I saw a lot of these just a minute posts featuring on blogs last year so I've decided to start doing it in the new year, it's a great way to summarise the month that went by.
I brought in the new year in Goa, totally last minute. I was grouchy about going there during peak tourist season, but I had so many wonderful adventures, like watching coconuts getting plucked & seeing emus up close!
On Jan 8th I was all set to celebrate David Bowie's birthday when I got the news that he's recorded a new album after 10 years. It was such an amazing feeling! Welcome back, David! :)
I started to appreciate coffee for what it is, I drank my first cup without any sugar. I think bitter coffee + sweet donuts are a magical combination, but now I want to slowly try having more coffee.
I also attended the most intimate & lovely blogger meet organised by The Home Label, where I met & hung out with Roanna of Jupiter Skye for the first time after knowing her online for about four years!
I also met Sneha of Flirting Kaapi & Karishma of Purple Peeptoes later on, so apparently January was a month for forging real-life relationships with talented, smart & gorgeous blogger ladies. It was so nice - bloggers get each-other, I tell you. ;)
I helped organize the monthly Birthday Party at the Home for the Aged with my mom & another lady. My mom volunteers there very regularly (she'll complete ten years later this year!) I admire it so much - though I've been volunteering too since I was 11 my time spent there is dwindling of late. This year I want to get more regular, starting with at least once a month & then raising it to twice (baby steps!)
I had a lot of good mail days but the highlight of them all was receiving some things from India Circus. Not only is everything so well designed, I cannot get over how well they were packed.
Something to note: All of these photos are taken from my instagram & there will be dedicated posts about them soon, so you can regard this as a teaser of sorts.
Watching... I just found out that Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 got cancelled, I really liked the show! Also 30 Rock ended so it was not a very positive month for my favorite TV shows. I also finally watched The Emmys & Golden Globes - The Emmys had some lovely moments & the Golden Globes had the best hosts (also Jodie's speech was amazing!)
Listening... David Bowie, Queen, George Michael, Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears. I just saw on twitter that TFF are back in the studio. Jan 2013 was the best month for my favorite music acts!
Reading... It was a month for magazinesa - Frankie, 91 magazine, Trendenser, TimeOut Mumbai, Outlook Traveller, Rolling Stone (US edition), NME.
Baking... Delicious brownies, BBQ Chicken Pizza etc. (all from scratch!)
Buying... Organisational stuff for my room, cute socks (some of it was gifted by mom)
Looking forward to... Cleaning, organising, crafting, repurposing, more baking! And posting some good content here throughout February. Hopefully there are productive times ahead.
January was an absolutely amazing month - full of good people, good things & positive change... basically moving forward. If the first month really sets the tone for the rest of the year, I couldn't be more glad.
Two keywords for Life etc. in this new year are positivity & authenticity. Just because a lot of good things happened obviously doesn't mean that nothing bad happened. I struggle with a balance of both on my posts. I don't want to post too many negative things because everyone has them & I don't want to weigh you down with mine. Yet I don't want to give people the impression that my life is only full of rainbows, unicorns & sprinkles, you know? I'd love for you to share your thoughts on this matter!
I spent quite a few days this month mulling moping over the very sorry state of my personal finances. My mother bails me out a lot of times but I really, really have to somehow balance my need to own all the things with my decent yet limited income (& hopefully have some savings somewhere down the line!) That being said all of the positivity definitely overshadowed the small negative aspects & I'm grateful.
This blog is constantly evolving - it started as a personal diary sort of thing but has grown so much bigger than that (I'm grateful! I know I run the risk of sounding redundant but I really cannot say that enough). Last year it was predominantly visual. Though I enjoy taking pictures very much, I really want to put in more words. I like words. This blog was where I first formed a writing habit & I don't want to stop. Just thinking out loud here.
Do you have any suggestions, or any specific kind of posts you'd like to see more of here?
As always, thank you for reading! Have a great morning / afternoon / evening / night, wherever you are.
love,
Parks and Recreation is my favouritest TV show of all time, have you seen it before? Maybe you might like it (or not, haha)!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Parks & Rec, Melly! Just last night I was rewatching Ben proposing to Leslie on Youtube & crying, which is weird because I never cry. I even wrote a blog post (coming up) using Leslie Knope as an analogy of sorts.
ReplyDeleteHi Magali, This is a great idea to summarize the past month in a post. Inspired to start one of my own on my blog as well ;) Awesome post and wishing you more fun-filled months ahead !
ReplyDeleteThank you. Don't forget to send me the link when you do yours, I'd love to read it!
