VALENTINE'S DAY INSPO

Candy Box // Eternity Rose // Diptyque Candle // Heart Silk Pajamas // Pave Heart Earrings // YSL Bag // Cozy Heart Robe

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I love sharing my picks with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

10 MORE FACTS ABOUT ME!

Full outfit details linked here

In honor of my birthday tomorrow, I thought I'd share a little bit more info about me. I put up blog posts every MWF, however they're usually lifestyle related-- beauty, fashion, wellness, finance, etc. I don't share a lot about me day to day so I thought some random facts would be fun for a change. I also did a similar post to this last year-- I'll link it here if you're curious!

10 FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I love dimes. A few years ago, I found myself constantly finding dimes. In restaurants, parking lots, you get the picture. Ever since, I’ve felt a sort of affinity/spiritual connection to them? Anytime I find one I feel like someone‘s leaving them for me and they’re a sign of good luck.

2. Fries are a girl’s best friend! I like them crispy & golden (but not TOO golden, ya know?)

3. I mostly dress in neutrals. I’ll throw in the occasional green or pop of color here and there, but it's usually black, white or greys.

4. I’m 5’5’.

5. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I love all of the cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. Definitely a love/hate here... we all love treats but too much sugar causes inflammation and is generally unhealthy. I'm a big believer in having everything in moderation and that it's okay to indulge here and there! 

6. I went to private school growing up. I started at the school in 1st grade and stayed all the way through 8th. After that, I went to a regular public high school. Growing up I remember a lot of the kids in my class hating it because of the uniforms, small class size, etc. I actually loved it and feel grateful I had the opportunity to go. I think it gave me a great educational foundation and amazing opportunities at a young age.

7. I have zero tattoos but I do have my ears pierced. I've never really been drawn to getting a tattoo nor do I have any idea what I would get? It seems like too much of a permanent decision to me! 

8. My dream travel destination is Europe. One day I'd love to explore all of France, Italy, Spain and England. Visiting some of the fabulous places in the South of France and Italy like Capri, Antibes, Nice and more would be incredible! Have you ever been? I've mostly traveled domestically and to the Bahamas!

9. Red is my natural hair color. I'm not sure whether anyone was wondering or not, but I get asked this a lot by strangers. Growing up it always seemed funny when people would ask me this! I know only 2% of the population has red hair so it makes sense but back then I didn't know anyone my age who died their hair! Now it's one of my favorite things about myself and I'm very grateful my hair! 

10. My name is Kristen but my friends + family usually call me Kris or KP. 

Tell me something about you! 

WHAT I WANT FOR MY BIRTHDAY

Marc Jacobs Wallet // Faux Fur Moto Jacket // Oversized Sweater // Zodiac Pendant // hair(silk) peptides // holi(locks) hair serum

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I love sharing what's on my list with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

MARC JACOBS THE LEATHER TOTE BAG | UNBOXING

Link to the exact finish, size + color I purchased here

Let's do a lil' unboxing today. In celebration of my 28th birthday coming up, I treated myself to a new bag. On a handbag hunt, I came across "The Tote Bag" collection from Marc Jacobs. I've always been a fan of MJ bags-- the quality is amazing, the designs are classic (but still modern) and the price points are very reasonable. I ended up purchasing one of the totes which is TOTALLY unconventional for me. I always go for a crossbody style and don't usually go for a lot of graphic or textual designs. There was something eye catching about the tote bags that I kept coming back and looking at them. I ended up ordering and after opening, I'm obsessed! The bags also come in so many different materials, sizes + patterns so you can choose your fave. It's simple and basic but also a little fun and different! 

The original totes come in a canvas fabric. I’ve always been partial to leather’s durability + look so I opted for this small sized one in black. They also come in a mini size and large. I'm glad I opted for the small size— it’s bigger than the crossbodies I normally go for but it isn't huge either. After carrying small bags for so long, I'm excited to have a little more space for everyday things. I'm always toting around vitamins, keys, etc. separately so it'll be nice to throw it all in the bag. I also think it'll be a nice travel tote for in the future too. I'll keep you posted on my thoughts after breaking it in! 

What color would you have picked? 

