Less is more: 5 things 1.1.2018

• It’s New Year! I love New Year! I especially love New Year on a Monday, because TIDY!* But I don’t really do resolutions or goals or similar; I am far more interested in self-acceptance than “self-improvement” and while I love goal-setting, it’s more like mapping out my work tasks, and not part of what I like to talk about at New Year. I do like to set priorities – things I want to focus on – but that’s strangely private. I tell you what, though, I have discovered that I bloody love specific challenges for weird random things. So let’s talk about those.
  * I can’t work out whether full moon on a New Year Monday is extra-special, or kind of messing with the neatness of it all because it should be a new moon, really.
• In 2017 I set myself two specific fun challenges – cook 52 new recipes, and read 26 books – and met them both ahead of schedule. Way ahead of schedule, in the case of books. So for 2018: Read 40 books. That’s about as many as fill one of my Shelves of Unread Shame. I’m also taking the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, which looks really good and I do love me some structure!
• And cook another 52 new recipes, but all from my own recipe books. I’ll be planning ahead for this one and will share my list shortly.
• Also, Instagram! I’ve done a lot of monthly challenges and find them very motivating – but sometimes I just don’t keep up, for reasons from lack of time to just not feeling the prompts. So here’s my personal challenge: #365photos, one every day. Stockpiling is allowed, but a new photo a day would be better. I’ll be joining in hashtags (the weekly #wellfedcreative prompt is especially good) but not stressing over keeping up with daily prompts. More fun, less pressure.
• I really want to buy less stuff, for all kinds of reasons. So the plan is, no new books for the year. Well, almost none, because I can only almost meet the whole Book Riot challenge from my own tsundoku. Let’s say, no more than 5 new books, and only for those specific tasks as needed.) Clothing, yarn etc is harder because it’s hard to predict what I might actually need (even with my enormous stash), but rationing as per the Wartime Wardrobe Challenge seems eminently doable. On top of that, I aim to make at least every other month a no-buy month: nothing but essentials, in any category. Basically groceries and that’s it.

This’ll be fun! Right?! RIGHT. SO FUN.

54 & 55 (!!!) of #52recipes: Squidgy chocolate and pomegranate torte, which was absolutely delicious but sank a lot more than the “little bit” the recipe assures you is ok. Probably just underdone, but still sooo good. And these oaty apple pancakes, which got FOUR thumbs up from Max.