Don't mind me, skulking into the back of class with a belated 'new year, new me' post peeking out the top of my overflowing backpack. I may have cereal down my chin, and I may have packed the wrong book for the wrong class, but I'm here and that's all that matters.
2018, the eighth year of Vivatramp. There were many times last year where I felt as if this blog was no longer something that anyone wanted or needed because, even this late on in the game, I'm still quite low-fi and laidback about this space. I then realised that I'm low-fi and laidback in almost every space that I occupy so I should probably stick around for the like-minded, the veterans, the like-clockwork types that check up every first Saturday for their happy list fix and for the rest who still find my posts comforting even now.
2017 was definitely the year where I noticed that I'd become the sort of creative that worried about the minutiae of everything. Am I doing this, that, and the other wrong? Should I be more like them, or those, or that? 2018 is the year for reigniting my passions, doing them wrong, doing them differently, doing them until I don't realise I'm actually doing them. Overthinking can take a backseat. This year you can expect quieter musings, more creative dabbling and more snapshots into my quiet life. Pull up a chair...she says sat on the sofa exhibiting the posture of a dying woman.
Let's kick things off with a little no-pressure 2018 to do list so we can all get up-to-date on where my life stands.
2018
TO DO
GET DOWN TO BUSINESS.
I'm finally getting the ball rolling where my copywriting / editing / creative coaching business, Vivatramp Creatives, is concerned. It has been a rumble in my belly for a long while but 2018 is the year that it's going to come to fruition. If you're interested in hiring me to write some words, check out my Vivatramp Creatives page. If you're just fancying a bit of a nose, to be honest, then...also check out my Vivatramp Creatives page!
In all seriousness, I'm really excited for this to blossom into something much bigger. I just need to make up a witches brew of good fortune, business sense and confidence, then I'm all set.
VISIT BARCELONA, AGAIN.
I went to Barcelona for the first time last year to visit family and this year said family are expecting a little baby! I'm, therefore, aiming to head back to meet the newbie and soak in tiny creature cuddles. Recommendations for things to see or do and places to eat or drink at are greatly appreciated, if you have any.
I shared a Barcelona city guide last year featuring some of the things that we got up to so head over there if you're looking for my two cents.
I shared a Barcelona city guide last year featuring some of the things that we got up to so head over there if you're looking for my two cents.
MAKE THE HOUSE A HOME.
As I shared back in my November favourites, Luke and I have moved into a shared ownership home together. We got the keys back in November but we finally moved in last month. The house is sat in the village that Luke used to live in when I first wrote for this blog and it already feels like we've been here a lifetime. We lived together in a studio flat whilst we were at university, so you can imagine how grateful we are to be able to share a space that is larger than two small rooms. After the hardship we've had during our relationship, with my health, I feel like we are finally getting some good stuff.
We want to spend the rest of the year making the house feel more homely, when our budget allows, and I'm really optimistic about all of the good that we can do within these four walls in that time. I've got a good feeling about this. What a novelty!
FIND MY CONFIDENCE AMONG ALL THE NEW-NESS.
Between the events of last year, an ever-changing body, the new home, and the new business, I've been feeling like my confidence has been stretched a lot recently. There have been a lot of things that have required me to take steps in new directions, sometimes all at once, and it got a little bit overwhelming. I'm talking sobs-into-the-duvet-whilst-still-wearing-your-coat-and-shoes levels of confidence knocks and I'm not about that life.
REIGNITE MY LOVE OF READING.
I fell out of love with reading in 2017. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't the books fault. It just happened. I found myself completely unable to focus on the things that I really loved doing because my mind was elsewhere and I think it only served to make things worse for me mental health-wise .
I did a lot of bookshelf decluttering at the end of last year and I think that is going to serve me well going forward. If you've read something that you highly recommend, you know what to do. Books, I'm working my way back to you.
REIGNITE MY LOVE OF WRITING.
I also want to find the time, however fleeting, to write little dribs and drabs for myself. Scraps of poetry and the like.
I just need to find my way back to me, in a way, and I think that starts with immersing myself in the things that I enjoy and take comfort from. Reading, writing, putting on living room gigs for my unsuspecting new neighbours.
I just need to find my way back to me, in a way, and I think that starts with immersing myself in the things that I enjoy and take comfort from. Reading, writing, putting on living room gigs for my unsuspecting new neighbours.
BEGIN WEDDING PLANNING.
I'm not the sort of person that has been planning their wedding since they left the womb, not gonna lie. Despite getting engaged back in March, I haven't really made many plans where actually getting married is concerned. I did pick my bridesmaids, curate some pink bridesmaid proposal boxes, and got big yes's from everyone I wanted by my side on the big day, back in the summer of last year. However, I've not done much else.
Weddings are expensive and I don't feel as if I want or need a fully traditional one. I want a day to celebrate our relationship, in all of its ugliness and beauty, and I want a way to drink to it with friends and family near. I need to start with the basics and work from there I think...Does anyone have any advice or resources for prospective brides that don't have a clue?!
Weddings are expensive and I don't feel as if I want or need a fully traditional one. I want a day to celebrate our relationship, in all of its ugliness and beauty, and I want a way to drink to it with friends and family near. I need to start with the basics and work from there I think...Does anyone have any advice or resources for prospective brides that don't have a clue?!
TAKE MORE INSTANT PHOTOS.
I've been moving my Instax photographs from hidden away albums to pride-of-place frames and it has made me realise how much I really want to take more instant photos to document this year in our new home. I've got a few packs of film from my birthday last summer to use up so there's no excuses!
Let's do this!
LIVE WITH LESS FEAR.
I'm not one for empty platitudes that get shared in the form of Instagram captions but some of them are lifted from poetry and we all know that I love me a poem. Erin Hanson's short verse is much shared and it has been on my mind recently and it's something that I want to have gnawing at the back of my mind for days when I feel too chicken shit to be brave:
'There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask, 'What if I fall?
Oh, but my darling,
What if you fly?'
- Erin Hanson
In most areas of my life, I'm extremely brave. In others, I'm learning what it is to be brave. I'm going to try and nurture that learning and I'll pour myself some rum when I see the first growth spurt.
'There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask, 'What if I fall?
Oh, but my darling,
What if you fly?'
- Erin Hanson
In most areas of my life, I'm extremely brave. In others, I'm learning what it is to be brave. I'm going to try and nurture that learning and I'll pour myself some rum when I see the first growth spurt.
GO ON A FAMILY HOLIDAY, WITH DAD IN TOW.
We haven't been on holiday with my Dad since a botched caravan holiday to Cornwall in the early 00's so we figured 2018 should be the year that we rectify that. Aunty Di bought us all experience vouchers for Christmas that you can trade in for two night stays so I think we may cash those in and have a short break away somewhere in the UK.
Alternatively, if anyone has any recommendations for places that they've stayed, and really enjoyed, in the UK, then I'm all ears. Okay, I'm done with asking you for things now.
Alternatively, if anyone has any recommendations for places that they've stayed, and really enjoyed, in the UK, then I'm all ears. Okay, I'm done with asking you for things now.
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2018, lets make this work for the both of us. Make sure you're part of what I hope to be an excellent year by following along on Bloglovin. Alternatively, I make quite a few Insta Stories and I like to tweet inane musings on the reg so find me in those places too.
2018, lets make this work for the both of us. Make sure you're part of what I hope to be an excellent year by following along on Bloglovin. Alternatively, I make quite a few Insta Stories and I like to tweet inane musings on the reg so find me in those places too.
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