2013 Goals: Second Quarter

I meant to do this in June, but we all know what happens when I try to plan something for the blog. At the beginning of the year I made a list of goals to work on in 2013. I don't call them "resolutions" because that feels more like a pass/fail situation, and I think that as long as you're improving, you can give yourself a high-five. Here's a recap of where I am halfway through the year:

1. Exercise everyday. I think setting the bar at "everyday" was a mistake. Sometimes you're busy or tired and a workout just isn't going to happen. That being said, I've been way better about this since the weather warmed up. I'm back to exercising 3-4 times a week and I feel a lot better overall.

2. Drink more water. Since I've been exercising more, the water intake has increased, too. I even bought a cute little bottle for my hikes.

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3. Read two books a month. I've taken a bit of a foray into magazine territory (Country Living is my new fave), but books are holding their ground. Currently it's World War Z, and then I might do Emma by Jane Austen.

4. Reach 900 sales in the Oh Nostalgia Wedding Collection and 300 in Oh Nostalgia. I have totally abandoned ship with this one. Let's chat about that in goal number five...

5. Overhaul both product lines. New items have been made for both shops, but I'm turning my focus toward wholesale orders instead of spontaneous Etsy purchases. I'm a year and a half into my design program now, and school requires more of my creative energy every semester. I hadn't realized how much of myself went into my Etsy business until I was too drained to do it anymore. Wholesale orders are MUCH easier to plan, mainly because I only have 25-ish items on my line sheets for people to choose from. I've found a couple of new places to sell my items, and it's been going really well so far, but I'd like to have two more up my sleeve before I make any major decisions about what to do with the shops.

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6. Paint the cabinets. The basement cabinets are done, but the kitchen hasn't been started. After doing all of that work downstairs we wanted a little break before tackling another big project. I might work on it during Summer Break 2.0 in August, but I would also be okay waiting until the fall.

7. Plant stuff in the garden. Not only planted, but a few peppers have grown! The basil died, and one of the tomato plants is looking a little... iffy... but the jalapenos and banana peppers are rocking it out.

8. Stick to a budget. Yes and no. We still don't have an official list of categories we add up every month, but with some total buzz-kill projects popping up (broken sewage ejector pump, rotting deck boards) we've been scaling back on the fun stuff we normally do. I'll give us a solid B.

9. Focus more on interior design. Since I'm hitting the books full-time in the fall, I'd definitely say interior design has become Priority 1. The design consultations are still happening (yay!) and I just helped a friend choose the materials for her upcoming bathroom gut job. Real client, real budget, real timeframe! Aaaaah!

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10. Do more DIY projects. The basement overhaul was basically one giant DIY project, so I'm going to count it.

**Bonus** Figure out the furniture situation in the family room (and preferably put it in there). Done and done. It's not the original furniture layout I thought I wanted, but now we have seating for 4 additional people. Funny how things work out when you stop looking at armchairs.

Did you set any goals for 2013? How are they going? Anybody else rocking some half-dead plants in their yard? What about getting stuff done around the house?