2015 Goals.

I love setting myself some goals at the beginning of a year (I've actually been planning these ones for a while now). I used to do a list every year and then instantly forget about it... But I'm really getting into setting and (mostly) hitting my goals! I've stopped giving myself negative-resolutions (i.e. stop, don't, quit), now I give myself fun things I know I am going to enjoy and that will impact my life positively! I also really love to read others goals, so if you have set yourself some goals this year I'd love to hear about them!

Here are my 2015 goals:

      - Knit a Hat & a Pair of Socks - I'm just getting the hang of knitting, real knitting where I follow patterns. I've already finished a hat for Dixon (it took AGES) so now I want to make myself one. In mustard, with a pom pom. I just ordered some double-ended needles and I'm going to tackle a pair of socks too.

      - Go to a Class - Just a one off, fun class; something I wont necessarily do again. The aim is to put myself out of my comfort zone. Something sewing or art based would be great, but I'm not sure yet, I have seen a life drawing class advertised which looks kind of interesting?!

      - Practise a New Craft - Crochet? My Mum gave me a set for Christmas, so I'm definitely going to give that a go. I also want to give tie-dye a try, or dyeing my own yarn! I've never cross-stiched before either so that might be something to have a go at? The possibilities!

      - 365 Photo Project - I have regretted not doing this for the last few years, seeing everyone elses at the end of a year makes me super jealous. So, I'm giving it a go in 2015. I almost missed my first day already... but I'll get into it.

      - Actually Read 12 Books - Instead of trying to read as much as I can at the end of a year, I'm going to do it consistently through out the year. My tactic is to pile up all the books I want to read, then when I finish one I can move right onto the next one without having to think about it/go out and buy another.

      - Shoot 12 Rolls of Film - Yep, this one is making another appearance this year. I really love shooting film, and I really want to do it more. I failed miserably at this last year so I'm setting myself another target, and I am going to hit it this time. I particularly want to take photos of trees but I didn't want to be that specific on here.

      - Take Another Trip - Just me, Dixon and the pup, for at least a night but preferably a couple! Somewhere new. I don't mind where somewhere by a beach would be nice (I really want to find more beach glass), but anywhere in the country would be perfect! 

      - Recycle and Reduce more - I'm feeling so much satisfaction every time our recycle bin is full. I want to quit plastic bags and start thinking of other ways to cut down on the things we throw away. Paper coffee cups are a big problem of mine! And make-up remover wipes.

      - Driving Licence - I don't want to say I'll have my full licence before 2015 is over (Man, it's expensive to learn to drive), but I want to at least be on my way. A lesson one or two? At least. The longer I leave it the harder its going to get, you know, as I get old.

       - Buy a Water-proof Coat & Shoes – This may sound like a really trivial goal, but I am forever unprepared for weather. It comes to going for a pup walk and if its muddy or raining I’m kind of forced to have wet muddy feet. I have one coat I wear for everything and it ends up covered it muddy paw prints... Problem is, I HATE coats! I can never find one I like/that fits/is waterproof. The search begins.

      - Visit some new Galleries/Museums - I love art, I love bones and I love learning new stuff. I don't make much time for visiting galleries mostly because the ones in Leeds I have been to! So I need to make some trips. If I visit 5 new museums this year, I'll be happy.

      - Make a Raw Dessert - I don't have a huge sweet tooth, and I'm definitely not one for baking (I suck at it!) but there is something about raw desserts that seriously appeal to me. I keep meaning to make one or two, but have never gotten around to it. After my 2014 goal of eating more fruit and veg went so well, I thought this would be a good follow up. 

      - Be More Active - I complain a lot that working 9-5, at a computer, in an office is making me unhealthy. Which is totally does. But I need to start and make the most of the time I'm not sat on my butt and get outside. I'm not saying I'm going to start running (because I'm not, I hate it) but it does mean I'm going to go for longer walks with the pup or maybe even crack my bike out again. Less TV, more outside.

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2014 Goals - Review.

I really enjoyed working through some of the goals I set myself in 2014. It was a pretty good year! I learnt a lot and definitely feel as though I'm going into 2015 a better person. And I've been able to pin-point a few areas I really need to work on. It's always fun reviewing goals at the ned of a year. So, here it is:

      - Sew Way More - Yep! I think I can strike this one off. This year I made some tote bags, a skirt, a few zip-pouches (a couple for me and one for a gift), I made Eva a bandana and I made a patchwork cushion cover. I really wanted to make myself a dress but chickened out. Maybe next time?

      - Read at least 12 books - I didn't do this one, but I knew it would be a challenge for me (I'm an extremely slow reader!). I am so envious of people who read 20, 30, 40 books a year. I am going to give this a go again in 2015. You can read about the 8 books I did read here & here.

      - Shoot 12 Rolls of Film - I didn't do this one either, urg! But I did have loads of fun trying. I think I had 7-8 films developed. I played around with a few different cameras too, and learnt a lot whilst doing it! I'm never going to stop shooting film, I absolutely love it. You can see all my film photos here.

      - Open a Savings Account + Save Monthly - I left this one kind of late, but yep! I'm now saving monthly and feeling good about it. I have a small amount going into a share-save dealie via work, its a 3 year thing and I can't access the money easily, which is perfect for me! I'm actually going to start putting a smaller amount into an ISA soon too, so that I can get it when/if I need/want to

      - Grow and Maintain our Garden - This one is a no.

      - Eat more Fruit and Vegetables - YEP. I knew this wasn't going to be a totally difficult one for me. I love vegetables! I could probably have had more fruit but I'm happy to say I did this one. I shared a few raw meals and a juice recipe!

      - Keep on Exploring Yorkshire - I wanted to visit 5 new places, and I did; Golden Acre Park, Langsette Reservoir, Filey, Skipton & Hunmanby. Dixon and me are making a list of places we want to go to in 2015 too. Yorkshire is pretty great.

        - 'Up-cycle' Some Furniture - Crap, I actually kind of forgot about this one. 

      - Yoga - I got myself a mat and some yoga pants. I did a 30-day challenge (which really was a challenge) at home. The biggest thing of all, I actually went to a class! I always made stupid excuses why I couldn't go to one but finally sucked it up and went to a class with a friend! It was really hard but I loved it. So, although I haven't done it every week I still feel like I did pretty well with this one.

      - Send More Snail Mail - This is a partial win. My friend Kate and I started writing to each other, I also sent a few packages and stuff to friends and family. Birthday cards etc too. I liked doing this one, but it isn't something I'm going to carry on.

      - Build my Vinyl Collection- The collection is definitely growing! I have some of my favourite albums on record now, and have my eye on a few more. Buying vinyl is so satisfying. Going to record stores is my absolute favourite thing. I still haven't made it to a record fair but will definitely be doing that in 2015.

Onto 2015 and a whole new bunch of goals. Exciting!

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What I'm Reading.

It's times to admit that I'm not going to hit my 12 book target this year. It kind of sucks, but I seriously am the slowest reader and knew that giving myself a target would be a struggle. I'm definitely going to give it another go in 2015.  This is numbers 6, 7 & 8:

My second batch of 2014 books:

     After The Quake by Haruki Murakami

     The Sailor who Fell from Grave with the Sea by Yukio Mishima
     The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

I'm going to start with my absolute favourite from this set; The Magic Toyshop. This book is my Dads, it somehow made it onto my bookshelf so I decided to give it a read. The story is through the eyes of a 15 year old girl and Angela Carter gets the perfect level of innocent & naivety of someone on the brink of adulthood. Its super sad at some points, but equally as lovely in others. I fell in love with (almost) every single character the characters in this book (Francie & Finn are definite favourites though ♥). I highly recommend you giving this a read if you haven't before.

Next, After the Quake; I didn’t realise that it was a collection of short stories! (Which, after reading Smut, I love.) It’s the first book I have read which has been translated from its original language. I’m not sure how I feel about this; I kept thinking ‘is that how he really wanted that sentence to sound?’ 'has the  meaning being lost in translation?'. Anyway, each of the 6 stores are based after a huge earthquake in Japan. A couple of the stories are so surreal, I felt kind of dumb reading them at first (“Superfrog Saves Tokyo”, for example, ha) but I ended up loving each one. Short stories are so fun to read! 

By complete coincidence, my next book was by another Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima. It took me a while to get into The Sailor who Fell From Grace with the Sea, I actually considered giving it up but I really want to hit this 12 books goal so kept at it, and it was worth it. The writing is really beautiful and poetic, which is huge change from the gritty stuff I usually read. But, the overall atmosphere of the book is pretty dark, and some parts are pretty gruesome (like, animal torture gruesome). Towards the end I couldn’t put the book down and it does end quite suddenly... it really leaves you thinking.

