Resolutions are the name of the New Year-new you game, but how many of those “I resolve to do an hour of cardio before 6 AM” resolutions do we actually keep? None, unless we’re superhero-level athletes or people without lives, jobs, or the desire to be well rested. I’ve gone ahead and outlined my top fab-girl resolutions that’ll be easy to keep for 2014.
1. Resolve to make next New Years about self-exploration and seeing new things. It’s not about the best bottle of champagne, most glam kiss, or the sparkliest dress (although I won’t argue with all those things sounding great). See new things, places, and grow. My personal wish? To see the world’s highest ball drop at lebua in Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Eat more whole foods. Most resolutions regarding diet are flat out restrictive- no carbs, no wheat, no anything that makes you happy. Personally, I think the “no” attitude sets us up for failure and disappointment from the start, so I’d rather have a “more” attitude. In my case, eating more whole foods is the direction I’d like to go in. Instead of snacking on pastries or things with weird ingredients, I’d rather replace those options with a fresh fruit salad, a freshly sliced avocado with lemon juice and salt, or even an apple with natural peanut butter. The calories, carbs, and chemicals saved are potentially priceless.
Dessert Idea: Raw Chipotle Brownies (recipe)
3. An easy beauty routine. So many of my friends have made commitments like “I’m going to actually wear makeup every day, I swear.” Umm, a full face is unrealistic and could leave you in clown territory if you’re sporting that to the gym. But, if you commit to one facial feature to amp up, your work is more like a 1-2 minute commitment for even the laziest of days (if you can’t commit to 1 minute a day, spend less time reading blogs). I’m resolving to make my eyes brighter and more awake, so I’ve been using my new fave drugstore mascara- CoverGirl Bombshell. It’s got a lash plumping/priming end and an end that seals the deal, creates shine and gloss, and makes your lashes look like bangs for your eyeballs. Brilliant. With lashes like that, other makeup is simply optional. Under $10 at drugstores.
4. A fashion allowance. I’ve noticed so many of my friends deep in debt from spontaneous fashion purchases. Whether it’s a purse, a rack full of dresses, or a shoe obsession- fashion is like any other expenditure- something to be done thoughtfully. I’m setting aside a specific budget for each month in CASH so I can’t go over it, and anything beyond that will just force me to get more creative with my own closet. If there’s anything extra leftover, it’ll go towards my weekend adventure fund (read: skydiving in May).
5. More time getting old friends together. So many of my old friends are now spread across the country and the world because life simply goes on. Whether they moved for a job, love, or just a greater sense of discovery… they’re simply not here in NYC with me and the rest of the girls we used to hang out with, and it’s nearly impossible to get us all on planes the same week to have a friendship week somewhere. Solution? Spin app- available on iPad and iPhone. It’s the only way to gather up to nine others from afar, completely live, and show and share your favorite videos, photos and drawings on the screen. Spin is much more than a way to get together on mobile video- you can either flip the camera around to share where you are or show an Instagram image or YouTube video. The experience is very true-to-life, colorful and high quality – for instance, everything appears live on everyone’s screen at the same time and people can rewind videos and view photos, just as if they were together in real life. And, it’s available free on iTunes right now. Boom!
