2017 New Years Resolutions




Every year I make the stereotypical resolutions like lose weight that end up being too lofty and I just set myself up for failure. So why do I always do that? This year I decided to do something a little different for myself and make resolutions that are more reasonable to achieve and actually fun to do. Doing away with the unrealistic goals, I came up with little goals that are not impossible to achieve. I feel that writing them down makes a big difference because it makes it more concrete and it's something I can look back at to hold myself accountable to make sure I'm still on track. I'm excited to report that I met all of my Style Resolutions and Blog Goals from last year.

If you need ideas for your list, you could organize your gmail inbox (try UnrollMe), ditch sugar in January and practice good cell phone etiquette.  Phones don't belong on tables during meals, you're there to spend time with others, not respond to texts. Or just remembering to write 2017 instead of 2016.  It's ok to let go of negative people. Check out my 5 Things to Toss before 2017Here's a list of fun beauty resolutions you can set for yourself.



1. Make my overall happiness a top priority. Create a mood board for the coming year.  Smile more. Make a new playlist for myself for every season which I've been slacking on. Stay in and have lazy Sundays more often, I always feel refreshed afterwards like I really rested over the weekend.



2. Binge-watch shows that I've been meaning to see. I started with SATC as I had only seen episodes here or there. It's fun to watch a show filmed in NYC and listen to their dating rules. In 16 years the picture quality has really changed. I also never finished watching Sons of Anarchy.

3. Buy myself flowers more often. I've started saving photos of floral arrangements on my phone, so I can make the same mixture from Safeway flowers at a fraction of the cost.

4. Travel somewhere new. Last year I started a new job (that's a 5 minute commute) so I've been saving up my vacation days for a two week trip. Now I can go somewhere I've always wanted to visit.

5. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. I'm so lazy at work I take the elevator for one floor when our staircases are out in the open, not a closed stairwell. My chiropractor said taking the stairs would be good for my back.

6. Organize my closet which looks like a war zone. Declutter and sell more clothes on Tradesy. New year = new kicks (below) so I donated my old sneakers to Soles4Souls who will give them to people in need. Zappos will give you a free shipping label.



7. Eat healthier by meal planning dinner. Organize my recipe collection in a binder. I plan to spiralize vegetables more for dinner. I want to get more greens in my diet by making smoothies. Switch back to Trader Joe's Brown Rice & Quinoa Pasta.

8. Practice kindness and gratitude everyday. As I reflect on 2016, so much happened in the last year that I’m grateful for positive growth and change and my family.

9. Learn Photoshop Elements. I bought a new computer and had to also get a new photo editing software. The one I had been using for many many years is no longer available so I upgraded to Photoshop Elements which was on sale at the end of Dec. I took an online training course to learn its features but need to start practicing using it and getting comfortable with it. I made the top graphic with it.

10. Use instagram to grow my blog. Since Instagram is the #1 social media tool, I need to learn how to use it as a tool for my blog by organically increasing my followers. I plan to do this by working on the aesthetic of my pictures, using more hashtags and engaging more with others.



11. Re-energize my workout goals. I'm at my one year anniversary of working out at Orangetheory.
I remember during my first classes I couldn't power walk at a high incline without holding on and my back would hurt from being on the rower too long. Fast forward a year and I'm still going on a regular basis and getting stronger. Having a membership pushes me to show up every week and work harder each time. I've increased my splat points, if that doesn't mean anything to you, its the number of minutes I spend in the orange zone as the entire workout is built around heart rate zone based interval training. I'm still working on burning 500 calories a workout, not quite there yet. I want to add some Flywheel classes to the mix and get back to having a regular yoga practice. My goal is to feel comfortable and happy wearing the types of dresses I want to wear, not necessarily a number on the scale.

12. Last year I read 46 books, so my goal for this year is to read 50 books. I've finally allowed myself to not finish books I don't like. I need to organize my goodreads account and remove all the books I never intend to read at all. You can see some of my favorite books from last year here, here, and here.




Related Posts:
2016 New Years Resolutions
2016 Blog Goals
2016 Style Resolutions
2015 New Years Resolutions
2014 Year of New Possibilities



34 comments

  1. I wish I was a book person. I probably would be such a book worm. It's great to hear you met your style and blog goals for last year.

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  2. That playlist idea is a great one! So easy to do and a fun way to keep your spirits up and keep on with that happiness goal.

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  3. What a great way to look at the year, by monthly resolutions...I just used that unenroll me - yay, January resolution complete! :-)

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  4. I love that you have a reading goal - This is something I struggle with, I am such an on the go person that it is really hard for me to sit down long enough to read but I do listen to books on audio.

