5 Tips for Keeping Your New Years Resolutions

We all know the feeling: mid-January, you are back in a routine, you start to get busy with work, friends, studying, family, and life. We all know the story, you miss a few days at the gym "Well it's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday, so I'll just start fresh next week" or the "Sure, I can spend $200 on this new purse, I'll wear it every day"

We are humans, it's natural. However, I have put together some of my favorite motivators for goals that I set for myself.

1. Write them down!!! It is really the easiest way. Buy a cute poster board from Joanne's and write down what you want to accomplish. Put it somewhere that you can see it. every. single. day.

2. Tell your friends. Sometimes telling your friends what your goals are can be extremely helpful. They can ask you how you are doing, or maybe they will have a similar resolution that you can do together.

3. Use technology. One of my simple resolutions this year is to drink more water. I have put a reminder on my phone to tell me to fill up every couple of hours. I know a friend of mine got a new app for managing her money, and another got one for a travel fund!

4. Use a planner or calendar on your phone. Write down some mini goals for different months throughout the year now. Then when you are in the middle of summer you can look at your planner and see what your resolution was 6 months ago, it will help you stay on track.

5. Make them public. Blog about it, put it on Facebook, Intsagram, or Twitter. By making them public everyone you know will be holding you somewhat accountable. After I put up my New Years Resolutions I had a couple of people contact me about certain items on my list. It was a great way to stay motivated.

What are some of your tips and tricks for keeping goals and New Years Resolutions?

Don't give up!! Let's make 2014 the best year!

-A

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Blogs

Hello bloggers and readers! Since we started this blog we have found ourselves really becoming avid blog readers. We like to check them pretty regularly, comment on posts, and gain inspiration. We decided to put together a little list of our favorite blogs for you to look over and read!

First up are Ashley's go-to blogs. Fashion, food, and lifestyle! I love anything that is fun to look at - and these definitely fall under that category. These lovely ladies inspire everything from get-togethers with friends, the way I style my outfits, or some new-beauty trends. 

Blog reading + coffee + inspiration notebook

Fashion

The Fashion Canvas - great patterns, easy to read, inventive outfits

The Sweetest Thing - amazing beauty tutorials, bright colors, preppy-modern style

Little Miss Fearless - simple and classic with a twist

A Spoonful of Style - lots of fabulous pops of color, streamlined outfits, relatable content

Kendi Everyday - chic, bold, and fashionable. Blogger and boutique owner has a great eye for style

Lifestyle

Cupcakes and Cashmere - the perfect mix of outfits, great recipes, and great tips about life

A Beautiful Mess - two sisters each with their own style, great home decor, food, crafts, and fashion

Lauren Conrad - My role model. Everything from workouts, to parties, to fashion, and everything in-between.

Food

Iowa Girl Eats - simple meals that are absolutely delish, fresh ingredients, and recreations of classics.

Noble Pig - the perfect blog to look at when you want to impress your family with your cooking skills



In addition to theses blogs, I love reading countless others. Photography and travel are becoming two of my new favorites. I also have truly enjoyed reading all of our new followers blogs. There is such a fun community out there and I can't wait to become more of a part of it! What are some of your favorite blogs? Let us know in the comments section. Additionally, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram for updates on blog posts, fun activities, and much more coming in 2014!

-A

One Step Wonders

To be honest sometimes I'm lazy, and cheap but I think these somewhat negative qualities can often lead to greatness. Health and beauty for example, both can take up a lot of your time and money. I however have a few household items that can work wonders in many areas and I thought I'd share them with you.

 

Ginger: Great for digestive health as well as a natural headache remedy. I get headaches often and do not always like to take ibuprofen so I try ginger instead. There are some great ginger teas, I usually go for Yogi's Ginger tea. It is marketed for digestive health  but can also help soothe headaches. I also have ginger supplements that I take when I feel a headache coming on and don't have time for tea. These are a nice alternative if you do not like tea or the taste of ginger.

Coconut oil: Everybody's new favorite oil but it really is amazing. I have a huge jar from Trader Joe's  that I keep in my medicine cabinet. I most often use it on my hair. It can act as a moisturizing mask or in place of other styling products. I just scoop a little in my hand and warm it up so that it dissolves in to an oil I can then easily rub into my hair. Be sure to wash it within a day however because it can leave your hair looking and feeling greasy after some time.

You can also use it as a moisturizer for your skin. I wouldn't use it ever day as it my clog your pores but every so often it can be a nice alternative to lotion.  You can also cook with it. Any time you use butter or another oil you can swap in coconut oil for a healthier and usually tastier option!

Honey: I love honey. I add it to my tea and cereal and sometimes I just eat it by itself! That may seem a little overboard but honey is really good for you. I  buy local honey because its nice to support local vendors and it also helps with my seasonal allergies. The bees pick up all the local pollen and by ingesting the pollen it can help soothe your own reaction to it. I would much rather have a little honey than add another chemical or pill to my day.

Honey is also a natural disinfectant and is great for skin that is prone to break outs. I often add it to my face scrub in order to give it a little boost. Check out Ashley and I's scrub here!

