December, For Me

The last month of the year is already coming to it’s end – how weird. I say this every year but it’s just crazy how life passes by so quickly – which is why we should always strive to do things that make us happy and be with people who make us happy!

A big kid with a big smile

MAIN HIGHLIGHTS

  • I was rewarded on my placement for all the work I’ve done so far! I’m really excited to see what the rest of my placement has in store.
  • I started reading books and listening to podcasts by the minimalists and it’s inspired me! ✨
  • Watched Frozen On Ice – it was amazzzzzzinng!
  • Christmas happened. The 3 main things that made Christmas for me were family, friends and food.

I’M HAPPY BECAUSE…

The annual twin-sister photo by the tree photo. See last year’s here.
  • Decluttering attempt 1 – I managed to clear out and donate 4 – 5 bags of my old stuff that served no purpose to me anymore including old clothes, jewellery and the very little books I had. I also sold a few more “valuable” items on eBay and Depop!
  • Christmas was spent surrounded by my loved ones. I was overwhelmed by the love and thoughtful gifts from everyone, I am so grateful
  • ❄ After asking and asking, I finally got my sister to watch Frozen with me (it was a real challenge, let me tell you!) She didn’t appreciate my singing but I think she enjoyed it!
  • I received Christmas cards from all over the world – thank you, Tara, Georgie, Rezina, Cat, Amy, Chynna, Becca ❤
  • I’m not working in retail this year! It’s so freeeeeing!

MONTHLY FAVOURITES

Books:

  • The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever by Marie Kondo
  • Everything that Remains by the minimalists

Music:

Fitness:

I took the plunge this month and upgraded the current weights I use at home to the Powerblock Sport 2.4 Adjustable Dumbbells.

I found out about Powerblocks from FitnessBlender and since I wanted to decrease the clutter in the house, I thought an adjustable dumbbell would be a lot better than having multiple weights scattered everywhere. So far, I’m impressed!

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

A photo posted by Smack Bang Designs (@smackbangdesigns) on

How was your Christmas?

Next blog post will be in the future ~

18 responses to “December, For Me”

  1. If you have Netflix, you should watch Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things featuring the Minimalists. I saw it in theaters when it came out, but I was so glad to see it on Netflix so I can re-watch it.

    I love the feeling that I get from de-cluttering! I’m moving across the state tomorrow (or in just a few hours tbh). I managed to fit all of my belongings in my SUV. Moving makes the minimalism game easy to do because I ended up just throwing away stuff I didn’t need or couldn’t fit in my car.

    I really like the idea of adjustable weights – maybe, I could invest in something like that after I get settled in!

    Advance Happy New Year, Pauline! I hope 2017 is just as amazing for you as 2016 was! 😀

  2. even though my family and i do not celebrate christmas, seeing others who do always make me smile. i’m a little bit jealous though because i never experienced the festive dinner and gift exchange especially because i loooove turkey! this year, my parents and i did not commemorate christmas by going out to have dinner — as we’ve been doing for years — so it’s quite sad but oh well, it’s alright 😛

    the first photo is so adorable! you’re so adorable, awww :’3
    also, i find that quote a little hilarious. good, but funny. i suddenly picture sassy mean girls snapping their fingers and flipping their hair and be like, “i did not wake up to be as basic as you!” 😛

  3. I’m thrilled you are reading the books you’re reading (well duh, you know just as well I’m on my own decluttering journey)! I actually haven’t read both in full, but I watched many videos of Marie Kondo and The Minimalists, including seeing The Minimalists on their tour in Sydney! You really don’t need to read a lot to get on your way – for me, changing my mindset towards “stuff” was the real trigger, and I didn’t have to read a lot to get inspired. It was more about doing.

    I am also thrilled to read that you got rid of so many bags of stuff! I’ve been donating my bags of clothes to H&M because they give you a 15% off voucher. I have just collected them for when I actually need to buy new clothes. ? But they accept clothes in any condition and it’s a lot easier than trying to sell. I don’t think there is an outlet like Depop in Australia that can help you sell your clothes cheaply. I have some good clothes in good condition but, gah, they are hard to sell. People are not interested in second-hand clothes like they used to be.

    Love your Christmas sweater! I had one but got rid of it because it never made sense to wear it around Christmas time here, because it’s summer ?? I probably should’ve kept it because it was cute, but, obviously I got rid of it in the first place for a reason ? (There goes my decluttering mind.)

  4. Love this post and love that it’s nearly the end of the year. How did that happen? Oh well, glad you had a great December! Merry Belated Christmas, too! ^^

  5. Glad you had a good December! It’s great to see that you got rewarded at work – work can be so stressful and also tiring sometimes so getting recognised for your hardwork is always amazing.

