Blog Linkup: Preparing for the Future

May’s linkup is focused on the future. Meg and Victoria from The B Bar have posed the following two questions:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING (NOW) TO PREPARE FOR YOUR FUTURE?

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU SHOULD START DOING TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE FOR YOURSELF?

These are tough questions to answer, let me tell you! Stop for a moment and think about them. What are you doing now to prepare for your future (career, life, business, etc.)? Is it an easy answer? And the second question? Not that easy, right? Take a moment before or after reading my comments to answer these questions for yourself. You may decide to write them down so that your plans (current and future) are more visible to you and others.

Here’s what I’ve been thinking about.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING (NOW) TO PREPARE FOR YOUR FUTURE?

Career & Education: In terms of my career, well, I only began it two years ago! While many of my friends have been in their careers for over a decade, I’m just getting started in mine. Sort of. I’ve treated my graduate student life as my work life, so I just like to think that I’ve just followed a less traditional career path for the last decade. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Completing my PhD two years ago was definitely one of my greatest achievements!

Since I’m a professional student, I began yet another degree this past September. I’m now nearing the end of my first year of an MBA program. Business is completely new to me, but my coursework is moving along relatively well. My days and nights are full, and my brain is getting quite the work out, let me tell you! Learning about the business world from my professors and classmates has been interesting. I am definitely motivated to build my skill set and apply what I’m learning to my daily life (both work and blog lives).

NISJES_1via

Money & Savings: I have a decent sized list of things that I would like to do/buy/accomplish in the next year, and I have tried to estimate how much each project/event/item/trip might cost, so that I can plan accordingly. I have really tried to prioritize my wish list items, but it’s so easy to get distracted! I’ve always loved to travel, and there are so many places that I’d like to visit in the next few years. Japan, for example, is definitely calling my name, and I’d really love to get over there sometime in 2016!

AREAWARE_PigBank_HARPW_white_silo_web_largeHarry Allen for Areaware Piggy Bank

Blog: After 5 years of White Cabana, I am still really loving my blogger life. I like to write,  share, meet new people, and talk about design. This blog lets me to all of these things. I also like autonomy and to be the boss – I have both of these things right here. I maintain a relatively unstructured approach to blogging because so much of the rest of my life is uber-organized. That said, I take my blogging life seriously, and I am proud of the connections that I have made with brands and bloggers. I have steadily built my portfolio of collaborative projects, and I hope this work continues. I think critically about what I post and for what purpose. It has been fascinating to see how the blogosphere has evolved, and I am grateful to have learned so much along the way (all of this advice didn’t exist when I started).

050214_arbrom1via Elisabeth Heier

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU SHOULD START DOING TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE FOR YOURSELF?

Health: Living a healthy lifestyle is one of my never-fully-achieved goals. There’s always room for improvement, but its place on the priority list changes depending on the year, month, day. 🙂 In an ideal world, I’d resist chocolate cake and I’d exercise every day. For now, I’m happy to reduce my consumption of sweets (they’re so hard to resist!) and up my walking game. I’d like to get back to running (I have run a few half-marathons, believe it or not!), even really short runs, in the next few months. Let’s see what I can do!

Nike-running-shoesNike running shoes

Beauty: Just about every beauty magazine and book has stressed the importance of taking care of your skin. I’ve never been into make-up, so it’s only recently that I’ve given my skincare routine a revamp. I’ve stuck to my routine (using the Simple skincare line) for a few years now, and (I think) my skin is happier. I think I now need to work on wearing a daily SPF/facial moisturizer now that the sun actually stays out all day long (even though I know the sun’s ray penetrate in the winter months too).

010-master-bath-makeup-vanity-700x873via Sketch 42

Money & Savings: I’m going to keep saving! Of course!

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Blog: I’m looking at another blog redesign. Mostly, I’d like to increase the responsiveness of my blog on various tech gadgets and adjust the format a bit. I have ideas, but I need a bit of time to carry out my plan. If you’re a blogger, you might enjoy Victoria’s take on the future of blogging.

Sugar-Papervia Sugar Paper

So, there you have it – a bit of a mix of what I’m doing now and what I’d like to start doing in order to plan for my future.

As always, a group of very talented bloggers are taking part in this month’s linkup. Have a read through their posts:

Meg Biram
Liska Monet
26 and Not Counting
soak and simmer
Knowing Kelly
Carrie Loves
Alyssa J Freitas
Manifest Yourself
Rae Loves
White Cabana
The Yuppie Files
Little Wild Heart
Life Modifier
The Not Quite Adult
Random Little Faves
Perfect Enough For Us
Always, Anita
Feathers and Stripes
Something Good
The Golden Letter
Leigh Clair
York Avenue
Sequins & Strawberries
Emilie Lima Burke
with love from ellie
rejoyce
Bite My Fashion
White Oak Creative
StyledbyKesha
xo lacey
Whitney Bangel Blog
always craving
Evann Clingan
Turning the Corner…Fearlessly!
IN THE GREY
Beauty and the Pitch
PRBlonde

Happy reading!

Interested in reading more? Here are the blog linkup posts from January (invaluable purchase), February (Instagram), and April (work-life balance).
Thanks to Meg & Victoria for organizing another thoughtful linkup this month.

