I think I’ve mentioned here before that when I first started blogging (before Live Well Play Together), blogging was totally different.

People had blogs as online journals of sorts.  Not every post had a photo, or a specific structure to aid in readability.  There were fun “getting to know you” questionnaires and days in the life.  It was so fun.

And while I love reading what people are up to in those kinds of posts, I’ll admit that I haven’t always been the best at making time to add them here on Live Well Play Together.  I don’t know why.  Maybe the mundane doesn’t always feel like documenting, or I just think that you won’t be interested (and maybe you’re not, and that’s cool).

But, I got lots of feedback on my recent reader survey that suggested that maybe you are interested. Many of you requested specifically to see more life lately/personal/day in the life type posts.

And so here we are.

I’ve actually been making a short mental list of things I can share here this week and I’m hoping to make the time to keep these posts regular.  Or at least semi-regular.

Currently | January 2019

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WATCHING

Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix.  We’re almost finished with the series and I have enjoyed it so much.  I don’t always agree with the way she goes about things (and Hubs is totally convinced that she’s praying to the houses when she “greets” them), but it has been so motivating to see other people’s stories and homes and the way they go about tidying up and making their homes places of joy.

ORGANIZING

All the things.  See note above.  But in all honesty, a big part of my home goals for this year include having more organized systems around here and much of that involved decluttering, purging things we don’t use anymore, and organizing the things we keep so that they are easy to find, use, and put back away.

REFLECTING

On the past year.  January is my littlest’s birthday month and it is so crazy for me to think that he is a year old.  We’re celebrating him this weekend with family with a low-key pizza and cupcakes party at our house (and when I say low-key, I mean VERY low-key…recycling decorations from Little’s first birthday low-key).

I actually have been feeling kind of emotional about him turning one in a way that I wasn’t when Little turned one.  With Little, I didn’t realize how quickly it would pass by – and I tried to savor every little moment.

With the littlest (and I need to think of a better nickname for him on the blog…), I knew exactly how quickly it all goes by, but it went faster still.  And I am just in disbelief.  He brings so much joy to our lives and we just love him so much.

WORKING ON

Creating a blog work schedule so that I have planned evenings to work on the blog, go to the gym, small group, and date night over here.  Also working on getting into some better habits and routines around here to keep the flow of work around our home moving (i.e. putting laundry away when it’s done, implementing specific, consistent “tidying up” times during the day when we can pick up our toys, clear the kitchen counters, etc.)

BUYING

Lots of little things, it feels like.  I know a lot of people like to practice a no-spend month in January, but I’ve been cleaning out so many things, I’ve also been buying some fun things to help us get organized, and to replace some of the old things we’ve moved out.  Here’s what we’ve bought this month:

New car seats

We needed to move the Littlest into a convertible car seat and Hubs found a great deal on this one at our local Wal-Mart for just $79 (I checked Wal-Mart’s website, and it’s still listed for $169, so I think it was just at some stores?).  So we picked up two.  One for his car and one for the van…we also bought a mini-van (!!) but it was in December, right before Christmas.  I don’t have a picture of it to share, but I’m hoping to share it soon along with why we chose to buy a van, so stay tuned for that!

A new belt for me

I got rid of the belt I had been wearing for-ever when we were cleaning out our closet.  It was tearing and coming apart and not cute.  I have been wanting a new belt for a while, but it’s hard to make time to go out just for a new belt – and I always forgot about it.  But when I knew we were going to be cleaning out things, this moved up on my list.   I picked up this dark green one (it actually looks kind of jewel-tone, blue-ish green to me) from Target.

I wasn’t expecting to get a green belt, but it goes with everything so it came home with me.  And I’ve been wearing it since.  [Also, three cheers for drive-up store pick up, am I right?]

A new journal

And what can I say? I know what I like.  I picked these up from Target, too, but I couldn’t find a link to the exact one.  Anyway, the one on the left is from last year and I forgot what the cover looked like since it’s almost always open.

But, I wanted to get a new journal to write prayers, prayer requests, and Bible study notes and I LOVE the flowers on the cover.

A faux fur rug

Pictured above.  I’ve been wanting one for a while for a photo backdrop.  It’s from the kids’ room section of Target (and is 10% off with the code HOME until Saturday).  It’s about 3 feet across and perfect for photos.  (Or dressing up like a polar bear, per my 3 year old…)

PLANNING

A trip to Winston-Salem to visit some friends that recently moved.  We were hoping to get together before the holidays and their move, but we both had babies with colds at different times, plus traveling for Christmas, and then it was the new year and they moved.

So, we’re making a day trip and we can’t wait.

DEBATING

Whether or not it’s worth it to think about a neighborhood garage sale this spring or just donate all our things we’re getting rid of to get them out of the house.  We’ve never had a garage sale before and don’t have a TON of stuff, but I think if it was a neighborhood thing, we’d get more people to stop by.

Have you ever had a garage sale?  Am I crazy?

What is one fun thing going on this week in your world?  Are you team no-spend January or are you still shopping like me?