I love sharing my unboxings with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

CUTE HAIR SH*T

Leopard Claw Clip // Flat Iron // Star Pins // Gold French Pins // Tangle Teezer

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I love sharing my picks with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

THOUGHTS ON 1 YEAR OF BLOGGING

Yesterday marked a full year of me posting 3x a week here on TheKristenDiary.com!! I wrote about this in a lot of posts last year, but at the start of 2021, I set out to blog every single week to build consistency and self discipline. I had discovered that I wasn’t doing or finishing a lot of the things that I was passionate or interested in doing. Things that I didn’t have or need to do, but wanted to do. After constantly going through a cycle of starting but never finishing, I came to terms with this. I had TERRIBLE follow-through. Not exactly one’s ideal personality trait, right? I felt disappointed and like I wasn't accomplishing anything I wanted to. It was an exhausting cycle and I was sick of it!

Full outfit post on this look here.

At any given time, I always find myself with a million different goals. How can I better myself or my life? That usually looks like things along the lines of eating healthier, exercising more, reading more books, etc. While ambitious, taking all of that on at once typically results in the exact opposite for me. It always goes: me wanting to do everything but ultimately doing nothing OR quitting shortly after I start. For whatever reason, I've always struggled with being consistent on personal goals. I figured out that for me, tackling too many goals at once caused this. It leads to me feeling overwhelmed and the overwhelm leads to having no clue on where to start or how. I wanted to change this and actually be consistent with something, so I decided to pick ONE goal to start with. 

I always loved blogging and wanted to create a place to share my thoughts and be creative. I've had TheKristenDiary.com for years, but in the past I only ever posted sporadically here and there. As a result, I challenged myself to start blogging three times every single week. Since January 2021, I've posted every single Monday, Wednesday + Friday on here! It hasn't always been easy, but I've learned a lot and I've loved expressing myself and connecting with you all. Here are a few of the things I've learned on this journey: 

+ Consistency is HARD. Some days it comes easy, others it's like pulling teeth. Blogging requires a lot of preparation— taking photos, creating graphics, writing, editing. Like anything else in life, some days it's exciting and others it's the last thing you feel like doing. No one is 100% on all of the time... realizing that makes it easier. No matter what it is you're wanting to start or do, realizing consistency is HARD and is SUPPOSE to be hard helps. The saying "If it's easy, everyone would do it" exists for a reason, right? I've also figured out that a lot of the times, I feel less motivated when I don't know what to share or write. That brings me to the next point... 

+ You’re more creative than you think. Posting is fun when you have something to share. It becomes more of a challenge for me when I'm not sure what I want to write or post about. What I've discovered is if you give yourself enough time, you can usually come up with something new! I like to keep a list of things that interest me-- topics, thoughts, events, etc. I'll pull from this when I need a blog post idea or I'll look for inspiration online. I think a great place to look is at what YOU like. What kinds of things are you interested or drawn to? If you like them, someone else probably does! It's fun to take inspo and make it your own. 

+ When there’s a will, there’s a way. For me, the fear of NOT posting was a big motivator for me to stick with my M/W/F schedule. I was afraid that if I missed a day, I would throw in the towel and give up. I've always been an "all or nothing" personality, so I always viewed messing up or missing as an automatic failure. Over the past year, I've started to give myself a little bit of grace with this. I don't think this is necessarily the healthiest outlook now, however it kept me accountable and determined to stay consistent. I didn't want to fall back into feeling disappointed with myself. Because of that, I've managed to still post every Monday, Wednesday + Friday. Despite dealing with writer's or "content" block, not always feeling motivated, etc., I've always figured it out. I think if you're determined enough, you'll figure it out. 

+ Progress over perfection. I blame a large part of my lack of follow through in the past on being a perfectionist. I've always taken pride in doing things the "right" way. Having high standards, being meticulous and giving things your all is great-- except it can also hold you back. I was raised to always try and do my best, however I've learned now that being a perfectionist can stunt your productivity and execution. You end up spending too much time on tasks or you don't take action for fear of things not being exactly right. This has always been me! I've decided to take the approach of starting now and improving as I go. It also feels 100x better being consistent and taking action. It's given me more confidence and belief in myself! That doesn't mean to half-ass or do things you aren't proud of, it just means to give yourself grace and room to grow. 

Also check out more of What I've Learned From Building Habits + Consistency here.

