First #LittleLoves of 2018!

Last updated on November 19th, 2023 at 12:43 am

Happy New Year, it’s 2018! It just sounds weird when you were born in 1983 and remember all the hype of Y2K and yet here we are ticking off another year and calling it 20-18. I still cant’ get used to calling years by double digital pairs. It’s 2,018 not 20-18. Maybe, I am just not hip or getting old.

Speaking of older, (not old) with the Christmas holidays we just celebrated, I did become another year older. I think birthdays after 30 aren’t a big deal anymore unless it comes in by 10s, for example the next big one being 40! Everything in between just seems like a time frame to tick off and look in the mirror to make friends with the new changes that came with that year of a busy life. Those wrinkles, age spots are starting whether I like to deny them reality or not. If you could calculate quickly from the year of my birth above, you will know I am only 34. But these things happen in our thirties so we should embrace them and move on which is what I do. It’s not emotional or a big deal for me, aging so I don’t really get into a big thing for my birthday. It’s just another day with family being on boxing day.

Since the beginning of this dear little blog, Let’s Talk Mommy here, I have joined in with a linky called #littleloves. It’s a post that I share every Friday and once a month of my youtube channel about all the things I am reading, hearing, watching, wearing, making, and lastly any big announcement or news. It’s a lovely community that I have grown to get to know and love. Morgana from Coffee Work Sleep Repeat created it and host it each week. I love getting inspiration from others on what to read next, maybe some fashion insight or a sale I don’t know is one to what to watch next on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Come join us and without further ado here is my first Little Loves for 2018!

THIS WEEK I AM LOVING…

I have new plans to read a book a week this year. To take more time for myself in the evenings instead of working both day and night on my blog or social media as I have been doing for almost five years now. I can’t believe it when I say it out loud. I have really enjoyed reading more during the Christmas holidays. Books to me are a great way to unwind and take my mind off the pile of “to do lists” that seem to rotate between house chores, errands to run and work to be done. At the moment I am reading, The Power by Naomi Alderman. A great recommendation from the #littleloves community.

Have you heard me talking about a new way forward on my social media channels, mostly twitter and facebook. Two places, I have plans to grow, change, and hopefully get more in return this year. I have given myself some stat goals and challenges to hit each month, for a whole year. It’s going to be hard, as it is with all social media, trying to get them to do what I want with forever changing algorithms. But my new forward way of thinking for business this year is positivity and keep striving. If it doesn’t work I will keep trying something else. I spent far too much time complaining about the systems of these channels and how they fight against me last year, instead of putting more time and effort into each of them to get them to work. I have seen a few classes advertising how to grow these accounts with the new changes and I think I might try a few and share what works for me and what doesn’t over the coming months. I think as a blogosphere community we should share all our own knowledge with as many as we can. I know I am always here to share anything I do for my channels or blog to any new or established blogger in case they just haven’t heard about it. I hope others would do the same. It’s all about being a happy and positive community.

I have watched far too much tv this Christmas but it felt good to do nothing. We just started the series of Narcos as hubby and I didn’t have show to watch together. This is our time, in the evenings where we pick a series to watch together and watch one episode and then read our books until bedtime at night. We love this little routine for us, together. We vowed to put the laptops away at night a more and just spend it together. Now more than ever this is important while we have free nights before baby’s arrival in May. What are you watching at the moment? Anyone seen OA on Netflix…would you recommend it for us both to watch together as I am not sure Narcos is my thing yet?

Have you watched my latest vlogs? Another master plan for the new year is to vlog every Wednesday on my youtube channel. I am hoping this gets me more comfortable in front of the camera and to make more family home videos that I can look back on and cherish in years to come when the memories of those little every day moments have faded.

I am in maternity clothes more often than not unless it’s leggings and a big tunic or t-shirt. I have two maternity shopping haul videos coming up next week and thereafter for my two favorite new maternity brands Jojo Maman Bebe and Asos Maternity. Both have so much to choose from that still make you feel trendy and chic while being comfortable with your growing bump. I hope you will keep a watch out for my weekly vlogs not just on pregnancy and baby but new home tours and hauls coming soon too. It’s a new year for new things to share!

I have made some plans (can you see the theme here) not resolutions, I always fail on these. But for the new year ahead, instead of just giving myself a huge goal like hitting 10K in twitter for a year I am working on little bits of me and my business separately and together in little time frames. Week by week goals. I think this will help me stay more focused and make more progress throughout the year. I am making a goal of one recipe a week. Food has always been a huge passion of mine and I said when MM starts school I would give myself more time to food style and recipe create. Watch out waistlines!

As well as making more recipes, I am going to make more time to support other bloggers. I have started this back in November already. Commenting more, reading more, sharing more, liking more and overall giving support. I retweet and like on twitter as much as I can to blogger friends. I re-share on facebook and comment on blog pages as I know these get hidden if I don’t. Overall, I have a master list of about 40 blogs on rotations I try to show some love and support to on each social media channel not just their blogs and youtube. Somedays you will find I might comment on five blog posts and retweet your last six tweets or go on a liking spree on instagram and catch up on your last 20 photos. With all the new changes I don’t see my friends anymore so I am making a huge effort to go back and find them. I want all you amazing writers/bloggers/vloggers to know I love what you share and I know how much hard work is put into it. It’s hard to swallow that I spend all day, everyday, writing and working and less people are reading or coming to find me because on social media it’s not just friends in our feeds anymore. I wouldn’t want you all to feel that either. We all work so hard. If anything, I never seen my friends in any of my feeds and I miss you all!

I will continue to sharing my favorite instagrammers from my instagram hashtag community here. They are always great feeds to follow and new snaps to lust over. I still and forever will be obsessed and in love with instagram. These accounts below deserve some love, just click the photo to see who they are and follow them if you wish. Don’t forget to join in too, you could be featured on my gallery page and on my blog too.

Another plan is to give more back to my readers for being loyal, supportive and just plain awesome. I will have giveaways each week from each of the categories I write from so that all types of readers may have a chance to WIN something fabulous for reading that section. So moving forward you will find home giveaways, food giveaways, baby giveaways, beauty and fashion giveaways and pregnancy giveaways. I have made a dedicated GIVEAWAYS PAGE for you to bookmark and keep checking back so you don’t miss out on any fabulous prizes. There is already three currently running from mattresses, coffee machines to car booster seat.

HERE IS TO THE NEW YEAR, NEW PLANS AND NEW WAY FORWARD – HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND HARD WORK!