While I said in my last post that I don't intend on setting resolutions for myself this year, I do intend to set a few goals for the year ahead, just to keep me on track to happiness.



One thing that I signed up to do today after reading about it was Apartment Therapy's January Cure. While I no longer technically live in an apartment, our rental (the main floor of a character home) is pretty small when you consider that it's two adults, a German Shepard, a grumpy cat and two huge couches living in it. The Cure is a project designed to help you cut clutter and have a happy home.
I've already completed Day 1 (project list) by using a spreadsheet on Google Docs and will do Day 2 (creating an outbox and putting one thing in it) once I get home from work. I'll be blogging about my process too.

Another thing I am doing is reading The Happiness Project. I'm a big fan of the Apartment Therapy blog, and lately they've been referencing Gretchen Rubin's novel an awful lot, so I decided to dive into it myself (I haven't actually done this yet, but will as soon as I finish my book club book, Doppler).



Another goal I want to make is.... making more goals! I want to have a new goal every month, every six months, every year and in five years to work towards making my life the best it can be! I'm not sure what my big future goals will be, but my January goal is already sorted out:

I wasn't sure how to write that in a sentence that wasn't awkward, so here's a bit of an explainer.
Yesterday I finally buckled down and bought a January pass ($61.50) to go swimming. It's $8.50 per drop-in swim, so I have to swim 7 more times to make it worth my while. Hopefully I'll do more, but 7 is my goal!  On a side note, I felt like a loser getting a gym pass on Jan. 2, but that's even more motivation to keep up with it.
I love swimming (I used to be a lifeguard and swimming teacher) but since moving to Alberta it's fallen by the wayside. I hope to use swimming to improve my posture, get more energy and to improve my cardio! If I happened to get a little toned by doing it, then that's a bonus for me :)

What are some of your goals in 2013? I'd love to hear them!

xo Laurie

Regardless of how awesome it is to live solo - from playing the guitar whenever I want to going to bed at 8 p.m. like the old lady I am - it also means that I rely on me, myself and I to pay ALL the bills. Add in the fact that Christmas is fast approaching (3 months from today!) and I'm starting to feel the wallet crunch already.

So I'm challenging myself to take part in a no-spender bender in the lead-up to the holiday season to scrimp and save for presents, decorations and booze. Especially booze. Besides, I get presents at Christmas so I don't really need to go breaking the bank for myself, do I?

Rules (via Miss Bee Vintage)

• no e-bay/etsy/web shopping.
• You get 3 "free" passes for "emergency" purchases  (something on your wish list you have been waiting for, a deal too good to pass up, that sort of thing).
• You can of course buy necessities and replace broken items, that sort of thing. Use the one in/one out rule. Basically no crappy purchases just because you feel like it.
• Entertainment money does not count in this (movies, date nights, dancing). It's all about "merchandise."
• Basically - no spending and splurging on myself before Christmas.

I can't believe it's already February. I feel like it was just New Year's Eve last week!
I thought I would do a follow-up on my new year resolutions. I know that February is when most people start to drop off in terms of their goals, but I feel that I'm still going strong on mine.

Take better outfit photos

I'm doing this! I bought a tripod and am getting much better at doing my own photos. G does them every once in a while, but there's no way I'm going back to the mirror shots.

More variety in posts


I'm doing this too! While I haven't done any events, I have done reviews, knitting updates and my first shot at embroidery as opposed to all shopping and outfit posts.


Be more social
I've been doing this too. I joined a knitting circle and have gotten to know the ladies there quite well and have hung out with Miss Bee on quite a few occasions. I am so busy and a homebody to boot, so I'm quite proud of this.

Spend more time with my family
I took a vacation to Saskatchewan to visit my parents and grandparents, and I hope to be back to see them soon! 

Clean ALL the things 

 I said I wanted to start following the Apartment Therapy list on how to clean your house in 20 minutes over 30 days, but it's begun to fall by the wayside. I will try harder! It's so much easier to do a little bit every day as opposed to one big cleaning spree.

