I hadn’t planned on creating New Year’s cards, but at the same time I felt like working on something gold. And shiny. And dramatic. I saw these at Paper Source and I was smitten.
I was going to buy them, but the price! Holy smokes. Ten for $10.95. Granted, they’re gold foil, which is pricey. But I have a gold stamp pad and a pencil eraser. Boom. And I’m way happier with the way they turned out! I was able to experiment more and be more flexible and ended up creating four different designs with superfine white, fig, black, and gold (all colors from Paper Source).
Ahhhh, fig. I heart you. It’s such a rich, beautiful color. Big time crushing.
I’ve been eyeing the tulle skirts at Chicwish for a long time. Like, a year. I finally bit the bullet and bought some things on Black Friday.
I simply adore this tulle skirt. I first saw this pin and became smitten. It’s one-size-fits-all, which seems to be okay for me. My actual waist is 27 inches. The color is lovely, it’s a tan, caramelly taupe color and so full and bouncy. It’s festive and yet neutral to wear everyday. Or hey, I’m gonna. It’s a keeper.
I saw this skirt online and loved how dramatic it is. And the quality and weight of the fabric exceeded my expectations. It’s just lovely. However, there is a LOT of fabric and I think the skirt overpowers me. My bf was not a fan. He thought it was a little dramatic and I wouldn’t be able to wear it anywhere. It’s also a little noisy when you walk. I’m returning this.
This skirt feels very smooth and the fabric is thick. The bow belt in the far right picture adds a lot and I think there are a lot of options to style it. Keeper.
Overall, the quality of all three skirts is superb for the price. I paid under $100 for the lot during their Christmas sale. I’m not sure how returns will work, given the return address is in China, and there’s a short turnaround for returning items, though they did extend it from 30 to 60 days for the holiday season. It took three weeks to get two, and another week to receive the third one. Free shipping.
UPDATE: The return process is difficult and a bit convoluted. Chicwish sends you a return address in China and offers to credit your account $15.00 for shipping. It would have cost me $30.00 to send the items! In addition, I emailed them to ask a question about the return and never received a response. So, I was skeptical that even if I did receive a credit, I wouldn’t be too keen on ordering from them again. It’s disappointing because they have some adorable items–especially skirts.
I’m feeling more optimistic than in years past. Besides struggling at being happy at my job in 2014, things were more than pretty okay. I’ve come to be kinder with myself and allow me to enjoy some good stuff. I’m ready to take on 2015 and make things happen. As for resolutions for the new year, let’s face it, they never work. But it took a lot of years for me to realize that. A lot of them seem to consist of cutting things out which ends in utter failure and discouragement, and by week three, you’ve stopped working on them. This year I’m going to focus on goals that I can work on all year. These things will allow for some forgiveness and even failure because I’m not perfect. I’m definitely going to slip or forget or just need to be kind to myself.
So, here are some goals I’m making for myself:
1. Communicate and share meaningful and important ideas, thoughts, and projects on this blog. I’m going to put my heart and brains into this blog for a year. I’ve waited so long to do this and I can’t wait to forge ahead and create, write, and share projects and ideas with you. Lot of great experiments are ahead! Yay!
2. Attend a few Editor’s Guild meetings. I’m a newly minted editor and I want to network and meet like-minded people in the biz. I’m a serious introvert and I really need to push myself to meet new people and sell myself and my brand. I’ve been reading some wonderful books about confidence and branding that I’ll be sharing with you soon.
3. Spend meaningful time with my friends. I have a small group of friends and I want to focus on spending time cultivating and maintaining my wonderful relationships.
4. Visit my family! I don’t see my family enough. They don’t live in China, they live in Arizona and Wyoming, for goodness sake.
5. Be less negative about my job. My job has passed the expiration date and I have had a difficult time dealing with it. I have goals in mind, but I need to stay for a bit longer for a number of reasons. I want to be more mindful of the position and look at it from a more positive perspective.
The basics: more positive attitude, more kindness, to me and to others.
What about you? I would love to hear about your goals and if you choose goals or resolutions.
Resources for New Year’s Goals
Do you need help with your goals for the new year? Check these out:
This website is adorable and super inspiring for those of you wanting to live a creative life, especially if you’re unsure of where to start. There are all kinds of resources, including free email prompts, free workshops and worksheets, and all kinds of inspirational and motivational support that will help you spring board into a great New Year.
Susannah Conway is amazing. She offers a free workbook and calendar to reflect on your previous year and plan ahead to the next. She walks you through picking out your word for the year. She also has tons of other goodies on her website. Highly recommended.
Kim Werker has created an awesome ebook with this very name (see link). The goal is to make something every day. Big or small, cooking, knitting, sewing, crafting, metalworking, doesn’t matter. The Ebook will provide you with encouragement, motivation, and a place where you can track what you make. The point is to make, even if just for a few minutes each day. Post your pic to Instagram with #yearofmaking. Experiment! Have fun!
I am so thankful for 2014. I’ve had a couple of rough years but when I reflect back, I feel pretty proud of myself, for powering through, for surviving the Seattle weather, and dealing with a job that’s not my favorite. In 2014, I went back to school, travelled with my best friend across the South and to Europe, made a much-needed visit to see my family, survived another year at a job where I don’t belong, put a little money into savings, started this blog (!!!), and I did it all on my own. I have an amazing small group of friends who are super supportive and my family is behind me 100%. But I’m speaking in the sense that I did all of that on my own financially. For the fourth year in a row. YES. I didn’t have anyone to fall back on, or anyone to support me. It was just me. And I sorta killed it this year.
But let’s go back to this one: I started a blog!! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! I’ve had this on my goals list for so long and always had excuses, and was just plain afraid to do it. To fail. But sometimes failures can be better than successes. So, I’m forging ahead, and I’m so excited to learn, and maybe fail, with this wonderfully challenging project. Here’s to you looking back on your year, at both the good and bad, and looking ahead with new goals, optimism, and hope for 2015! Cheers.
2015 is going to be a fantastic year. I can’t wait to share it with you. xo
Hiya! Before we go anywhere with this post, yes, you should wear sequins. Just do it. Have I before? No. Am I this year? No. But I’m always jealous of the women who sparkle out. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these pants. Just adore. Pine for them.
Image via Parisiscoming.com
I wonder if I shouldn’t just order them and then wear them to work. On a Monday. And mess with everyone. And just have the best Monday ever. Really. That happens, you know. When you feel particularly adorable in your outfit. I will be sporting more sparkle than in previous years. I found this little darling at Target and it might make its first appearance on NYE. Yay. I looked online and they had a black/white stripe version and also solid black but they were sold out. But I’m quite happy with this one.
You might notice it’s a knock-off of this wonderful Anthropologie piece that they brought back a few times in black/white stripes, maroon, and green that I know of. I loved it but couldn’t fork over the dough.
So I was delighted to snatch up the Target version for $22.00. AND IT’S GOLD. Whaaaa?! With black tights and heels (top undecided), and a bright lip? Yup. Here’s to a wonderful new start.
