{ 01·01·16 } - - The somewhat obligatory 1st January post because I'm a creature of habit dammit. Happy New Year, Daisybutter!
I hope you celebrated it in the perfect way, whether that was surrounded by friends and the last and first champagne bottles of your year, cosied up with loved ones or, quite simply, alone with a hot chocolate and 3DS. The week of limbo between Christmas and New Year is always an odd one for me; this year I weathered the annual food coma, a bout of jet lag and extreme homesickness and panicked a lot about 2016. But as the hours turned to minutes and into seconds and I spent midnight chatting on the phone in my underwear, slipping into fresh New Year pajamas (I'm a Chai, we take loungewear very seriously) and watching Marzia's new video (she said everything I wanted to!), I became much happier about the thought of a fresh year.
They say you should start the year as you mean to go on... and I'm really backing an entire year of Fridays, waking up early(ish) and enjoying a coffee ;) Let's get this year on the road!
In previous years, setting my goals on the blog has helped a hundredfold with me actually achieving them. This year I primarily want to focus on being more mindful and doing new things. Unlike 2014 and 2015, which saw me do a little of a lot, I'd quite like to hone in and focus on a smaller pool of 'things'. Do more, be more, give more and all that.
2016 Goals
- Get back to writing lists and daily scribbles in my notebook.
- Travel more.
- Visit Italy, Greece, Japan and South Korea. Spend Granny's birthday with her in Malaysia.
- Save $$$.
- Learn and nail 10 new recipes.
- Volunteer.
- Plan and do another weekend jaunt in Brighton with the best friends.
- Make lots of plans with friends.
- Visit my little sister at University.
- Purchase a new car!
- Upgrade Bertle and Eric's home.
- Send more handwritten mail.
- Stop with the 'treat yo'self' antics.
- Run the Race for Life.
My other goals are to write more lists – I kept a little notebook in 2012/2013 that was full of random lists of my favorite things, words that I liked, to-do lists, moments from fun days, sketches and I want to start that up again instead of losing myself in a Tumblr abyss when I find myself at a loss of things to do. I want to learn even more recipes and – separately – upgrade Bertle and Eric's home. I hear that they're not always the best of friends now that they're going through the terrible Two's, and they're getting much too big for their first house! I want to be more mindful and stop with the 'treat yo'self' mantra that led to my insane bag collection, because material possessions only keep you happy for a handful of moments.
Something I realised last night and over the course of my year abroad has been that friends, real friendships, will always be there for you and, like good wine, just get better with time. When I wrote this post, I was almost completely positive that no-one would care that I was leaving and that I'd be forgotten about once I was 9,606km away, but in reality? Spending 14 months dealing with an eight-hour time difference and a whirlwind twelve days at home for Christmas made me realize that the best ones will always be there and they'd move oceans and mountains to spend time with you. I can't wait to spend more time with them - and you!
I'm sure you'll have already worked out from this list that in this year, I plan to move back to England! SURPRISE! Girl’s got a career and empire to build. My year abroad is long over and I've been dithering about The Move Back for a handful of weeks now after failing to get my act together in October. I adore Hong Kong and all of its photogenic, foodie and shopping heaven ways, but it's time to be a semi-grown up and plan for The Future. Plus, life isn’t a full life without friends and family, and holding dual nationality means I'll probably be back again soon anyway! And I can't wait to have a car again!
Blogging wise? I want to try and slow down with the 'how to' and advice posts on Daisybutter – after all, I’m still learning it all myself. I miss creating photo-centric posts, I miss sharing outfits properly, I miss feeling excited about having spent hours poring over a post. I miss writing personal stories for others to stumble upon. I'm going to aim to have all of that back again and more!
Here's to 2016, may this truly be our year!
PS. Happy new Taylor Swift music video day. ♥