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Happy New Year, friends!
I hope that your New Year is off to a lovely start. I adore the fresh start of the new year, all full of wonderful possibilities. I am truly hopeful for all the amazing things about to happen this year. This is the year I get married, go on the honeymoon of a lifetime, photograph a pre-wedding photo shoot in Dallas Texas (more on that to come), continue to enhance my blog, and start my 2018 Year Of Living Lovely project.
I am truly excited to be kicking off my Year of Living Lovely project with all of you this month and I am thankful that you have all decided to join the journey. If you’re new to A Year of Living Lovely, learn more about it from my previous blog post by clicking on this link.
Every month I will be focusing on one big goal and for January that starts right where we are at home. When I started this project for myself last year I realized pretty quickly that one of the biggest impacts on my daily life and to my happiness was my home. If it wasn’t in order, then neither was I, and vice versa. My life felt like a mess and I couldn’t focus on anything outside of that bubble I had created. Even though the mess didn’t seem that bad to most people, the clutter was really bringing me down. I started making some serious life changes. I quit a toxic job, took up blogging, and moved to a much smaller studio apartment. Along the way I donated at least 30% of my belongings to make space in our new place and I continue to declutter and donate as I go through my days. My apartment is not perfectly minimal and it is a work in progress, but it is better and sometimes that is just enough.
With this project, it is very important that you focus on crafting a life that you love. This is the time to forget about expectations put on you by family, friends, professors, colleagues, society, and even yourself. Forget about keeping up with the Jones’s. What kind of lifestyle, home, career, and activities truly bring you joy? This year, we are going to focus on that. Let’s craft a life you love!
Home is where the heart is, whether your idea of home is backpacking across the globe, renting an apartment, living in a dorm, trekking across the country in a van, or living in a large house. This month we focus on making our home, no matter what or where home may be, the best it can be right now so that we can focus on the other areas of our lives. After the holidays and with the quiet of winter, now is the best time.
I am going to keep this project simple and fun to participate in, which is why I have broken down larger goals into monthly themes.
January: Make home sweet
February: Use money wisely
March: Have a happy career
April: Make mornings count
May: Love is life -Your support network
June: Energize & Exercise
July: Explore
August: Nourish -Body and soul
September: Always be learning
October: Maintain Relationships
November: Make others happy (Thankfulness November)
December: Rest and Imagine
This month I hope ups join me in completing these three mini goals:
1. Decluttering your home or living space.
2. Create a personal space to achieve your goals/hobbies.
3. Making the best of your home right where you are.
Join the Live Lovely Facebook group for community support, sharing your stories, inspiration, and for some positive feedback. I do my absolute best to respond to every post made on the page and I really encourage engagement on the page. As it is a new page, things are a little slow at the moment, but I am hoping that with our combined efforts this group will become a positive force for change in our lives. Introduce yourself and share your monthly goals with the group.
Every month I will be posting numerous blog posts that fit the month’s goal. I will be sharing links to some of these blog posts as well as exclusive content (and even photography deals as a bonus every once in a while) in a monthly newsletter. To join the mailing list, send me an e-mail through my contact page or send me a message on Facebook to join if you haven’t yet done so. I look forward to sharing the journey with you.
I hope you have a lovely New Year!
Live Lovely,
Courtney