If you've ever been in the same boat, I hope this post will help to encourage you to keep going. Whether it's also blogging or something else, starting and taking action can be the hardest part. It's easy to convince yourself why you shouldn't or can't do something-- ignore all of that. You're more than capable of accomplishing whatever it is you want, you just have to create and build the confidence to do so (and put in the work!). I'm excited to keep blogging and I have a lot of new goals going forward. Here are a few things I hope to see happen with TKD: 

GOALS GOING FORWARD:

+ Continue posting 3X a week
+ Share more photos of me + style/outfit content
+ Incorporate videos to the blog one day
+ More recipes + cooking content 

+ Update the site + add more features 

+ Weekly newsletters with additional content 

What's something you've always wanted to accomplish?

WHAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING | JANUARY 2022

The new year calls for new movies + shows. Since the weather is usually cruddy during the winter, now is the perfect time to jump into a new series or franchise. I've watched quite a bit recently (definitely more than my usual) so I thought it'd be a good time to update you. It's also been snowing here all day today and they're calling for 1-3 inches all day tomorrow! I doubt I'll get a snow day but a girl can hope, right?? Lol! PS-- here are my favorite snow day activities if you need ideas! Also in case you were wondering, JJ and I are STILL watching The Sopranos!! We took a break over the holidays but we're finally near the end of S3. At this point, I'm leaving it out of these recaps LOL but I'll let you know once we finally finish. Keep reading for a quick recap of everything else I've been watching lately.

+ Spider-Man Trilogy - On Christmas, the fam and I watched all of the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies: Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home and the newest, Spider-Man: No Way Home. The first one, Spider-Man: Homecoming was a rewatch for me but it was nice to review and catch up for No Way Home. We went and watched it in theaters the day after! I love the Marvel/Avengers franchise, but I haven't seen every single movie so I'm a little behind. I've watched enough to know most of the characters + the story, however "the blip" and what happened in Avengers: Endgame was all new to me. I think you can watch any of them regardless, however my goal is to one day go back and watch them all in the correct order. I love how they all connect + wrap together! 

Also love Tom Holland as Spidey and seeing Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield alongside him in No Way Home was so fun! I remembering watching all of their Spider-Man films growing up and I had no idea they were both in the new one. It was a great "full circle" moment and very cool if you're a big Spidey fan! 

+ Hawkeye - I must be in the Marvel/superhero mood because I also just finished up Hawkeye on Disney+. It's a mini-series involving Hawkeye (one of the Avengers, played by Jeremy Renner) and Hailee Steinfeld (love her!). Hailee's character Kate Bishop witnesses a robbery during a Christmas party which puts her in the middle of a much larger, dangerous scheme than she realizes. She ends up in alliance with Hawkeye who becomes both a mentor and partner to her. I loved watching this and hope they come back for a second season or spin-off! It was action packed, funny and heart-warming. This one also mentioned parts of the blip, Hawkeye's past with the Avengers and tied in some of Black Widow. I was glad I'd already watched it over the summer because Black Widows' sister Yelena was also in the show. 

+ The King's Man - I've always loved the Kingsman movies (very British secret service/action vibes) so I had to go see the newest one, The King's Man. I was originally bummed that Taron Egerton wasn't going to be in it, however I ended up enjoying the storyline. It's actually a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle that takes place during World War 1. It has more of a serious, historical tone to it than the others that leads up to the inception of the Kingsman organization. While I enjoy the humor and the secret service aspects a little more in the first two, I still think it was an interesting twist and connection to the franchise. 

+ Schitt's Creek - I've been in the mood for some lighthearted comedy so I'm rewatching Schitt's Creek. If you've never watched, it's so witty and one of the funniest shows I've ever seen! The premise revolves around a very wealthy family that loses everything. After only knowing a life of privilege, they face a rude awakening once moving to a small town with no money or acquaintances. I loved the show from the beginning but it has a certain vibe to it that could also be an acquired taste, lol. If you start it and think it's not your cup of tea, give it the first season before you make up your mind. I had JJ watch it a few years ago and he was NOT into it at first, haha. Once we were several episodes in, he came around and wanted to keep watching! So so good and hilarious!

What are you watching right now? Tell me!!

2 WEEK NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION UPDATE!

Have you forgotten about your New Year’s resolutions yet? Statistics show that after two weeks, 71% of people are still going strong with their goals + resolutions. That’s actually pretty good odds, right?? Before looking it up, I thought it would be way less! 

Proof of how it’s going lol... ride or die for Chicky! 

