Coffee & Honeycomb: baby steps

Showing posts with label baby steps. Show all posts

BABY STEPS (OCTOBER)

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

HAPPY OCTOBER, FRIENDS.

read a book | I told myself that I would read 22 books before I turned 23. That's TWO books a month. Have I started on that? Sadly, no. But granted, I did write that ambitious list while I was bored during summer break itchy for activities. Now I am in a new city and work life has started, and that list is the last thing on my mind. However, I am a woman of my word so I gotta get on this now! :) So... I joined a book club! A friend from work invited me and it was perfect because I knew this would be the kind of accountability and social activity good for me. We're reading "Before I Sleep" by S.J. Watson (has anyone read that? thoughts?) and I also want to try "Gone Girl" since it's been so highly recommended.

no spend coffee | There's free coffee in my work (right on my floor) and free coffee in my apartment, yet I choose to go OUT OF MY WAY to a Starbucks or a Caribou, wait in a long line, and then PAY for my coffee. That really doesn't make any sense. Taste can't really be the reason cause you all know I drown it in cream/sugar so "that authentic Ethiopian bean" isn't it. I have no excuse. This month, I want to try to limit myself and not spend money on coffee!

digitize handwriting | This is just a fun, side project I had been wanting to try for awhile now. Especially when I saw Whitney Blake make fun wall prints out of her handwriting! There are times when I doodle something and I think, "man I wish I could just take this and rather than look for a font I like." Hence, digitizing my handwriting is here.

gym 1x a week | I just want to be healthy. If I can't make time for 45 minutes out of my entire week to do some cardio, then I'm doing something wrong.

host a gathering | Just for fun. (:

develop photos | Because I miss my friends and family and photos weren't meant to live on Facebook or Snapchat, but in your hands and in physical albums and walls so that when guests come over, you can bring the photos out to embarrass the subjects in them or break the ice if guests are awkward. Yes, that is the accurate history of photos.

create a moodboard | I'm designing less and doing Etsy less, so I thought committing to one project will keep my designing side happy for the month. And at the end I'll have something pretty to look at when I need a kick of inspiration.

YOUR TURN! :) What are your goals for this month? Share below, I'd love to hear!

BABY STEPS (AUGUST)

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

It'ssssss August! And you know what that means? Birthday month — for both this blog and myself! My favorite month of the year. :) I thought it was only appropriate to do a 'baby steps' post for this month with so much happening right now. In the past, entering August = entering a new school year, but since I graduated in May, I am officially done with school. No more first day of school outfit, no more syllabus, no more books... Entering August = entering real world. If you've been following me on Twitter or Instagram, then you know that I am actually relocating from Illinois to Minneapolis in just a couple of weeks for my new job. (!!!) Ah, it is so surreal. I want to try to document this transition into young adult life as much as possible on this blog. Hope ya don't get sick of me! Cheers!

send out thank-you letters | My missions trip to Japan was only possible thanks to a huge support system from family members, friends, and my church. I bought a huge stack of stationary to send out hand-written thank you letters to all of the individuals who supported me. Gotta get this done ASAP! I'm already behind!

have a bonfire | Because, summer.

go on a picnic | See above.

create a japan scrapbook | It was a month that changed my life and I don't want to forget any of it. :) I want to create a scrapbook with some of my favorite verses and photos to really capture the memories.

develop photos | I have so many photos stored on my external hard drive that were never published, not even from Italy (!!!), and I want to print them all out to line my future walls.

continue 'if:equip' reading plan | If you don't know about IF or Jennie Allen yet, stop everything you are doing (including reading my blog) and click here. This is a community & resource I am so happy I discovered and don't know what I did without. It was a timely discovery, and immensely helpful into my re-entry back to the US. I love all of the womens' heart of the If community, and they press me more into Jesus daily.

donate old clothes | Purging my closet was a chore that was much needed. Like, yesterday.

buy furniture | Because real world apartments don't come fully furnished? Shocking, right? I know. It was for me, too. I need to get me some real couches, rugs, kitchen stools, and the whole shabang. Grown up toys.

celebrate twenty two | Yup. Taylor Swift on repeat, please.

say goodbye | Cue sad music here. A huge part of moving also means saying goodbye. I've lived in Naperville for 10+ years. It's going to be bittersweet move. Sweet to begin a new exciting journey, sad to leave behind all of my best friends and loved ones. On the bright side, maybe this will call for one last summer bash, though?

move to minnesota | Entering real world.

