A Brand New Year: 2019

After spending 2 weeks in New York and then traveling back to Texas the day before NYE, we were too tired to do much of anything for New Year's. We got chinese food (our last indulgence for 2018) and then watched a movie. We did a countdown with the kids at 10pm (Thank you Netflix) and then let them toast with Sparkling Cider, which they both spit out in disgust. Ha ha. The kids didn't make it to midnight but Ty and I did. We sat out on the porch and watched the neighborhood display. Texas has very lax laws for fireworks. So the fireworks in our neighborhood alone were equivalent to those that we used to watch in Saratoga Springs, NY every year. lol.....it was great. We didn't have to go anywhere to enjoy some sparkle. The neighbors all set up and have parties right there in their driveways. So we did the same and drank a couple champagne mojitos before passing out. Also, I didn't take one photo....so there's that.

Despite not being hungover whatsoever, on New Year's Day, I woke up and laid in bed until noon. I drank coffee and scrolled the internet for everything under the damn sun. I listened to the kids running around the house, tearing everything apart from Christmas. But I didn't care. I just sat there in my cozy, overstuffed with 30 pillows bed and enjoyed every moment of laziness.

After I finally got up, I ate some breakfast and then had this sudden urge to organize and purge. It came over me like a switch. One minute I was feeling like I might not get out of bed and the next I took a look around and was like, I gotta get this place under control. So I spent the rest of the day organizing, purging, donating and cleaning. I sent Ty out to get storage bins and labels. I literally took every single toy that the kids have and put them in organized bins out in the garage. Now, if they want to play with a toy, they have to take a bin out and that is the ONLY one that they can play with. If they want different toys, the old bin must go back. This is the only way to keep this small house from becoming a giant play room.

I also packed up a bunch of decor and things that aren't necessary. A move is coming soon for us so I was proactive and packed away stuff that we don't use daily.

Some things that I have already started and continue to tackle into the New Year are:

Purge: Getting rid of ANYTHING we don't use or need: clothes, shoes, kitchen stuff, toys.... you name it, if we don't use it much or it's excessive, it's a goner! My donation pile is big, guys. Real big! And now I'm wondering where in the heck this stuff came from?? I mean, we didn't even bring 1/2 of what we own here and yet our house now if full again! Makes me stop and think a bit before we decide to buy something new...

Replace: I threw out a bunch of our plastic tupperware and replaced it all with glass storage containers. Bye-bye plastic toxins. Once we move, I want to buy all new cookware as well. Saying bye to most of our non-stick cookware and buying glass cookware.

Maxwell LOVES straws but I can't help but think of Tom Brady informing us of how bad straws are for the environment and so I decided it was time. I recently purchased some stainless steel straws from Amazon and hope that Maxwell will use them. No more plastic straws.

I also threw out all of my toxic cleaners. Which, I honestly didn't have many anyway. I am using all natural cleaners with less chemicals. Breathing that stuff in just isn't good for you. BUT, I will say I have the hardest time getting rid of the good toilet cleaner. None of the natural ones for the toilet have ever worked. Any suggestions? We do have a house cleaner come once in awhile but she will use our products when she cleans in our house. I ditched Tide laundry soap and I've been using this HERE for a while and LOVE it!!

Health: I started back to my normal workout routine again. It felt great (and I admit a little tiring) to start back on a consistent routine but I felt 100 times better by week's end.

We also got back on the clean eating train. This part is not hard for me at all. I have been eating clean for so long now that I actually enjoy it and after a week of eating whatever the heck I wanted. It was nice to eat healthy foods again. Now if I could get Maxwell off the pancake and waffle kick...So I did the 5 day Tone It Up cleanse and now I'm back to my own clean eating recipes. The hard part for me is kicking alcohol. I've tried numerous times to cut it out completely, but it never works. So I am going about it a different approach which is similar to what I did on the Tone It Up plan.  I'm going to pick one day a week to drink and keep it at 1-2 drinks. I was able to do this when I did the Bikini Series so when it works, stick to it, right?

Organize: I really,  really REALLY want to clean all of the photos an videos out of my phone but I know this will take like an entire day to tackle. I also know that I will probably just download it all to my external hard drive and upgrade my phone. That is usually the only way I can get rid of photos and video, to get a new phone. What can I say, I'm a memory junkie.


Self Care: I also decided to do some things for my skin. Creeping closer to 35 this new year, I need all the collagen help I can get. Ha ha. Drinking the correct amount of water that I need to each day helps a lot. And taking collagen daily does as well.
A few months ago I started getting Hydrafacials with glycolic boosters. And also started dermaplaning. I love these facials! They are amazing to get before a big event. This month I am going to start some microneedling and maybe a IPL session or two. I found an awesome MedSpa here in San Antonio and would like to use them as I can while I'm here. I will give you some updates on my IPL, Microneedling and anything else I try. AND, I just started the KOR teeth whitening treatment through my cosmetic dentist's office. I will do a post on self care and all of the things that I've tried. ALSO, it is in the making to do a post about products that I use that actually work.

The last thing that I want to do is to clear my mind and soul. I realize that I organize and declutter every area of my life but always fail to attend to the most important part, my soul. So there will be less time on Social Media and more time focusing on what's in front of me. There will be less overbooking my calendar and more meditation (which I've never been good at, so we'll see how that goes). Less Facebook and more reading or writing. Less noise, more focus.


2018 was a year of adventure. I contemplated posting a round up of the best moments of 2018, but decided that they are all here in the blog anyhow, so there's no need. I did recap them on Instagram: @itslaurenrebecca
With 2018 being a year of "adventure", I'd have to say that 2019 is going to be more a year of "focus". While I still love travel and seeing new things, sometimes things need to take a back seat for more important things. And this year we really need to make some BIG decisions and focus on where we want to be, getting there and prepping for the future. (more to come on that...)

I have 2 new posts I'm finishing up this week. Our Christmas in New York, which has a ton of fun photos and also our Trip to Siesta Keys. 



Happy New Year!!
xo
Lauren