January Recap | Vision Board, Cupcakes & Good Reads

Happy weekend!

Been a while since I have written a blog post. To be honest, I haven’t done much to warrant a blog post — I’ve been really trying to take it easy this month– but I thought I’d give a mini life update. Can you believe that this month has already passed? This year is going to fly by.

Vision Board

I mentioned this before: I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions. I don’t like the idea of “new year, new me” because I believe changes can happen at any time, not every January. But, I’ve been lacking motivation lately, and I saw making a vision board a good opportunity to browse through Pinterest and seek inspiration (also create a new phone wallpaper). See the header for my vision board!

*Images taken from Pinterest belong to their rightful owner. All credits belong to them and are not my own. See the end of this blog post for original image links*

I believe vision boards are personal, and no one should feel obligated to explain each and every image. My thought process when putting this all together was finding images that made me happy and would serve as mini personal reminders to take care of myself and foster inspiration for me to reach my goals. Though I never really expected myself to create a vision board this year (I didn’t think it was my thing), I’m glad I took the time out to create a visual representation of thing that make me happy, my wants and goals. It’s something positive I can look at every day and I encourage making one!

focus on the step in front of you and not the whole staircase

This quote is the crux of my vision board. Not sure who originally said it but it’s very similar to MLK’s quote “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” I resonate with this statement. I’m very forward-thinking — always jumping ahead to the end result rather than the steps needed to achieve my goals. This serves as a reminder that it takes baby steps to achieve my goals and that there is no need to rush them. Everything will fall into place at its own time. There’s much I want to accomplish and hope for and I just have to take step by step.

Cupcakes

I’ve also been baking (what’s new?)! I used to love making cupcakes when I was younger, so I thought they should make a comeback. When it comes to piping frosting or decorating baked goods, I normally take a shortcut and use ziploc bags, but I never like how they turn out. This time, I got myself some real piping bags and they are a game-changer! They made decorating my cupcakes so easy. I don’t think I’ll go back to using ziploc bags again.

Also, as strange as this may be, I don’t enjoy making frosting. I would rather make anything else from scratch than frosting. But, I also don’t love store-bought frosting. My little trick is to add a few tablespoons of powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla extract to it and then using a hand or stand mixer to whip it up. This makes it taste more homemade and I like it when it’s extra fluffy and airy (literally melt in your mouth frosting- yum!).

Health & Hobbies

I also haven’t been sticking to my routine lately. In fact, I haven’t been feeling well for the last few weeks so I’ve been using this time to rest and take it easy when I’m not working. It’s frustrating, actually. Once one issue is resolved, another issue emerges. I’ve spent the last 2 weeks without much of an appetite, with an upset stomach, and with overall fatigue, so I’ve been living off of light meals, giving me not a lot of energy to do much else. I miss my workouts and my normal routine and meals, but I know it’s best for me to wait it out until I’m feeling much better and can eat more to help fuel my workouts.

Some other activities I really enjoyed this month were: watching Bridgerton (I was hooked — worth the hype), reading President Obama’s A Promised Land, and journaling. This book was enjoyable to read. I found it to be more political than personal, which I would have loved more of, but I loved reading about his family and childhood. I also read Michelle Obama’s Becoming last summer, and I truly enjoyed it. I admire them both, and their relationship. It was really interesting to read about their experiences and both of their perspectives. Now that I’m done with this book, there are so many in my queue to read in my Libby app — I need to get on it!

For someone who likes to write, I actually disliked journaling. I found this pretty olive green unused notebook on my shelf and thought I’d give journaling a shot again. I don’t do it every day, but if I have something on my mind, or need to wind down and help myself relax before I go to bed I write a little. Sometimes I’ll doodle instead. Personally, I like to free write, instead of using a prompt, and just dot down any thoughts I have in my mind. It just helps me fall asleep easier, which is exactly what I need.

That’s all for now! Until next time!

Photo links: