Hello everyone! Can you believe it is almost time for a new year?! 2017 was rough in so many ways for so many people, but there was a lot of good in there too. As 2018 approaches, I’ve been brainstorming what the focus of my blog will be for the year of “E”s. This series of “announcement” posts will be short and sweet so we can all have a little extra time in the final countdown to Christmas and New Year’s… So here’s the first one:

E is for ENTERTAIN. This is my most trackable focus as I’m hoping to have some sort of party or get together each month in the coming year- but giving myself some space to breathe I’m officially shooting for 11 events entertaining friends or family (or both) in 2018. I started thinking about this as a focus when I realized that the size of my house was making me shy about inviting people over and that I really want to open my home and give the gift of hospitality.

One of my favorite parties LOST Day (4/8/15) I will be calling on some of these friends for theming advice… (click picture for more info!)

I’m not exactly sure what all of this entertaining is going to look like- I figure that’s part of the fun. But I know I’ll learn something be it from a double date, a birthday party, or a just because open house style get together. I think this focus will strengthen my sense of community and force me to get creative and to be generous while still honoring our budget.

I’m pretty sure our big January event will be my sweet daughter’s first birthday and I’m looking forward to sharing about it with my readers! I’d love to hear what your favorite kind of events or themes are to help me get brainstorming for the rest of the year…