Since we’re at the two week mark, I thought I’d share a little update on how mine are going. I’ve had both some wins + some losses so far! PS- If you want a recap on my 2022 resolutions, check out this post. It can be hard to juggle everything at once so I’m just taking it day by day. I think the biggest thing is small, consistent effort versus getting everything perfect. Here are my top hits & misses:

HITS
+ Vitamins & 10K steps everyday
+ Reading
+ Cutting back on spending & investing in ROTH IRA
+ Treating myself $$$
+ Blog posts 3X week

MISSES
+ Clean eating
+ De-cluttering
+ Beauty routines

I was hoping to get into a consistent routine with my makeup + skincare, however I’ve pushed that off for now. I’ve been dealing with some type of dermatitis on my face that’s been causing tiny red bumps under and on my eye lids. I’ve been using some allergy medicine, however I’m holding off on using most products to hopefully help clear it up.

Any hopes for clean eating have also failed... I will say I have cut back A LITTLE. I’m trying to make lighter meal choices, however I’ve still been snacking too much on the sweets and junk food. Getting back into a consistent routine usually helps me stay accountable, however it’s hard to transition sometimes! Always a work in progress on this one.

Those are the highlights + my biggest wins and losses so far. I definitely feel a shift this year and more clarity when it comes to my goals. I know what I want to do but I don’t feel as much pressure or stress for some reason. I think a lot of it has to do with accomplishing several of my goals last year. Once you start holding yourself accountable and keeping the commitments you make, you gain confidence. In a weird way, it takes some of the pressure off of timelines and doing it all at once.

If you’re struggling, pick one thing to tackle first. Even if you do one small thing for it, start there and keep going. Taking more small steps in the right direction will lead to big end results!

How are your resolutions going?

THE BEST SNOW DAY ACTIVITIES

Full outfit details are linked in this post + my Winter Weather Essentials

We're officially in snow season here in Tennessee. We don't get a ton where I live, just enough for the city to be prepared and equipped to handle most of what comes our way. That means we don't see many snow days... womp womp womp. It's pretty rare to have everything shut down, however every once in awhile we get lucky! Anytime they call for snow, the kid in me still always wishes for a snow day. Is there anything better than waking up and getting to stay home? Not having work is the adult version of not having school! There's definitely a nostalgic excitement about it. In honor of what will *hopefully* be a future snow day for me, here are some of the best snow day activities for when you're stuck at home. PS- what's the most snow you've ever gotten? One time in college we had 14-16 inches! I was stuck for days!

+ PLAY IN THE SNOW - If you're brave enough to go out in the cold, playing in the snow is one of the best ways to spend the day. I use to love making snow angels and sledding as a kid! We had some crazy hills in our neighborhood growing up that were the hot spots for all of the kids on snow days. Nowadays I tend to stay indoors but the pups love to go out and play! 

+ WATCH MOVIES - My favorite thing during a winter wonderland is cozying up inside. I love to watch the snow come down but stay comfy and warm. It's also the perfect excuse to relax and be lazy, no? My go-to on snow days is to binge watch movies or tv shows in bed or on the couch all day. I like to crank up my space heater, put on some fuzzy socks and snack on junk food. You get a free pass while stuck at home!

+ GAMES/PUZZLES - If you need some group activities, board games and puzzles are usually time consuming which is great when you're stuck inside for awhile. They also normally require more critical thinking and strategy if you're not down to Netflix and chill all day. My sister does a lot of game nights with her friends and I've heard they love playing this one + this one.

+ COOK + BAKE - If there's enough snow for a snow day, you can bet I'm not going anywhere. Because I'm always on the go and eat a lot of meals out, I love having the opportunity to cook or bake something yummy at home. Soup + grilled cheese is one of my favorite things to eat and make on a snow day. It's warm, homey and delicious! You just can't beat it IMO. 

+ READ A BOOK - If you need a break from the game playing or marathoning (or let's be real-- from everyone else), cracking open a good book is always a great idea. You can still snuggle up in bed all day + relax which is a win win. Also making a hot cup of tea, a bubble bath or lighting a candle really sets the mood.

How's the weather right now where you live? 

