2018 Goals – Twelve New Months for Success, Experiences and Growth

Hey Sweeties,

I don’t know about you, but I still haven’t really adjusted to it being a new year already, I’m still in conversation saying “next year” as opposed to “in a couple of months”, and I can’t really handle that 2017 is now “last year”. Mental!

If you cast your mind back to last summer and my post about my evening at the Deliciously Ella Supper Club, I stayed overnight locally at the Half Moon pub at Herne Hill. I didn’t get a good opportunity to share the photos from that stay so I thought I would include them in this post while I share my 2018 goals.

2018 Goals – Twelve New Months for Success and Experiences

2018 goals | The Half Moon Pub Herne Hill

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A Bit of New Year Reorganisation

Hey Sweeties,

In light of my recent January sales haul, I have had to make room for these new clothes and things in amongst my existing belongings. As much as it is actually really refreshing to have a good clear out and reorganisation of stuff, you can’t help but wonder why we need so much stuff (yeah yeah, said no woman ever!)… but you know what I mean.

My wardrobe

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is everything…

Of course I don’t worry about how much stuff I own, we’re in the 21st century where we’re a very materialistic, possession heavy western culture but I do think it’s important to shed the excess baggage regularly… but this doesn’t include beauty, oh no. I don’t care how many mascaras and palettes I own, they are all needed and until it spills out of my dressing table and existing makeup storage, it stays! Fashion on the other hand changes so regularly that you can’t possibly keep and wear everything all the time.

As I mentioned in my haul video (here), the place where I guess my enjoyment of fashion comes to life is at work of all places. Despite (currently) working in a corporate company, I like to inject a bit of fun and colour where I can while keeping myself looking professional and appropriate; I could never imagine myself choked up in corporate attire. At weekends, although I have more fun with the beauty side of things, my outfit choices really seldom change as I’m either playing hockey or I’m mooching about town if not also my home. Of course more effort is made when I am meeting up with people but on the whole, weekends are pretty uninspired on the fashion front.

Going back to the first few posts on this blog, I did try and include a bit of fashion, particularly what I wore to work… remember this (January 2014)? What I wore to work

I think I might like to get this back on here -what do you think? Blogging is all about sharing but it’s not much good if I tell you how I like to dress at work and show you stuff bought in a haul if you guys don’t actually see it all come together. This fundamentally means I either need to ask someone at work to take take photos of me on good outfit days and/or I need to step up my game on the selfie front! Let’s see how January goes…

Fashion selfies

Until next time x

2014 Summary and Looking Ahead

Hey Sweeties,

So here we are, the eve of a brand new year and the hours remaining of 2014 are on the count down to midnight and soon gone. I always feel weird on New Years Eve, I feel excited and looking forward to a brand new year of aspirations and goals, but equally I come over in a mild panic and desperately try to cling onto the year almost gone; I’m not ready to let go. But I don’t have the choice here, the new year is coming regardless.

The biggest most significant thing of 2014 is buying my first house with the man I will eventually marry (when he asks me). We have formally entered that new era and early chapters of binding our life together and owning our own bricks and mortar is a pretty big deal. I am excited for all the memories, moments and things we will experience here going forward.

House completion

This year I also got my arse in gear and completed the X-Runner Water Wipeout challenge raising £125.00 for Yateley Hockey Club. I also trekked the Yorkshire 3 Peaks raising £215.00 for The British Heart Foundation and I intend to continue keeping myself fit and active going forward.

Water Wipeout

Collage

Looking ahead- 

A question mark hovers on top of my career as to my next move; I am yet to find a role that I can grow and develop within without having to either promote myself out of it or move somewhere new to climb to that next level. Hopefully this next new step is within the company I am currently with as I love it there but if I can’t develop there then I will have to explore other avenues and opportunities elsewhere. Developing myself professionally is and will be at the top of my list of goals and resolutions for a while yet to come.

Speaking of development, I am a mere 2-3 assignments away from completing my Diploma in Copywriting. I want to be a writer but I don’t want to be in a position yet where I am just churning out content for the sake of it. I get a lot of pleasure from my blog and for now that satisfies my writing desires so for my day job I am actually open minded and keen to do something that is a little bit different. Wait and see but definitely in time, becoming a writer is my long term ambition.

In the blogging world I feel I have found my rhythm and next year I want to expand and reach new platforms and audiences. I also want to become more embedded in the blogging community so I’ll be on the look out for blogger meet ups and events to join in on. I have achieved over 100 followers in this blog’s first year, can I make it to 500 before the next year is out?

In June I am going to be Maid of Honour to my best friend at her wedding and between now and then we have a lot to organise and a weekend to give her the send off into married life she deserves. More on this in due course!