You can read about the first 5 books I read this year right here.

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River Wear & Roker Beach on Film

These photos are from a while ago but they basically sum up my ideal day. A long walk, lots of dogs and the beach! These photos are from when we took Eva on the train up to Dixon parents in Sunderland. His parents live pretty super close to the River Wear and you can walk right up it to the coast. It was super misty and rainy, but warm. The pups spent a lot of time cooling off in the water. Eva absolutely despises being wet but she was always the first one in and the swam the furthest out... I think she might have been trying to impress her uncles. I was pretty proud of her. I wish Leeds had a beach.

Camera: Olympus XA2 // Film: Expired 2004, ISO 200.

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Filey & Scarborough on Film.

I wasn't going to post this for a while (because my last post was photos too!!) but its SO dark here all the time now so I don't have chance to take and photos for new posts. Sucks working 9-5 in winter.

I love using expired film, the unpredictable photos you get are the reason I love to shoot with film. The problem with expired film is the ISO lowers the longer a film is expired, basically meaning your photos will be duller... which is a bit of a problem in England in October when I shot these. I generally get my film from eBay; I have no idea of its life before it gets into my hands so it may be lower than it would during its natural deterioration. This film was a ISO 200, and expired in 2006 so they're kind of dull. BUT I still really love how they came out.

I took these whilst on our log cabin trip. It was a really dull the two days we made the trip to the coast from the cabin, which kind of sucked. I regret not taking more photos, like I always do. I love boats and all the equipment that comes with them, and how the outside of sea-front shops look, but I hardly took any photos of them. I definitely need to go back; maybe when its a little brighter.

Camera: Olympus XA2 // Film: ISO 200, expired 2006.

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Outside on Film

These photos have no running theme, really. They're taken in Leeds and back at my parents in South Yorkshire over the space of a month(ish) but I'm so happy with how they came out I really wanted to share them. I carry my Olympus XA almost everywhere and I'm trying to get into the habit of taking photographs of anything that I like the look of. This batch is a pretty good example of that! I love taking photographs of trees (which you can see from this older post), the second portrait photo of the peeling bark tree is my probably a favourite of any photo I've ever taken. I really love the shadows in the one of Dixon throwing a ball for Eva and the flare on the Keep Out tree is amazing. Getting film developed will never not excite me.

 

Camera: Olympus XA // Film: Expired 2006, ISO 200.

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Dale Farm, Hunmanby.

Last week we packed up and headed out, three trains later we arrived in a tiny village called Hunmanby, North Yorkshire and to our little log-cabin for the next few days. The cabin was perfect. The log-burner totally made it. I have never wanted anything in my life as much as I want a log-burner right now. This post is kind of picture heavy, so click through!

Yearly Goal Update

Did you set yourself any goals this year? How're they going? I thought I'd give a bit of an update on how I'm going with my goals this year, we're into the last quarter  so I really need to get a move on with some of them, but feel good about others. You can read my original goals here and my mid-year update here if you like. 

- Sew Way More - Yes! I've done a few things on my machine, and a lot of hand sewing recently; I'm making felt animals! I've done a few embroidery hoops which I have around the house. I finally bought myself some fabric to make a dress but I still haven't gotten the courage to start it.

- Read at least 12 books - I am just into my 7th book of the year, and there will be a post about them coming up once I've finished it. I have slacked a lot on this, but I'm reading at every opportunity I can! I've never set myself a reading target before because I am such a slow reader, but I really really want to hit this one! Any book suggestions would be greatly received! 

- Shoot 12 Rolls of Film - I'm only 6 into this, I'm actually getting 4, 5 & 6 developed this week so fingers crossed there are some beauties on it that I'll share with you guys. I've actually had them for a couple of months without taking them into the shop, which is kind of stupid but kind of exciting too as I can't completely remember what is on them! I'm still way too precious with film.

- Open a Savings Account + Save Monthly - Almost! Dixon and me have opened a share-save plan through my work, which starts at the end of the year. Monthly savings will come directly from my pay and into something I can't access for ages. Last minute, I know.

- Grow and Maintain our Garden - This one is a big fat no. And wont be changing. Boo.