Be healthy and happy 
I am walking more (I walk to the library at least once a week, and while that's not too far it's still better than driving) but I haven't made any effort to start swimming, yoga or cycling. Whoops. 

Another thing I am doing is continually making new goals for myself. If you follow me on Pinterest you can see my Goal pinboard. I've added new goals such as learning to sew and reading more. 

How are you doing with your New Year Resolutions?

xo Laurie

Ever since I started dressing vintage, I'm had the urge to become more crafty. I've already started my foray into knitting, I want to get into sewing and this weekend, I did my first attempt at embroidery.

After a monogram tutorial by Vixen Vintage popped up on Pinterest, I decided to give it a go. I took a t-shirt that I wouldn't mind wrecking if the monogram didn't turn out and decided to embroider my blog logo.








It's not perfect (I should have done the blue first, not the orange!) but it turned out all right, I think.


Except now I have a problem - I want to embroider ALL the things. I should have seen this coming.

In other news, I had a good hair day today. I went to bed without curling my hair, so this morning it was a flat gross mess. I REALLY should buy a snood, but until then, I think this was a good lazy day alternative.

For those of you who know the hairband method for hair curling, you may see what I've done. The hairband method has never worked for curling my hair, but I do like it as a style in itself. Instead of wrapping my hair all the way around a headband that was the same colour, I just did the back and did victory rolls in the front.

Whoops, ignore the loose piece in the back!

voila!

I haven't mastered bobby pinning the hair so it stays in a roll, so I have to be tucking the hair in the back in every once in a while, lest it goes astray, like in the first photo.

And here's my full outfit:

This sweater is pink, not red. My white balance was off...

Hmmm, I think I could totally embroider something on that sweater...

XO Laurie

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a great weekend full of festivities. I ended 2011 and started 2012 by shopping, visiting friends and family, and getting the flu. Aside from the flu, I had a great weekend.

I kicked off Friday by buggering off of work early (but I was done all my work, I swear) and then heading down to visit my sponsor, Imagine Vintage. Here are some of the things I picked up (note the self-portraits - I'm working on my resolutions already!)

I didn't spot these pins until I was at the till, but aren't they just darling?!  I first saw the poodle ($4) and squealed out loud, and then Peggy directed my attention to the Scotty ($10). I just had to snap them up!

While this 50s brush isn't a direct companion to the 50s mirror I picked up last time, it's a pretty close match and looks great with the rest of my collection! ($16)

More hats! I think this brown turban will be great for lazy days ($16)

... while this coral hat ($35) will be fantastic for dressing up (come to think of it, it went really well with this outfit)

Another warm pencil skirt, this time in pumpkin ($20). Worn over my Diane wrap dress.

These are the COMFIEST shoes ever. Bright red, never worn loafers in my size? Yes please ($18)

Black oxford high heels, need I say more? ($20)

How adorable is this purse? It's a 1960s wicker handbag in great conditions. I can't wait for summer to roll around so I can wear it with sundresses and big floppy hats!

Later that night, G and I went to a farewell party for a friend of his, who is going to school in Hong Kong fir six months (Good luck Dan!). We failed to take any more photos than this one of me, which is a shame because G looked very handsome.

Diane wrap dress | scarf worn as bandeau

New Years Eve I did some newspaper work before heading down to Bentley to visit my aunt, my parents and my younger sister to ring in the new year. My almost one-year-old cousin Willow had given everyone the flu around Christmas time, but it had seemed to be gone by the time G and I and my parents got there.

This is the little flu culprit, reading magazines with my dad. Isn't she adorable!



Alas, someone was still carrying around very resilient germs because on Jan. 2, G and I both woke up at home sick and my mom was sick on their way back to Saskatchewan. I've certainly have had worse bouts of the flu (I still remember how terribly sick I was last year at Christmas and then woke up NYE with pick eye - belch!) but it's still no fun!

I thought I was better today but when I got to work I realized I would be more productive if I stayed home a day and got better.The latter part of today was spent drinking ginger ale and working on my resolutions of reading more and following the 30 day cleaning guide. How are your resolutions going?

XO Laurie