A Little Facelift + A Few Goals

Surprise! Things look a little bit different around here, don't they?

I've been wanting to redesign my blog for FOREVER, but I thought it would cost a fortune to pay someone to help me- and God knows I don't know the first thing about blog design, as evidenced by my last design. However, a friend referred me to Rita from Coffee Shop Blog Designs, and after I checked out her work, I was sold. She did such a fast, amazing job and at a much more affordable rate than anyone I've ever researched. It's kind of a dream come true for me, not gonna lie.

So here it is, the new and improved Simply Liv! What do you think??? I hope you love it as much as I do.

To go along with my fancy-schmancy new design, I thought I'd write a little bit about my goals for my blog for the year. Making things public has a way of holding me accountable, forcing me to follow through- otherwise I tend to procrastinate a little bit a lot.

1. Stay simple. I want to really stay true to the title and "theme", you could say, of my blog. More than just a lifestyle blog about our little mid-western journey, I want to write about the simple things in life. Whether it be a list of things that have been inspiring me lately, or a simple, healthy recipe I love, or photos of my growing baby belly, I want the focus always to be on life's little gems. As I said in my last post, those are the things that I believe make life the most beautiful and I want my blog to be a constant reminder of that for me and anyone who stops by. (I also wanted my redesign to reflect that theme, hence the classic, simple new site :)
2. Stay positive. There is enough negativity and heartbreak in the news, facebook and where ever else you look; I want this blog to be a breath of fresh air.
3. Get out of my comfort zone. One of my goals is to push myself as a writer, friend, mom, wife and blogger. I want to write about things that I generally wouldn't think of and try new things, sharing them here.
4. Write for myself and not just my audience. This is a little bit of a selfish goal, but as important as crafting beautiful sentences and taking interesting pictures are for a good blog, I don't want to lose one the biggest reasons I'm blogging in the first place. I want to be able to look back in the years to come and smile at the things I wrote here, the little memories I've recorded that I otherwise would have forgotten. This is kind of like my little online time capsule.
5. Post consistently. This is a no brainer, but if I want to grow my blog, I've got to actually post on it. Consistency has been a struggle in the past for me, but I feel like writing it here, for you all to see, will help keep me accountable.
6. Revisit my 2015 "word". I didn't just chose "hopeful journey" as my word to forget about it a month into the new year. I'm trying to brainstorm ways I can focus on that in my posts and therefore, in my life outside my blog as well. 

With that, I'll leave you with an inspiring quote for your weekend and a ginormous picture of my face. Happy Friday, friends!

Simply,

Liv

Simple Things for Simple Days

Lately I've been all about the little things. I mean, that is the title of my blog, so it should be an "in my face" reminder for me, but I think it is really when life gets slowwww and mundane and not exciting that I'm forced into noticing the littlest aspects of everyday that make them beautiful.
Real, true life is made up of teeny, tiny moments- not huge, life altering events (though those seem to be the times we focus on and remember the most) and so I want this blog to be a space where I can record those tiny moments and look back on them in years to come- maybe after a few more life-altering events- to reminisce and refocus. And maybe inspire a few of you to do the same in a space all your own.

My little things:

-My pregnant body is in the awkward phase. I look like I had one too many beers all. the. time. My pants are getting too tights and my tight shirts just make the "beer belly" more prominent. But I can feel the little pea moving around in there- like little butterfly flutters- and I'm so happy to have this pudgy belly.
-Whenever Evie does anything wrong, she will immediately apologize with a kiss. She just kissed the glass shower because I told her not to hit it with a bottle. I just love her tender heart.
-After Evie goes to bed for the night, I get to spend one on one time with my husband. It's kind of a foreign concept during the awake hours, and so I treasure the moments we are alone, even just to sleep next to each other.
- Our tiny kitchen has open shelving on one wall (which I LOVE). One shelf is entirely dedicated to coffee mugs.
- This morning I made the worst pancakes ever. But Evie didn't care and she ate them anyway.
- Skype dates with long distance friends this week made the distance seem much less. I love my friends.
- Also, cherry chocolate bordeaux ice cream.

Hopeful Journey

This post comes with much thought and, at a few moments, stress. As I look forward at this new year and what I imagine it will bring, I am filled with excitement, uneasiness, stress, calm, and wishing someone would invent a pause button already. All this range of emotion, and I have no idea what 2015 will bring.

While I've never been one to stick to my New Year's resolutions to lose weight or eat healthier or get better at staying in touch with friends (I believe most of those require lifestyle changes...more than a "resolve" on a piece of paper), for the past two years I have chosen one word to define my year. Last year my word was "fresh"- I was newly married, newly a mommy and all the world felt fresh. It helped me keep that sense of novelty throughout the entire year, remembering that each day was indeed a fresh start.

