// 26 Before 27 - Goals and Intentions

I'm only two weeks tardy to the party this year! I didn't want to rush my list and fill it with a bunch of useless mumbo jumbo. I'm trying to be very intentional with my time this go around since I know bringing in a new baby will have a learning curve of adjustment. I also wanted to make sure I sprinkled enough stuff to cover personal attention, family, business life, and all around fun. There are definitely other things I hope to accomplish in the next 12 months, but these are what I decided to write down for my annual list. (Here's my 25 Before 26 list if you're interested!) Some are easier than others, and some are ones that I carry over almost every year. Let's hope I can check them all off before turning 27! (I can't believe my next birthday will be my 27th! Where is life going?!) Without further ado...

Despite the fact that Mike and I own several businesses, we don't have a formal business plan. We sort of had one for Honeybean, and then we just started winging it. Now that he's going to be in school full time and I'll be ~*bringing home the bacon, I thought it'd be nice to really lay out a concrete foundation for where I see our businesses going in the future. I definitely have long term goals that I'd like to achieve with each venture, but I don't really have a map on how to get there. Let's give it a whirl!

I successfully sewed some baby leggings the other day (two pair actually!), and I sort of have the nesting bug! I want to do all sorts of little bits and bobs for him, but my patience (and skill set) is limited. Right now I have canvas shoes, bibs (with bowties!) and more leggings on my radar. They seem simple enough, but I'd really like to have a nice little collection of handmade goodies to have for him when he joins us.

Truncated to save you an eternity of scrolling! Click to read the rest of my list!

This is a goal that rolls over to my list almost every year. The first year I went to Wisconsin on a day trip with Susannah and Mike. Then last year I went to Nevada (twice!). Though if we're being honest, I *think* I may have spent a few hours in Reno once while visiting northern California... but I can't remember! Whatever, I'm counting it!


We've made some real progress in the past week! I'll be sharing some snippets soon! We have the theme laid out and a general idea of the big furniture, but actually putting it all together is a beast of it's own. I'm determined to have fun doing it though!

This blog needs some serious TLC. Since I was pregnant and miserable most of December, I wasn't able to put forth the effort I wanted to make the initial launch totally seamless. I have pages that haven't been touched, a media kit that needs revamping, and a FAQ page that is ridiculously outdated. It's all on the list...

Being pregnant has been totally amazing and I've enjoyed it so much thus far. I know I'll miss the feeling of a squirming baby in my belly and I want to immortalize the experience. I think it'd be so fun to have some photos to remember all of this by. You know, aside from the one million selfies I've taken for Instagram...

I've been sitting on a few new feature ideas for the blog and I just need to find a time to really do the grunt work to make them happen. I've loved the response to Rad Gal, Rad Gig so far and it's so special to me. I love being able to share really neat stories from really cool chicks, and I want to keep that trend going. Just keep your eyes peeled!

I'm a huge fan of Skillshare classes and have several under my belt. Now I want to take a class locally here in Nashville from The Skillery. There are loads of great options to choose from - I just need to make the time!

Mike would be in hog heaven to go see one of his favorite hockey teams in person, and I know Toby would love it, too. My parents are Predators fans themselves. It'd be fun to make a night of it and enjoy a home game.

I'll get 2 or 3 glorious weeks all by myself (during the day) at the start of May while Mike and Toby are both still in school. I plan on making the most of that time and digging into the hefty pile of business books I've been hoarding. This will also help me complete goal #1 up there! I guilt-trip myself into thinking I don't have time to read when in reality I do... I just need to prioritize!

I don't know why this is so hard for me! It's so convenient to only lug around my iPhone, and I greatly prefer the look and feel of film photos. While I do plan on shooting more personal film photos, it's not really cost effective to shoot everything on film. I hate toting around a big ol' DSLR, but I really want to make it more of a priority to capture moments that aren't blasted all over Instagram. It'd probably make my blog way more interesting haha!

This blog started as a personal blog and I really do want to keep that as the main focus. At it's core it's a lifestyle blog and while it may not be the most "pinnable" or whatever, I love being able to look back through my archives and relive some of my favorite moments. I just need to scrap the whole first two years though... Gosh that stuff is embarrassing!

If there's one thing I love, it's newborn photos! I don't care how cliche or ridiculous they are... I love me a baby in a basket with a gorgeous bokeh backdrop. Y'all are going to get so tired of seeing film photos of him, I'm sure.

Our bedroom has been a work in progress for over a year now, and it's been put on the backburner for far too long. Aside from our guitars/ukes and a few wedding photos, there's nothing on the walls, and our floors serve more as a makeshift laundry pile than you know, a floor. We're working on it though! We finally nixed the pallet base and we even built a headboard. Baby steps!

