enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

my 2016 word and goals for the new year.

My word for 2016 came to me in November and felt right immediately.

ENOUGH.

As in, this is enough. You have enough. You are doing enough. Relax.

I chatted about it in depth with Ali Edwards (who has inspired my One Little Word adventures for the past six years) on this week's podcast episode (yay! Season three! I'm back!) And one thing we talked about is how opposite it is of SHAKE, my 2015 word. And man, is it ever.

But to be honest, I also sort of hope 2016 is the opposite of 2015.

I loved 2015. But DAMN, was it nuts. I have never hustled so hard in my life. It was a crazy year of surprises and upheavals and GO, GO, GO and so much bubble wrap. It would have been a SHAKE year regardless of the word I chose. I wouldn't change anything, but I am so glad I never have to do that (launch a business & have a baby at the exact same time) again.

2016 is going to be all about NOT SHAKING. Pulling in a bit. Relaxing a bit. Looking around and taking a deep breath. I still have a lot of work to do with this new business of mine, but I have almost a full season under my belt now and I think that will help immensely.

With ENOUGH in the back of my mind, I set my 2016 goals. The biggest thing that I notice (and you might notice if you've been here awhile) is the lack of specifics. I don't have numbers attached to these goals. I'm not going to bake 40 loaves of bread. I am not going to shoot 12 rolls of film. I am not going to build 29 things or sew 26 blankets or eat 15 sandwiches. I decided that part of ENOUGH had to be letting go of all the rigid requirements and just trying to do a little more of this and little less of that.

So, this upcoming year:

I want to move more. I hope this means around 70K steps a week on the fitbit. I hope this means active minutes. I hope this means family walks after dinner. I hope this means making it to yoga. I hope this means dancing in the kitchen with the girls. I hope this means going for my first run in over a year.

I want to complain less. I hope this leads to less stress and frustration overall. I hope this means focusing on all the good we do have. I hope this means letting it go when Paul has to work late or when my street is torn up for construction or when the girls refuse to nap or when my day goes opposite as planned.

I want to create more. I hope this means finishing that sweater I started two months ago. And that weaving that's still on the loom. I hope this means pies! I baked a pie at Thanksgiving and it was the most fun. I want to bake more pies in 2016. I want to paint with the girls. I want to grow a garden and not give up on it in July. I want to make time for my girlfriends. I hope to create more friendships. In general, I just want to get my schedule a bit more relaxed so all of my waking hours are NOT spent nursing a baby or packing books.

I want to scroll less. I hope this means putting down the iPad/iPhone and picking up a book. I recently listened to Aziz Ansari on the Freakanomics podcast (great interview) and my favorite line was "I read the Internet so much I feel like I’m like on page a million of the worst book ever." It totally made me laugh but it's also painfully true. Some nights, we'll get the girls to sleep and I'll sit on the couch and scroll and scroll and by the time I look up, 45 minutes have passed and I feel bored but simultaneously over-stimulated. It's annoying and terrible. I love Instagram and I love pinning gorgeous white interiors, but I hate the endless scroll. Here's to turning more pages instead in 2016.

I want to document more. I hope to continue using my film camera though I am not worried about getting one roll shot a month. I hope to write often in the I Want To Remember journal I ordered for the girls (I loved keeping one for Ellerie last year). I hope to record a second of every single day and compile them into a video of our year. (I'm using my goal tracker and this app to do so.)

I want to spend less. I hope to not buy stuff just to buy stuff. I hope to get back in the habit of capsule wardrobe. I got rid of so much crap in 2015. Seriously. 2015 will be remembered as 1. Piper. 2. Ellerie grew hair. 3. Get To Work Book. 4. The year I Marie Kondo-ed our house within an inch of it's life. We are planning to do some light remodeling (!!) in our house and hopefully backyard and I want to be very intentional with my decisions and the expenses there.

So that's it. I'm breaking all the rules by not making specific or quantifiable goals. But for some reason, this next year, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy 2016 to you.

merry christmas from my family to yours!

2015 gift guide.

Every year, I like to share a simple gift guide. It's really just a fun way for me to round-up some of the products we plan to give each other and/or have used and loved recently. Hopefully you see something that might work for someone on your list this year...

Harry Potter Illustrated / in my head this book works for anyone aged 0-125, but Santa will be bringing it to Ellerie this year. It just arrived Thursday and oh man, it's so beautiful. I cannot wait for the girls to be able to really read and enjoy it. I can't imagine how they will print all seven (some of the books are so long) but I would love for our family to collect them all.

