Raise your hand if you had a sloowww start to 2016. Insert emphatic wave.  I took my head out of the Christmas high clouds, looked around and wanted to stick my head back in, but the flu x 5 decided to drag me down to reality. However, I needed the extra slow to think through and write down more concrete intentions for my family and I in 2016.  Gabe and I have plans to sit down and make small and large goals for ourselves and our little family in all areas. Not particularly action items like exercise more or travel to x, but more get- to- the- root- of- happiness goals like more structure and less clutter in all realms. I will dive into some of these through the year in topics of health, family, etc.

There will also be some changes in blog content! Every year I fine comb through the topics and direction of this space, adjust it’s sails and move forward with anticipation for the new year. This go around, I would love your feedback as well as to what you would like to see more of! 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN 2016:

Home and design posts – I just shared on instagram that we will (hopefully) buying our first home this year! We are finally ready to plant roots, and I would love to share the process along the way including some home renovations. In the meantime I will continue to share projects around our rental home. Also, it appears this is one of you reader’s favorite topics as well!

New style series being revealed this week! – It was a little tough keeping up with the Buildable Wardrobe posts, and I am still learning a good deal about the whole ethically made journey and where to buy clothes from. So I am putting that series aside for now , but I promise the new series will  be a good one!

Travel – With four little ones travel is a whole new kind of GOAL that I am setting my mind to. Even if we just explore locally or to visit family, it is something Gabe and I want to keep up because it is a fun way to broaden horizons and beat the winter blues! Will be sharing travel topics along the way!

Life/motherhood Topics – Writing takes a whole lot of energy for me, although I never regret it once it’s done. I look back on some of the posts I have written through the sun and rain and I am thankful for them to re-visit. I also think it is important to connect with you all on the real stuff and not just the design and style projects that tend to stay on the shinier side of life. Vocabulary seems to be a lost art these days so I am going to attempt to keep my mind sharp and push myself to write once a week.

Beauty/ Health – This is tough for me to carve time for, because I am uber low maintenance on this topic. However, I like a challenge, and one of the biggest is to take care of myself. So I will occasionally be sharing hair/make-up/skin care finds that I am convinced are worthy of a share;)

I have some awesome Food contributors that I hope can still share a good recipe here and there. I wish I could share more Biz Tips posts and DIYs, but trying to narrow down my focus and these didn’t quite make the cut. Home DIY’s might still make appearances. 

And I am sure you have noticed the new blog look! I am so thankful to Brandi of Maiden Sites for implementing the new look and making all my requests happen . We are still tweaking here and there, and will be developing the shop section soon, but I hope it makes it easier to navigate. I’ll be sharing occasional surprise content just for IHOD insiders this year so be sure to sign up!

Feel free to comment or email us with any suggestions you have for the new year. I am so grateful to each of you who take the time to read, comment, and be a part of this space. It makes me want to do high kicks. And maybe skip…

Okay I think that is all for now. Cheers to the fresh start!