The past year has given me the gift of change - something I appreciate both for the challenge and the newness. We've gone from a family of three to four, we upped and moved to the country, sold our first home and I quit my long time fashion blog. It was a big one for us! 

I think 2018 is going to be great too. I've been changing my artistic focus from clothing and personal style to making my house a home. I love interior projects - everything from sewing pillows (like in my bedroom) to cutting and installing new window casing (like my upper living room). When it comes to the actual stuff in these rooms, I've found myself turning to craigslist and thrift stores (or what Adam sarcastically calls my hoarding of decorative items I have collected over the years and live in the attic/garage/basement) and have outfitted the spaces with some really awesome second hand finds. In fact, going to Goodwill and ReStore has become part of our weekly routine. I get a huge thrill out of turning someone's discards into something special in my place! 

So with the spirit of creativity and frugality, my goal for 2018 is to Make, Do and Mend! The saying was popular during the second world war and encouraged people to do more with what they had and to upcycle instead of buying new. And that's what I'm aiming to do. Specifically, I'm cutting myself off from first hand purchases. So unless I can thrift it, get it second hand or make it, I don't need to buy it. Of course consumables (food, toiletries, lightbulbs and project materials) will be ok.  

Along with not buying new, I'm going to be doing some major purging with my closet. I'm ok with the fact that I don't have a use for many of these pieces anymore and they should be passed on to someone else for a new life.

Fresh starts, new beginnings. Happy New Year, my friends.