5 Elegant & creative living ideas to try right now

Hi and welcome back to the blog! If you are new here, my name is Victoria and I like to talk about all things related to modern elegance and personal growth. I’m here to help you create a life that you absolutely love. Today I want to tell you all the ways I was able to explore my creativity in the month of January.

One thing I’ve learned on my elegance journey is the importance of having my own hobbies, passions, being creative, and trying things that I’ve never done before.

When people thing of elegance they think of the well dressed woman who is confident and commands attention with her graceful presence and impeccable manners. But what is underneath that appearance?

A woman who is healthy, happy, active, and secure with herself because she takes time to explore who she really is and who she wants to be. That is why I have been exploring my creativity since the beginning of 2021.

I stayed active the entire month of January and it was a lot of fun! I’ve got all of the details so let’s get right into it!

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It all started when I read Big Magic in December. I kept hearing incredible things about that book from celebrities and bloggers alike so I knew it was something I wanted to have on my reading list.

I picked it up at the end of 2020 because I wanted to be extra motivated to live my best creative life in 2021.

Once I started reading Big Magic I couldn’t put it down. It was such a fun, easy, and inspiring read. It is something that I will probably start reading on an annual basis or whenever I need a spark of motivation. 

It was all I needed to make my 2021 Vision Board and start planning out all the things that I wanted to do in the upcoming year. So when January 1st arrived, I hit the ground running. Let’s take a look at the fun and creative things that I did last month.

I went Ice skating for the first time.

The beginning of Big Magic tells the story of a woman who decided to get back into ice skating because it makes her feel creative, energized, and alive. So I found it really interesting that Ice skating was one of the first things that happened in 2021.

For the past 2 years, my youngest daughter would ask to go ice skating during the winter. She had never done it before, but I guess she had seen it in movies and wanted to give it a try. I hate to admit it but I never took her during that time. 

The reason why we never went is because it was out of my comfort zone and I had never ice skated in my entire life. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle myself much less my two kids as well. So I never made it happen.

Well I was on Groupon looking for some deals on winter activities and came across an irresistible deal at a new ice skating rink that had recently opened up. Without thinking about it, I hit the buy now button and the deal was done. Now I had to go ice skating.

We went a few days later and I must admit that I was nervous the whole time I was driving there. I used to rollerblade a lot in the 90’s so I assured myself that I would be able to handle it.

And do you know what happened?

We had so much fun. It was amazing to be able to experience something new with the girls, we all were able to catch on fairly quickly because thankfully we taught the kids to rollerblade a couple years ago.

After that, I went home and bought a couple more passes to last us for the rest of the winter. Now we will be going a couple times in February as well. It makes me feel inspired, young, and full of creativity!

I learned a lesson that I shouldn’t have waited so long to give ice skating a try. I should have taken the kids when they first asked to go. Tomorrow isn’t promised so I’m really trying to work on making the present more beautiful.

We bought a telescope and spent time looking at the moon.

When I was learning how to manage my anxiety without medication a few years back (I hate anxiety, btw) I spent as much time as possible connecting with nature.

I spent a lot of time hiking in the spring and summer as well as chasing as many sunsets and rainbows as possible. The problem that I continued to have was that every time I tried to photograph the moon on my phone, the picture would be horrible. 

I know we all have this problem because I once came across a tweet that read “I respect the moon’s unwillingness to be photographed by smartphones” It made me laugh so hard because it is a common struggle. 

I knew that the solution to this problem was to purchase a telescope but of course It took me about a year to actually go through with it. I got a notification on Amazon that the one we wanted was on sale so we bought it.

My husband and I spent time gazing at the moon and it brings me so much happiness! I can’t wait to take it out in the spring and summer because right now we use it from inside of our house because it is so cold. 

It is harder than it looks to photograph the moon with the smartphone attachment that comes with the telescope, but this is the best photo that I could get and I think it is acceptable.

Moon gazing makes me feel more connected to the world around me and gives me a sense of calm, plus it’s a really fun date idea to do at home. Highly recommend.

Tried New Foods

I’ve always been a picky eater and I wanted to start trying new kinds of foods in 2021. I know that I won’t always like everything I try but I want to expand my taste buds and start trying things that I wouldn’t try otherwise. It is an easy way to inspire creativity because you get a taste of new worlds.

In January, I tried two new foods! After we went Ice skating I took the kids to a Pho Restaurant and we tried Pho for the first time. If I’m being honest, It wasn’t my favorite but I am proud of myself for trying it instead of going to a restaurant that I go to all the time.

On the last day of January I tried Sushi for the first time. I know, I have been living under a rock. Honestly I love seafood but I never tried sushi so I wanted to give it a shot. Sadly I didn’t love sushi either and I can’t see myself trying more, not right now at least. Again, I’m proud of myself for giving it a shot. My kids tried it too and I’m really proud of them because they are pretty picky eaters as well. 

I took *my first* Dance class!

When I was younger, I wasn’t allowed to dance really. Because of my parents religious beliefs, dancing was pretty much wrong. How tragic, right? The sad thing is that I always wanted to dance and cheer growing up and I never got the opportunity. 

Once I graduated high school I had kids early and never got the time to explore dance or cheer. I was watching a show that I absolutely love, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, and I realized that I wanted to learn the pro cheer style of dance. After a couple of days of searching online, I found a couple wonderful dance teachers who used to be pro cheerleaders. 

If you are interested, here are my two favorite ladies 

Elle Shepley: Sneaker Jazz and Pro Cheer Pom Style Dance

Pro Sass Class: Pro Cheer style Dance

Playground LA: All types of dance

With Playground LA I purchased their Pussycat Dolls React choreography class because I absolutely love that music video and wanted to learn the dance for myself.

I started taking dance classes at home and It has been so much fun for me! I love it so much and it is a great workout. The moral of the story here is that it is never too late to explore your creativity. 

I continued to take art classes

It’s no secret that I started doing art last year during the height of the pandemic to keep myself inspired, busy, and sane. It’s no secret that art in all forms is one of the best ways to spark creativity. But I want art to be something that I do all the time and not something that I try a few times and then give up.

So I took several more online art classes in January, but my favorite was this surprisingly easy ocean painting. I love the colors and the fact that it was super simple but so pretty at the same time. I’m thinking about painting this one again on canvas to hang in my house.

Overall, January was a super creative, busy, and fun month for me. I’m glad I chose to do these things instead of let the cold winter weather get me down.

I’m always looking for new things to do during the cold months to keep me from being stir crazy. As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to get out of the routine from time to time and explore new things. It has definitely contributed to my overall health and well being.

I hope by writing this post I inspired you to go out and explore your creativity next month! You won’t regret it!