The "word" can be a goal you set for yourself, where you see your year heading, or just a simple word of encouragement that you believe will be beneficial to you this year. The "word" should be thought hard about, and prayed about harder. I've found that, when taken seriously, this one word can set the tone for your year and help you better yourself and your outlook. If any of you are choosing a word this year, pleasepleasepleaseplease tell me what it is! I would love to hear how you all apply this challenge in your lives.

My "word" for 2015 is technically a phrase. I couldn't find a single English word that encompassed the entire meaning I pictured in my mind. Hopefully this isn't breaking the rules too much. If you can think of a word that means what I describe, let me know! Thesaurus.com did nothing for me.

Before I reveal my word/phrase/thing I want to elaborate a little bit on why I chose it. I picked my phrase to be an encouraging reminder to myself throughout all the changes this year will bring. A few of which will be- meeting baby #2 (!!), buying our first home (hopefully), becoming debt free, learning more what it means to be in a sacrificial/loving marriage, and did I mention having two babies under the age of two? Thinking about it raises my stress levels more than I'd like to admit. I honestly have no clue how I'm going to take care of two babies and a big part of me is dreading the no-sleep-living-with-your-eyes-half-open-newborn phase so soon after we outgrew it the first time.

But there is another part of me that is ecstatic. I can't wait to do it all over again, as paradoxical and absurd as it sounds. I want to face this year with all its pain (childbirth.....ugh), joy, tears, goals and dreams with hope- embracing every single moment.

That's why I chose hopeful journey as my phrase this year.

Hopeful. Journey. Separately, the words have their own significant meaning, but paired together, it will be impossible to forget that there is hope, always, and that life isn't a straight line, but a journey.


Hope: 
"to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence."

I want to always look forward to change and embrace it with confidence. 

Journey: 
"a traveling from one place to another, usuallytaking a rather long time; trip:
passage or progress from one stage to another"

Life goes in stages, always moving forward, though it often seems static and uneventful. Remembering life as a journey helps keep my sense of adventure and expectancy- instead of drowning in day to day monotony. 

There you have it! My word for 2015. I will try to post updates on how I'm doing throughout the year, so check back often. And again, please let me know your "words" for the year! 

E's 12 Month Update

Happy 2015! I can't believe 2014 is over...so much happened this past year. I need to sit down and process it all. I'm working on my "word of the year" post to share with you all (here is my word from 2014, if you're interested) and would LOVE to hear about your one word you choose to define your year to come. It has been an awesome tradition for me these past three years, so keep an eye out!

That said, how ever you rang in 2015, I hope it was memorable and spent with wonderful people. 

I want to write a little update on miss E, since it has been a while since my last. I've been doing monthly  updates, but now that she is over 12 months, I'm not sure what to call my posts. I don't want to be one of those moms who say "Oh, she's 17 months"....when "just over one year" works just as well. Its a personal problem...I'll work through it.

But for now, monthly posts will have to do.

Evie is a ball of constant energy and motion. Its getting harder and harder to keep up with her, especially now that she has been taking steps on her own! *applause welcome*

Likes:
- Being on couches and beds: She LOVES bouncing and diving and rolling on our couch and in bed with us. Not very relaxing and a constant battle to make sure she actually stays on the bed.
- Pulling all of the books and movies off the shelves and then moving on to play with something else: Need I explain more? This happens 5 or 6 times a day.
- Kissing everything: She still loves to kiss all of her toys and/or complete strangers that we walk by in the mall.
- Thinking everything is cold: Since it's been so cold lately, she picked up that "brrrr" means cold and now she says it about everything. She likes to touch everything in the fridge and say "brrr" after each item.
- Coconut milk: Now that she is completely done breastfeeding (bittersweet for me, but it is nice to only be sharing my body with one baby now...) we were giving her cows milk before bed and a few times throughout the day. However, she had a pretty severe diaper rash that just wouldn't go away no matter what we did. About four days ago we switched her over to coconut milk and the rash was gone the next morning! Milk sensitivity is pretty common for babies, but I am hoping she outgrows it at some point. For now though, she's loving coconut milk.

The aforementioned "game" she loves so much

Opening her cookie set on Christmas Eve

Roxy continues to be her best friend

Dislikes:
- Teething: Remember that "mommy phase" I mentioned last time? A few days ago I noticed a big molar broken through in the back of her mouth....that couldn't have been fun. I would want my mommy too.
- Sleeping past 5 or 6 am: This has been a rough week for sleeping in. No more nursing in the morning means no more falling back asleep :(

Firsts:
- Walking!: She took her first unassisted steps the other day and has been getting better and better at it since. Look out world, Evie is coming for you.
- Signing "eat", "please", and "all done": For anyone with a little one, I HIGHLY recommend teaching them at least a few basic signs. It makes communication so much easier.
- She has also learned how to say "yes", "no", "cheese" (it sounds like "chee!"), "more" (like "moy!), "brrrr", and "good" (or at least the "G" part).