In The Heyday: January 2013

Right after Christmas and the New Year, when your house is finally cleared of tinsel,we get all encouraged by a new year and the clean slate it seems to bring. We vow that we are going to loose weight, change jobs, quit smoking/drinking/buying new stuff and instead we are going to be godly saints of wholesome amazingness. It feels GOOD.

But we forget that our brains are still foggy from all those chocolates, and while we are restless to get a move on with a NEW LIFE, actually, this is probably the worst time to force a hefty life change on ourselves. The thrill of the season is over, we either have months of bleak Winter ahead or we're on Summer holidays, when we are supposed to be basking in the warmth of the sun.

I find what I need most is less expectation but more routine. I need a bit more of a settled pace, healthy food to straighten out my brain, a bit more sleep. Big expectations that I can't live up to don't help because I just feel let down, and then I get busy with the big stick, some of you will know what I mean, the one that you beat yourself over the head with (metaphorically of course).

In getting back to a routine, I can accommodate simple strategies, such as more water, early nights, clear one thing off the mending pile a day, get out for a walk. It seems a bit simple, and it is, but it does produce results and the difference is I don't heap a heavy load on myself or expect massive rewards. Simple steps and incremental change feels good too.

I may not quite know yet what I want to change. After all, change takes effort and sometimes can be scary. I find this time of year to be much easier to identify what I DON'T want. This usually brings about an early spring clean and trips to the charity shop. This might seem like just a clear out, but in choosing what can go, you are also mentally choosing what activities you don't need, such as those second hand tap shoes that seemed like a good idea at the time, but that was 8 years ago and you still haven't made a class. Either you find a class and give the shoes a whirl, or let them go and have a bit more space for what you do need.

You are left with things that lift you, or maybe even with mental blank sheet. Either way it clears the decks for new things, people, opportunities, and for authentic goals to appear.

It is not all dull and boring though. This time of year is also great for tidbits of inspiration; museum trips, new films, trying something different, wearing something different. Tiny re-en carnations of who you might want to grown into next. Who knows where it might take you?

So for me the new year, if I was clever and broke it down, would be about the following steps:

1. Noting what I don't want and letting it go

2. Getting back to a routine

3. A bit of new inspiration

4. Rinse and repeat

Then, by the end of January I am usually quite enthused and have some new authentic goals that I want to move towards. And they tend to be smaller, like just month long, or 3 months long. Soon enough that the goal post can be glimpsed from tippy toes as it glistens in the sunlight.

How about yourself, do you have a bit of a theme for this time of year?

The pictures in this post have been bought to you by two calendars that are fun and inspiring to me. The first is Kitten von Mew's calendar and you can purchase it here. You can see how very good it is since I have taken photos of it and blown it up and it still looks great! That is thanks to Kitten and Candee Photography.
The funny quotable inspirations is a "Love every Minute" calendar from The Bright Side.

Shona x

A lot of you liked my festive shoe clips, but just because the festive fun is over doesn't mean we need to stop decorating ourselves. Sometimes it is essential just to get through these long last days of winter, or for those of you in the southern hemisphere (*waves hello at friends and family*), you can jazz up your plain summer sandals.

I trashed two ponytail elastics to get to the leopard print plastic bow. One came apart quite easily, the other broke and had to be glued back together - never mind though, it can't be seen in the final result.

The bow now needs a new centre part. The original plastic one would make the bow too high on the shoe clip, and possibly a bit wobbly too. Luckily I had some plain black grosgrain ribbon on hand. A colour like red or turquoise would work well too if you knew what you wanted to match it too.

The trusty hot melt glue gun (how I love thee!) makes short work of attaching the ribbon. I glued it to the back of the bow, wrapped it around twice for a wee bit of padding, then glued the tail down at the back again.