BUCKET LIST

Do you have any weirdly attainable things you’ve always wanted to do but never done? I’ve always wanted to go the beach on New Years Day and this year we finally did it. We took the dog, who hates being dirty so we assumed he wouldn’t like it, and he had possibly the best day of his life.. so it was an excellent start to the week and the year.

IMPERFECT STARTS

I haven’t written about resolutions yet because one of them is to be flexible. I’m great at setting goals and initially sticking to them but the moment I fail, even slightly, it’s over. I intentionally set out with very flexible terms for January so that I wouldn’t give up when I inevitably skip a day. In February I will aim to improve on January and so on but I can confidently say I’ve improved on December already so that is a WIN!

SKIN CARE

If you followed along last year you may remember my mentioning my self care dropped off almost entirely. I don’t mean self care like yoga and candles, I mean literally caring for myself. Getting dressed, doing may hair and makeup, any kind of skincare and (I know, don’t judge) even my bathing became less frequent. It wasn’t my best mental health year but so far 2024 is looking brighter. I haven’t skipped a skincare day, I’m getting DRESSED and just generally look (and feel) less like I was found in a bush. WIN!

ACTUAL REST

I took a week off after Christmas (I worked in between) and since my youngest was off too, I took some real rest days. I wasn’t totally off duty, I made some candles and updated our website (smokeandmatches.com) as well as posting bits here and there but I didn’t film or edit anything and after so much content production in December it really felt like time off. This time last year I wasn’t ready for New Year, I was going to delay it til February, thinking it was just the January blues but I never really got my mojo. This year I thought a ‘soft launch’ week would be a good way to ease in, so I guess that calls for a HAPPY NEW YEAR cause really, I’m starting today.

FILM

I finished a roll of film this weekend that I started in the Summer. I’m sending it off with two others tomorrow and can’t wait to get the photos back. It’s an expensive hobby given that we all have a camera in our back pocket these days but it’s a great way to capture and reflect on moments that might otherwise have passed you by. It feels more permanent than digital photos and I really enjoy filling my album with random snaps. You can pick up a second hand camera if you want to give it a go and I recommend Analogue Wonderland if you’re wondering where to have them developed.

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Celebrating the small wins (I suppose this could be called gratitude) is on my list of things to work on for 2024 so I will post these on as many Sundays as I post them. Obviously weekly is the goal but may I refer you to that part about being flexible? I love a commitment but I have to work on that all or nothing mentality because doing something new 50% of the time is still 100% more than you did it before.

Here’s to your own imperfect starts and celebrating your own weekly wins!