It's New Years Day: Thoughts, Goals and Pretty Pictures

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Welcome to 2015! I didn't do anything too exciting for New Years, I stayed home and watched a slightly depressing but good movie 'Tara Road' with my parents and we watched the local Fireworks from the window. We actually had a little bit of a summer storm yesterday afternoon, but it cleared before dark so a lot of the New Years celebrations still went on. 

I usually do this as two separate posts, but today I thought I might change that. In one post, here is my '2014 in Review' and '2015 Goals.

2014 IN REVIEW:

I feel like this year has gone ridiculously fast. For most of the year I felt like I was doing a whole lot of nothing. Looking back, I think a few things definitely did happen and I did actually make some achievements. I didn't make all of my resolutions from last year a reality, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. 

In 2014, we said farewell to some  great people who unfortunately didn't get to see the new year. I think it was a sad year for a lot of people, especially considering that there were so many national and international tragedies. 

I also turned 21, which is apparently a big deal. I don't really think that it's a big deal because 18 is the legal age for a lot of things in this country, so there aren't really any new privileges for me to enjoy. I just had a small gathering at a local restaurant for my birthday "party" and I got to dress up which is always fun.

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I bought a new car last year. No it wasn't a vintage Cadillac, but it is blue and I think it's magnificent. I honestly thought I'd never sell my little car or buy anything bigger, but I changed my mind and I'm glad I did. While I may not have as much money free to spend each pay day, I am happy about getting to drive "baby" each time I travel to the shops. 

I also entered a pin-up competition. It was a chance for me to step out of my comfort zone and I think it was really fun. I don't know if I will enter it again this year, but I have been thinking about it. If I do I think I will definitely need to work on my poses a little bit. I'm not entirely sure that I'm cut out for the pin-up thing, because I'm more of a 'Funny Face' kind of girl, however in our town you kind of just take what you get, And a vintage-inspired event is kind of a miracle.

Our town also had a Festival, Super Boats, Monster Trucks and a Rally relating to an important cause. I didn't go to the Monster Trucks, but I went to the festival and the Super boats and had a good time. I really like that there were actually events to go to for a change, though it can get a little expensive.

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I have bought a lot of stuff in the last year. I definitely need to curb those spending habits now that I have a new car to pay for. I kind of learnt my lesson this year with buying cheap things from Asia. You wouldn't think it, but I have bought quite a few things online that turned out to be too small. I've since sold these things or donated them to charity. I also indulged in some of the online after xmas sales not that there were many...

I have also made a few accomplishments with my blog in 2014. I have made it to 1400 likes on the Quirky Vintage Facebook Page. I also had one of my posts 'Vintage (style) can be appropriate' featured in Chronically Vintage - Vintage Link Love October 2014. I also decided to start posting Movie Recommendations, Playlist Posts, Pretty Picture Posts and Seasonal Beauty Favourites.

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In 2014 I also started posting some Beauty Pictures to the Facebook page and I'm really happy with the response I've been getting. I've gotten a lot of complements for my make-up lately and I have even been considering tutorials...

In the last year I also discovered Nail Stamping and got addicted. I have done quite a few different designs and I think my favourite one is probably the National Anthem by Lana Del Rey inspired manicure. There were a lot of other designs I was really happy with as well. These included the 'A Place To Call Home' manicure, 1920's flapper nails, Sabrina Nails and Diana Camera Nails.

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I only read 13 books this year which I know is really slack. Considering that one year I did read 72... I did do a lot of other things with my time though, and I have a lot of hobbies. This year I really enjoyed reading the Stephanie Plum Series and 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell. 

MY GOALS FOR 2015:

I have some really obvious and boring life goals to start off with. Things like being healthier, doing physical activity, going to bed earlier, being organised, getting to places on time, being more efficient...

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I'd really like to get into dancing again, even if there are no classes available. I want to get my old ballet posture back. I want to tap dance and charleston and jive, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. I will take hip hop if I have to... I don't hate hip hop, it just makes me feel a little awkward.

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I want to spend less money in 2015. I think I am going to bargain hunt less and wait for the good quality stuff to go on sale. I also want to keep tabs on what I spend (I think this is usually where it all goes bad).

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I want to organise my music this year. I'm thinking it's time to finally sort out that vinyl and to set up my second ipod (one for driving).

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I want to make a conscious effort to read more. I love reading, but I get so distracted by other things that I just forget about my TBR sometimes. I don't want to make a reading goal, because I always end up reading less. I definitely want to get stuck into the new books I got for xmas and read some of the books that I find intimidating.

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I want to make more of an effort with my skin and with cleaning my make-up brushes. I want to try out heaps of new looks and keep uploading pics for you all.

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I want to make sure my blog doesn't get forgotten and I want to try my best to write great stuff that people actually want to read. 

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I want to keep on going with my art and be inspired to try new things. I would like to do some more art journaling  like I used to do in high school art class. 

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I want to find time for all of my random little hobbies including guitar.

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I want to make an effort to dress well and go out more so I can actually wear some of my new cute little outfits. 

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I want to be more social and meet new people. This kind of goes with the last one, because what is the point of "going out" by myself. Having said that, I don't want to put up with petty dramas, cattiness, or any of those stereotypical things people do so they can convince themselves that they are cool. 

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Most of all, I want to have a bit of fun, be positive and spend quality time with decent people.

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I hope you all had a wonderful new year! Did you do anything exciting to celebrate? Do you have any resolutions?

Your Favourite Blogger,

Natalie