day 296 : 10 goals for 2015

its 2015, folks! 

i LOVE when monday comes around. or a new month. or a clean slate. its just like a blank page in your favorite journal.

each day is unwritten ; WE get to pen it. WE get to decide how to spend our time and energy.

i totally love that.

each year, i take a large canvas and handwrite my goals for the year. i hang it up in the living room, so i can be mindful of them all year round.

i made my 2015 board last week {i use a 16x24 canvas & sharpie markers} with my 10 goals & intentions for the year!

{i am also working hard to declutter my life & live with 'less' ; which you can read more of here} 

1) pay off my mom & blake! my mom loaned me some money last year & i am finally able to start {slowly} paying her back! while i spent so much time and energy launching the Be Nice Box last year, blake was super generous and helped cover a lot of my expenses. i have already started paying him back ; but by years end, i plan on having both he & my mom 100% paid off. {and then i will be 100%, without-a-doubt debt-free! 

2) read 55 books! for me, thats a pretty tall order! i think i finished 2014 with 38 books read ; but i am re-reading the Harry Potter series {for the 11th time!}, and i have 4 library books on my nightstand right now AND i have 42 books in my queue at the library! {another awesome excuse to spend less time on the computer and more time curled in bed reading!} 

3) complete 100 days of yoga // barre! this includes modo yoga {my absolute favorite yoga studio in the cities!}, any other studios i might try & home dvds. honestly, i really only love yoga in a studio {my brain moves too fast to do it at home} ; but any form of yoga and/or barre will count!

4) sew my first quilt! i already have my sewing machine out and ready to go. i will buy most of my fabric from the linden tree and will head there and to the internet for tips // tricks on how to make one. i am not super confident with the sewing machine {i can make bags & scarves} ; but i have wanted to make a quilt for YEARS!

5) visit the new Harry Potter park! blakes grandpa turns 100 this year & to celebrate, his entire family is heading to Florida to celebrate. we were there in April and saw the IOA park, but since then, they opened the new addition on the Universal side. i really, really want to check it out!

6) open a retirement fund. seriously! i wanted to do this last year, but just didn't have the extra income to do it. its so important to me to start saving for my far-away future.

7) replenish my savings account! another financial goal. i still have a healthy-ish savings account {i have two, actually} but they are lower than they were because of the Be Nice Box. my goal is to put aside a small amount of money each month, to build it back up {and beyond} 

8) start planning // saving for Europe! i have mentioned it a few times lately, but i really, really want to focus my time and energy on experiences, rather than things. we have decided that NEXT summer {2016} we will be taking a 2+ week trip to Europe! we are still deciding on locations, but right now, we are pulling towards the Netherlands, Austria, Croatia and maybe Belgium and // or Greece. we have a monthly savings plan in place and a general idea of our budget, so we are starting there. {i will be sure to update this as we move forward} 

9) finish #52coffees project! i really need to keep moving with this one. so far, i have completed 4/52! if you live in the area and want to hang for coffee // donuts // a run // hot yoga, let me know! 

10) take more photos! i have tried to complete a 365 photo challenge every year for SO LONG, but i would really love for this year to be the year i actually complete it! even if i drop the ball, i really want to be more mindful of capturing small moments of our every day lives!  

did you blog about your goals? leave the link in the comments ; i am always SO motivated by others goals!