My 2018 Goals

Photo by Caitie of @ktnewsms

Though I've always made New Year's goals and resolutions privately, surprisingly, I don't think I've ever actually shared them here in this space. Well, this year, I feel like I need the kick in the pants that comes with accountability, so here I am putting them out into the world. They're not revolutionary resolutions or groundbreaking goals, but they're mine. Read, enjoy, and please...help me stick to them!

1. Read more books. I talked about this in my Instagram Stories recently, but though I consider myself someone who loves to read, I don't actually read that many books anymore. I've really gotten into podcasts, and those have kind of replaced books for me in many situations where I used to read them (I.e. during a commute). I also spend a ton of my free time on my computer--on social media, reading political articles (ugh), etc. No more! I'm going to make reading books a priority, and my aim is two each month. (That's not a ton, I know--and I do hope to exceed that--but I need a doable goal to start with.) I recently started This Is How it Always Is, because it was on so many best-of-2017 lists, and so far it's great! And as soon as I finish it, I'm diving into The Bright Hour. It had already been on my Amazon wishlist for months, but then I read this amazing, beautiful story yesterday and realized I had to read it asap. (BTW, I had already read--and sobbed through, and adored--When Breath Becomes Air, but if you haven't read it, you need to do so immediately. It's incredible!)

2. Drink more water. This is a lame one, I know, but it's necessary. I'm so bad at drinking water and am pretty sure I have to be constantly dehydrated. And honestly, I feel like I'm starting to see my dehydration in my face! And the worst part is that I'm not one of those people who doesn't like drinking plain water. I love a glass of ice cold water! My issue is that I just never think to drink it.(Except at meals when I only ever have water. I don't drink soda, juice, etc.) If anyone has tips on how to make yourself drink more water (and how to track your ounces), I would love to hear them! In the meantime, I think I'm going to buy this cool water bottle, which helps track how much you drink.) I'm aiming for half my body weight in ounces each day, which seems reasonable. 

3. Put my phone away when I'm with my kids. Yes, sometimes it's necessary to be on it, but usually it's just not. Yet, I constantly find myself mindlessly scrolling through Twitter when I should be snuggling and engaging. This especially happens when I'm eating a meal with my kids or putting them to bed, and I've thought about it/felt guilty about it for some time now. But what really inspired me to put this on my list is this: Last night, while my son was brushing his teeth, I had my head down focused on my phone per usual when he suddenly said, "I don't like it when I try to tell you something and you are on your phone and are not listening." Heart. Broken. I shouldn't even have it with me during moments like that, I know, so going forward, I won't. (BTW, I need to get my husband on board with this goal, too!)

4. Eat for health. This is a bit vague, I know, but I'm not trying to adopt some crazy diet here. I just need to eat in a more health-focused way. I'm not looking to lose a ton of weight or become a vegan or anything dramatic. But I do need to do a few key things. I need to eat fewer carbs (sadly, they make up the bulk of my diet right now. Me love carbs.), I need to eat more protein, and perhaps the biggest one: I need to eat more veggies. Above all, with every meal, I need to remember to eat to nourish my body, not just to fill it with stuff. That means meals with veggies and fiber and protein--and not just a bowl of cereal or pasta because it's easy. 

5. Spin at least twice a week. I do private Pilates sessions twice a week, religiously, so I'm really good about getting in my core work/stretching. But I'm abysmal at cardio, these days. And worst of all, I have no excuse for this one considering we have a damn Peloton bike in our bedroom!!! So I'm setting a very reasonable, very doable goal of two Peloton sessions a week. And then hopefully I'll become hooked again and will do it a lot more!

6. Blog three times each week. Or, okay, maybe twice a week. But more than now! You guys, I'm sorry. I've never been the type of person who blogs every day, but yikes--my blogging schedule this past year was, shall we say...irregular. I'd like to make three times a week my goal, but I also want to make sure I'm not bringing you crap, so let's say two to three times a week. One things for sure: I'm going to be here for you more this year. Promise.

7. Do a blog re-design. Another huge goal that I have for this space is a re-design. My site has actually never been redesigned. And I've had this blog for almost seven years now. It's gotten embarrassing...and it's beyond time. (If you know a great blog designer, let me know! I have started looking into this a bit, but I'd definitely like to get more suggstions.)

