2015; The Resolutions

So, I’m 12 days late to this party too but better late than never, right? Like most other people, with the turn of the year I made some resolutions. Normally I don’t really go in for the whole new year, new you stuff, but this year I was a lot more on board. 2014 was on the whole a good year (with a rubbish tail end) and I want to continue with the good stuff into this year. As Little Miss gets older I want to continue making a better and happier life for us, which means re-evaluating our situation now and then. And what better time to do that than the new year?! I’ve split it into two sections, life & blog. I’m starting with blog resolutions as that’s the shorter of the two.

Continue to grow my blog across all platforms. Last year I reached 1000 followers, 2000 Twitter followers and 1000 Instagram followers. By to 2016 I really hope to have doubled across all platforms. So 2000 blog followers on Bloglovin, 4000 followers on Twitter and 2000 followers on Instagram. I’m also hoping to improve my page likes on Facebook and followers on Pinterest. I struggle to post regularly on those platforms but I’m definitely going to make a conscious effort as they’re great tools for growing your blog.  

Improve my blog photography this includes finding my own photography style. As much as I love all the white backgrounds and shabby chic decoration, I do feel they’re a bit samey. I want to find my own style that still has the same impact affect but keeping with my lifestyle theme by making the photos look real and not from a magazine shoot.  

Share more about life & more about Little Miss. In the past I have avoided talking in detail about my life and especially my daughter because I lived in fear. But no more! Little Miss is the biggest part of my life (and she’s actually the draw for my Instagram followers) so I guess people want to hear about her. Once a month I’ll be documenting what she wears as well as sharing some of our adventures. I want to make this a personal blog because I’m stupid enough to think our life is worth reading about, haha.  

Post one outfit post a week towards the end of the year I got slack with outfit posts which is sad because they’re actually quite popular. Until Florida I’ll be posting one Disney outfit a week and then after I hope i’ll be in a routine enough to share what other things I’m wearing. For people who don’t enjoy my weak outfit posts I am also doing this for myself to help with my self confidence and document my fashion sense in 2015.  

And that’s it I think. I’m really proud of my little blog and the fact I’ve stuck with it for almost two and a half years. I just hope I have enough inspiration to incorporate these positive changes. Now, onto life resolutions;

Spending ban. This spending ban doesn’t include anything I need for our holiday. However I’ll say this morning I broke it on the Disney Store website. I originally went on to order something for my cousin’s baby (who is due to make an appearance any day!) and I ended up ordering some bits for myself. But I’m done now and saving for Florida is on course. It includes no more eating out (unless I’m away for the day), no more coffees in town, no more random trips away (apart from the ones already booked).  

All spare cash into savings. This follows on from the above one. But I’m terrible for buying random stuff at the end of the month when I have a bit of cash, or if I get a little bit in my paypal. Instead I’m going to stick it all into my savings account with the mindset that I’d rather have as much as possible to spend on holiday than buy stuff that’s available all year around in the UK.  

Try and buy handmade & organic cotton for Little Miss. LM has eczema and incredibly sensitive skin so I’ve slowly been trying to move away from clothes that aren’t organic cotton or handmade. This is proven to be the best thing to keep eczema in children at bay, especially children who a) itch and b) don’t like getting cream on all day every day. With LM’s Christmas money and anything I made on eBay in the run up to Christmas I bought a bunch of organic tights, tops, leggings and handmade dresses. So I’ve made a pretty good start on this.  

Loose 1 stone on Slimming World. For the first time since before I had Little Miss I’m aiming to go under the 9 stone mark. This is mainly to give me some room to eat as much as I want with no fear while away in April. I don’t want to come back and be thinking about how much I gained and then how much I have to loose. I made a good start on my first week loosing 3lbs. But it actually made me want to try even harder. This is the first time in a long time I’ve had the drive to loose weight and it’s not just because I always look rubbish in holiday photos and for once I actually want to look good.  

Learn to use my DSLR by April. In a few weeks I’m starting a photography course at my local community centre but I also want to learn how to use my DSLR properly by Florida. I’m still torn as to whether or not I will take it, but hopefully if I get a new lighter lense and learn how to use the settings, I will. My dad has offered to let me take his baby, it’s a Canon Powershot which will obviously be lighter and he says it’s good in low light (which is where I struggle with my DSLR unless I have a tripod) and I’ll need low light settings for Fantasmic, Wishes, Illuminations etc. If my case is under weight, I’ll just take both though.  

I have a few other little resolutions such as attend a couple of conventions to cosplay and continue decorating my house but they’re pretty self explanatory.  

So here is to a wonderful 2015 all around. Did you make any resolutions?