New Year Goals: 2015 Style

Happy New Year! I know I’m a little late to the game here, being that we’re already half-way through January, but I took the last few weeks to recharge, and I’m excited to be back! I have a lot of fun ideas planned for this space in 2015… starting with a facelift!*

I always like to set a small health and lifestyle goal for January (in the past I've done no-boozuary, no process sugar, waking up earlier, etc), just so I can use the month to really get back into a healthy, productive mindset after all the holiday indulgences (which included tons of chocolate and butter, sleeping in later than I have since college, watching hours upon hours of Netflix, and barely leaving the house).  I also come up with a focus/theme for each new year (an idea I got from my friend LZ), and some goals for the year. So, here’s what I have planned for 2015! Let’s do this!

2015 Focus/Theme: Seek & Create Balance

Coming out of a year of extreme highs and extremely low low lows, I’m seeking a more even keeled, balanced year. Emotionally, physically, everything-ly. The low lows aside, I was hyper focused on the wedding for basically all of 2014, and if you’ve ever done that, you know it’s pretty much the opposite of balance. All wedding, all the time (thank you, patient friends and family!). So with that insanity behind me, I’m looking forward to more travel and entertaining, more outdoor adventures (and maybe a little less tv), and a new focus on creating a healthy and happy balance between creative pursuits, friendships, family, marriage (!), work, fitness, and even the boring stuff like keeping the house clean.

2015 Goals:

Food: Use my cookbooks—I think I’m most excited about this goal! I have a ton of great cookbooks, yet I never use them. I kicked this one off a little early with Sheet Pan Suppers, and just made an amazing cauliflower salad and a butternut squash dip from Jerusalem.

Travel: Visit (at least) two new places—with all the money we were spending on the wedding, we didn’t go on any international trips in 2014, and that bums me out. This year, I want to go on one big international trip, and also cross a few domestic destinations off my bucket list (NOLA, I’m looking at you… finger’s crossed!).

Home: Minimize, simplify, beautify—I have a tendency to hang on to everything, and I’m trying really hard to change that. when Evan and I moved into our new place in November, we made 7 trips to Goodwill! I’m talking entire carloads. Plus a couch and recliner. So in 2015, I want to continue to get rid of the clutter. But also, I want to focus on making our place more inviting. We moved into our old apartment when we were 24. It was a dark, cramped, cluttered space full of mismatched, ugly furniture and decorations. We hardly ever entertained because we hated it so much. Our new place is open and airy and beautiful, and we want to show it off!

January Goal:

Bring lunch to work every day: I was in an eating-out-every-day rut, so now’s a good time to reset, save a little money, and eat healthy homemade lunches. So far, so good! My tricks? Prepping a bunch of roast vegetables, beans, and grains over the weekend, so I can just throw everything together for a quick salad/bowl. Also, I’ve been making big batches of frozen burritos—chicken/bean/rice and egg/potato/sausage—so that I have quick options if I’m in a hurry. This week I made a few batches of juice to bring too!

So, that’s what I have planned for the year ahead. And, obviously, lots of new recipes for you to make! What about you? Any big goals, resolutions, or focus areas for 2015? Let’s do this together!

*PS. Thanks to Pipdig for the new design and layout! 
PPS. The photo above: the best day ever! More on that later!