Life Update: January 2020

Hello, new year! Today I’m recapping you on our New Year’s Eve with a reflection on 2019, life lately and what 2020 holds.

Justin and I spent a chill New Year’s Eve at home with our dog + a surprise home-cooked meal that Justin prepared (featuring steak and a NYE classic: shrimp cocktail). As we ate our food, we reflected on 2019 and I must admit that I got a little sad (are hormones to blame?). I found myself reminiscing on lost friendships, tough choices, closing chapters and things that I’d be leaving behind that won’t make it to 2020 with me. With all the celebrations, sparkly dresses and positive end-of-year recaps on social media, it’s easy to feel a little alone in these emotions.

I think self-reflection is important, especially in the new year, and I can admit that I looked at myself with a very critical eye this past year. I’m my own little bully sometimes! I went back and reviewed all of my Life Updates in 2019 and most were sprinkled with (if not centered on) feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty of what I should do to fix that. There was a bit of an internal shift for me and it all came to a head in August/September. My theory is that since my life has been so mapped out since college with getting engaged, graduating, planning a wedding, getting married and buying a house (all within about three years), that I feel like I’ve lost the framework (and overall mental busy-ness) that I’ve been used to centering my actions and emotions on for so many years. Does that make sense? It’s like I’m at a crossroads where I now have to take the reigns and decide what to do next, or I’ll end up doing nothing, you know? I guess feeling stagnant would be a fair way to describe it. Essentially, 2019 has been a transition year and as necessary as those are, they’re not always the most fun.

Looking back, the standouts for 2019 were getting our first dog, continuing to makeover our home and leaving a “dead end” job. Justin’s health got back in order this year too (thank god), which I’m very grateful for. We also made some big decisions about where we hope this next year of our lives go, and looking forward, I hope 2020 is a year of evolution. I want to become an elevated version of myself that I’ve always dreamed of being with peace and excitement for what’s to come. I want to be easy on myself when it comes to accomplishing things and really give myself the time I need to make things happen.

In other news, just like I do every year after Christmas when I put the decorations away, I’m unbelievably ready for spring. The light vibes in our house intentionally help me get a taste of the warmer seasons year-round, but I’m counting down the months until the grass and trees are green again. I’m just not a winter girl and the total lack of sunshine in my work week will be the death of me. Is a little sun during my commute too much to ask for?! Honestly, I’d give anything to fast-forward to May, which is pretty much when the warmer temps actually stick around in Indiana.

As for fun stuff, Justin and I started and finished Season 2 of You last weekend on Netflix and really liked it! The concept of this show is so unlike anything we’ve ever watched. You don’t have to be a crime lover or anything to enjoy this one because it’s more of a drama/mystery, in my opinion. In comparison to the first season, it didn’t disappoint! I will say though I am not a fan of Love’s character, even from when they very first introduced her. Something about her is so unlikeable to me, but looking back, I guess I didn’t really care for Beck much in the first season either. He latches on to the most random, chaotic girls, I swear. I’m excited to see where the third season goes, assuming it gets picked up! My prediction is that with his new life/situation, he’ll be forced to become more crafty to execute his impulses. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the series!

We’ve started leaving Lucia out in the house more when we’re not home. We’ve been working our way up in time increments so we can monitor the situation, and so far so good! She’s been left out about five times now, no more than three hours at a time. We close all of the doors so she can only roam in the main living area (living room, kitchen, dining area and hallway). I truly have no idea if she cries the entire time or sleeps, but she was asleep in her bed (not on the couch, which I found funny) one of the times. She’s really not a chewer, so I’m crossing my fingers that behavior continues when she’s out of her pen and no one is watching. I will feel so much better about her not having to be stuck in as confined of a space and being able to walk or run around the house all day if she wants to.

One last thing — I kicked off 2020 with a house tour on my Instagram story, which is now saved to my House Tour story highlight. Like you’ll hear me mention in the video, I truly didn’t realize I hadn’t done one until requests came in from you guys following a silent walkthrough I showed the other day. I know I’ve done updates as we’ve added new stuff to each room along with photos and what not, but never all at once on video while chatting about it. Real talk: that took me so much longer than I thought to film all of that and post it, so I hope you enjoy it! 😂 Since interior decorating and home renovations are such a big passion of mine, I want to continue to incorporate that this year. It feels very me. Something big that I want to promote through sharing this content is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a well-decorated and cohesive home, regardless of what your style is. As you’ll see in the tour video, a lot of our items are from HomeGoods, TJ Maxx and Target & we’ve done a majority of the work ourselves, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Living in a space that you resonate with, that feels like YOU and that you’re comfortable in is game changing, and having your hands in the process is so rewarding (and fun!).

That’s all for this update! Thanks so much for listening. How are you feeling about the new year? Let me know in the comments & I’ll catch you in my next post!