On The Sunny Side #7 The 2025 'Mood board'
Romanticizing the sh*t out of this new year. Who's with me?!
On The Sunny Side is a weekly round-up where I share a few sunny things that have brightened my days, what I’m reading, watching, and obsessing over too.
And just like that the holiday season has come and gone. Our decor (minus the outside lights which I refuse to take down in 12 degree temps) is boxed up, Bennet has an extra napping spot again, and I have a shiny new planner that I’ve been obsessing over.
There’s the usual ‘new year, new me’ mentality floating around causing half of us to feel motivated AF and the other half bitterly eyeing all those motivated saps waiting for them to fail (might as well be honest here).
And look, I get it!
New Year Resolutions get a bad rap. Personally I think this is due to the limitations we tend to put on them, as well as the ‘un-funess’ that come with typical resolutions (i.e. get in better shape, save more money, eat healthier, stop smoking/drinking, etc.) These types of goals have never resonated with me and each year I like to set 1/achievable goals and 2/have fun with them. For example one year I wanted to work on doing a shoulder stand in yoga. Another year I wrote: take Bennet on more adventures!
Resolutions don’t have to be big, scary, or groundbreaking goals that ultimately… set ourselves up for failure.
Instead, might I suggest, coming up with some fun achievable ones instead? Ones that make you *excited* for the next weekend, season, and three-hundred-sixty-five days of 2025.
Here is a list of my 'resolutions’ I set for 2025 (some of these are combined goals between my hubby and I*, and some are just for me):
Try one new pizza place a month*
Try two new coffee shops a month*
Go to three live musicals or plays
Go to a new country together*
Visit four new bookstores in Chicago
Finish the next draft of my manuscript
Go to a concert at The Salt Shed
Book that lake house trip and take Bennet on a boat*
Reduce shopping habit to 1-2 purchases a month
Continue to prioritize slower reading habits (quality vs quantity)
Read more Dramione’s LOL
I am genuinely so excited for each one of these resolutions! My hubby and I have already tried a new pizza place that we loved! And to go with my resolutions this year, I decided to try my hand at mood boarding—something I never do, which like why… it was so fun!
Maybe it’s just me, but, damn Pinterest is still the sh*t! I don’t go on there often enough and that’s also something I’d like to do more of this year. I spent about thirty minutes typing in a couple of search terms and collecting images to make My 2025 Resolution Moodboard. It encapsulates my ‘resolutions’ but more so it gives me a visual of how I’d love to see this year go. It’s not the end all be all—as life happens, as it tends too—but it’s a gentle (and aesthetically pleasing) reminder of the *vibez* I hope to bring throughout the year.
I went one step further and added a widget to my phone screen that cycles through the images of my moodboard every hour. I can’t help but smile when I go to look something up and see it!
Like always lets close out with a reading update and a few extras:
Reading The Right Thing to Do, yet another Dramione (Draco + Hermione) fanfic and probably my favorite one I’ve read yet! It’s waaayy lighter than Manacled so it’s been a nice palate cleanser and SO much fun.
Watching Bad Monkey on AppleTV after binging the second season of Shrinking in under a week. And ooooh was the second season amazing and now I want a Derek of my own (jk babes!)
Listening to Heartless Hunter (still). Really taking my time with this one apparently—not a sign that I don’t like it, I just haven’t been going on as many walks with the artic weather.
Cooking the Scraps, one-pan lemon pepper salmon with leeks and it was delish! I never would’ve thought to serve salmon with yogurt but it went very nicely with the leeks and a great way to up protein intake.
Obsessing my 2025 mood board, obviously!
Alright, that’s it from me! I hope you’re having a wonderful Sunday. Did you set any fun resolutions for 2025? I want to hear them!
Until next time,
MacKenzie
Oh you are making me want to make mood board! One resolution is to plan seasonal activities for my kiddos!
What was the new pizza place?!