- Eat more Fruit and Vegetables - Yep! I'm pretty happy with this one. Along side the Rawdays we've been having I have been cramming extra vegetables and fruit into my diet where ever I can. I shared a blueberry chia jam recipe which is packed with fruit and a immune-system booster juice recipe too. I'm planning on sharing a few more raw day posts before the year ends too!

- Keep on Exploring Yorkshire - I said that 5 new places would be good for me, well, so far I've explored Golden Acre Park, Langsette Reservoir, Filey, Skipton (for Beacons festival) & Hunmanby.  As well as a load of new places in/around our house; Hunger Hills Wood & an old quarry. We've camped and stayed in a log cabin too, it has been fun! Eva is the best exploring buddy and Dixon has a few places he wants to visit too. Yorkshire is pretty amazing. There are still a lot of places I need to visit.

- 'Up-cycle' Some Furniture - Nope!! This one I was super excited about doing, but just haven't gotten around to. I need to get to some charity shops and do some searching for the perfect piece.

- Yoga - I went to my first ever yoga class in October. I was so scared to go, but tagged along with a friend, and really loved it. I definitely work loads harder in a class! My legs ached for days afterwards. After the lesson I decided to sign up to a introduction to yoga course right away. I'm so excited to be doing.

- Send More Snail Mail -  I haven't sent anything in a while actually, I had gotten into a pretty good roll on this one. I'll have to pick up some postcards too, send me your address if you'd like one!

- Build Vinyl Collection- This one is still going pretty well. Although I'm not sure at what point a collection becomes a collection, my shelf is definitely starting to get full. I'm thinking of writing a little post about my love of vinyl and some of the records I've gotten recently? I'm not sure yet. I can't wait to go to my first record fair either.

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New Year Goal Updates

I can't believe 2014 is over half way done, its crazy! So, time for a 2014 goal update. I feel like I am making a good dent in them and pretty happy I'll hit them all  (bar one) by the end of the year.  I'm looking forward to exploring a little more and being able to strike the whole list off. Then, 2015! Thats pretty scary.

Sew Way More - Almost. I made a couple of zip-pouches and gave them to friends. I made some bloomers and tights for a little baby. I'm planning to make some curtains soon too. I still have dreams of making myself a dress but I'm not that confident yet.

Read at least 12 books - I am 5 books in! You can read about them here. I guess now its past half year I should have read at least 6 books by now, but I have slacked a little. But I am determined to beat this goal! I have a couple of books left on my shelf that I need to start to read.

Shoot 12 Rolls of Film - I think I am only 3 into this? Which is not good! This goal has already taught me a lot about film, mainly, don’t be so precious about it! Using a roll up in a couple of hours isn’t a bad thing, there are always going to me those that are blurred with crappy light every time you get a roll developed. Shoot lots and you’ll end up with some amazing photos. My favourite ones so far this year was from my visit to Langsett Reservoir with my split-cam.

Open a Savings Account + Save Monthly- The forms are on their way! A little late, but I willdo it.

Grow and Maintain our Garden - I think this one may be a right-off, remember the allotment we got? Yeah, well, we gave it back. The plot they gave us was in such a mess it took us weeks to even get a small patch to a level good enough for planting and by that point the rest of it was so overgrown we didn’t know where to start. It was full of rubbish and bricks and it sucked. It actually made me kind of angry, like they had suckered us into taking on this heap of mess. I am growing some things at home though! I have herbs, bell peppers, chillies, tomatoes, sweetcorn and a couple of courgettes; not convinced anything will fruit but we’ll see.

Eat more Fruit and Vegetables - YES. This is one I can definitely say I have achieved already, and will be carrying it on for the rest of the year. I'm having raw meals pretty frequently. I knew this wouldn’t really be a tough one for me as I’m a huge vegetable fan, its just making the choices to have broccoli instead of potatoes. I’d like to try maybe a week of being completely raw next? I'm going to start juicing more too!

Keep on Exploring Yorkshire - I said 5 new places would be the target, well I’m only two into this so I better get a move on whilst the weather is still good. I've visited Langsett Reservoir and Golden Acre Park. I’ve actually had a couple of failed attempts, Eva and me walked 5miles to Eccup Reservoir last week to find it closed, actually closed. I couldn’t believe it. In the next couple of week sI'm going to go to Ilkley Moor and Otley Chevin. Exciting! Eva is turning into the perfect exploring pal.

