Happy hump day, friends!

I wanted to shoot an easy pomegranate sangria recipe for you this weekend and get it up today, but in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it just didn’t happen. Instead, I thought I’d do one last life lately post in 2017 since these always seem to be popular posts. I’m hoping to shoot the sangria for you on Saturday morning and get a post up my mid-day so that you have an easy, last-minute cocktail idea for those Christmas Adam* / Christmas Eve festivities.

(*My high school best friend’s mom always called December 23 “Christmas Adam” because Adam came before Eve and the 23rd comes before the 24th. I loved it so much, I added it to my vernacular!)

I had a spin class planned for tonight, but I ended up cancelling it so that my sisters and I could head to Zoo Lights for the first time. This has been on my DC bucket list for years, and I’m so excited to check it off the list! I encourage you to take some time this week to do something festive you’ve been meaning to do for a while—it’s so important to treat ourselves a little bit this holiday season.

Here’s a little look at my life lately—I’d love to hear about yours!

MY PLANS FOR “WINTER BREAK”

My last day of work in 2017 is this Friday! My office closes at 2pm, and I’m kicking off my 11-day break with an Orangetheory class. I’m really excited to try to squeeze in as many exercise classes as possible during my break—partially to offset all the extra calories from indulging in holiday treats, but mostly to carve out some “me” time for my own sanity.

The next couple of days are going to be spent partaking in some of my favorite Christmas traditions, both in Fairfax and Durham, North Carolina. Once I’m back in town from the latter, I’m excited to just relax around my apartment, catch up with friends, and maybe cross a few restaurants and places off my DC bucket list. At one point, I was going to schedule some posts for you to enjoy the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and while there’s still a chance I’ll pop in to say hi, I think I’m going to focus any blog-related tasks I do on getting myself set up for success in the New Year—which I’ll expand on later in this post.

Speaking of the New Year, anyone else feel like NYE is one of the most overrated holidays out there? There’s weird societal pressure that makes you feel like you’re supposed to have *the best night ever*, when all you really want to do is have a low-key night where you don’t have to wait in-line for wine. (Is my age showing yet?) Luckily, my friends feel the same way, so we’re eschewing all the big blowout NYE parties, and instead, opting for a low key couple of days in Charlottesville. Vineyards with my besties? Sign me up!

MY LATEST NETFLIX BINGE: YOUNG & HUNGRY

Since we last spoke, I watched all five seasons of Young & Hungry on Netflix. It originally aired on Freeform, aka ABC Family to all of us 90s kids, and is the cutest show. The plot is pretty simple: Gabby gets a job as a personal chef to tech millionaire, Josh, and the plot follows their on-again, off-again relationship and the hijinks they have with Josh’s housekeeper and publicist and Gabby’s best friend. Jesse McCartney also has a recurring role as a super nerd, which is hilarious given that’s the anthesis of what I imagine him to be like in real life.

To be honest, Young & Hungry was the perfect mindless show to come home to every day, and since episodes were only 20-minutes long, I was able to crush the series in a little under a month. 10 more episodes air on Freeform in 2018 to conclude the show, and you can bet my DVR will be set!

I’m in the market for a new TV show to binge-watch after work, so if you have one, please let me know! To give you some context on what I like, some of my past favorite Netflix binges include: Friday Night Lights, One Tree Hill, Hart of Dixie, The Crown, Parenthood, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, Friends, Revenge. Basically, nothing that is set in a fantasy world or contains too much gore. (Yes, I’m still 15 at heart.) I’ve heard great things about Brothers & Sisters—any thoughts?

ARE YOU DOING DRY JANUARY?

Last year, I casually decided on January 1—hungover—that I would do dry January. I made it about eight days before I caved and had a glass of wine. After that, I threw in the towel.

This year, I really want to commit to giving up alcohol for the 31 days in January as a healthy reset to kick off 2018. I’ve been regularly exercising three to five times a week since March (a combo of spin + Orangetheory). While I’ve definitely noticed I’m more toned in certain places than I was before, I’m not seeing a huge change on the scale. If I’m being honest with myself, I think it’s because my weekend wine habit is partially undoing all my hard work during the week! As such, I’m excited to cut alcohol for the month of January and see if it helps me progress more quickly towards my fitness goals. Overall though, I’m hoping dry January serves as great motivation to keep up the healthy habits I’ve built in 2017—and add new ones during 2018!

Are you doing dry January, too? Or have you done it in the past? Let me know in the comments below!

AN UPDATE ON MY APARTMENT DECOR

I’m slowly but surely adding pieces to my apartment! While my living room is in good shape, I’m still working on adding some pieces to my dining room and bedroom to make them feel more complete.

I shared a peek of the dining area of my great room in the post on the temporary wallpaper I had installed. For this part of my apartment, I really want to get a house plant (I know, I’ve been saying this since I moved in—I’m hoping to make it happen over winter break!) and purchase a rug for under my table to define the space as a separate area more. I am a little concerned about layering a rug on top of carpet—anyone have tips? I also need a piece of art for a sizable wall, and I’m having a hard time committing to a singular piece!

For my bedroom, I also need a sizable piece of art for over my bed and am in the market for a green lacquer dresser. The latter has been surprisingly hard to find—mostly because I don’t have a $4,000 budget! I love holding out for the perfect pieces, as opposed to spending my money on something I don’t love 100%. The perfect dresser will come along, I just have to have the patience to wait for it.

Once I have those items figured out, my plan is to hire a professional photographer to take some better photos of my apartment for you! In the interim, I have some smaller updates I can share—including the new nightstands I purchased that I am loving! (You can snag them on-sale here.)

BLOG CONTENT IDEAS FOR 2018

Heading into the new year, I’m more energized about blogging than ever before. At the beginning of each year, I take some time to reflect on my blogging journey. In a private notebook, I handwrite my blogging goals for the year—and it’s been so fun crossing them off as I achieve them! This year, I was able to cross off nearly every goal I had. I cannot recommend the power of writing down your goals enough! I also write down my personal goals for the year, and am planning on writing a 2018 goals post similar to the one I wrote this year. (An update on those goals is here.) That post should be up for your enjoyment the first week of January.

I’ve also been thinking about what kind of content I want to create in quarter one of the New Year, and would love any ideas you have. A few ideas I’ve been tossing around: a one-year Learnvest update, Photography 101: Tips + Tricks for Taking Good Photos, a Dry January recap once I’ve completed the challenge, and some thoughts about the One-Line A Day Journal I kept for five years. I want to write a blog you’re excited about reading, so I’m all ears for post ideas! Shoot me an email or drop me a comment below.

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That about wraps up what’s been going on in my life lately! If you liked this post, you will probably also like my Top 10 Moments of 2017!

I’ll see you all back here on Friday for one last post before Christmas.