14 Things in The Year of the Horse

Why 14 things? Because it's 2014, of course! Why the Year of the Horse? Because my timing with these things always seems to fit much better with the lunar calendar. 

Seeing as putting together a list worked so well in 2013 (ha!) I'm doing it again. Actually, it did kind of work. Not in a 'I achieved everything and isn't that ace' way, but in a 'It was good to check back in on the list throughout the year as a reminder of what my priorities were meant to be…' way.

So, yeah, bring on 14 things in the Year of the Horse! I'm keeping it simple, and I'm keeping it fun. 

1. Read more. Specifically, read at least twelve books in twelve months. 

2. Blog more. Specifically, blog at least six times per month. Rain, hail, shine, travel, sad stuff, happy stuff, chaos, calm - whatever is happening around me I still want to carve out the time for this space that I love so much. 

3. Make Typography Tuesday a monthly thing. This is really just a fun way of forcing me to improve my Photoshop skills, and to learn more about layout and design. And it means I get to share some wonderful words and fab fonts with you too! 

4. Do something with my 500px account. I know, I know - I said this last year. But this year I really mean it. 

5. Assist on at least two photography shoots. I'd like it to be more, but (somewhat unexpectedly) this year looks like it's going to be travel heavy, which makes me less available than I'd like (but YAY travel!). 

6. Enter more photography competitions. And by 'more' I mean 'more than zero'! Things like those newspaper and magazine travel photo contests, and…well, I'm not sure what else (any suggestions welcome). I've also joined Clique, which looks like fun and involves monthly themed competitions. 

7. Make a little book or zine. And sell it. Perhaps a little Death by Doxie book, or a collection of some of my favourite Hong Kong or Seoul or 'flora' shots. Or maybe one of the other secret projects I've been snapping away at over the years… 

8. Develop some Instagram projects. Instead of a monthly project, this year I'm going to put a bit of creative energy into a series of ongoing Instragram themes. I've started three hashtags so far - #morningwalkswithFerdiandElfi, #frangipanistudies and #whereflowersfall - and I've got a few more I want to develop throughout the year. Stay tuned! 

9. Send more snail mail. I did so badly at this last year, but I love it so it's on this year's list too. 

10. Send cards to family and friends for every, single birthday. Yes, writing on someone's 'wall' is fine, but there's nothing quite like getting a real life card in the mail. Plus it feeds my stationery addiction - double win! 

11. Corral my clutter. With the move to our new home I really, really want to keep things clean and streamlined. I've been on a massive wardrobe clean out over the past few months (and it gets more disciplined / brutal every week….living out of a suitcase has been a big help in this regard, best reality check on what you actually need in your closet!). Next on the list to cull and curate - ceramics, DVDs, CDs. 

12. See more movies at the cinema. Specifically, see at least eight movies on the big screen. 

13. Proofread more. I pledge to proofread every tweet, every blog comment, every Facebook post, every email before hitting 'send'. I am pretty crap at this, and I cringe every time I spy one of my many grammatical / spelling errors. Time to lift my game. 

14. Eat better. On the whole, I don't eat badly - but I could eat better. I think I'm at an okay level with exercise, so taking a good hard look at what I eat is the next piece of the health puzzle for me. So - more protein, less carbs, less processed food, less fried food. With the husband away about half the time I eat solo a lot. I want to get out of my pasta rut and expand my repertoire of easy, balanced meals for one. And yes, there will be blog posts!