In two weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my personal and professional milestones along with my favorite images from 2019 clients! To preface that post, I’m excited to chronicle a couple of the changes I made this year that were impactful specifically in my growth, self-discipline, and finances.

Rent the Runway

If I could only tell you guys how much of a stressor shopping was before I started my unlimited membership with Rent the Runway! I am one of those people that feels the need to always have something new to wear. It’s silly, but I’ve honestly been this way for years. I’m particular about what I wear (even though I am no where close to fashion-forward), and I feel my best when I feel good in my clothes. In January, somewhat on a whim, I signed up for the unlimited membership through RTR and figured I’d try it out for a month to see if it helped curb my shopping addiction. The verdict: it has done that and more. It was a game-changer during wedding season when I rented almost everything I wore to wedding showers, rehearsal dinners, and weddings, but it’s also been a blast to switch up my style and take some bold risks! It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone, allowed me to have a rotating closet and accessibility to thousands of handbags, dresses, sweaters, and more. Send me a message if you’re interested in trying it out – I have a code for $100 off your first month! (Normally $159)

Lunch Break Blog Tuesdays

Believe it or not, there’s really only been a handful of times where I’ve dreaded my Tuesday blogs. I typically work ahead of schedule, or at least start very basic outlines in a draft of a post, and then go back and fill in the details closer to my weekly posting. This has helped me stay on top of this commitment I made at the beginning of the year. I’ve enjoyed the consistency, the push to be creative, the opportunity to share a mix of my personal life along with some education and of course client work, and it’s been good for me to write more. I would not call myself a strong writer, so some of the more serious or text-heavy posts have been a bit more of a bear, but again – the challenge and push was needed!

YNAB

Earlier this year, I actually blogged about budgeting for young adults and included Mint on my recommendations list. A few months later, I overheard a coworker talking about another tool that had been successful – YNAB. I was immediately intrigued, so I signed up for the free trial to test it out. I was unsure about paying $80 a year for a program that was literally supposed to be helping me save money, but I really enjoyed the setup and system, especially after learning the basics through some youtube tutorials. Y’all. It’s life-changing. I think about money entirely different now, and have enjoyed guilt-free spending (including my trip to Nashville that I saved ahead of time for). It’s also pretty intuitive and helpful when it comes to tracking how much you’re spending over time and it makes my type-A self super happy.

Taking a Dating Break

After finally walking away from a long-term on and off again relationship in 2018, I decided I needed to give my heart a break and time to heal. I felt convicted by my constant search and desperation in dating, weary from all of the highs and lows along the way, and knew I needed to let go of this idol of wanting to find my person and be married. Through God’s faithfulness and a lot of time in prayer, I did my best to completely shut down the “dating” part of my brain from January to May. It was a really good (and of course difficult) season of opening my clenched fists and surrendering the desire for a husband completely to the Lord, believing in his sovereignty and goodness, and accepting that marriage is not promised to me. Praise God for the work he did in that time to prepare me for my future, whether that be in a marriage or in opportunities to counsel others in this area (or both!)

Committing to Studying Reformed Theology

I grew up in the Catholic church, but really didn’t find my own faith until I left for college. I had no clue what theology was, let alone what reformed theology or Calvinism was, until 2017 when I started following two podcasts pretty consistently – Allie Stuckey’s Relatable and Sheologians. Both of these resources have been incredibly influential in my spiritual growth, my desire to know more about God and his word, and the ability to make a little more sense of the world around me through his truth and my walk with Christ. I would still consider myself an infant in my discovery of reformed doctrine and beliefs, but I’ve been so excited to continue learning and researching by way of books and solid teachers like John MacArthur, Wayne Grudem, John Piper, and more. A big issue in the church right now is living out the belief in the inerrancy and sufficiency of scripture, and sola scriptura being one of the five main points of reformed doctrine reinforces the importance of that. Digging in to this has blessed me greatly!

Next Tuesday is Christmas Eve, so we’ll be skipping a Lunch Break Blog and will wrap up the year with the Best of 2019 post on the 31st! Have a happy holiday season!