Every year we publicly state a few resolutions in the hope they’ll motivate us to actually follow through. So here they are—no further ado (except for this gratuitous Clara picture).
Resolution #1. Be bolder with decorating and renovating choices. We want to embrace color, contrast, and playful decisions without worrying about making mistakes. We’ve learned that mistakes are often the best teachers when it comes to a project or developing your style, so we plan to welcome them. Rather than defaulting to the safest choices, we’ll take more chances and dive in with enthusiasm. Yes, that might mean the occasional belly flop, but we’re okay with that. Part of the fun is discovering what works by trying things out.
Resolution #2. Find better balance. We’re going to try not to sink all of our time, money, and energy into the house to the point that there’s no life left outside of projects. We’d like to remember to plan family trips—our last big vacation was our honeymoon three and a half years ago, apart from low-key road trips and beach weeks—and to enjoy simple outings to the park, the zoo, and occasional meals out. The internet is always on, which makes it tempting to work nights, weekends, and even on vacation, so we hope to set clearer boundaries. Now that we have a little one, a healthier family-friendly balance feels important.
Resolution #3. Save more money. We’re already pretty frugal (admit it: total tightwads), but we want to learn more ways to put cash aside for a rainy day, retirement, or a college fund. For instance, we don’t know much about couponing yet, but we’re ready to learn the practical side of it—loading Kroger cards with online coupons, clipping inserts from the Sunday paper when useful, and printing online coupons for things we actually buy. We tried it once and saved $19 at the grocery store, which felt like a win for two newbies. We’ll keep experimenting and share our progress if we get the hang of it.
Resolution #4. Turn down the people-pleasing impulse. As we mentioned during our blogiversary, it’s impossible to please everyone all the time. Over the years we’ve learned that every decision—how much family content to share, whether to do bigger or smaller projects, or whether to post more or less—will please some readers and frustrate others. If we listened to every suggestion for changing the blog, we’d likely lose what makes it ours. We like how we blog: real-time, diary-style entries about what’s happening in our home, including the good, the bad, the ugly, and the everyday. Some weeks we’re wildly productive and other weeks we move slowly—that’s real life, with real budgets, snafus, and timeline hiccups. For quick TV-style transformations, there’s always the networks; we prefer to share the middle ground. As the blog grows and evolves, some readers will like it less and others will like it more—and that’s okay.
Resolution #5. Teach Clara a few essential home-improvement and decorating terms. Think “Phillips head screwdriver” and “cohesive.” Imagine a toddler saying “keep it cohesive”—adorable, right? My dad taught me the word “dehydrated” as a toddler, so I’d announce “I’m dehydrated” instead of asking for water. I can just picture Clara pointing and saying “drywall,” “hardwoods,” and “baseboard” instead of just “wall” and “floor.” It would be funny and a little charming.
Pssst—We also share a weekly photo project featuring the beanette.
Pssssst—There’s one more kid-related resolution mentioned on BabyCenter. Any good faux-cuss suggestions?