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  5. Loving these goals! I'm going to adopt the stairs one as well. We are going to go hard this year!!!!!!

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  6. overall happiness is a great goal. I love that you have buy flowers more often, flowers make life so happy!

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  7. These are great goals. I like that you are keeping track of the amount of books you are reading. I am aiming at one book per month. I read so slowly!

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  8. Great goals! I really need to learn more about Instagram and how to use it to grow my blog. I also plan to use my phone less this year when I'm around my family.

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  9. All of these things! You and I have a lot of the same goals. Especially travel somewhere new and buy flowers for myself. Theres something therapeutic about having fresh flowers in the house!

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  10. #1 is so right on for me! I feel like we can't do anything else well unless we are truly happy!!!

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  11. These are some really great goals! I really like mood board I've never created one but I'm sure it's a great reminder!

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  12. I love your goal to read 50 books this year! That's an impressive number - but totally doable. I need to purge my Goodreads list of some crud that I have no intention of actually getting around to either.

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  13. I love your goal of buying yourself flowers more often, that is a truly wonderful resolution that i may have to steal! I too am re-energizing my workouts, and i started with a new series on my blog called "workout Wednesdays" I hope it helps keep me motivated and gives someone else some motivation as well!

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  14. Happiness is definitely a fantastic priority! and i also need to read some more books this year, I am usually an avid reader but I have fallen a bit behind and neglected it because of work

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  15. These are great! I'm with you - I can't think of a year before 2014 that "losing weight" was NOT on my list of resolutions. So, in 2014, I said "Screw it." I'm going to live my life, make other resolutions, and if I lose weight along the way, great. If not, it can be on the list for another year, haha :)

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  16. Congrats on the new short commute job! Where have you always wanted to visit that will be on your travel list this year?

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  17. I love your list!!! These are all realistic goals, which is important for ensuring success. I especially love #3- Buy Myself Flowers More Often. There is something so inspiring in a fresh bouquet displayed in your home! And wow, congrats on hitting 46 books last year! You can totally get in 50 in 2017. Best of luck to you!

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  18. I love these resolutions! This year I told myself that if nothing else, I want to be happy - I'll be pleased with happiness even if I mess up all of my resolutions :)

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  19. I think that making your overall happiness a priority would definitely help. That is something I need to work on.

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  20. We want to travel somewhere new this year too. We have been talking about taking a road trip across the southern USA (from GA to Cali and back) sometime in the late summer. We've only taken short trips together a road trip just sounds like so much fun!

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  21. I love "buying myself flowers". I try to keep fresh flowers in the house also, as a little bright spot in my day/way to treat myself. self care is important in whatever form it takes!

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  22. I love that this year is all about taking good care of yourself. Everyone deserves that kind of treatment. 46 books! That's amazing! I wold love to read more this year!

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  23. I just started using Unroll.me to unsubscribe from a staggering amount of emails. So far, I've unsubscribed from over 800 newsletters!

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  24. Those are great resolutions, I love the flowers one, it's always great to treat yourself.

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  25. These are some really great goals. I love to by flowers for myself too. It really brightens up the house and my day.

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  26. I love the travel somewhere new one. That should be a resolution for everyone every year so they can learn, experience and expand their horizons.

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  27. I love these so much! A few of mine are similar! I want to travel more and make sure my families and my happiness are more of a priority. Instead of just loading up our schedule with things because we "should."

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  28. Oh yes, resolutions are often forgotten past January. Setting ourselves some achievable goals is smarter. And it is the execution that matters, not the resolutions - completely concur with you!!

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  29. I love these resolutions, they are attainable. I'm focusing on being happy and taking care of myself and maybe read some more books.

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  30. All of your resolutions sounds like mine. I tried to not be so typical this year with what I normally say I want to accomplish.

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  31. I LOVE the idea of a mood board. I have created them in the past, but it has been several years, and definitely something I want to do more of. And I also agree on the flowers, there is nothing like a beautiful flower arrangement (especially in the winter) to make me happy!

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  32. What great goals!!! Travel is always on my yearly goals
    List!!! There is a whole world to see after all lol

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  33. Great post! I love how you set goals for yourself. And you always follow through.
    It seems like I never have enought time to read,even though I LOVE reading.
    I saw your inspiration board on Instagram,and I love it.
    Why am I so lazy? This looks like so much fun,and I really want to do it

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  34. for resolution number 4 i have a great vacation spot: Cleveland,OH!!! ;-)

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