    Christmas is always one of my favourite times – it’s so rare to get to spend that quality time with you family these days as we all get older & busier!

    Hope 2017 is amazing for you. And I’ll also add, after reading this post it has inspired me to do an at home workout, like, NOW. 😛 thanks!

  6. That first picture of you made me smile. You’re too cute, girl.

    Congratulations on all your achievements at work. It’s so warming to see how far you’ve come! So proud of you <3

    I love that about Christmas; being surrounded by family. Lots of laughter, love and fun! Also, I'm guessing you watched Frozen on BBC1 when it was on during Christmas Day because I sure as hell did. Got my Lolo to watch it with me and he even enjoyed it!

    The 'Starboy' album is too lit. Although, every time I listen to Starboy now I have this image in my head: http://jokideo.com/wp-content/uploads/meme/2016/12/Starboy—christmas-cat.jpg

  7. What a lovely month. I like your Christmas jumper, is very cute. I agree with you, you should do what makes us happy everyday, if we can. x

  8. I got your Christmas card yesterday! Thanks so much <3 My mom saw it and was like "Oh, what a pretty card", haha. They don't really know I blog so they were surprised to see that I knew someone from the UK LOL

    I love the picture with you and your sister! I also listen to podcasts – not too often because of time – but I haven't heard of the minimalists, so I will have to check that out! That's awesome that you had a great Christmas and I hope that 2017 is filled with only more awesome(er?) things.

  9. My Christmas went really well. I got to spend some quality time with my family and I am really grateful for that.

    I love the song! Normally I don’t listened to The Weeknd but that song is very catchy.

    I”m so glad that you had a great December!

  10. I absolutely adore the Life Changing Magic of Tidying. However, I’ve been struggling with the konmari method since I never give myself enough time and then I leave my closet half done… I think I’ve attempted it at least twice now but I’m not as disciplined as I should be….

    Ah I should really look into buying concert tickets for The Weeknd before it’s too late..

    It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas. Family, food, and friends. Yup. that sums it up for me too.

  11. Great that you are not working in retail this year as you get to enjoy your Christmas holidays! I need to start to declutter my room too. Good job!

  12. Hi new reader here! Congratulations on your achievements for this year! I envy you for watching Frozen on Ice, I wanted to watch that kind of show someday.

    Happy Holidays!

    Bia S. | RoadByBia.com

  13. I’m going to try and get rid of some stuff in the new year, because my house is just too full! I have a wardrobe full of clothes and I wear less than half of what’s in there. Think I’ll be getting at least one of those books for my Kindle!

    Glad you had a lovely Christmas. I’m used to having quiet Christmases with just my parents and sister, but since getting with Andy I’ve had to adjust to huge family gatherings. Luckily, I really enjoy them, and it was so lovely to see everyone this year!

    I’m glad you got your sister to watch Frozen. I love it so much!

    Happy New Year for Sunday!

  14. It has been so wonderful to read your blog over the past year and to see a lot of positivity reach into your life through your various activities and commitment to being healthier in body and mind. You are a great inspiration and I can only wish you the best for 2017! 🙂

  15. YES! Always strive for happiness while being happy. Congratulations on being rewarded at your work. I’m proud of your accomplishments from this placement alone. You’ve done a lot and I’m sure you made a difference one way or another. I love how Frozen is becoming a modern day classic when it comes to wintery musicals and such. I’m glad you got to spend Christmas with your loved ones rather than being stuck in retail ;).

    My Christmas was good. I spent the day scrambling around to pack up my goods for the trip XD.

  16. Congrats Pauline.
    I’m dropping by after so many days here!
    I have manage to declutter so much from my life after I shifted to a new city for my internship that it feels refreshing. There are still some stuff left in my parents house, which I’m looking for options to give it all away.
    I have decided to start working out from this new year so I hope I will be able to stick to the resolution and manage to shred some pounds and I do like the FitnessBlender videos too!

  17. I did a double-take at your first photo because I didn’t recognise you at first XD But you look so adorable and all ready for the holidays!

    Yay for de-cluttering! I need to do that desperately on my end, but I’m so lazy, haha! I’ve at least de-cluttered some stuff this year, but not enough . . . Woot for reading 🙂 Can’t get into podcast, but I can fully join you on the reading spree ^^

    And here’s to a great 2017 to you, Pauline. Keep it up with everything!

  18. Congrats on being rewarded on your placement! That’s awesome! I’m glad you had a good Christmas and spent it with people you love 🙂 Nice job on the de-cluttering too! I recently donated a few boxes of clothing and kitchen supplies, and it felt soooo good. I want to do more of it now, haha.

    Oohh, I never thought of trying adjustable dumbbells. That does sound a lot nicer than having so many different dumbbells around. I might have to look into that!

    Sounds like you had a nice end to the year! Happy new year!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.