Baking Soda: Another simple wonder baking soda is not just for baking. I keep a little tub in my bathroom and use it both as a face mask and teeth whitener. Just add a little baking soda to your toothbrush or toothpaste and brush as you normally would. It doesn't taste great but it helps keep your smile nice and bright. When I use it on my face I just add water and make it into a thick paste that I then put on. Be sure not to scrub it into your skin. Just leave on for a minute and rinse.

Baking soda and a little vinegar also work wonders on bathroom clogs!

What are some of your natural or quick and easy remedies!?

-K

New Year, New Plan

Happy 2014! Can you believe it!?! It's so exciting to be starting off a New Year. There is something about January 1st that just feels right. A chance to try new things, make plans, and start fresh. It is also a great time to look back on the previous year and appreciate the growth and experiences that I had. I planned my first wedding, traveled to my alma mater to visit college friends, started a journey of working from home full-time, and many more adventures.

I thought I would put together a little list of my goals for 2014, and maybe it will inspire you to make some goals as well!

Write letters (not emails) to friends - With texting, Instagraming, Tweeting, Snapchatting, and everything in between some of the nostalgia of really connecting with your friends has been lost. I want to craft my own cards and send note to friends for no reason at all.

Go to Seattle with Kira - We have been planning a trip to Seattle for over a year! We want to take a road trip and explore the city and the surrounding area.

Take a cooking class - I studied abroad in Rome when I was in college and loved the cooking class that I took! I'm thinking either a Thai, Spanish, or Indian cooking class would be a blast!

Use my juicer more - I got a juicer from my Mom, and I really love it. I just need to make a habit of using it more. It will be a nice, fresh way to start off the day.

Have monthly dinner parties with friends - Some friends and I were out at dinner the other night and decided that we needed to have little dinner parties more often. It's a nice, classy way to catch up and have some fun.

What are your New Years Resolutions?

-A

Thank you!

It has been an exciting few months for us! From travels, to jobs, friends, and starting this blog it has been truly exciting. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have been following along with us on this new blog journey! Also, to our new followers and blog-friends as I call you all. It has been a great experience getting to know you all through the words and experiences you share on your pages.

We are really looking forward to 2014, hoping it will bring new inspiration for the blog. Travel posts, more fashion, creativity, and laughter!

We are excited to continue with our blog journey and for you to join us.

Have a fabulous last day of 2013, talk to you next year!

-A&K

New Years Resolutions!

I always try to remind myself to make resolutions throughout the year but there is always something about the new year and a fresh start that inspires fresh goals.

Source: Google

So here are some of my own

1. Career research and networking: With the start of the new year I hope to start looking into a new career or possibly going back to school. I want to network and go on informational interviews and job shadow and meet as many new people as possible. Keeping both my options and my mind open to new opportunities.

2. Save to spend: I recently heard from my brother who heard via Freakonomics how it isn't practical to stress out about saving in your 20s. So instead of trying to scrimp and save and miss out on concerts or trips,  I'm going to save to go to concerts and on trips! I want to  cut down on frivolous spending and focus instead on what I really want and use my money to go after those things.

3. Travel: Anywhere and everywhere, however I do have a few trips at the top of the queue.

Seattle: Ashley and I have been wanting to go for some time so we will hopefully make it happen soon!

New Orleans: Also have been wanting to go here for a long time and have been pre planning it with a friend, just need to save up and hopefully I'll be there this spring!

Nashville: My cousin is getting married in Nashville this year and I'm so excited to visit and plan a trip to the south.

4. Be adventurous: I just want to constantly remind myself to put myself out there and meet new people, go to new places and not be lazy or boring.

5. Be happy: Whatever I'm doing and wherever I'm at I can be happy and appreciative for all that I have. Don't waste your time doing things that make you unhappy, make time for what does!

-K

Amazing Apps: Travel

I am going on a big trip soon and I am so excited!

Parts of my trip have been all planned out for me while other parts have been left completely up to me. Exciting and overwhelming. Luckily traveling has been made easier through some very handy apps. I wanted to share a few I have been using and plan to use on my travels.

1. JetRadar: This app is soooo helpful. It is really user friendly and can help you find a flight from anywhere to anywhere.  All you have to do is plug in where you wanna go and when and the app does the rest. You can set limits on how many stopovers you have, flight duration, airline, and it will literally give you hundreds of flights to choose from. You can select favorite flights and save your searches while you shop around. You can also purchase tickets directly from the app or from the website.

2. Kurrency: The best thing about this app is its simplicity. Open the app and choose which currency you want to convert as well as the amount. I also like that is gives you the name of the currency along with the conversion rate. I have traveled before and kept a little card with the conversions on it. Trust me the app is better. It gives you up to date exchange rates and can easily switch from one conversion to another.

3. iTranslate: Like Kurrency this app is simple and easy to use, plug in the languages and what your trying to say and bam its there. It also has a microphone feature that will read the word or phrase out to you, so not only will you know what to say you will know how to say it!

4. Citymaps2go: This app provides offline maps that you can use without using your data. You just need to download the maps and your ready to explore! I can't wait to use this app while aboard. It will be much handier than carrying around huge maps all the time and will help me look less like a tourist!  The full version costs $2.99 but there is also a free "lite" version that allows you to download a limited number of maps.

Enjoy and let us know what apps you like to use while traveling!

-K