Happy 2025!!
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and is doing well in the New year. Just wanting to check in and share a few things I’m doing as well as some resolutions I’ve made. Hoping to keep myself accountable for the ones I’ve made and I’m thinking that sharing them might help me do that haha. I have a few resolutions to share as well as some ideas I have for Valentine’s Day and some winter decor in the house. After taking down the Christmas decorations every year everything looks so bare. I like to keep a few “winter” decorations out for a while after the Christmas decor comes down.
Link to old post with Winter decor 🙂 https://oursimplegracioushome.com/transitioning-from-christmas-decor-to-winter-decor/
And in all honesty, my Christmas decorations are not all put away yet. haha. I have been going through them, washing out the bins they are stored in and putting aside the ones I don’t love or use anymore. I can share more on that if you would like. I find it helpful to see how other people store and organize their seasonal decor. I also had wanted to check out the post season sales in person and have a look at some artificial trees on sale but haven’t gotten there yet, hopefully there are still some when I get the chance to go.
Christmas here was a little quiet. New Years Eve was even quieter. lol We were in bed before midnight.
Thought I would share what book I’m currently reading as well. I’ll apologize now for the randomness of this post. lol
https://amzn.to/4jgbzjB Link to The Story Collector
I’ve been picking away at The Story Collector since before Christmas. It’s set in Ireland and is about fairies and secrets and is set in both 1911 and 2011. I am about 3/4 finished of it and enjoying it. There is something I love about a book about books, maybe I’m weird. lol. This other book by her will be my next read. 🙂
https://amzn.to/4fXXVP0 Link to The Lost Bookshop
Some of you shared your 2025 resolutions with me on instagram and I love hearing what everyone else’s goals are. I think by hearing what other people are planning to do to is a good way to evaluate your own goals to fit your lifestyle, make sure they aren’t so big that you can’t achieve them and cause you to quit before you even get a good start on them. I also think that talking with your friends, family or people on social media are helpful as well, you never know what knowledge someone has on a subject until you start talking with them 🙂
In saying that, I have some lofty goals for myself. Hopefully not too lofty 😉 lol, I hope to be able to achieve them. I was talking to a co worker the other day about vitamins and supplements and she helped me decide what I thought I should take. I already have taken some in the past and after researching a bit on what she takes, I bought a few new ones to add. I also have added some “greens” in the form of powder. Cutting back on sugar and carbs, or trying at least. Send me a message if you are interested in what I have decided to take. I am no expert by any means but can share and chat about what I decided. I also need a pill tray I think. lol or something to keep everything organized and in a spot I will remember to take them. You think being a nurse would somehow prompt me to take pills and vitamins…. but nope 😉 lol
Over the last few years my eating habits became poor and my exercise routine became nil. So I am hoping that small changes to start with lead to routines and habits that stick. I’ve started by taking some vitamins and supplements and the green powder tastes better than it sounds. lol and getting into a gym routine. I haven’t started at the gym yet, and if I’m being honest, it feels intimidating after not being there for a couple of years, but I will get there 😉
I also plan on trying to use instagram more often, It’s a bit of a learning process haha. If anyone has tips or hints on making instagram posts or reels, feel free to message me. lol. I plan to blog more, read more, have my camera out more than I have been. To generally feel more fit, strong and healthy, and any weight loss in the process is a plus of course. I also need to have more organization in my life, so that will be a work in progress as well, with plans to meal prep and adding higher protein and lower carb snacks to my days. I find I never take the time to do those things, which then leads to failure. If anyone has tips for keeping on track for meal prep, please feel free to share them with me.
If you’ve ever made changes or incorporated new things into your life, like new and healthy habits, you know how hard it can be for those changes. You need to be mentally ready and prepared but just know that YOU CAN do it. The voice you hear the most every day is your own, so make sure it’s saying the best things it can to yourself.
Back on the subject of taking down the Christmas decorations, I know everyone can agree that the house looks very bare when they come down. I love candles and the glow and warm, cozy vibe they give. I love real candles but a few months ago I decided to add some battery operated candles with a remote and a timer and a few different functions. Those will be staying out year round. I found some new and antique candle holders to put them in.
These are the candles I bought.
Battery operated candles https://amzn.to/4gLVLmQ
After I bought the battery operated ones I seen these rechargeable ones. If I would have known these existed at the time, although more money, they don’t require batteries. So I’m sure in the long run they would work out to be the same, cost wise. They look similar to the ones I did buy but with a rechargeable base instead of battery operated. The come with a remote with different options on it as well.
Rechargeable candle sticks https://amzn.to/3WhBsFB
I still love the dried oranges I made for Christmas so I will be keeping them out. Just not sure how I will decorate with them yet.
Valentines Day is coming and I have some ideas to share and some fun treats to make. I plan to share more of those later. This fun sweater is in my amazon cart and I’m sure it will make its way to my closet before Valentines Day.
Heart sweater link https://amzn.to/424ktuh
This is not Valentines or related at all but something I seen recently on Amazon that I thought would work well here because there is only one sink, and very little counter space. It’s a stone, roll up drying rack. We have a plastic bigger drying rack but it takes up counter space and is a pain to try and put it away when it is empty. We have just been using a dish towel on the counter to place the washed and rinsed dishes but this is sleek and clean looking and looks easy to put away. I will be ordering this, probably before this post is published 😉
Drying rack link https://amzn.to/4j8adXT
What are everyone’s plans for Sunday?
Hope you all have a great week!!
