New Year, New Thoughts + My Word of the Year

'Tis the season for fresh starts, resolutions and thoughts about the year going forward, isn't it? I've got a few things to share today that have been rolling around in my head and heart: some blogging-related, some project-related and some house-related. It's a bit of a mish mash, but I'll try to be concise :).

Over the past year, I've been feeling especially frazzled and frenzied when it comes to writing this blog. I wouldn't exactly call it stress, but it has made this whole thing less enjoyable that I'd like it to be. There have been times this year when I've felt totally uninspired while feeling pressured to publish/produce content, and even thought about giving the whole thing up. I was feeling that way when we were living in DC (we left in May, for those of who are new around here), but I thought it was due to the fact that I had run out of projects to do in our itty bitty apartment and that we would be homeless for three months over the summer (not literally, but we were living in other people's houses and therefore no real projects/decorating/DIYing could happen), but the feelings continued when we got to Philly even when I had a whole.new.house to decorate.

Obviously, something else was going on.

When I took some time to reflect on why I was feeling that way, I realized a couple of things:

• The year I started worrying more about page views, creating "Pinterest-worthy" content and how I would monetize the blog than enjoying it for the reasons I started the blog in the first place - as a creative outlet.
• Posting felt more like a grind than anything else, which sapped my energy and sucked the fun out of writing and making things. I often wondered if what I was doing was a waste of time.
• I wasn't getting as much feedback from readers as I would've liked. It's hard to keep something like this up when you feel like you're speaking to an empty room. I'm not speaking to an empty room based on the page views I have, but when all I hear are crickets after hitting the publish button, that can make me a little sad. 

Yuck, right? Aren't you glad you're reading today's post so far? ;) Told you we'd be getting into the nitty gritty today.

Ok, so rather than just push forward and discard these thoughts as "just a phase," I've been assessing why, despite all the reasons above, I love being in this place for a few days each week. 

Here are a few reasons why I want to stick around:

• Creating things gives me such pleasure, and I love contributing my creativity to the blogging world. 
• Connecting with y'all, my dear readers, is a major highlight, even if it doesn't happen as often as I would wish. A recent encounter reminded me of how important that connection is to me. On our road trip back home on Saturday, my husband and I stopped at Chick Fil A. While we were waiting for our food, I heard someone say, "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt..." from behind me and it turns out it was a gal who follows May Richer Fuller Be (Hi Erin!) and recognized me from my picture. She introduced herself and told me that she really loved my blog. That totally made my day! Of course meeting "in real life" is an anomaly, but the excitement of meeting her reminded me of the importance of y'all.
• Connecting with other bloggers is really, really fun too. I collaborated more with others in 2014 than ever, and some of my favorite projects and posts came out of those times.
• Posting here keeps me accountable on getting things done. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do half the projects, organizing or decorating I do now if I didn't have a blog.
• Blogging also forces me to flex my creative muscles. I love learning new skills and I want to grow as a designer/DIYer/writer - being here enables that.

So, what's happening at MRFB in 2015 you might be asking?

First and foremost, I want to be purposeful in the projects I do and the posts I write. I don't want to do projects just to have something to post or write just so that it looks like I'm posting a bunch. I want to be authentic and enjoy what I'm doing. This may mean fewer posts, or maybe more? I'm not going to be prescriptive on that one. I want to remain consistent, but I really want to avoid making this place feel like a grind. Fun is the name of the game here :).

Also, quality over quantity is the idea I keep coming back to - and I'm sure that's something y'all appreciate as well! 

When it comes to content, a big theme will be continue to be making our little row house into a place we love and a place that functions well. I want to get rid of clutter and simplify things, so get ready for some posts on organization. I also want to make things pretty along the way, so there will be plenty of decor posts as well. And finally, a skill I want to continue to work on and share here on the blog is graphic design. I've learned so, so much, and I just got a new toy that will hopefully give me even more freedom and help me grow in that area. More to come on that!

I'm going to try and be patient and let things evolve as slowly as they need to. Since my husband's a student for the next 18 months (and we rent), disposable income for projects is small. We'll see how things go! Ultimately, home isn't about how magazine-worthy it is, it's about how it feels and how we welcome others into it. In the words of the Nester: it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. I don't want to fret about how good or bad something looks - I want to enjoy it for what it is. And I want our home to be a comfortable place where people feel like they can put their feet up and relax. 

This brings me to my word of the year: wonder.

WONDER: 

A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable (as defined by Google dictionary).

Last year, things moved too quickly and there was always too much going on in my brain. This year, I want to carve time out to just sit back and observe - both in blog land and offline. I'm excited to breathe life and the world around me in and let the beauty of those things both surprise and inspire me.

I think I'll leave it at that today, friends. I wish I could give you each a big hug and thank you for being here. Onto more projects next week! Slowly. Er. We'll see how it goes!

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2014 UNword of the Year

As I mentioned on Friday, I'm jumping on another ___ of the year bandwagon: choosing an UNword. It's a nice complement to choosing a word of the year, don't you think? Rhythm is my word, and my UNword is distraction. This is the word I want to NOT be my theme for the year. It embodies something I want to eliminate from my life rather than embrace.

I hope the Nester doesn't think I'm copying her...

...Even though I kind of am. I don't think she'll mind though, because it is actually something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

Distracted is what I feel all. the. time. My mind is always going in a million directions. I've got a million ideas swirling all up in there. I check my iPhone compulsively for new emails, new Facebook updates, new Instagrams. I'm distracted by myself, by the world around me, by work...you get the gist.

