1. Fancy dinner night

I want to cook one “fancy” dinner per week and eat it in the dining room.

And by fancy I don’t mean like lobster risotto with hand torched crème brûlée. I just mean something different, out of my box, a little more upscale than the usual meals I can make on autopilot. Something I can put a little more time, thought, and energy toward. This week I’m trying French onion stuffed chicken and herb + garlic roasted potatoes. Oh, and we’re going to eat it in the dining room as a family and make it a whole vibe.

I want to romanticize my life more.

I’ve been feeling so blah lately. As a SAHM taking care of two kids all day every day, the burnout has been real. I began to develop a bitter attitude toward my daily routine which consists of pretending I’m a Paw Patrol character, cooking, doing laundry, and cleaning. So much cleaning.

I realized my daily tasks truly make up my entire life right now.

We take the pandemic very seriously and really don’t go anywhere. We don’t travel or go out to eat, I very rarely to never get together with friends, we kept James home from school, my daily routine is basically all I have right now. Time to start enjoying it, right?

I’m starting one step at a time.

First, I’m shifting my perspective when it comes to dinner. If I so choose, I can actually look at this part of my day as a time to get creative, unwind a bit, and take pride in something. However, I’m not naive and know that I can’t feel like that every night. There are a million “WTF it’s dinner time already?! UGH what can I throw together??” nights in in my future.

Now to the romanticizing part: I want to enjoy the process.

For me that will mean pouring a glass of wine, lighting a candle, playing French music and arranging for Kyle to play in the basement with the kids before dinner so I can have the kitchen to myself. My goal is that maybe if I start by doing this once a week, I’ll actually end up loving it – and what used to feel like yet another chore in my day will turn into something I actually look forward to.

PS, if you have a way to romanticize laundry, CALL ME.

2. Breath-work (loving the Wim Hof method)

I’ve been doing the Wim Hof breathing method every morning and it’s addicting in the best way. I feel a combination of super calm yet kind of buzzed after doing it, it’s changing the way I start my day. In a nutshell, this breathing method is supposed to lead to: more energy, lowered stress levels and an improved immune system. Basically, the only 3 things I want in life at the moment.

Oh and it’s easy. Not some long/complicated sequence that takes deep thought or meditation. It’s basically just 10 minutes of switching off between fast + deep breathing and breath holds.

I lay on the floor of my bedroom and play this guided YouTube video.

Here is an article on Wim Hof (aka The Iceman) and his breathing methods. I first learned about this from The Skinny Confidential, you can read her post about it here,  she used the Wim Hof method to combat postpartum anxiety and absolutely swears by it.

3. Photo albums + disposable cameras

I was recently going through a ton of old photo albums at my parents house with my family and it was too much fun. I cringed thinking “what if my kids never do this?!” – so, I’m buying a big photo album for the year and am going to slowly fill it with actual printed photographs. I haven’t decided which album I’m getting yet, but below are some cute ones I found on Amazon and Etsy also has a bunch.

Most will probably be printed off my phone but I’ve actually started to keep disposable cameras around the house because I miss film pictures so much. Do you remember the *literal thrill* of developing a disposable camera in high school? I mean truly nothing better, I’m chasing that high.

FYI, I don’t recommend getting your disposable cameras developed at Walgreens or the like because they usually turn out like crap. This is a process but it’s worth it: I send mine to MPix and have them developed there for $10 per camera. They actually upload them as files for you online, then you can have them printed a’la carte from there (19 cents for a 4×6). A bit extra I know, but worth it in my opinion.

4. Shop less new, shop more used.

Really trying to take this goal seriously. Admittedly, I’ve been a total ASOS/H&M/Zara junkie and have a history of succumbing to fast fashion temptations because honestly I really like a good deal but my tune is changing.

This year, I want to be really selective about what enters my closet and do my best to try and shop second-hand for quality vintage and designer items as much as possible.

Some of my favorites to shop online right now are:

• Vestiaire for clothes
• The RealReal for bags
• Chairish, 1st Dibs, Facebook Marketplace for furniture and home stuff (and FB marketplace for toys, trust!)
• Etsy – here is a great list from Harpers Bazaar of the best vintage shops on Etsy

I want to start supporting/shopping smaller local vintage shops but right now I really only shop online so it’s a bit tricky. If you know of any please let me know!

5. Hydration

Most cliche resolution ever, I know. I’m a seriously terrible water drinker though. Like there have been WAY too many days where dinner time will roll around and as I’m pouring a glass of wine I have to genuinely stop and think about whether or not I’ve had a single glass of water that day.

I read somewhere that if you suck at drinking water, it is imperative to get a water bottle that has a straw – so, I did that and am happy to report it’s WORKING! I’ve been using this 40oz Mira bottle and easily drinking 3 a day which is practically a gallon.

I looked into the Hydroflask but it is almost triple the cost of the Mira! And I can’t figure out why. They are both BPA-free, pthalate-free, and made from 18/18 food-grade stainless steel, so if you know something I don’t please chime in.