8. Start an email newsletter. Here's something else I've been meaning to do forever. But I never wanted to do a newsletter just for the sake of doing one. I only want to do it if it's going to provide new info, cool recommendations, exclusive giveaways--basically fun stuff you haven't seen or read before. I can't stand newsletters that exist solely to regurgiate what you've already read on someone's blog. But I feel like I've got a good plan for a cool newsletter now, so this is my year. If you are interested in being one of the first people to read it when it (hopefully!) launches, you can sign up for it here. Note: I will NEVER sell your email or use it to spam you. I will also send my newsletter very rarely--once a week max, probably even less. (I mean, you know me...!) Basically, I promise to never, ever clog up your inbox.

9. Get rid of clutter. I have so much stuff, you guys. I buy too much stuff, I get too much stuff for free thanks to my job, and I am bad (like really, epically bad) at getting rid of stuff. As a result, my house is in a constant state of clutter. And while I'm not one of those people who needs no clutter in order to function happily, the amount I have is just too much, even for me. I didn't connect with the Marie Kondo method, and I'm not even sure if I need a method, but I do need to get rid of stuff. So, I'm going to set aside two half days each week to go through all of my crap and get rid of it. (Salvation Army, get ready!) P.S.: If you guys have any pieces of advice for sorting through stuff--or any favorite books, articles, or organizing doodads--please send them my way!

So that's it. I have a few additional personal and professional goals, of course, but these are some key ones. And the ones I really want accountability on! Would love to hear if any of my 2018 goals coincide with yours. What are we all aiming for this year? Tell me below!

Happy New Hair!

Happy 2016! I hope you had a great New Year's Eve. We spent ours with friends at their home a few blocks away. We even brought the kids, which was a first. My daughter stayed up to see the ball drop, which shocked me. (Then she "slept in" until 7:30am. Yay.) And we tried something new with my son: We brought a Pack n Play to the party and put him upstairs to sleep around 8pm, then woke him up, carried him home, and transferred him to his crib just after midnight. It worked! 

Hope you're taking some time today to relax. (Watch Making a Murderer if you haven't already! I promise--you won't be sorry.) And don't spend the day stressing about starting those resolutions quite yet. Case in point: I'm making cinnamon rolls right now! #dietstartsmonday

I hope 2016 brings you health, happiness, and of course, lots and lots of good hair days.

And in case you missed them, check out my Happy New Hair posts from 2015, 2013 and 2012. (OMG. I want 2011's pre-baby-number-two hair back!! WHERE DID MY HAIR GO???)

Holiday Cards for Procrastinators (a.k.a Why New Year's Cards Are Awesome)

 

I am usually painfully late sending out my holiday cards. I almost always wait until the last possible minute to order them (thank god for express shipping), and then send them out a day or two before Christmas. This year, I actually thought ahead and ordered my family's cards before Thanksgiving (a personal record!). Great, right? Well, it could have been if I hadn't spent the next three weeks patting myself on the back, while simultaneously putting off actually addressing or sending them. Once again, I didn't get them out until the week of Christmas.

Well, if you're a natural born procrastinator like me, I have a solution for you: New Year's cards. The beauty of New Year's cards is that you don't have to deal with them during the weeks of pre-Christmas craziness...because they're New Year's cards! You're basically supposed to send them late. You have weeks after the holidays to mail them. I'd say as long as you get them out by January 15th or so, you're golden. (But let's face it: People are still saying "Happy New Year" until the end of January at least, so I give you official permission to get them out any time before February.)

This year, in addition to my family's cards, I had hoped to send holiday cards to my blog/work contacts, but then didn't get around to it with all of the holiday nuttiness. That's when it hit me: New Year's cards, baby. 

Check out my finished cards above. I went with this design from my beloved Minted once again. (And, of course, I had to reference blowouts!) I express-ordered them and they arrived two days later. Now I'll be (very leisurely) sending them out over the next few weeks.

All of the sentiment, none of the stress. New Year's cards, people. Trust.

Did you guys send holiday cards this year? And are you a big time card-procrastinator like me?

Disclosure: Minted--a brand I have long used and trusted--provided me with complimentary holiday cards, but all opinions and ideas are my own.

Your Favorite Blog Posts of 2015

One of my favorite photos that ran on the blog in 2015.

