The times they are a changin'

The last morning of the last day of the last month of the year. So many lasts in order to usher in a brand, spanking new year tomorrow. But that is how change is born. We must part with the old, to usher in the new. It is the natural order of things and something that I'm personally very grateful for.

{May it truly be for each of us! Image source.}

It is entirely normal, as one year end and another draws so close we can all but taste it, to reflect on not only the past twelve months, but on the dozen that stand to follow ahead. At the very beginning of 2014, when it was as rosy cheeked as an hour old infant, I penned a heartfelt and personal post about twelve things that I hoped to accomplish in the year ahead. At various points throughout 2014, I've talked (to some degree at least) here about how most of those were coming along.

In certain areas, I've excelled, in others (for various reasons), there is still a lot of room for growth and further improvement. I did not fail to address any of them to an extent however, and I see that as a wholly positive move forward. Most of these twelve things will continue to be ones that I purposefully work at in the coming year as well.

In the nearly mystical realm of tomorrow, where everything and anything is theoretically possible, I know that I want to continue to simplify my life, to spend less and buy more of what I truly need and want (which won't be a problem, as for the sake of our household budget, my own modest monthly personal spending allowance is being slashed in half from January 1st onward), to shake off the small things that niggle at your mind all too easily, and to continue to get better at asking for more, taking on less other other peoples' problems as though there were my own, and finding ways to continue to experience the exhilarating joys of travel (even if it's close to home).

But what else will I do? I will continue to remind myself that I own my time. I will set aside a greater number of days when I'm not online, with any luck craft more again (for all intents, I haven't done so in two years and to any real degree for well over three now, and I miss it with a fiery passion). My blog and Etsy shop will be at the forefront of my professional world, whereas spending time in the company of Mother Nature, my family, great books, hobbies, and periods of genuine relaxation will, I sincerely hope, fill my hours when I'm not working.

As 2014 began to dwindle down like the last pointy tip you've licked into existence on a candy cane, I started to feel a powerful voice deep inside my soul telling me to focus on the things I just mentioned. Each time I listened to it, my day was better, my life (if only briefly) was less stressful, my anxiety levels dropped, and often (perhaps not surprisingly) I also felt various positive effects on my health.

I'm not the same person I was when 2014 began. None of us are. We've lived and grown, laughed and cried, tried and failed, been jubilant and distraught, smiled and frowned, and through it all we've hung on and hopefully we're better off, at least on some fronts, then we were twelve months ago. I feel the winds of change a blowin'. I've always been the sort to follow my gut, but I know all the more now at the age of thirty now, to truly listen when it speaks and to follow my heart in the process.

I feel certain old skins, so to speak, falling away and the prospect of an amazing year ahead. Will it be? Only time will tell, but it certainly has the potential and that alone should be plenty to light the spark that will ignite each of our dreams, goals, and ambitions for the coming year.

{Beautiful vintage words of poetry with which to cap off this year and wave a hearty hello to 2015. Image source.}

Let us neither mourn the loss, nor blindly celebrate the end of 2014. Whether is was staggering awful or incredibly awesome, or anywhere in between for you, for none of us would be here without it.

That fact alone makes is worth raising a glass to as we watch the ball drop and indulge in an evening of daydreaming, hoping and believing in the ingrained power of a whole new set of months upon which to write the next chapter of our lives.

Thank you all for an awesome 2012!

As I delved into last Friday in my post about 12 ways I improved my life in 2012, this has been one the best years for Tony and I in our whole lives, and we are grateful beyond measure for this fact. 2012 was, over all, so terrific that I’m almost a tad leery to see the ball drop on it tonight. Part of me wants to linger a little longer, basking in the wonderfulness of the past twelve months and stretching it out as long as possible (a feeling I honestly can't recall ever having before - at least not as an adult).

Time however, has other plans entirely, and whether I'm ready to wave buh-bye to 2012 or not, come tomorrow morning a brand new year will be upon us all. No matter what 2013 has up its sleeve, I know that one extremely lovely point will continue on into the new year, and that is all of you.

Yes, you! Each and every single one of you has helped to contribute to this blog in your own way, by following it, commenting, emailing me, and sharing your own sites (and Pinterest accounts!) with me all year long. I've never been the type to have a million and one real world friends, but I'm blessed to say that I have made countless dear and wonderful friends through my blog and involvement with the online vintage community.

You enrich my life, help inspire my wardrobe, share your knowledge, encourage and support me, are there to share the good times and the bad with, and help fuel my writing mojo on even the toughest of days.

I cherish my readers and want you all to know that you helped contribute to why 2012 was such fabulous year that it was for me. Thank you very much for being a part of my world and in turn opening up yours to me.

{Lovely vintage New Year's postcard via The Graphics Fairy}

From the bottom of my heart I wish you each a New Year's celebration - and year ahead - that sparkles and abounds with unparalleled happiness, tons of great memories, excellent health, the utmost of success, and scores of incredible vintage finds!!!

Adjectives, not resolutions, for 2013

A few weeks ago I did something that was outside the realm of my personal comfort zone. To most people it would have been as mundane as washing their hair or mowing the lawn, but for me it's something that is intensely unpleasant. I bucked up, did what had to be done, and got on with life. It's better, more often than not, to suffer in the moment, than to prolong an unwanted experience for days or weeks on end and suffer agony on top of the eventual reality of what you know simply must be done. And this got me thinking.

Thinking about bravery, about gumption, about moxie, and confidence, and as the day wore on, as my nerves settled a bit, other words began to flash into my mind, not about myself per se, but about the traits, be they ingrained or donned like a superhero costume when need be that we all have, and those which we aspire to apply more to our own lives.

Nestled into the taupe hued sofa in our living room, I began reflecting back over the past year once again and it struck me just how many times I'd stepped outside of my comfort zone over the last twelve months, and how - more often than not - my life had gotten better in some regard because of it.

Throughout my adult life I've often tried to consciously get better at various things, to improve those that I'm less than stellar at, and to stare fear straight in the eyes until it backs down. This will never change, it's tied to my tenacious nature, but that doesn't mean that I can't keep working and improving myself. Every can, and should, continue to better themselves however possible.

New Year's resolutions can be fantastic little critters indeed, but I've long been of the opinion that one can make a resolution at any point in the year, if they so desire, no need to wait for the ball to drop in Times Square (as I discussed in this post last January), so I'm not really setting any hard and fast resolutions that will kick into effect with the speedometer rolls over once more on January 1st .

There are goals I'm working on already, others that I'll likely kick off later this year, and some that will probably come about throughout 2013 that I'm not even aware of the possibility of yet. No, instead of resolutions for the coming year, I'm making a list of the adjectives that I want to personify, get better at, and work on rocking as often as possible - even when doing so sends a shiver of fear or worry down my spine.

{Image source}

I want to be, or will continue to be brave, confident, creative, beautiful, open (to new experiences and opportunities), thrifty, adventurous, and awesome.

These are my words for the year. Reminders both big and small of who I am, who I want to be, and who I'm developing into as I continue to grow.

The older I get (and at nearly 28.5, believe me, I'm scarcely a spring chicken these days), the more I come to realize that so much of what we think is holding us back, truly isn't. So often it's just a matter of changing our mindset, stepping out of our comfort zone, and being ok with not knowing what tomorrow may bring that launches that greatest changes - the moves and decisions that are more than just resolutions, but full on revolutions in our own lives.

You’ve got to love that. I sure do and I cannot wait to live my adjectives in the exciting year ahead.