I love sharing my favorites with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

2022 MONEY GOALS + RESOLUTIONS

The start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on your finances, spending habits and money goals. Whether you consider yourself money savvy or needing some TLC, it's never too late to turn over a new leaf and start making positive changes. I've been going over any progress or setbacks I had last year when it comes to my financial situation + what goals I hope to accomplish this year. I've rounded up my top priorities going into this year that I hope will keep me on the right track. Also a quick PSA-- I'm by no means a financial expert nor is this intended to be financial advice. I love chatting about finances + goals-- I think you can learn a lot from others and I find a lot of motivation and accountability for myself there. I hope you'll enjoy reading some of my goals + will also share yours with me! 

2022 MONEY GOALS + RESOLUTIONS

+ ROTH IRA - One of my first financial priorities every year is always maxing out and contributing to my ROTH IRA retirement account. I know it can be boring or difficult to think about retirement when you're young, however in today's world it's more important than ever. Right now, you can still fund a 2021 ROTH or Traditional IRA account until Tax Day (April 18th, 2022). You can also start making contributions for the 2022 fiscal year. I like to distribute my contributions throughout the year so my main goals right now are to finish up my 2021 contributions + start on 2022 contributions. It's free to open one + is something that I think almost everyone can benefit from! For more info, click here to read Why You Need to Open a ROTH IRA Right Now.

+ NON-RETIREMENT INVESTMENTS - One of my 2021 Money Goals was to open an individual, non-retirement investment account which I did. I've started dabbling with a few stocks in this account, however I'm a total newbie. After I take care of my ROTH IRA contributions this year, I'm hoping to start investing more in this account with more mutual funds or stocks. 

+ INCREASE NET WORTH - Last year was the first time that I really took a look at the big picture of my financial situation and started tracking my overall net worth (assets minus liabilities). While I didn't focus too much on the actual number itself, my net worth ended up increasing by more than double by the end of 2021. This was due to a combination of increasing my income, investing, paying off some debt and saving a large portion of what I earned. Because I was able to see a pretty dramatic boost, I decided to make a net worth goal/"milestone" to start working towards. I'm not sure if it can happen in 2022 but we'll see how things go!

+ MAKE MORE MONEY - I was able to bump my income up last year by working a lot of extra hours. It's a grind sometimes but I'm hoping to keep that up going into this year. 

+ TREAT MYSELF - This one might seem a little counterintuitive to money + financial goals, however I also want to spend a little bit more of my money on treating me this year. I definitely spend money on myself now (mostly on eating out + food), however one of my 2022 New Year's Resolutions is to take better care of me. That doesn't only mean financially or materialistically, however there are a few things I'd like to splurge on! It can be tricky sometimes to find a balance between spending and saving but like with a lot of things in life, too much of one thing can be a bad thing! 

+ TRACK SPENDING - I did a great job last year tracking my spending + using the Budget by Paycheck Workbook until around August/September. After that, it was pretty much balls to the walls throughout the entire holiday season. I quit tracking my spending so it's time for a fresh start in 2022. I like to use both the Every Dollar app + the Budget by Paycheck Workbook. I primarily use them to track where my dollars are going + to see my progress, however they're also great budgeting tools. I purchased the new 2021 release a few months back-- I'll link my unboxing here!

+ READ MONEY BOOKS - Another one of my 2022 resolutions is to read more, including money + finance books. I haven't actually read too many books from this genre so I'm excited to hopefully learn more + gain new perspective. I'm currently reading this book right now-- I'll keep you posted on what I think. Hopefully I stick with the reading resolution + can start sharing book reviews with you again.

What are your money goals for 2022? 

I love sharing my goals with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

WHAT I WANT: JANUARY BEAUTY

Golden Priming Oil / Beautiful Skin Foundation / YSL Mascara / Kopari Body Butter / Lip + Skin Balm

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I love sharing my wishlist with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

JANUARY READING LIST

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2022 is to read more books. It's a hobby that I love but have unfortunately gotten out of over the years. My intention is to *fingers crossed* read at least one book per month this year. I'm hoping that if I start small, I'll be able to slowly get back into the habit. I also have a lot of unread books that I'd like to finally crack open. Despite not reading, I've still managed to buy more and more books over the years?? I decided to shop my shelf + pick out a few contenders for the month. Here are my top picks! 

+ Atomic Habits by James Clear - In the spirit of "new year, new goals" and personal growth, Atomic Habits by James Clear seems like a good choice to kick off 2022 with. I purchased it last year and have heard it's incredible for developing habits through small changes in your day to day life. I've also read a lot of quotes/excerpts from the book that I've resonated with and learned first hand over the past year. Based on that and my own journey with building new positive habits, I'm excited to dive into this one. 

