Happy New Year, Everybody!  I hope you all had an amazing holiday season.

You’ll find over these next few months a few changes to the site.  For one, I’ll be posting more often (a New Year’s resolution of mine).  Second, I’ll be sharing some of my favorites I come across that have really helped me along in my journey.

Starting off this year, I wanted to share a few of my favorite essential items that I’m using to accomplish my goals this year.  Each item I’ve chosen to share has it’s own unique quality in helping me be the better person I aspire to be.  Here are my picks and why I chose them…

THE PERFECTIONIST’S GUIDE TO STARTING 2016 OFF RIGHT

1. Kate Spade 2016 17-Month Medium Agenda- Gold Dots (153150).  I love Kate Spade planners.  This is my second year using them.  Not only are they pretty, but they are perfect for organization and toting.  This year, I decided to downsize and get the medium sized, which is not as big as the striped planner.  This works perfectly as a Go To when I need to know where I’m going, what I need to do, bills to pay, and errands that need to be run.  I use stickers and washi tape to help keep the organization looking pretty {planner organization post upcoming}.

2. kate spade new york Large 17 Month Covered Spiral Agenda, Black Stripes.  This planner is great for those who need a bigger agenda.  I use this to plan all of my content.  It’s pretty bulky, so I keep this one at home.  It’s great to use because there’s plenty of space to write in.  Also great for those who have  a lot of multi-tasking.

3. Ninja Kitchen System Pulse (BL201).  I’ve had one of these for a couple of years now and it’s been one of the best appliances in my kitchen.  It’s great for making spinach smoothies (my favorite) and superblending the hell out of things.  For those needing to add some juicing into their diet, I highly recommend this for making smoothies.  It’s a powerful blender and really does the job.  Keep in mind that this is not a juicer.  A juicer is something entirely different. Coupled with a juicer, the Ninja is a great tool to help detox your body.

4. Rodney Yee: ABS Yoga for Beginners. I’ve been using this video for years.  I started off using the VHS tape.  When it switched to DVD, it was renamed and I had no idea what it was called.  One of my former bosses is a friend of Rodney Yee and mentioned to him that I was looking for a specific video.  Rodney knew exactly which one I was looking for and gave me a free copy of the DVD.  I have been using this video in the mornings, especially when my back is in a lot of pain.  Going through just one session, you can feel the results immediately.  You can feel the burn in your abs just a few hours later.  More importantly…ZERO back pain immediately following the workout.  That’s how effective this particular video is.  Like it says, this is for beginners.  I still use it 15 years later and the effects are always beneficial.  This is a must have for those wanting to try yoga, to get stronger abs, increase flexibility, relieve back pain, or just get fit.  This has been my all-time favorite workout DVD in this lifetime.

5. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.  This book is what is changing my life right now and something I’ll be talking about over these next few months.  Starting off 2016, I wanted to start decluttering my life and getting down to being more of a minimalist: To Have Fewer, But Better Things.  I downloaded this book through Amazon and devoured it within a couple of days.  I ended up throwing out five large bags of clothes from my closet…and that was only the beginning.  My goal is to go through these next five months and completely declutter the things in my life that no longer bring me joy.  The less things you have, the less things you have to take care of.  I’ve been so overwhelmed with things that I found that the reason why I didn’t have the time to write or do the things I wanted to do was because I was so inundated and drowning in my stuff that I spent more time cleaning up and tidying, without ever finding an end to it.  There’s a whole mental side to this beyond just keeping the things that bring you joy.  You start to realize why you buried yourself in stuff.  It’s not a pretty monster to face, but you have to face it so that you can learn to never go back to being that person again.  As a Perfectionist Wannabe, this book is a great tool to jump start a change in your life.  If you’re a loyal reader, we’ll be talking about this book a lot in the upcoming couple of months, so make sure to devour your copy.

6. Stabilo Point 88 Pen Sets color parade adjustable set of 20.  A friend of mine (who knows how crazy I am about organizing my planners and color coding them) found these Stabilo pens and bought a set as a gift for my birthday.  These are the most wonderful pens out there, especially if you color code your agendas (or color in the adult coloring books).  Another friend, who is a teacher, also swears by them.  She uses them for so many things, including scrapbooking and journaling.

7. FranklinCovey Planner Love Magnet Clips – Gold. I love all things cute and sticky when it comes to organizing my planners.  These are great to use to mark special occasions or clip receipts or tickets to events.  {I’ll share more of my cute and sticky collection in the upcoming weeks.}

8. My Mind’s Eye Trend Style Notebooks, 3 Designs, Peach, Black, and Aqua.  I stock up on paper products at the start of every year. Usually I order Sugar Paper products, but this year, I’m stocking up on My Mind’s Eye.  They don’t just offer journals and note cards.  They also have scrapbooking needs and party paper to help you plan your next shindig.

9. Silhouette Cameo Bundle with Vinyl Starter Kit Bonus Mat & Blade $25 Online Store Card and Guide.  This Cameo is one of my newest investments.  It is amazing what this product can do.  I’ve watched Youtube tutorials on designing glitter shirts, creating vinyl mugs, stickers, quilting patterns and silk screens for pillows, etc.  It’s amazing what this thing can do and so accurately. For those who love to craft or are business owners, this product could really simplify your life.  I bought one to help expand Perfectionist Wannabe into a new direction.  I can’t wait to share with you the products I’ve developed thanks to this Silhouette Cameo.  It’s amazing what this little device has been able to do for so many people.  The precision of the work is absolutely perfect.  Just look up a few Youtube videos on products people have made with the Silhouette Cameo and then come back and tell me you don’t want one for yourself (that is if you’re into the DIY world).

10. Chalkboard Calendar Wall Panel from West Elm.  The second I saw this, I knew I had to have one.  This is perfect for organizing editorial content.  It’s also perfect for just everyday home and family calendars.  It’s a decal so it’s easy to put up.  You can peel it off when you move or don’t need it anymore.