A new year, a new word.

Must haves #1: Monthly Planner and Notebook.

Happy New Year! 2015 has come and gone so fast, it felt like the summer sun was beaming down on us just yesterday. A lot has happened within the last year that I'm proud of, questioned and really said, I'm leaving that behind. This year I wasn't so quick to picking my Word Of The Year (WOTY) like I normally would have. 2016 arrived so fast that I wanted to embrace the new and slowly settle into everything. It's actually really nice to just stop, unplug and turn off the high speed craziness. 

Around Day 3, everything eventually came together. Knowing from the past that starting all the new habits and challenges on the first day usually ends up in failure. My plan this year was to let it all come to me naturally and start really slow. I'm prone to quitting if I start everything at once. My brains tends to gets fried, my demands become too high and eventually "next day" becomes next month. 

I have a yearly tradition that was started about 6 years ago. My obsession for notebooks has always been with me since I was young girl. As I grew older then came lists and small notebooks, calendars, and art journals.  That one chilly overcast January day I decided to add a WOTY to my already overwhelming stack of books. At the time (and still to this day), many other art journalist and artist were blogging about it and sharing how powerful it was in their daily lives. I decided, it couldn't be just any word but a strong solid word that would be my rock for that year and years to come. A word that would be a daily reminder and also be there when times got tough.

I toyed around with a list of words and applied them to my every day life. Fearless was one of the words that immediately got my attention. But I kept looking and really then begin to apply discipline to my life. It was not until then that I realized that I lacked discipline in my life. Not that I run wild and don't give a hoot about my life and health but more on a level of finishing what I start. Or even saying no when I always say yes. I wasn't disciplined enough to eat a well balanced diet that I surely need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It's not because I want to be muscular (ok, I do) but because I always struggled to maintain a weight that my imaginary doctor would say, " You are exactly where you need to be. Eating all the right food to get all the vitamins naturally." Crazy thoughts like that. 

Looking at the big picture and my art, healthier me leads to more energy to create. I'm really energized and all hands in to making my dreams come true this year. I've lacked on staying on track with my art and getting things done on a timely matter. Discipline again was not there. I'm not going to blame it all on not being disciplined because surely that's not fair. I may be taking it hard on myself but without guidance and willingness to accept and learn, I will never reach my goals. 

So I welcomed discipline into my life. I opened the door, gave it a big warm hug and said, you are here to stay as long as you want. I'll need you more then anything today and all the days that follow.

I hope you stay for the ride as I take this new adventure through 2016. I have no idea where it will lead me but I am ready. 

All hands in,
xo-Starlynn

Must haves #2: Sketch book for art journaling and favorite notebooks for writing on the go.

{You can find my favorite must haves to keep me organized and create at Dollar Tree (planner and composition book) and Barnes & Nobel (bargin sketch book and Moleskine notebooks). They are an inexpensive way to keep you on track and perfect size to carry in your bag or purse.}