Happy new year!! I’m so happy to have you in my first “what I’m loving” and my first post of 2021. I’m so excited to launch this new series where I will get a bit more personal and share my favorite things with you. You’ll find anything that moves me or inspires me and that I hope will inspire you too… From people that influence me to recipes, moments to movies, or products and articles I’m loving. You can expect this series at least twice a month (but I might post more often). I really hope you enjoy it and please, I would LOVE to know about what you’re loving too, so hop on the comments and tell me everything. ❤

2021 goals

2021 is here… how is this even possible? I don’t know what it was, but 2020 passed by flying. Maybe it was the confinement or maybe it was because the days all looked the same. Well, nevermind, 2021 is here and we’ve got to make the most out of it. Although I’m not a big New Years’ resolutions girl, as I prefer to put into practice daily resolutions instead, I do enjoy writing my goals down from time to time, and the turning of the year seems just the right time. And a big tip I have for you when writing your goals down is to focus on what you can do, instead of a result that might depend on other people. For example, instead of focusing on getting 1000 followers on Instagram, our goals should be to post quality content 4 times per week, and this way followers might come… This type of goal setting works so much better for me and makes the goal so much more rewarding, as it puts the emphasis on my work, and not on other people, algorithms, or luck…

I usually use Trello, an app that allows you to create boards and lists and cards inside the boards, to organize your life and projects by categories in a very organized and visually pleasing way. In my goals’ board, I have career, financial, personal, and education cards, with smaller achievable goals inside them. Here are this year’s main goals.

✨ be way more consistent with my blog posts, YouTube videos, and social media.
✨ create more, consume less.
✨ drop the shame and start appearing and talking with you in my stories.
✨ developing a better balance between work and personal life (quit working on weekends and stop scrolling on social media while I should be working)
✨ quit the perfectionism and create even when I’m not feeling inspired or motivated.

Now, these goals can’t just lay in here. We have to revise them and break them down into tasks every week and every day in order for us to look back at them, at the end of this year, and really feel we accomplished them.

currently watching

I’m currently enjoying the Christmasy and wintry Netflix vibes (that are soon to be over), so most of what I’ve been watching has been Christmas classics like Harry Potter and The Grinch and holiday series. One I’ve loved so much is Home for Christmas, a super light Norwegian romantic series full of cozy scenarios and funny characters. I also adored the movie Rebecca, which is also on Netflix. Although I did love the storyline, the mystery, and the characters, I could rewatch it over and over again just for its visuals… It’s just so aesthetically pleasing! The scenarios are so beautiful, the wardrobe, the interiors, the colors…

currently listening

I am currently OBSESSED with the Food Blogger Pro podcast. I’ve just recently started to listen to it and every – single – episode is so good. Their content is more catered towards food bloggers (of course), but even if you’re not one, you’re going to find lots of photography, blogging, business, or writing tips that might be useful to you (especially if you’re an online creator, food photographer, blogger or small business owner).

currently reading

Steal Like an Artist, from Austin Kleon. A tiny but oh so interesting book. It helps you embrace the influences and inspirations you gather from the world and create your own truth. Essential for baby creators (and grown-up creators too!).

house decor inspiration

A girl can dream… I’m so looking forward to having my own house and choosing every single detail. It might not happen this year (or could it?), but I’m already gathering lots of inspiration from amazing creators. These are some of my favorites this week.

biggest learnings of 2020

What a year in terms of learning. Although I’ve been developing Zest since 2019 (from choosing the name to developing the concept and creating the website), the real work started in 2020, and what a ride! From learning how to work with WordPress, its plugins, and themes to learning how to film and edit videos (although I already knew the basics). From improving my food photography AND my English (btw, sorry for any typo, misunderstanding, or blatant error, but this girl is still working on her English every day). I’ve also finished my post-graduation studies in Clinical Nutrition, so a lot of new (or improved) knowledge in this area.

But as much as practical or theoretical knowledge is great, this year taught us things we wouldn’t learn in any other year. I really hope we humans start 2021…

✨ more caring and compassionate towards others.
✨ more aware of the impact we have on nature (when the world stopped, nature started to regenerate itself so quickly and it was such a beautiful thing to witness…).
✨ more conscious about the consequences of the heavy consumption of animal products, and that this heavy consumption mustn’t be seen as just a personal choice any longer. This “personal choice” has an impact on our planet’s health, on others (just look at this pandemic…), on the animals and I’m really hoping that this past year really helped us see that…
✨ more confident in science.
✨ not taking anything for granted. Let’s be grateful for the blessings we have, even the tiny ones we often overlook.

favorite beauty website

If you’ve been around for a while you know I’m all for science-based choices, whether on nutrition or any other field – in this case: skincare and makeup. This is a website I’ve been using for a long time and that I couldn’t help but include in this first post. Because I’m not just loving it, I’ve been loving it for years!! It’s the one and only BEAUTYPEDIA. Here is where I double-check all (or almost all) of my products to make sure they’re not only good products but also safe and sound for my skin. The products are reviewed by skin experts that take into account not only the products’ performances but also the safety and reliability of their ingredients. Just check your most-liked products or try to find new fav ones.

wintry weekend breakfast recipes

Hope you enjoy this first post of 2021. And hope to have you here with me countless times this year. Love, Ana 💛