One of our favorite features of our house is that we have a back deck perfect for entertaining. We have a huge oak tree that canopies part of the deck and is draped in twinkle lights. It makes for the perfect atmosphere when we dine under the stars. And Mike loves to grill out, so let's do it!

I loved being able to sell some of my art prints in Honeybean over the holidays, and I've been wanting to launch them online for a while now. I just haven't really hunkered down to do it. I've been working on different pieces for our home and the baby's room, so maybe that'll motivate me to put them out there. We'll see!

I get so many emails about places to eat, shop, see in Nashville. (I don't mind them one bit, seriously!) I keep saying I'm going to do a little roundup of my favorite places in town so I can quickly link people who are interested in visiting, but like loads of other things, I've just yet to do it. It might encourage me to venture out of our "safe zone" and try a few places we've never been before.

While this might sound lofty, I'm more interested in partnering up with smaller, independent brands (even Etsy shops!) to do some fun things. Whether it's collaborate on some sort of collection or just highlight some rad things they're doing, I'd like to make some more connections this year. Of course I'll welcome big brand partnerships, too, but I just want to get to know the folks behind the businesses and bring y'all some neat content!

Every Summer I say I'm going to whip up some delicious homemade popsicles... and then I never do! Ah, why?! I know Toby would love to help come up with some yummy recipes and it'd be something fun we could do together. Especially since we'll have the whole first half of the Summer to spend together while Mike is at school.

This one (and the next one) are so silly, but Pinterest just has this way of shouting "Nailed it!" at me when I try to do the ~*neato crafts I find on there. Normally I'll just pin things (and then blow way too much money on supplies at the craft store) but never do them. I'm determined to utilize our craft stash and make things happen! I just have to be mindful of goal #2. Can't have too much overlap!

I'm a no cook... Like, not even remotely. We finally bought a microwave like a month ago because I'm pathetic when it comes to a stove or oven. I know that sounds really bad, but I just don't have a passion for cooking. It bores me. But I do get enticed by the delicious looking photos on Pinterest. Since I'll be kicking it at home alone during the day (at least for a while), I'd love to try my hand at a few things to surprise Mike with. Just note that I didn't say they had to be "successful" haha!

With the new baby on the way, it's important to me that I have dedicated Toby time. I'll be straight up tethered to the baby for quite some time if I'm able to breastfeed, and undoubtably a ton of attention will go to that little guy. I want Toby to know how much I love him and that he'll always be my little dude. Once a month is totally doable (though I do strive to make it more often). Whether it's a movie date or just a mom and son trip to the playground and froyo. I just want to spend a little bit of time with him.

Toby loves chores! I think it's just because he hasn't really grasped that it's "work" yet... Anything he can do to be more like Mom and Dad, he's in! Especially if it includes getting paid! We make Toby earn and save his own money to buy things like toys (when it's not a special occasion) so he looks for any and all opportunities to make this happen. He has a pretty steady list of things he does (he feeds the animals, etc), but I'd love to make it more organized with individual tasks and rewards. Getting him on a schedule will really help when the baby comes I think!

I made a little book for my parents in 2012, and I think we have a copy, too (an Instagram book from Blurb!) but I definitely want to make this more of a regular thing. I'd love to have a little collection of books from the kids' childhood so that we can look back on them and cherish those moments. Lurking back through my own Instagram makes me super teary-eyed sometimes, so I know it'd be such a treat to have them in physical form.

I loved growing some of our own vegetables last year. We had lofty plans of an actually plotted garden this year, but with Mike going to school and me being pregnant, we've decided to just do another (bigger) container garden this time around. This will allow Toby to get his hands dirty (hey, chore chart!) and help maintain it while we're home during the day. We're gearing up to plan out the containers this next week so I'll have to share what we end up planting!

My days are so much better when they start with a little bit of positivity. Whether it's a quote or reading Desiderata, I love starting off on the right foot. Normally I'll tweet out a little daily affirmation or positive thought, and other days I do something less public. But every day of 26 so far has started off with some (figurative) sunshine, and it's made a world of difference. 26 is a year of positivity for sure!

So those are my goals for this year! I feel like they're all incredibly attainable and I'm actually excited about doing them! I've gotten a nice little head start on some already so here's to hoping I can complete them all! 

Do y'all do yearly (or multi-year) goal lists?! I'd love it if you left your links or lists below! I love to lurk on what other people aspire to accomplish! I think that's one of the best motivators out there. Here goes nothing! xo