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Mag! I love the photographs!
ReplyDeleteJanuary has been a good month for me - except in the finances dept (as well)! My pay cheque seems to disappear WAY too quickly! Sighs. I hardly to any shopping at all except for essentials ....
It's funny because I was going to talk about this in a post as well!
Wish you the best for Feb! Cheers!
Makes me want to write up a similar one on my blog as well, i've abandoned it lately and it hurts me much to do that!
ReplyDeleteNice pics, i already follow you on instagram so have "liked" em already. A huge like for the going for more words idea too :)
Good luck!
LOVE how positive you sound here, Magali. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, bloggers get bloggers. We should form a fancy community of our own now.
I was, in fact, thinking about the same things. Never before do I remember so momentous and beautiful a year-beginning! I am not even trying to be romantic about it. 2013 seems to be as promising as I imagined it to be. :-) From the long, long spell (January seemed like it went on and on) to the fun outings in between (my solitary shopping trips + The Home Label event), learning to like new things and ideas (being less awkward, The Carrie Diaries, wearing lipstick haha), sweet surprises (a cheque, my journal + jootis from you, someone placing a Rosecraft order, people liking my work professionally blah blah) and making impulsive decisions! I like what January spells for the rest of the year to follow. Such a nice post Magali, made me reminisce! :-D
ReplyDeleteAnd Magali, one of the nicest things about January was meeting you! I really mean it. I'm glad we finally did, and I can now say that our conversations are never boring (internet or when we meet in person). I have sworn off coffee, yes, (well, tried to because like a fool, I still drink a wee bit on the weekends) but since you like coffee and doughnuts, we should go get some, sometime. Or whatever. Just saying. Oooh, and happy February! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, cheers to more posts like these, bad times can wear a person down (I know I have them too and I too, find it easier to not post them all on my blog but it's okay, when you do, even so) + hope the finances go all the way up this year! Don't worry. :-)
ReplyDeleteP.S I like the product review posts you do + travel stuff + the looks you put together + or talks of a new service or a product you came across.
Um, I said too a lot. Some writer I am! Gah. Good night.
ReplyDeleteThank you & wish you the same. I'll be emailing you soon about something ;)
ReplyDeletewooooooooooohoooooooooo! got your email! :D
ReplyDeleteYay for January being awesome Roanna. Lipstick looks fabulous on you (both on the day we met & in your current profile picture). I hardly wear lipstick too for so many reasons- I fear it looks too made up / dressy or I'm just lazy. And for the longest time I stuck to only 2-3 shades because I thought the others might not suit my skin color (also my fair, eighty-something grand aunts wearing bright red lipstick may have traumatised me forever! :P) but now I truly want to try them all! Tomorrow I plan to buy a bright orange-red, so yay to a lot more lipstick this year for both of us!
ReplyDelete{also I just said yay twice haha!}
Thank you! You should, it's easy & fun. Blogs are the best though, even if you abandon them for a little while they still love you. Do send me a link if/when you do it. Also thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat's absolutely OK! On blogs & comments I very much prefer a nice flow of words rather than sounding very literary or anything. Thanks again for your sweet comments! ♥
ReplyDeleteMe too! MEE TOOO! :D
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me I shouldn't overdo it too. For the longest time I didn't get why people liked it, it tasted bitter & gross to me. Now I finally sorta get it, but tea is still my first love. :)
If coffee messes with your stomach, more than the caffeine is might be the acids. I know because the same thing happened to me & I read it on a few blogs too. If cold coffee is your thing, definitely try this recipe http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/08/cold-brewed-iced-coffee/
I did it all through October-November, it's amazing. Now it's too cold to drink iced coffee but the moment it starts getting warmer...
And yes, definitely! Pasta, donuts anything. :)
Thanks! My first aim was to make this a place of happiness & positivity but when I get messages that say things like 'I love/want your life', 'I'm jealous' etc. I feel a bit guilty like I'm not telling the whole story.
ReplyDeleteHey guys,
ReplyDeleteWanted to share some stuff with you. I used Vistaprint for some embroidered t-shirts with logo. Damn impressed. Check it out if you can.
Hey Magali, wish you a very Happy New Year!! How have u been? Loved ure post, and coffee without sugar,, sounds interesting.Look forward for another interesting wrap up (for Feb).
ReplyDeleteinteresting pics, the horse and rabbit one is neat
www.styledestino.com
So happy that we met! Your blog is so wonderful and positive - just like you :) And you are right - bloggers understand bloggers the best.
ReplyDelete