In October I have the adventure of a lifetime; Trek America! I will be joining a totally new group of people I hope will become friends in a journey beginning and finishing in LA, taking us up the west coast and back. I can’t wait!

Other things planned to look forward to are S Club 7 reunion tour in May (oh yes, Sweeties!), Euro 2015 Hockey Championships in August, the Ashes, my 28th birthday… and no doubt many things will crop up and add themselves into what I hope to be a great 2015.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

Until next time x

Sweet 2014 Ambitions

Hi Everyone,

2014 is merely hours away and I should, in the not too distant future, start getting ready for tonight’s celebrations (a little do with friends) and I thought I should take some time, while I have it, to reflect on the year almost gone and look forward to what is to come.

2013 has been quite a simple year in many respects, where 2012 was busy and full of change (read My Graduate Experience for the full low down) where I thought I might have to reconsider my career plans, January 2013 dawned and change came with it. I finally found a company that saw through the lack of marketing/PR experience but saw what experience in other fields I did have and saw enough of my potential to take a chance and give me my first opportunity in communications. I will always, always hold them very highly for this.

So with my first marketing job underway, this year I have just chilled out a bit. I am someone that is always looking towards the next step, I have to know that what I am doing is contributing towards my development and I never just allow myself to live today, I am just too driven and ambitious. I am getting better but while I am still so young in my career, it’s important for me to make sure I am exposing myself to the right opportunities that will work for me down the line once I have established myself more and found an area of focus. So while this element of me hasn’t gone away, I have just enjoyed working, making a good home life for Ian (Boyfriend) and I, taken up playing hockey and on the whole just enjoyed myself. 2014 on the other hand, with a new job my career really will be my focus as this time next year I’ll either be unemployed as my contract has come to an end, or I’ll have been kept on and either will stay in the same position or move into a different role within the team, OR I may have decided that while I have enjoyed the year I feel it right that I move on elsewhere. Who knows! Its exciting but I know what that means as I know what I am like, I will be scrutinising everything I do within the role to determine my next move. I can’t change me unfortunately but I hope I keep this under control otherwise I’ll ruin the experience for myself.

IMG00073-20120214-1124

In other areas, Ian and I have recently opened a joint account in order to save for a deposit on a house (very grown up, eh?) so come the end of 2014 it would be great if we were in a position to buy our first house the year following or at least be almost there! We have been together 2.5 years now so as you can expect most of our friends and family are enquiring (some not very subtly) about the future (the ‘W’ word!) and although buying a house is our absolute priority, we have both openly admitted that we are each others forever (bit stupid buying a house if you haven’t discussed the future in more detail isn’t it?) so yes, at some point maybe next year, maybe the year after, we’ll or he rather, will make a step towards that too hopefully!

I touched briefly a moment ago about finding an area of focus in my career (as communications is very broad) and at the moment, I think I am definitely steering towards copywriting. I am currently undertaking a diploma in that field which is going well and certainly, depending upon the outcome but assuming it’s good, I would really like to do some freelance work on the side to get myself developed and established. With that in mind, as you know I now have three blogs, this one definitely my favourite and I must make these a focus to maintain next year. At the moment, I just upload when I can and don’t put too much effort into getting them circulated and attracting followers but this will change. In my new job I should learn how to make and edit videos which would be amazing as I think it would be really fun to do a vlog on here at some point in the year all being well, so, lovely Sweeties, do stay with me and I’ll aim to deliver! Also let me know if there is anything I have or do touch on that you would like me to delve a bit more deeper into, I will happily oblige (within reason of course).

So, to summarise some early identified ambitions and resolutions from my posts so far:

  • Try my very hardest and make the absolute most of my new job
  • Continue with hockey and continue to work on my personal health and fitness
  • Have fun with fashion and beauty (and blog about it!)
  • Save very hard for new house (& future with Ian)
  • Complete my copywriting diploma
  • Continue to make good choices
  • *Others to follow in this space

Right, I have gone on long enough (sorry) so I am off to run myself a lovely hot deep bath and see what Lush products I have that I could throw in to make it all the more lovely. I then need to wash and dry my hair (which takes ages as I have long, thick hair), then put on some glad rags of which I don’t actually know what they are yet (all the more reason to stop blabbering on), do my make-up  -I thought I might try out one of the new eyeshadows I got in the set I got from Debenhams during my January Haul as they seemed quite sparkly and NYE appropriate! and then PARTY into 2014!!

So, with all that and the above in mind, may I take the opportunity to wish all my Sweeties a wonderful and happy New Year and let’s have an amazing 2014!

my 2014 Ambitions

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