Decisions, decisions

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We have been doing some serious thinking lately. Plans are still very much up in the air, but the idea of moving to Rome for a year is slowly taking shape. With a two year old and a new baby on its way, we are probably mad, but the excitement when we think about this move is building up more and more very day. What do you think? Any thoughts and advices to share?

ONE LITTLE WORD // January reflections

I have been enjoying working on the prompts for One Little WordTM over the past month. I didn’t really follow the rules and did was I thought would suit me best. I have said this before, I am not a scrapbooker, I tried, and sort of liked it, but soon realised it is not really my thing. Also, living in the UK, it is not easy to find supplies as those suggested by Ali, and so I decided to make my own OLW book using a scrapbook journal from Paperchase.
Here is my take for January 2014.
 

This past month I’ve taken a few practical steps toward my goal of living a CREATIVE life.

I’ve chosen a set of books I want to read throughout the year to help me release my CREATIVE self. I am currently reading working on 20 ways to draw a tree and Craft-a-doodle. Both are helping me going back to my art with a free mind, and no expectations, and I’m loving it!
I also made a plan for doing yoga exercises, just haven’t been able to fit it into my daily routine, yet.
I’ve succeeded in my monthly goal of creating a new item for my shop that reflects my new CREATIVE spirit and focus on one of the few things that I’ve decided to pursue this year.
I’ve also chosen 4 words that hopefully will help me make my art more cohesive and that I would like people to use to describe my work: nature.pattern.childlike simplicity. seasons.

I’m starting February with a new vision and a few new things I will try to accomplish. 

5/52

It’s week 5 and things are great! It’s still cold and wet, but the mornings are getting lighter and that is a good sign that spring will come, no matter how long winter will be.
 
 
“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2014”
Olivia: She’s still obsessed over wipes, a lot! Sometimes they even replace her puppets when we go out or to nursery (like she did this morning). She knows where they are on the shelf at our local supermarket, and she goes straight there to pick a pack every time we go there. Fortunately, she has now found a new and better use than wiping herself, her puppets, or the floor, the walls and all our furniture: playing pick-a-boo! 
Baby-to-be: Nothing to report this week, except my daily food cravings and some tiredness in the evening, aka 7pm cat nap on the couch!
Linking up with Jody from Practising Simplicity.

2014 bold plans

I have been trying to narrow down an easy plan for this 2014, and considering the changes and challenges that we’ll be facing in a few months’ time, I thought it would be wise to keep it minimal. I will try not to do too many to-do-lists, although I like setting some goals each month and get them crossed off.
My main (big!) goal for 2014 is to make my life, style and thinking more cohesive, focusing on my art and the way I live my life.
I have chosen a few year-long projects to achieve this and I will be planning some monthly projects to keep me motivated.

// 2014 projects
  • One Little Word (I have talked about it here). This is the biggest new project for this year for sure. Living my chosen word CREATIVE in 2014 is more like a daily task, than a yearly goal. But the plan here is to carry on completing the monthly prompts and be reminded of my word in every choice I make, every single day. I’m planning to share some updates at the beginning of each month, more to remind myself of the decisions I have been taking and the actions I have been making which reflect my little word.
  • Project 52 + Fruits of womb (here & here). I decided to combine these two projects together, as at some point in July the fruit of the womb will turn into a real tiny little person. My pictures taking skills have still a long way to go, but I will try to add some creativity into it. The plan is still to post a picture every Monday at 10:30am (GMT) here on the blog.
  • Complete any current sketchbooks before buying new ones. This has actually been deleted from this year plan! I had it in for the past two years, and it didn’t really worked. So for this year I’m making a plan to start a brand new sketchbook, with new ideas, new illustrations and new thoughts and use the other ones when I feel like it. Hopefully I will have at least one completed sketchbook by the end of the year. More about this in the following weeks.

    // Monthly projects and goals
    I can repeat this over and over, but I love a good monthly project! The beauty of it is that you don’t have to plan it in advance, if not one week or even a few days before the start of each month. So based on your mood, time or interest they can be chosen almost on the spot. And if you get bored, you can ditch it without having wasted too much time. Or this is what I did last year and worked brilliantly!
    This year I decided to focus on my artistic skills. I was planning to enrol in a botanical painting class I attended a few years back and loved, but time is really playing against me, so I decided to try some new illustrations techniques at home instead.
    The plan is to practice on a different subject each month, or more than that if I think it’s needed, using my watercolours, a new sketchbook and this book.
    Another goal I have is to produce a new item for the shop each month, easier said than done!

    Of course things will probably change over the course of the year, I might be fed up with the current goals or maybe be intrigued by other projects. For these reasons I’m not making any list or reminder of any sort, except for the things I like to accomplish some time during the year (and that I’m worried I will forget!), like a blog and shop re-do.

    Rather than crossing things off lists every month, I will be checking on my progress and draw some conclusions on how I am doing half way through the year and/or in January. This way I don’t feel the pressure of being behind my plans, it gives me time to focus more on the things that I actually enjoy doing and to catch up if I have been lazy!

    I hope I can make this work. Let’s get working!

    Pick of the Month: January // Mother-to-be essentials: First Trimester

    1. Olio 9 mesi from Weleda / 2. Morning sickness relief from Sea-band / 3. Quando arriva un fratellino by Nicoletta Costa on Amazon / 4. Yoga for pregnancy, birth and beyond Francoise Barbira Freedman on Amazon / 5. Homeopathy Chamomilla (30c) from Helios / 6. Decaffeinated Arabica Caffe from Lavazza / 7. Classic Brogues from Benetton / 8. Flannel Check Long Sleeve Shirt Dress from Uniqlo / 9. Travel socks from M&S.

    I promise I’m not going to talk about pregnancy and babies too much this year, but this month I finally entered my second trimester and I just wanted to sum up all the things that made me feel better, physically and mentally, during these first three months.
    The Weleda body oil for pregnancy has been a favourite of mine during my first pregnancy, so I’m using it again this second time around. I love the smell and the consistency, and the fact that it gets absorbed relatively quickly. I didn’t get any stretchmarks the first time, and I like to think that it was because I applied this oil everyday, almost religiously.
    The morning sickness bands were fortunately used only for a week or so. I didn’t get any proper morning sickness, but a bad heart burn and a bit of nausea.
    I’m planning to buy a book on how to explain to my two-year old what is going to happen in July and after that, and I’m hoping this book will help to cope with a toddler and a newborn (wish me luck here!).
    This yoga book is done ever so well; I’ve used it last time too and planning to go back at it as soon as I manage to fit it in into my daily routine.
    These little pearls of chamomile were a great deal during the first trimester. Emotions were up and down, especially in the evening, and these helped loads to find some balance and restore some calm.
    The decaffeinated coffee is one of the things that I can’t get over easily! I love my morning caffeinated coffee, but for the sake of the baby (and the family!), we are all drinking decaf and so we’ll keep doing probably for the next year or so.
    I bought a new pair of flat brogues for the office. Physical balance is one thing I seem to lose during pregnancy, so before falling on the pavement, I thought it was a good idea to get some comfy shoes.
    The shirt dress was a great disguise of my growing belly during the Christmas holidays when we still hadn’t told anyone. Now is just a perfect maternity dress for the weekend…and there still room to grow into it!
    The travel socks are as ugly as they can be, but if you are stuck to a desk for more than 8 hours, they are a must for your tired legs.

    I’m hoping this list will be helpful to other as it has been to me.