is December 20 and we are already almost two weeks out from that date! For example, last night the sunset was 5:32 and just a few days ago it was 5:28!

We keep the patio furninture covered, but it is easy enough to take the cover off. We typically have some warm days thrown in here and there in January and February so that will help.

-Try new recipes and maybe do Hello Fresh or other meal service again for 2 people instead of 4. I think it may be much more affordable that way and we are in a rut. I have been making all the old favorites with the boys home. I plan to do more salads and soups and low carb when the boys return to school and it’s just Tom and I. I also plan to go back down to a $500 a month grocery limit.

-Plan a social outing with a friend at least 2 times a month on a heated patio. I have a list of some new heated patios I would like to try.

-Build winter fires outside a few times. My friend said she had a fire in the snow on Christmas Day! How cool is that?

-Read some good books. I started this. But, re-start my spend no money on books plan that I have had for years. I made an exception during March-May before my library re-opened.

And, I put in several library requests. I looked at books at Target and snapped some pics of ones I thought looked good. Bonus, my weekly library curbside pickup gets me out of the house in a safe way.

-Watch some t.v. shows I missed. Over break I watched Bridgerton and Country Ever After on Netflix and The Spanish Princess on Prime. Give me suggestions! I don’t like anything sci-fi, too dark or scary, or too cheesy.

-Declutter and organize. I plan to make a list of spaces to work through – maybe one space a day during January. I will explain more in a dedicated post. Some of these spaces will seriously only take 5 minutes. It’s really fun and rewarding. Nothing makes me more angry than buying something I already have because I am disorganized.

-Really try to avoid winter clothing sales. I do not need anything to get me through winter. I find that sales are really a trap for me. I buy things just because they are cheap. These tend to be my bad purchases that I end up selling or donating. I am really working harder to buy less but spend a bit more.

-Do my traditional wear every piece of winter clothing and if I don’t want to wear it for some reason – no longer fits, doesn’t fit my style, etc. put it in donate pile.

-Keep a running list on my phone of clothing pieces I would like to add. Hopefully these will be spring pieces!

-Think about planning a trip. I find the research to be really fun. I don’t know what spring break will look like. The boys have a spring break weekend from college – so a three day weekend in early March. I have a week in April.

I have a few more ideas but that’s enough for now!

Happy New Year! Come on, 2021 – we are counting on you!

Amy