The Friday Five: My Mom’s Favourite Blogs

How long does it take for something to become a tradition? For the last two years, my mom has shared her top blogs/websites with White Cabana readers on the Friday before Mother’s Day. She’s ready to take over the blog again today. I’d say that this has now turned into a traditional post, wouldn’t you?

When I asked my mom for her top five blogs, she obviously could not resist expanding her list to her top six. Such a classic Italian mom – always filling your plate with more!

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Enchanted Home

IMG_1690-768x1024via My Enchanted Home

2. Mark D. Sikes

House Beautiful HD #42 1108_AN_HouseBeautifulvia Mark. D. Sikes

3. Thistlewood Farms

farmhouse-kitchen-decorvia Thistlewood Farms

4. Preppy Empty Nester

kitch5via Preppy Empty Nester

5. Summer in Newport

August Wren-artAugust Wren via Summer in Newport

6. Jenny Steffens Hobick

spring-pasta-peas-prosciuttvia Jenny Steffens Hobick

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! Thanks for sharing your reads with us!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Read my mom’s blog and website picks from 2013 and 2014.

Blog Linkup: How do you achieve work/life balance?

For this month’s blog linkup, Victoria and Meg have called bloggers to answer the question:

HOW DO YOU ACHIEVE WORK/LIFE BALANCE?

This is such a hot topic and, from what I’ve read, a real biggie for Gen Xs and Gen Ys. Those of us who fall into one of these categories are perhaps more interested in achieving work/life balance than any of other generation. I’m not a perfect example of someone who has completely succeeded with work/life balance, but these are some of the things I do to keep things in check.

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I’m the type of person who takes on a whole lot. I like being involved, I like making important contributions to my work, I can’t seem to stop pushing myself education-wise, I don’t like missing events, and I like to be in-the-know. In general, I sort of compartmentalize my general activities (work, school, blogging, social time, relaxation time), so that I devote a certain amount of time to each activity. The areas can overlap, but if I keep the tasks in “boxes,” I feel like I can focus. While this organizational approach might make me inflexible (yes, it’s true), it also means that I ensure that I can more easily control where and how I devote my energy (at least I try).

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Following up on the compartmentalization strategy, I regularly set time limits for my work/life tasks. Doing this forces me to accomplish what I need to accomplish. Blogging, for example, could easily take over every spare moment, but if I let it do so, I wouldn’t have time for any other work or leisure activities that I enjoy. I (generally) keep blogging time to first thing in the morning and the weekend (although it definitely does creep into various other times throughout each day and week!).

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I am a believer in the power of The To Do List. I usually have one for each major part of my life – work, school, blogging, personal – and they help me stay organized (and balanced). There is no way I could remember everything that I have to do, want to do, need to buy, etc., without these lists. I generally keep daily to do lists, but I also plan out weekly lists (especially during busy times). There’s always an ongoing random list, too.

il_570xN.619074542_gcx5 to do list

Vacation time, alone-time, and relaxation time are very important to me, and if I feel like I’m getting stressed, anxious, tired, or irritable, I try to make sure I have some of this time carved out into my week or month.

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My friends and family live in various cities, and while I love to spend time with everyone, if I feel too overwhelmed with events and obligations, I simply have to say no. It’s not that easy to say no – especially if there are a lot of fun things going on – but if I say yes to everything and push myself in every direction, I will inevitably end up feeling cranky and scattered.

il_570xN.250057485mini cards

As with the other meetups, there are a lot of other bloggers weighing in on the work/life balance questions. Read what they have to say by clicking on these links:

The B Bar
26 and Not Counting
Rae Loves
Sarah Hartley
Carrie Loves
Soak and Simmer
The Not Quite Adult
White Cabana
PreppyPanache

LiskaMonet
Alyssa J Freitas
Rossetto
With Love From Ellie
Cake & Lilies
Feathers and Stripes
Leigh Clair
White Oak Creative
Life Modifier
Perfect Enough for Us
Random Little Faves
Jacque Of All Trades
Business Betties
Girl for Granted
Alicia Tenise
The Yuppie Flies
It’s Droolworthy
Something Good Blog
Elana Lyn
Forth Chicago
Emilie Lima Burke
Manifest Yourself
Fit for a Bride Blog
A Little Leopard
Coral and Cognacs
Little Wild Heart
It’s Julien
Boys and Bombshell
Meg Biram
Victoria McGinley

Previous blog linkup posts: January, February.

Blog Headers 25: Mixing Things Up

Okay. I’ve got a major blog header post for you today. I learned about a lot of these at February’s blog linkup, and I’m hooked on them! These bloggers are doing some great work, and I encourage you to get a little click happy and explore.

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The Design Confidential

diy life

My DIY Life

jenn-inspired-header

Jenn Inspired

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Brunch

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Celebrating this Life (lifestyle)

EPSON MFP image

Leigh Clair (lifestyle)

jesszimlich-header

26 and Not Counting (lifestyle)

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Girl for Granted (lifestyle/fashion)

Trashhead_Header

Equal Parts of a Whole (lifestyle)

header

Liska Monet (lifestyle)

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Hope Engaged (lifestyle/travel/photography)

brikasia

Brikasia (beauty & lifestyle)

Carly-Cristman

Carly Cristman (lifestyle)

Whitney-Blake

Whitney Blake (design)

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