new year’s resolutions

First of all, Happy New Year! This is officially my first blog post of 2016… which also means the first blog post for my 4th year of blogging… crazy! I still can’t quite believe 2015 is over, I think it genuinely was the most fast paced year of all time, I mean seriously, where did it go?

~ MMXVI ~

2015 was an odd year for me… a lot happened but it’s as if I didn’t really have the right sort of grip on it all. Like it just sort of blurred past me and then I was like, oh wait, that happened, didn’t it? (That probably makes no sense at all, but this is just going to be one of those updatey type posts so bear with people, bear with!) And that’s why I want 2016 to be different… I want to be able to actually grasp onto opportunities and realise exactly what’s happening.

I want to really just go for it, because quite frankly, I need to. Even if I start with small things, I think it might actually work this year. I’ve already taken a pretty big step in telling myself that after April, I will most definitely be dying my hair a washed out navy blue… the April part is rather specific as I’m going to be maid of honour at my sister’s wedding and I’m not quite sure I’m brave enough to walk down the aisle (um… sort of) with my new-do. But it will happen people! I will dye my hair and it will in some way help me to step up to bigger things. I can feel it.

WHAT I WORE: Faux Fur Coat (Jumble Sale) // Maison Scotch Blouse (Jumble Sale) // Good Morning Sweatshirt (Wildfox Kids)* // Ripped Flares (New Look Teens)* // Nike TR Fit 5.0 Trainers (JD Sports)* // Personalisable Necklace (Primark) // Sunglasses (SCOUT)

In terms of real goals… I’m not sure. I used to do real step by step goals but now it’s just sort of a general aim to get things going. I have a few plans for my blog example, including a new interview feature that I’ve been working on for a really long time and just the overall idea of extending my content to more intellectual and in-depth topics.

I started to do this towards the end of last year, but things got hectic with #MooiEnLiefbyTDP (oh yeah, I launched a collection last year, didn’t I?) and I ended up putting too much pressure on myself… hence my drop in blog posts. After running a site like this for so long, I suppose you set yourself up for expectations when really, the only expectations are in your head. I’m doing this for me after all, right? The added bonus is all of the opportunities and amazing readers on top.

  LOCATION: Sirolo, IT  🇮🇹

I’m forever grateful for what blogging has given me and I don’t regret a single bit of it. I hope 2016 brings even more to TDP, in whatever direction it takes. I’m thinking I might refresh things again too, so it might not be just my hair getting a change. If I do change things up, it won’t be anything too drastic… it’s just with my age, I’m always changing and I feel like I’ve already grown out of my 2014 update (two years is a long time for a teen, just sayin’)… so who knows. We’ll see!

As for you, I hope you stick around and that you all have an even better year than the last. You’re all awesome and I absolutely love being able to chat and converse about things we all love and enjoy. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet in person this year? There are endless possibilities waiting for us… I guess it’s just about going out and grabbing them.

Good luck you crafty jack rabbits… 100 brownie points if you can point out that reference. 100 brownie points if you can’t either, because you’re all equally awesome.

It is officially 2015… scary! This can only mean one thing! It’s time to do a good ol’ bit of soppy reflection and share with you my New Year’s resolutions. I never really used to do them, but after last year (2014… it went way too quick), I have decided to carry on setting goals, however big or small. So, let’s get on with it…

~ REFLECTION ~

2014 was pretty darn good. At the start of the year I had some big dreams and ambitions, and I am so happy to say that I am pretty sure that I achieved every single one… we’ll exclude the personal ones for now… 😛

Firstly I decided to set myself a goal of working with brands on product collaborations and by golly gosh was that a big thing to write down. I was in a recent Twitter chat about New Year’s resolutions, and I think somebody was actually quite shocked that I managed to do it without a plan of action. But here I am now with a professional design contract with a brand (Mooi en Lief). Sometime soon I will have a collection of socks and tights with my name on them. Pretty darn cool. Read more about that here if you are interested!

Next up I really wanted to do some more fashion design work. I’m not going  to say I have done that fully, but I would say it probably ties in with my previous goal. I have learnt quite a lot on what it takes to create a collection, and am pretty proud of that. I have a whole portfolio book full of designs, research and goodness know’s what that I didn’t even know you had to do! Stepping stones can be as big as you want them to be.

Create unique and interesting blog topics was my final goal, and I think this is down to you guys to judge. I would say I have achieved it. I think my posts have generally got better as I have grown. For me, the second half of 2014 was probably full of some of my best ever content, and I am not sorry, at all for saying that. Plus, look at my blog now. All professional with a swanky new design and layout… 🙂 YAY! You can read some of my favourite posts of last year, here!

~ RESOLUTIONS ~

I’m still not certain what I want to achieve this year. I feel like it will be a proper crack down year where I’ll just be doing a lot of stuff. Who knows what that stuff maybe, but let’s just hope it’s good. I obviously want my Mooi en Lief by Tolly Dolly Posh collaboration to go down well, and for you guys to love it, but other than that I’m okay with everything now. If my blog carries on growing then that’s brilliant! If I keep learning new things then that’s fantastic!

But to make some of you happy and to write down a proper bloggy goal, I think I’d like to work with brands for a longer time than just the odd post. Because brands, PRs and designers have set campaigns and schedules to work alongside, it’s really hard to work with them on different projects all the time. I’d love to collaborate with some of my favourites in different ways whether it be on my blog or off. I want to really work with people and gain experience. So there, there’s a goal for you! Oh and I also want to get back on that thing called YouTube. Yeah… I’m working on it!

Farewell 2014. You were a good year, but let’s see if 2015 can be even better!
LET’S DO THIS.