It's fun doing year-end wrap-up posts. Not only am I reminded of posts from months back that I'd forgotten about, but looking at your blog purely from a numbers perspective, allows you to see what people really respond to. For me, it felt very reaffirming, because the stuff that you guys gravitated to--a combo of beauty, parenting, fashion, entertaining, home decor, and books--was the exact mix of this blog, so it feels like maybe, sort of, kind of that I'm on the right track? 

It also lets you pat yourself on the back a little. I constantly hem and haw over my traffic here (is it high enough? how can I boost my unique users?), so it's nice to remind yourself that there were in fact highlights. One of the posts below reached over 250,000 people on Facebook this year; another was featured on Today.com where it reached over four million (!!) in just a few days.

I hope you enjoy looking at this list (and going back to read anything you may have missed) as much as I enjoyed compiling it. In descending order, from #10 to #1, here are the top ten most popular blog posts that appeared on The Sparkly Life this year. Have fun!

10) Why Do We Care If Women Are Getting Their Hair Done After Giving Birth? - Remember when that story about women getting their hair and makeup done after having babies made the rounds?  (And then, of course, it shamed them.) Here's where I tell people to mind their own business and let those women be.

9) 10 Great Books to Read This Summer - I shared ten books that I read and loved earlier this year. (And, pssst--they make great winter reading, too!)

8) Beauty Secrets: Andrea Lavinthal - My friend, the fabulous (and hilarious!) People Stylewatch Style & Beauty Director Andrea Lavinthal, shared her favorite beauty products, plus the awesome tips and tricks she's picked up over the years.

7) Monday Wish List - A few of the fashion items I was lusting after at the time. (I ended up buying that blue-and-white wrap dress!)

6) The 3 A.M. Struggle Is Real - This was one of my favorite posts I've ever written. (I lost track of the number of people who told me they had tears in their eyes after reading it!) It's #6 on this list, but in a way, it's really my biggest post of the year, because way, way more people read these words than anything else I've ever written on this blog. That's because, soon after it was published here, it was republished on the Today show's Today Parents site, where a few days after that went up in March, I found out that it had reached over 4 million people there! And then, just yesterday, I got confirmation that it held its own all year, and ended up being one of Today Parent's most read posts of 2015. Definitely a highlight of the year for me. Still waiting for my call to chat with Matt and Savannah about it though... ;)

5) Why Snow Days Are Like Being In Prison When You're a Parent - Thanks to a snowstorm, I was trapped alone inside my house for a full day with my bored kids and no cable. I survived to tell the tale. Barely.

4) The Lazy Girl's Guide to Outdoor Entertaining - I love entertaining, but I'm super lazy. And this post showed that the two things aren't mutually exclusive! Here, I share how to throw an outdoor party for basically zero effort. 

3) My Outdoor Space Transformation - I gave my drab, dreary outdoor space a major makeover with a few pillows and fun accessories--and I have the before and after shots to prove it!

2) 11 Cool Things To Buy Right Now - This became a surprise hit after it was picked up by Tend. A fun little roundup of some of my favorite things including this J.Crew sweater and this wallpaper, which is now hanging in my powder room!

1) "Why I Kept My Baby a Secret Until She Was Six Months Old" - Not only was this my most popular post of the year on the blog, but it was my most popular post of all time. By a landslide. It actually went semi-viral on Facebook, reaching nearly 280,000 people there. I was floored. If you missed it, definitely check it out to see why my friend Nadine had to keep her baby a secret for several months. I (and many others) didn't even find out she had been pregnant until after the baby was born! (I really loved this story and am so happy so many people got to enjoy it!)


So, that's it! Which one of these posts was your favorite? Or did one of your favorites not make this list? Tell me below!

And P.S.: Here were your favorite blog posts of 2014.

Happy New Hair!

I'll let NBC and CNN handle the elaborate let's-look-back-at-all-the-happenings-of-2012 video montages. Here on The Sparkly Life, I prefer to focus on one of life's truly great moments: really awesome hair days. (Kidding! Well, sort of.) 

Seriously though, now that another year is in the history books, I'd like to thank you all for sticking with me for the past 12 months. It means so much. Next year is going to be crazy and very exciting for me for many different reasons, and I'm so happy you'll be along for the ride. 

Have a wonderful New Year's Day, an amazing 2013, and of course, many happy hair days. :)

xoxo!

P.S.: I'm not sure how many blowouts I got this year, but these are a few of my favorites. Which one do you like best? Curly? Straight? Somewhere in between?