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My Realistic New Years Resolutions

01/01/26 | Real Life

Happy New Year, everyone! This is officially my first post of 2026, and I wanted to kick things off by talking about my own realistic new years resolutions. We all know the feeling of setting goals that are way too ambitious, only to feel like a failure by mid-February. This year, I’m keeping things simple and focusing on two shifts that I know I can actually manage while juggling life as a working mom.

Sparkles and Shoes My Realistic New Years Resolutions

Since I headed back to work last July after maternity leave, my brain has been stuck in a permanent state of triage. I’ve been prioritizing the kids—staying on top of Lily’s school, speech therapy, and doctor appointments—and then diving headfirst into Slack and emails for work. By the time I’m done, my husband gets what’s left of me, and my personal life has basically fallen to the wayside. I spent the start of last year signed off from everything, and when I came back, I just never quite caught up. My WhatsApp and text messages are a bit of a disaster zone, and don’t even get me started on my IG DMs or the blog stuff I used to love. I’ve realized that being a mom is wonderful, but I can’t lose my own identity in the process. Reconnecting with my friends and my online community is one of my most important realistic new years resolutions because I need to feel like myself again.

My second goal is a lot more physical but just as necessary. I need to drink more water. I’m definitely not going to be one of those people carrying around a massive, gallon-sized jug with motivational quotes on the side—that’s just not my style. I remember being so much better at staying hydrated when I was breastfeeding because it actually aided my supply, but lately, I’ve been a bit lazy about it. So, I’m setting some realistic new years resolutions regarding my hydration. I will fill up my glass between every meeting at the office and make sure I have water with every single meal at home. It’s not about hitting a specific number of ounces; it’s just about being mindful and making it a habit again.

If I can manage to stay hydrated and actually text my friends back this year, I’ll consider it a huge win. These feel like such realistic new years resolutions because they don’t require me to reinvent the wheel—they just help me stay a little more grounded. I’m so excited to be back here writing for you all, and I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for us.

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Comments

  1. TAMMY says

    January 12, 2026 at 11:52 am

    Happy New year to you. Happy for your goals. My goals this year is to one stay healthy. No knee injuries so I can hit the gym more. Two wear high heels less to keep the knee healthy. I had a partial tear in my right ACL. Got surgery right away (friday) and now its heeling. I head off to rehab tomorrow. .

Hi, I am Kelly and welcome to Sparkles and Shoes, a fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog founded in 2012.  After six years of living in London I am back in New York with my husband and two littles! 

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