Pinhole Press photo calendars / these have already been mentioned on the blog many times, but they deserve it. Hands down the best grandparent gift. My parents always cut it up at the end of the year to frame the photos so this really is the gift that keeps on giving.

toddler stringing bead set / this set is awesome though still a bit advanced for Ellerie. I can tell that we are thisclose to enjoying it. She's also really loving safety scissors and happily cuts paper for 20 minutes (!!)

flamingo swaddle blanket / Piper has no idea how lucky she is that mama pre-ordered this for her. (We have, and LOVE the poppy version already. Everything on that website is just beautiful.)

giant blanket scarf / okay so this I don't own or plan to buy, but I'm obsessed. I actually saw it on a girl at a coffee shop and it looked great (she told me the etsy shop name). I can't justify it given that we hardly have seasons and I already own 4 or 5 scarves, but if you live in a colder climate, please enjoy or gift this for me.

ceramic coffee dripper / Paul is taking his coffee brewing to the next level and wants to try single cup pour-over on the weekends. I am all for it and really just grateful he makes the coffee. Also, we love coffee subscriptions as gifts and Pony Brand Coffee makes great stuff.

The Crafter's Box subscription / this new subscription club was just launched by my friend Morgan and I had the pleasure of contributing to one of the boxes that will be available this winter. It's the perfect gift for my crafty sister-in-law and I am so excited to dig into the first box, a weaving kit and class taught by Maryanne Moodie, as soon as I find a spare moment.

a craft beer subscription / and on the other side of the coin, the perfect gift for my cool brother. Or for Paul. Or for me.

2016 Get To Work Book / for the planner, list-maker, dreamer, doer, wants-to-get-it-done-er in your life. I'd be a complete failure of a business owner if I didn't at least mention it here on the blog during the holiday season. ;)

button-up PJs (in many cute patterns) / I had no idea, but button up PJs might be the ideal item of clothing for the nursing mama in the cold(er) months. With my summer baby I could get away with just a nightgown but I was freezing sitting in my chair to feed in the middle of the night this time around. Loving these.

rewinded candles / I appreciate how long the burn time is and we always get compliments on ours. The scent is perfectly subtle.

ps: here's the 2014 and 2013 gift guide. I'm still a fan of (and even more miraculously we still use!) everything on those lists with the exception of the tripod because I only use my iPhone 5 for photos these days.

december : currently.

products above: my top, the wrap, Piper's pants are from Target, the quilt, the banner, the framed art.

typing this on my phone with a sleeping baby on my chest.

enjoying the newborn phase so very much. Reasons: 1. this is our last baby and I know this time is fleeting. 2. Piper is a pretty great sleeper (so far just one or two wake-ups between each night). 3. Breastfeeding has been a pain-free (what?!?) and wonderful success. 4. I am not a wreck like I was last time. 5. And, let me tell you, after you've been a wreck, anything else feels like winning the lottery.

fully feeling like I have won the lottery.

seeing the two girls together and glowing with pride. Of course it's a pretty one-sided love right now, but the future holds so much promise.

commenting daily on how grown-up Ellerie now appears.

reading Flight Behavior.

finishing (and recommending!) Delicious! and also by Ruth Reichl, Garlic and Sapphires.

sticking to a "no buying for myself!" goal in December.

wearing the Solly Baby wrap and this simple watch all the time.

watching Fargo with Paul (and sometimes Piper) and LOVING it. I didn't think they could top last season but it's been excellent. And Kirsten Dunst deserves at least four or five Emmys.

needing to take my film camera in for repair (it suffered a fall and I'll admit there were tears).

ordering photo calendars for the grandparents (this is the most popular gift I've ever given).

packing up Get To Work Books and marveling at how quickly 2016 will be here.

planning so much good stuff for the GTWB brand in the coming months (and years).

thinking about goals for the new year and knowing it's going to be alllllll about simplifying and that very overused and beloved/hated word: self-care.

getting the 2016 daily goal trackers in the shop!

eating Thanksgiving leftovers and drinking all the coffee.

starting to pull out the Christmas decorations. We still need to get a tree and Piper needs a stocking.

introducing Ellerie to Toy Story, which is still my favorite Pixar movie of all time (it really holds up).

hoping we can see Star Wars in the theater...probably from an aisle seat with a newborn in tow.

looking forward to Paul's week off work next week (we had to split his paternity leave into two different months which was a bummer in November but so wonderful now).

knowing I am the happiest I have ever been. It's almost overwhelming and I am so grateful to be present in this time.

wishing you all the best month of December. And sending a big Happy Birthday to my brother! 28 is going to be a good year for you, Ro.