'Up-cycle' Some Furniture - I haven't done this one at all. But our coffee table is definitely in need of a make-over. I'm still planning on make my own dining table too, especially since a certain pup has eaten one of the current tables legs...

Yoga - I bought a matt at the beginning of the year, and followed a couple of videos on you-tube but I haven't done anywhere near enough to actually make a difference.... I want to be flexible! I definitely want to attend a class and already be at a level where I don't make an idiot of myself.

Send More Snail Mail - Yep! I have started writing to one of my friends, and sending a few parcels here and there to those who don’t live close by anymore. I'm going to pick up some postcards too and send them to a few new people.

Vinyl Collection - Visiting our local record store is now a must on Dixon and mines weekend town-dates. I treat myself to 1 a month (if I find something I love)! I’m planning to write a little post about some of my favourite soon. I’m thinking a trip to a carboot would be a good idea too, in the hope of finding some old-gems.

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What I'm Reading.

As the slowest reader on the planet I set myself a goal at the new year to read 12 books. So far I have read 5. I feel as though I am cheating a bit by including the first two in my 2014 reads but I'm going to anyway. I started them in 2013 but only finished them this year so it counts to me. I really am the slowest reader, so it has been nice to already have found new authors and new books I've struggled to put down.

So far in 2014 I have read:
     Stiff! The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
     Hollywood by Charles Bukowski
     The Contortionists Handbook by Craig Clevenger
     Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi
     Smut: Two Unseemly Stories by Alan Bennett

I'll start with Stiff!; it is the first book I have read by Mary Roach and has re-ignited my love of non-fiction. I think Mary Roach and me would be pretty good friends; she is interesting, funny and down to earth. Stiff is about cadavers (I hate that word) and their different uses in medical science; its both disgusting and amazing. Second, I finished off Hollywood by Charles Bukowski. Bukowski is my favourite writer, so I feel really bad saying this, but Hollywood let me down. Hollywood seemed very drawn out, and pretty non-eventful. It was like someone trying to be Bukowski had written it. If you haven't read anything by him I recommend Ham on Rye, Women or Postoffice, which are far superior.

The first book I really finished in 2014 I loved; The Contortionsit's Handbook. I had never heard of Craig Clevenger but after reading how much Kaylah loved the book I thought I'd give him a go. And... I really struggled to put it down. It is quick moving and unpredictable. Not like anything else I have ever read. It's the kind of book that makes me anxious to read anything else by the same author, just in case it sucks and ruins how good the first one was.

Helter Skelter is something I had had on my shelf for a few months but when packing for a trip to Glasgow and scanning my shelves for something to keep me entertained on the 6 hour train ride I picked it out; with my new love of non-fiction and my old love of anything weird and cultish, it was an easy choice. The Manson murders are something (I think) most people know the basics of but this book took it to a whole different level. Vincent Bugliosi was the district attorney who prosecuted Manson, so you couldn't really have a better insight. Reading about some of the obvious clues that were missed, and the things the family members planned on doing and never got around to blew my mind. Real life is weird. People are weird.

My favourite from the bunch though, has to be Smut by Alan Bennett. Its the first thing I have read by Bennett, which is kind of sad as he is from Leeds and one of my Dads favourite authors too. Smut is two short stories; The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes. As the title may indicate, some of the subject matter is adult-orientated, so if you're not into that this will not be the book for you. Both stories centre around pretty normal life, but Bennett makes it interesting and poetic. They are funny, the characters are relatable and loveable. I can't wait to read more by him.

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Langsett Reservoir on Film.

Last weekend Dixon and me jumped on a train with the pup to visit my parents. We met up with my brothers, their fiancees and their pups and all went for a walk around Langsett reservoir. I've been super excited for Eva to meet up with their dogs for ages, I was so happy that they got along so well. She was running around and having the best time with them.

I completely forgot to pack my dslr which bummed me out, but I had my new Split Camera with me which worked out perfectly as I got through a full roll in the couple of hours we were there. I really need to learn to be less precious with film, especially when using a camera for the first time. Anyway, Langsett Reservoir is so beautiful. I have never been before and even though it was super windy, dull (as you'll see in the photos) and pretty rainy I was blown away. We saw toads, Lapwings and Red Grouse! So I was pretty happy.

