There is something MAGIC about Jan 1. You can use it as a refresher to your everyday life.

You can do that anytime during the year, but Jan 1 feels like a clean slate and should be used as one if you see fit. There should be no shame in that. 2023 was a great year, but I was encouraged to start 2024. I have a level of clarity that I haven’t had in a while.
To refresh means to give new strength or energy to.

As I ease into 2024, I want to refresh what matters to me.

You see, I had 3 kids in 5 years, and then the year I had my last baby, there was a global pandemic. Did you hear? LOL.

Now that all my kids are potty trained and go to school during the day, it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve felt like myself. I will take full advantage of that this year and in the future. I feel refreshed, so I want to run with it as a theme for January.

January is a full one for us – Christian and my father-in-law have a New Year’s birthday, and Caliana has a birthday at the end of the month. We have a few birthdays of other family members, and then Chris and I go to see Alvin Ailey like we do every year. 🤗

It’s a great way to start the year – with heart and momentum. And it’s also nice to put the Christmas decor away and make the house feel normal again.

Your home be feeling empty after you put all holiday decor away? Same.

But it feels lighter and allows me to see what we need to replenish or remove.

The kitchen is usually where I start. After a year of cooking, cleaning, and hosting, a few deliberate Amazon purchases get my kitchen back where I need it.

This year makes it 5 years that we’ve been in this house (wild!). I want to personalize it more with photos and other decor details. Getting the kids’ photos blown up and framed is one of my favorite ways I’ve started that process.

As someone who takes pride in her style, zeroing in on good outfit ideas around my favorite pieces – a striped sweater, cropped trench, and black blazer – gets me excited about my existing wardrobe vs always relying on buying new things.

Creating a small winter capsule wardrobe allows me to shop my closet and keep the January spending to a minimum.

Regarding beauty, I like to look at my skincare and makeup routines to see what worked and what I used faithfully. Understanding my skin type and the order of products to use allows me to pay attention to how products serve my skin.

ALSO: I’m bringing the roller set back 😂 (the rollers I use almost everyday)

Towards the end of last year, I created an everyday makeup routine that has made me feel very confident in how I do it, so I’m sticking with it.

The skincare routines – morning and nighttime – are both something I take seriously and tweak every year. Recently, I made some slight changes that my skin is reaping the benefits of.

Of course, my life wouldn’t feel like mine if I wasn’t striving to improve.

On Threads the other day, I said,

“Aim to be incrementally consistent throughout the year instead of impressively consistent in the first two weeks.”

It’s why I waited until I knew how I wanted to show up this year before posting.

Reading is still a love of mine, so I made a 2024 reading list along with some reading goals. Book debt is a thing, and I’d like to get mine down by the end of the year.

I also want to re-establish daily, weekly, and monthly self-care habits instead of solely reaching out for them “in case of emergency,” and that looks different for me this season. (Especially since I’m turning 40 this year.)

When it comes to my personal productivity, there are habits and routines that I’d like to give new energy to and others I want to unlearn.

I’m adamantly working towards getting more sleep, eating for energy (and eliminating mental fog), and doing things that matter (instead of distracting myself from doing the work).

As far as my business is concerned, doing work for And More, my private community has felt special.

People constantly harp on getting new followers consistently when you’re an Internet professional.
While growth is still a goal of mine, tending to the followers who are already here will be the priority 🫶🏽.

You can learn about and join And More here.

And Everyday MAGIC is such a remarkable book, a classic, that I want to share the message of more consistently.

So, I’m launching the Everyday MAGIC podcast – to create a consistent conversation about how we find our MAGIC in motherhood, at home, and through life.

Things feel light and energetic even though there’s quite a bit to get done. Because the things I’m doing actually matter to me.

A refresh is about more than just redoing everything.

It’s about focusing your energy on the things that matter most in your current season.

Wishing you a refreshing January that sets up your 2024 for success, friend.