By nature, I'm a multitasker, a list maker, a doer, and a person with high idea productivity (yep that's a thing). On their own, those things are good qualities, but when they go haywire and happen all at once, it becomes a problem.

There are certainly good distractions in my life too, but because I'm always flitting from one thing to the next, sometimes I miss out on them. For example, did you know it's hard to really listen and have a deep conversation with a friend when you let your mind wander to your to do list or your schedule for tomorrow?

I'm guessing this is familiar territory for a lot of you.

I think that in order to start eliminating distraction I need to slow down and put blinders on, if you will, so I can do things well instead of just adding more, more, more until my head explodes. More focus. Less wandering.

I've been trying to do this over the past week or so and it's hard. I know it'll take time (the rest of my life?) to develop good habits to break the distraction habit. I'm praying hard against it too. I know I can't do this on my own.

So will you join me in choosing an UNword of the year? These wonderful ladies below (Fieldstone Hill Design, Nesting Place, Life in Grace and The Painted House) are hosting a gathering tomorrow on their blogs to discuss UNwords. I'm planning to be there to check out others' plans for what they're leaving behind for 2014. Even if you don't have a blog, I'd love to hear what your is!

2014 Word of the Year

Last year I started a new New Year's tradition - choosing a Word of the Year. Yep, just a single word to focus on and live with for an entire year. For 2013 I chose open and it as the year progress, it became clear that it was the perfect choice. You can read more about it and the reasons behind it in this post from last January.

This year, for 2014, my word is rhythm.

Before I get to why I chose that one though, I want to reflect on what 2013's word for a minute and why I loved it.

Open was a word that became so engrained in my live that it started naturally popping into my mind all the time, over and over again in all kinds of different situations. It often kept me grounded during life's twists and turns, and reminded me to be amenable to more options and possibilities than I might have otherwise been - especially when something wasn't quite going as I planned.

I also came to the conclusion that choosing to be open meant not always putting myself first and a willingness to be flexible. When you're open to many possibilities/choices/options, it forces you to look at things from others' points of view and be willing to go down a path that may not have been your first choice. In marriage, and other relationships, this comes up all. the. time. (Can I get an amen?) Choosing not to be closed off taught me many a lesson and also brought about opportunities I may not have considered. Being open is something that I plan to keep as a theme this year in addition to my new word.

So let's talk 2014's Word of the Year: rhythm. The main reason I chose it was because I want to start establishing more regular patterns in my everyday life. Rhythms imply regularity - constants that keep you grounded and that you can rely on when life decides to throw you the inevitable curveball. Life is unpredictable, but having established routines and patterns can help keep the peace in the midst of the crazy.

The patterns I want to establish are both surface-y and deep. Surface-level patterns include things like making time in my week to exercise regularly and having a sustainable laundry routine that's not frustrating, but the real, deeper-level pattern I want to establish is something I've found myself craving a ton recently - quiet time. Each day, preferably in the morning before I get wrapped up in the go-go-go that the day will bring, I want to set apart time to spend with God reading and praying, and journaling. Recently, I've gotten farther away from doing those things than I'd like to admit, and I find that it negatively affects me. My stress level is higher, I tend to be more selfish, and I just have this general sense of unease that permeates my life. Having regular time with God and taking time to process life is something I want to incorporate into the rhythm of my day.

Charlie and I have some big life changes coming up in 2014. I've vaguely referenced these on the blog, but haven't shared much about them, mainly because we weren't totally sure what they would be. Now we've got a bit more clarity about a major one, so I can share that we'll be moving to a new city in the middle of this year. Charlie's 99% sure he's going to be going to graduate school, so that means a move for us. We're still deciding which one he'll go to, but no matter what, a significant move means major life change, so I think you'll agree with me that establishing regular rhythms in my life now is really important before that huge change comes!

I'm excited about what's coming up over the next twelve months, and I'm looking forward to sharing more about the rhythms that I'm going to attempt to establish this year both big and small. There's so much more I could say about what this theme can/would/might look like in my life, but I think I'll stop here for now. :) Thanks for listening and for letting me have this space to be vulnerable today!

So, tell me, have you chosen a word of the year? What's it going to be and why did you choose it? Let's make this a conversation!

Word of the Year

What a title huh? You may be wondering how can a single word encompass a whole year's worth of living. It does seem a bit ambitious, doesn't it? In a lot of ways, it's kind of like making a New Year's resolution - something that is quite popular right now to do since it's the beginning of January and all. ;)

I can't take credit for the topic of today's post. It was inspired by Layla over at The Lettered Cottage. She's chosen a word for (at least?) the past two years, and does a great job of explaining it, so I'm borrowing this quote from her blog...

"choose one word that has the potential to inspire 

you and create intention in your life, all year long."

This word is something you can incorporate into all the other goals/resolutions/vision you have for 2013.

I like this idea.

So I chose a word this year while C and I had a marathon 2013 planning session last week. My word is:

There are about a million definitions for open, but the one that fits with what I'm "going for" here is: "characterized by ready accessibility and usually generous attitude." (Thanks, definition #10.)

I want to be open to...

...opportunities

...change

...possibilities.

This openness is both on the surface and on a deeper level. What I mean is that it encompasses my attitude toward something like decorating my home, but also something like giving up my iron grip on control over my life. Letting Someone else lead. Taking a chance on something outside my comfort zone. Be willing to change my plans in both small and big ways.

So here's to 2013's word! Maybe I'll even write a follow up post in December to update you on how it went!

Will you join me in choosing a word of the year?