A Fresh Start In The New Year

As this year is coming to a close, I have so much to be grateful for  – the amazing fact that I purchased my first house, my supportive family and friends, my good health, and all of the truly inspiring and creative people I have gotten to know through blogging. And yet it hasn’t all been peaches and roses! I have been learning to deal with living thousands of miles away from my own family and many old, dear friends, B and I have been learning to live on less financially as I’ve taken a break from teaching to go back to school and explore what I want to do next, and adapting to the east coast culture and climate has also been a bit trying for this California girl! So yes, I am ready to move past these challenges and into a fresh new year. Are you ready, too? If you would like to share any of your triumphs or challenges from this past year, I have a nice hot cup of tea here for you, and I am ready to listen :)

I would like to share a few resources, some that I have turned to in the past and a few that I have found more recently, that I hope might inspire you as you are making your own fresh start…

I recently found my way to Jess LC’s blog, Makeunder My Life, and I love the whole concept of simplifying and designing our own lives with intention. Check out the archives of design your life interviews for inspiration.

If you are looking to develop your personal style and fill gaps in your wardrobe this year, I loved this article (see photo above) on building your wardrobe from What I Wore. And a constant source of affordable style inspiration can be found in the Chic for Cheap column on Creature Comforts and Cheap & Chic on Melissa Loves.

I know I’ve mentioned this book before, but it just seems especially fitting for the new year – Style Statement by Danielle LaPorte and Carrie McCarthy is a book, yes, but really it is a giant questionnaire that helps you examine every aspect of your life and style, boiling it down to a powerful two-word style statement.

And this last one I will be doing this year! Gretchen Rubin started her blog The Happiness Project to increase the happiness in her own life and share tips with others trying to do the same thing. In her book which has just been released (read sample chapters here), Gretchen sets one manageable (and fun) goal each month with plenty of ideas and motivation to accomplish it.

Since this is a quiet time out there, and many of you are taking a little break as well, I have decided to give myself the gift of a few days off, returning on Monday, January 4. I will be using this time to begin organizing my home from top-to-bottom, quieting my mind with meditation and yoga, and also setting my intentions for the year ahead. If you have any sources of inspiration that you would like to share as we all head into 2010, please share! And thank you so, so, so much for being here.

Happy New Year!!!

{images: linked to individual sources above}