Hi everybody! I know I’m a little behind the rest of the blogging world who posted their resolutions at 12:01 a.m. on January 1st, but better late than never, right? :P

Here’s what I plan to do in 2011:

1. Don’t be afraid to dress up.

Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere always seems to make dressing up regularly look so easy! If she can do it, so can I!

My mom tells me that when I was little, I insisted on wearing dresses every single day. She also tells me that when people would say to my 3-year-old self, “Oh Lisa, you look so pretty!” I would reply, “I know!” To this day, I definitely feel my best in dresses and fabulous shoes, but the difference is that I wear them a lot less than I did when I was little. So this year, I’m going to try to bring back a piece of the little girl who tried to wear party dresses out sledding by making an effort to dress up more often, even when there’s no special occasion. I’m really excited to bring my favorite dresses out more and get more use out of my heels collection! It’s going to take some effort in the cold Pittsburgh winter though, which brings me to my next resolution…

2. Experiment with the clothes I have to create some new looks that I’ve never worn before.

Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere again! This time, mixing sparkle with knit for an unexpected and fun look.

I am a big believer in “staples” and therefore have a pretty good collection of skinny jeans, cardigans, blazers, and plain shirts. It’s way too easy to fall into the rut of white-top-jeans-ballet-flats-scarf routine, which always looks fine, but gets boring pretty quickly (as evidenced when I brought only wardrobe staples to my study abroad semester and got so tired of them that I haven’t touched an article of clothes I wore that semester since).  In 2011, I plan to mix things in ways I usually don’t, especially with different colors, proportions, and fabrics.

3. De-stress.

2010 was probably the most stressful year I’ve ever had. My psychology textbook  said that people should try to avoid more than three or four major life changes in one year, and off the top of my head, I went through at least nine! It was too much, and as a result, I was exhausted and overwhelmed way too often. This year, I want to eliminate as much of the stress from my life as I can by taking more time to do things I enjoy, dealing with stress in a more positive way, and taking the time to relax and unwind at the end of every day.

4. Try out more new recipes.

One way that I did try to de-stress in 2010 was working on my cooking skills. I have a little obsession with Taste of Home magazine (I used to read our back issues from the early 1990s over my cereal every morning in high school…weird, I know :P) and poring over it so much paid off, because I seem to be more proficient in the kitchen than I had expected. I got three new cookbooks, a hand mixer, and a super-cute apron under the Christmas tree this year, and I intend to use all of them!

5. Continue learning more about style, design, photography, and blogging so that I can make Sparkle and Spice the best it can be!

Pretty self-explanatory! I have loved everything about blogging so far and I hope to improve Sparkle and Spice with the more I learn.

What are some of your resolutions for 2011? And if you have any advice for me regarding mine, I’d love for you to pass it along! :)

Love,

Lisa