And the photos themselves, okay, they could have been brighter (but on a dull day with expired film, I didn't expect much colour) but I got some pretty nice prints! I love the ghosty look of some of them and how in some you can't tell where trees start or finish. I forgot to take the second shot on a couple so they just had a black bar on them and a couple were blurred, but lesson learnt! Can't wait to give it another try on a brighter day. Here are my favourites:

 // Camera- Split-Cam // Film used- Fujifilm: Superia 200 Exp. 2006 //

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2014 Goals.

I have gone back and forth over whether to set myself any goals this year; as I seem to be so terrible at actually hitting them... But I really can't help making lists so I decided to go for it (there is loads I want to do this year!).  Here are my 2014 goals;

- Sew Way More - I really really love sewing, but I've neglected it a little lately. I love the feeling of being proud of myself when I finish a piece off. I also really love shopping for fabric. This year I want to keep learning new techniques and get continue to improve. I'd like to sew with knits too and master zips. I'd also really like to start taking sewing a little more seriously...

- Read at least 12 books - 12 books seems kinda daunting to the slowest reading on the planet. Especially one that doesn't make much time to read anymore. I am the biggest book fan, I have just lost my way recently. I think 12 should be a pretty realistic target... I have a bunch on my book shelves waiting to be opened and a train commute that is ready to be filled.

- Shoot 12 Rolls of Film - This one is completely inspired by Kaylah who is planning to do waaay more than this. I love shooting with film, but I am terrible keeping track of what is on a specific film and sometimes don't get around to having it developed at all; I think I treat it too preciously because having it developed is kind of expensive. 12 rolls of film is totally doable, one a month. I have a tonne of fun cameras I need to dig out.

- Open a Savings Account + Save Monthly - The whole reason we moved out of our city center place was to save some money on rent and tax to then save to buy our own house in a couple of years. This hasn't started yet, but I'm determined to get on with it this year. We're going to open an account shortly and then I will start making better decisions with my money and saving monthly.

- Grow and Maintain our Garden - I didn't grow anything last year, and that sucked! But with my very own garden (and the tools I got for Christmas  I have no reason not to. Dixon and me have a lot of plans for vegetables, and are thinking of building our own planters too. I don't want to just fluke through either, so I'm going to study how to get the most from the plants we choose. I also want to grow a giant pumpkin. (Maybe some flowers too.)

- Eat more Fruit and Vegetables - I love fruit and vegetables, so this one shouldn't be so tough really, but I also love pizza, pasta and junk. I want to start replacing that crap stuff with fresh vegetables. I want to start to be more conscience of what I'm putting in my body, get healthier and hopefully that'll lead into losing a few pounds too. I'm already making a dent in this one, see my Rawday post!

- Keep on Exploring Yorkshire - There are so many awesome places in Yorkshire that I have never been to. I'd love to walk up a mountain or visit the Brimham Rocks. I also want to explore the tiny villages and their charity shops. Camping in the moors would be perfect too.  This is the kind of goal that would be made much easier if I could drive... But train trips are fine too. I'd like to visit 5 new places this year.

- 'Up-cycle' Some Furniture - I want to make-over some chairs and maybe a sideboard if I can get my hands on it. A lot of our furniture is Ikea-type stuff so it'd be nice to have some really unique bits around the house. I always wanted to do this last year, but didn't want to be painting, sawing and sanding things in the flat, now I can do it in the yard! 

- Yoga - Yoga really appeals to me. I used to do it every so often in my room, by myself, not so seriously and I loved it. I'd like to start doing it frequently and once I have the basics down maybe even go to a class? Anyone that knows me will know I am so weak physically so yoga would help me in that department. And I want to be able to do handstands.

- Send More Snail Mail -  Junk and bills is mainly all I get in the post. I hardly ever get anything that is worth getting. Its pretty sad. I love the feeling of getting surprise mail. Sooo, I'm going to start sending fun stuff to some of my friends that don't live near by. I also want to start sending postcards too. Plus, it gives me an excuse to buy some stationary. 

- Build Vinyl Collection- When I went to see Owen in December I bought myself his vinyl and had him sign it. Then Dixon bought me a Sufjan Stevens one for Christmas which I love. I have a couple others I have bought over the years but now I want more! My Dad has records stacked all over my parents house and I think its amazing. It'd be awesome to have a little collection of my own.  (I'd love this beautiful player too). I'm going to make the effort to get all my favourite albums on record.

What goals have you set for yourself in 2014? If you have blogged about them, leave me a link I love reading all the different things people plan to do in a year.

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