do you make new year's resolutions? i've dabbled in doing it, off and on throughout the years. i often feel like i may just be setting myself up to fail in making lists with lofty ideals for my life in the year ahead. this year, as i mentioned on saturday, i have set some goals that i would like to achieve this year. as i also mentioned on saturday, they say that you are more likely to be successful in reaching goals if you make them public, so i'm going to share them all with you today! (don't worry i've also thrown in some related photos and links so you don't get too bored!).
1) wake up earlier. i used to be an early riser. in my younger days i nearly always had jobs that required me to be up in the wee hours of the morning. i once worked a baking shift that started between 3 and 4am! i even used to be the type to say 'i can sleep when i'm dead'! now that i'm older and i don't work in a world that requires me to be up early anymore, i've become quite the sleeping in type! it's a problem. bill rises around 6 usually but i sometimes don't get out of bed until well after 9! this must change. towards that end i've decided i need something other than an obnoxious noise to rouse me from sleep. i think music works best for me. i've been hankering for this crosley alarm clock available at urban outfitters since last christmas. they used to have it in this lovely pale turquoise color that would match our bedroom perfectly...
2) be more organized. for those that know me, i can almost hear the 'wait, what? you're so organized'. people always think i'm crazy organized. in some regards that's true. and in many regards it certainly used to be true. i feel like i've become less organized since i got married. maybe i've just gotten used to having someone there to help me if my lack of organization causes trouble. regardless, i want my old organized self to make a come back! one tool i'm using to meet this goal is my new moleskine day planner:
i'm fortunate to work at an amazing book store in downtown seattle- peter miller- where we have a delightful selection of calendars. we have so many different kinds of day planners i had a hard time deciding. ultimately i decided to try the monthly planner/notebook. i usually use the weekly version, but find that i don't have that many appointments every day that i need half a page for it. plus, with this version i can stop carrying a notebook and planner. simplifying feels good!
it's not a planner, but if i had the wall space for it, i would love to have one of the stendig calendars, which were first produced in 1966. i feel like a really big calendar could only make me more organized right?
3) sing more and play my autoharp more. 'what's an autoharp?' you ask? you might recognize it from grade school music class or for those in an older generation than mine, you may remember folk singers using them in the 60's and 70's...
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| oscar schmidt's reissue of a model from 1930. |
it's a simple instrument that has been around for ages and has generally been used in folk settings. here's mother maybelle carter with her autoharp:
i've had a pretty nice autoharp for about 5 years now. i first bought it when i was singing with a band and we wanted to try incorporating it with a more rock sound. i tried to play it regularly the first year i had it and then as life got busier i played it less and less. being diagnosed with fibromyalgia was the proverbial final nail, as i often have pain in my hands that can make things like pushing buttons and strumming difficult. however, on saturday i dug my autoharp out of the closet and i'm going to tune 'er up tonight. i figure, even if i can only play for a few minutes a day it's better than not at all! i do hope to get to the point where i can play it with a band.
as for the singing, i've been a singer since i was young. i've sung in choirs, school musicals, bands and church groups. lately though, most of my singing has been limited to the shower and the car. i love to sing and i miss doing it regularly. i still haven't figured how i'm going to incorporate public singing back into my life, but i really do want to make it happen this year. so, if your band is looking for a singer- i'm your lady! tee. hee. hee.
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| the ray conniff singers. circa 1955. |
4) grow my business. it wasn't even a goal for the year, but 2010 brought the opportunity to start a business with my dear friend melissa. considering we started with about a months planning and no money, i think we had a pretty good first 8 months! we opened two vintage booths in seattle, closed one of them and then opened another one in yakima, washington. we sold our 'made with vintage' goods at two craft shows this year. we even went through two different logos! our best moment was probably the day we found out that we have been accepted as vendors for the farm chicks show in june of 2011! we are so looking forward to that show and have been planing and buying for months already!
2010 was definitely a good start for dear darling vintage. but there is so much more that we want to do: i am working on getting an etsy shop up and running; we want to re-do our seattle booth and hone our focus when it comes to buying; we should be debuting a new logo in the next few months; i want to work on that blog more too; we are excited to find some shows to go to in washington and neighboring states in order to network with others in the vintage business; and last, but not least, i would like to move toward opening a space that's all mine in seattle! the vintage mall has been a great start for us, but i would love to have a 'vintage collective' where other vintage goods vendors could let space from me in an organized, clean, well-lit, boutique like atmosphere. it may not happen in 2011, but i dream daily about the moment that the time is finally right to jump into that project!
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| it may be in harlem, but i'd love to have that sign on my store! thanks to harlem bespoke for the image. |
it looks like i have my work cut out for me this year! what are your goals for 2011? i'd love to hear from you!
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