+ Get Good With Money by Tiffany the Tiffany the Budgetnista Aliche - The start of the year is always a great time to review finances + set new goals. I'm always interested in learning more when it comes to money + finance so I thought reading Get Good With Money will help to set the tone and get me in the right money mindset for the new year. 

+ Freed by E.L. James - With VDAY coming up, I had to throw in a fun little romance too. I've always enjoyed the Fifty Shades of Grey series and Freed by E.L. James is the only one I haven't read. Normally an easy romance book helps to get me out of a reading slump too! 

I'm thinking of starting with Get Good With Money but we'll see how it goes! Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get through all three this month. Do you have any books on your reading list for January? I'd love to hear what you're reading! 

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS + GOALS FOR 2022

H A P P Y  N E W  Y E A R! For the first TKD post of the year, I wanted to jump on board with a few of my personal (non-work related) 2022 resolutions and goals. In Friday's post, I shared that my intention for the new year was to take care of me. That's a pretty broad intention because it can be exercised in so many different ways. Whether that's emotionally or physically, my main priority for 2022 is ME! On top of that, I also have a lot of goals and "tangible" resolutions that I hope to accomplish. When I'm thinking of those, I like to build off of my ideal self. Who and what type of person do I want to be and become? What does that look like? What actions or steps would someone like that take? For me, all of these things are usually a mixture of and built off of my personal growth + progress, health and financial position. 

Also a quick PSA-- today is also the *official* start of the year for any resolutions in my book... having New Year's Day on a Saturday is a no-go for me! 

Link to purchase my planner here.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS + GOALS FOR 2022

HEALTH/FITNESS

+ EAT CLEANER - This is one area I constantly challenge myself on and struggle with. At the end of 2021, I completely took my foot of the gas when it came to making smarter food choices + eating clean. The holidays have a way of doing that to you, huh? Because I've been in a "I'll eat whatever I want, pass me another Reese's" phase for these last several months, my body is ready to cut back. I'm always a believer in moderation, however I'm at a point where I'm actually tired of eating so much junk. My goal is to start cutting back by limiting the sugar/junk and transitioning to cleaner, healthier options.

+ BODY - Of course we all would love to shed a few pounds after the holidays, however my overall goal for this year is to maintain a body weight that I feel comfortable and confident in. I don't get too wrapped up in the numbers on the scale, I just want to trim up to a point where I look and feel my best. If you are interested in trimming back, here's How I Lost 30 Pounds with some tips that worked for me!

+ 10K PER DAY - Something I picked up in 2021 was walking 10,000+ steps per day. I've been doing it every day for the last five months and plan to keep it up this year. It feels amazing to actually start and stick with a positive daily habit. While it's definitely been challenging at times, now it's become an automated part of my day and routine. If you want some tips + more info on why walking 10K a day is beneficial, check out this post. 

+ VITAMINS - Creating a daily vitamin regimen was another positive habit I started in mid-2021. I always use to struggle with taking vitamins everyday but I nailed down a pretty good routine last year. I do occasionally miss + take them randomly so I'm hoping to get back to taking them at the same time everyday. It helps with the staying consistent! 

PERSONAL GROWTH + PROGRESS

+ BLOG POSTS - Post every Monday, Wednesday & Friday here on TheKristenDiary.com. 

+ SOCIAL MEDIA - Be more active on IG + stories. Let me know what you like seeing on there?

+ BOOKS - Read at least one book per month. 

+ BEAUTY - Be consistent with my skincare + makeup routines. 

+ DE-CLUTTER - Purging at home + keeping things clean and clutter-free. 

FINANCIAL

I'm going to do a separate post going more in depth on financial goals + my 2021 progress, however here are a few broad highlights: 

+ SAVE MORE, SPEND LESS

+ TREAT MYSELF 

+ BOOST INCOME AND NET WORTH 

That's the gist of my most of my goals + resolutions for the year. I'm probably forgetting a few but also trying to keep things manageable + realistic. If you've followed the blog for awhile now, you probably know of the revelations I made on this last year! It's easy to get overwhelmed + overambitious with all of your goals and to-do lists. For me, starting with a few things and doing them one at a time allows me to feel less stressed + be more productive. 

What are some of your goals + resolutions for the year? I would love to hear them!

I love sharing my thoughts with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)

Also read: What I've Learned in 2021