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*See all of my past monthly goals here.

*Travel back to what August looked like last year. Or the year before.

XOXO: What about you? What are your goals for this month? Join the conversation!

BABY STEPS (MARCH)

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I haven't shared a "baby steps" post in awhile, and although we are already half-way through March, I wanted to take a beat to share how I can be more intentional for the rest of the month. Life was so busy with job interviews, trips, presentations; and today I finally had a huge chunk of time to myself to just be. It was GRAND. I took my time cooking a meal, and took even longer to eat it. I (finally) cleaned my room so that the floor was visible, and rearranged some furniture. New vibes. Now here I am sharing March's baby steps. Ya ready? :)

This is March's baby steps:

( photo source )

NEW SERIES | I have two series ideas in the works, and I want to implement one of them this month! They are both completely inspired and aligned to my blog name, coffee & honeycomb, each in different ways. (: I'm so excited to share them with you. The first one is "coffee in photos" which I actually posted on recently, but I thought it would be fun to share fun photos of coffee each week! The second series idea is actually a guest post series, which I will announce in the near future. Meanwhile, if you happen to find any crisp coffee photos, please send them my way. (:

ETSY | I plan on opening an Etsy shop! Nothing too fancy, just digital downloads of graphics/prints.

INVITATION | I will be designing a wedding invitation! My friend's older sister, as well as my mentor, is getting married this summer and asked if I'd be up for the job. :) I excitingly agreed. I've never designed a wedding invitation, so this will be a fun but scary venture for me.

2 WATER, 1 COFFEE | This is a step towards healthiness. I drink way too much coffee, and not enough water. So I have decided to start a new habit of drinking two cups of water for every cup of coffee I drink! That way, I don't have to forgo my coffee habits. Win, win?

BIG NEWS | I have big news... I want to muster up the boldness to share it with y'all this month.

LENT | It is the season of lent. :) What am I giving up? Television. I know my tv habits can be excessive at times, especially when I want to turn my brain off or hide away from problems, so for forty days, I want to be intentional with turning off the tv and turning in more towards the word. I am excited for what is in store for my soul, time, and relationship with the Lord as I do this! *Confession: I did watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy last night because I had a free hour to do and felt at peace with doing it. For me, lent is less about just meeting a goal and more about depending more on Jesus instead of tv. I want lent to be steps toward life transformation, and I never think cutting off something completely is always healthy, so if I can watch an episode of tv here and there without turning it into a full on marathon, I think that's okay. :) I'll share again if my thoughts change on this.

What are your thoughts on the lenten season? What does your March look like? :)

LIFE LATELY : BABY STEPS

Friday, January 17, 2014

currently :
- Reading "Restless" by Jennie Allen. I'm only on chapter four, but so far? It is an absolute gem. I would recommend it to any senior in high school or college — or anyone in transition. (I plan on doing a separate post on this book later, but if you're feeling eager to check it out, find it here!)
- Applying to jobs... There's really not anything else I'd like to add to this. It's just... going. (Please lift up a prayer for me for God to open doors!)

- Playing Dutch Blitz! Have you heard of it? Think solitaire + speed!
- Watching "Pretty Little Liars."
- Drinking soy iced chai almost everyday. I think I need to find a good recipe to substitute the cash I'm dropping at Starbucks.

baby steps :
What are baby steps? They're like goals—only less intimidating and less measurable. They're baby steps toward permanent lifestyle changes.

- Create a mood board.
- Apply to three new jobs a week.
- Eat turkey bacon and egg whites.
- Visit a new city.
- Keep squatting.
- Read a fiction book.