TheWellSet's 2014 To Do List: Pickles, Abs, and Financial Literacy

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December 31, 2013!

Where-oh-where did the year go? It has been such a friggin blast. We did lotsa-stuff: Vegas-BVIs-Vegas-Vegas-Vegas-Austin-Hunt-Vegas-Maui-Dallas (#humblebrag much?)... What am I leaving out? Ah, home purchasing, puppy adopting, tree removal, friend making/bonding and fence building + our first tenant. It has been a great year although it has also been a tremendous blur, but like all people around the world rather than looking back we are supposed to be looking forward to the new year and all the promises it brings. Rather than going hyper cliche I am just going to call it a To Do List and mix in some items I hope to accomplish next year:

1. Gardening: Something that seems so simple is just so freaking hard. I have managed to kill about 40% off the plants we bought including the sod we laid down in the yard. I hope some day to have a yard man to help, but we just are not that fancy yet, SO, in the meantime I better freaking figure it out. My sister talked to me about hedges and... I've already forgotten... Other green stuff? Any who, I need to read a book stat.

2. Concert Going: I freaking love going to live music shows. However, the general malaise that sets in due to Houston traffic, commuting and crap weather keeps me home most nights (not to mention my full time j-o-b). In 2014 I want to go to more shows. No more excuses.

3. Pickle Making: I really love pickles and want to make homemade ones. This is probably the most attainable New Year's resolution. Baby steps, ya'll. 

4. Ebaying: I had a ton of success selling my gently used designer wares on eBay last month. Plus it was quite fun. Get ready for more content under that Shop button above. Here's to diversification! 

5. Exercising: No, I am not going for that stomach-abs situation (although that would be NICE). I am going for the continuation of the exercise program I put into place in preparation for my nuptials. I actually like it? Weird. 

6. Financial Literacy-ing: I have been working hard with my hubster to get our financials on lock. This has been a big spending year with all the wedding, home buying business, but I am resolved to increase our financial literacy if it kills me. I am about 50% finished with Rich Dad Poor Dad and plan to read the Incorporate and Get Rich book next. Don't laugh - this is important. Just check out the diagram from Rich Dad Poor Dad. Is your mind blown yet?

7. Blogging: 2013 was a great year for TheWellSet blog. The Reddit incident, the Warby Parker connection - it's like it just started to click. I am resolved, damnit, to post more frequently and commit to a editorial calendar and stick with it. I love when you tell me you love my blog. I want to keep this relationship going. Email me suggested topics or questions at aftonbaily(@)gmail.com. Seriously!

8. Consulting: 2013 was also a flagship year for my little consulting side gig, A Brand Strategy. With two satisfied clients and hopefully more to come I feel ready to share it with the rest of the world. Check out my company website here for a more detailed list of what I do. Essentially, I love helping small business get a handle on their PR/marketing strategy, training them, and then setting them free to do it on their own. It's a win-win for everyone. 

Christmas Gifts for Him: Thomas Pink, Hermes & Raybans Ya'll

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Christmas time is in full swing here in Houston, Texas even though it is going to be 60+ degrees (I don't hate that). Work is finally starting to slow down with everyone just about hitting their pre-holiday-need-a-break-burnout phase. The Notorious B-Rad-G and I are spending our first Christmas in Houston in our new house. No traveling for us. We will miss our families, but are so burned out on airports that a week of relaxing and -dare I say it- boredom sounds like a dream. We also got a PUPPY that will need lots of baby dog TLC (not to mention be let out every hour). That makes the Griffin house animals to humans count 2:1. 

We are pumped to wake up Christmas day and open presents, make a big breakfast and drink mimosas... I can't believe that is literally one week away. This year has flown by! Here's a sweet pic of our new girl, Patsy Cline (who needs to have kids when you can keep adopting animals? No, but really...):

Yes, those are my Merrells in the background. What? They are warm and comfortable.

Want one of these sweet puppies? We adopted ours via the LAB Rescue Network. A great non-profit based in Connecticut. 

Buying gifts for Brad is not too difficult and I know he is reading this so I will not go into what I got him exactly, but let's just say it is awesome and will totally surprise him. My family's love language is gifts so I have had to communicate with Brad my almost ridiculous expectations about what Christmas morn will bring. The list above is what  we  I asked my family to get for Brad. It is basically a compilation of things he needs and other things he needs. For example, this man cannot keep a pair of sunglasses around to save his life. Here's to hoping he makes it through January with this latest pair.

Quick shout out to my girl, Kate Doherty (KKG 2004), who is chasing the dream and going after her music career. Check out her EP with her band Stickers. Great voice. So ethereal. 

Agressive Christmas Carol Gold with Amy Poehler & Some Other Funny Guy

Everything that is good and right with Christmas comedy is taking place in this skit. Poor baby Arrow... No carols for his 'bullshit' name. "Hi, I'm the Flash!" Hilarious.

Musical Musings & Something to Ponder: Case-o-the-Wednesdays Motivation

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The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I read the most amazing article "The Psychology of Success". The main gist is that success is a choice, a mindset, kind of like happiness:  

Being successful requires us to wake up and be present in our own lives, aligning ourselves our greatest destiny and mapping out the way. We must consciously select a path that facilitates the awakening of our awareness, both individually and collectively. 

Everything in life is interconnected. As we evolve, our relationships, work and lives blossom. And, conversely, as we are impacted by our relationships and our work, we evolve.

Basically, ignorance is not bliss. Awareness is. True dat.

TheWellSet Christmas List 2013: Prada, Tod's, Eddie Borgo - OH MY!

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Happy belated Tgiving, everyone! We have had splendid November in the Baily-Griffin home. And by splendid I mean going 1 million miles per hour with everything in the world going on. Before we get into life updates, Christmas time is upon us and I get to ask for stuff I want and stuff I can only dream of receiving. What do you say Santa? Celine? We used the online Christmas list site Checked Twice to tell our family what we would like. We will see if it works.

Here's what is new with me...

Work: 1+ month into the new j-o-b! Hence there has been not a peep on this blog since Warby Parker asked me to cover their F/W 2013 eyewear collection. Yes, you read that correctly! They contacted me and said "Can you review this? We love your blog." So, I did and then like any overcommitted blogger promptly went dark. Well played strategy? Not in the slightest. But, I had to stop blogging for my sanity since in my new job I worked 100 hours in my first 9 days (yes, I worked the weekend). Let's just say I am not a doctor or and attorney for a reason. I am a WIMP! I do love the new job. Education reform is legit. Plus, I have set some respectable work-life boundaries and I am much happier with the hours. Put one down in the grown up column!

Home: The wooden fence is up and we have furniture in the front room! Here are some snaps of the very much work in progress. Brad and I worked all day in the yard on Sunday because when you have a new fence it is like getting a new purse and needing a new wallet... You need landscaping to match that beautiful fence! We listened to this album while we worked the day away:

Travel: We had an awesome visit to Austin for about 27 hours for Reilly and Bennett's wedding. It was so gorgeous and great to see all of Midland, Texas crammed into the Mezzanine of the Driscoll Hotel. We then flew to Tulsa for the Baily family tradition of the Thanksgiving meal. Only this year my 87 year old Grammy threw in the towel and left the catering up to the Amish. That's right, the Amish are everywhere - even Oklahoma. The food was great and the weather went from frigid to bearable the week we were there.

What are you doing for New Years? We just bought our tickets to this and you should too!

Get 'em here: http://fphnye.com

PS. You may have noticed my addition of a SHOP button on my nav bar (look at you, so observant!), well, I have decided to clean out my closet and you can check out some of my slightly worn, very loved wears on Ebay here.