Hello, my lovelies!

I would assume most might have forgotten who I am, which is fair after pulling a disappearing act for two years. But after re-evaluating things I want to do in life, and what has made me happy in the past, I figured coming back to blogging (even if it might just be for my own amusement and no one read it) would be quite fun. After all, I've been getting back into hobbies that would give me at least something moderately interesting to write about - like reading, knitting, tarot cards, crystals, collecting herbs, taking aesthetic photos... 

I'm sure all that (not to mention nails, makeup, and outfits that never went away) will give me something to say that would resonate at least with some people. 

If not, this will be just like a very public journal—like it used to be.

Coming back has been brewing in my mind for a hot minute now - for almost a year, I'd say. But figuring out what the hell I'd say after such a while felt like a massive challenge. After mulling over that for months, I just thought I'd post whatever my silly heart desires - no one is paying me to do this, so the only expectations come from myself (which, coming from a sort of a perfectionist, means the bar was unreasonably high).

But that made me think: Expectations... Why not just start off light, and write a little list of things I'd like to do in 2025. Kind of like my own little manifestation list. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt like that really was what I wanted to do. 

1. Read 25 books

Last year, my goal was 24 books, and due to the insanely busy year of balancing work, wedding planning, and my sanity, I didn't quite meet that. But, I did read a respectful amount of 21 books, which is still great in my books (pun intended). What I learned from that is that I probably should try shorter books every now and then, not just the 400+ pages long fantasy/romantasy novels. Just to get variety, but also to have some faster reads in the mix if I want to reach my goal. But you know, we'll see. It's more important to me to read things I like and enjoy than to meet a made-up little goal no one else really cares about than me. I'm about to finish my first book of the year today (From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout)

2. Learn a bit about digital drawing

Last year, I trashed my previous tablet on the night of our wedding (it fell onto the pavement coming home from the party, oops!). So, it allowed me to upgrade to an iPad, and get Procreate, which I had been dreaming about for a little bit. The reason I'm excited to get into digital art is the portability when traveling, and not worrying about having dozens of items with me so I can draw/paint/whatever. But, like with any other new thing, there's a little learning curve. I'm not expecting to be amazing or even decent at the craft at the end of the year - but I will commit to learning a few techniques in the coming months. 

3. Get back to photography

Even though I thoroughly enjoy snapping away with the phone camera, and it takes reasonably good pics for social media, something about an actual DSLR just feels good to me. I have my trusty Sony Alpha 7 Mark III waiting patiently for me to work with it again, and it feels like it's finally time. Also, I've been dreaming about a couple of lenses for a bit more special photography, but I feel like I can't justify that amount of money spent until I'm sure this hobby is sticking again. So, slowly but surely, I'll start taking more pics with my Sony baby. 

4. Learn some aurora photography

This goes hand in hand with my previous goal but deserves its own point because if you follow me on Instagram, you know I'm pretty into spotting the Northern lights. My mother (who you can find as @hannetyvi on Instagram) takes amazing aurora photos, and she really inspires me to learn more about that field of photography. Also, I feel it's a major privilege to have someone so close who's willing to help me out when I'm clueless. I love you, mom. 

5. See Linkin Park in a concert

If you know me personally, you know how much I love Linkin Park - and how much my heart broke when Chester passed in 2017. For me, them making a comeback was a dream come true and it truly heals a part of my heart. It's a no-brainer I need to see them, and I do have tickets to one of their Europe shows in 2025. I can't wait.

6. Have a honeymoon trip

As I mentioned briefly, I got married last year. You may have seen the photo evidence on my Instagram. Anyway, since the year was B-U-S-Y, we decided to not have the honeymoon right after the wedding, but instead take the time to plan something fun around the time of the first anniversary or so. So, a goal for this year is to have a fun trip with my man. 

7. Have a little weekend getaway

Keeping with the travel theme, this is something we've been planning for a while now. This would probably be a little romantic spa weekend within Finland, but still, it's something we haven't really done yet. This might just be the year for it. 

8. Upgrade my computer

This is pretty self-explanatory. My PC is getting old, it's time for an update. And you know, not just a Windows update, the whole hardware and all that. This will be a great companion for my photography and blogging endeavors, and who knows, maybe I'll dabble a bit into gaming or something. 

9. Sew a few clothing items

And by this, I really mean a few. If I get three decent things done, I'm more than happy. I have some fabric I've been wanting to work with but just haven't made the time for it. This year, I really want to. 

10. Go to more nature walks

I was told quite recently that I have trouble quieting my mind, and that leads to symptoms like insomnia, surface-level breathing, and tension all over my body (to mention a few). This is why you'll see this list containing some very basic, simple things - like nature walks. Or things that are slow-living vibes and most importantly, more or less offline. Working in an office, I get a daily screen time of 8 hours five days a week even without doing anything on my phone/tablet/laptop/PC in my free time. And I really want life to be more than screens - as much as I enjoy social media and geeky hobbies. And I feel like quieting my mind more would be way easier with fewer triggers, the constant flow of content, and all that. So, I will do more nature walks, especially from spring to autumn, when it's not all dark and cold. (Winter can be for aurora spotting and nesting at home for all I care.)

11. Prioritise rest better

Self-explanatory, really. But also something I may have been struggling a bit with my over-active mind. I'm sure this will actually fix itself when I get myself into the more slow-living mindset. But regardless, I'll have it on the list of things I want to do this year. 

12. Add meditation and yoga to your routine

My masseuse has strongly recommended that I start meditating and practicing mindfulness, and maybe even try yoga again. This is for slowing down my mind and reconnecting better with my feelings to be okay with just being. Apparently, I have a harder time with that than I've thought, and my whole body gives that away to her. So, I will believe her and try this out. 

13. Have at least one witchy photoshoot

If you follow me on socials, you may have grasped that I have a teeny tiny obsession with Taylor Swift's "Willow" performance on Eras Tour. I've taken some photos - even with the phenomenal Mari Hakanen (check her work here!) - that take inspiration from the visuals, but what I truly want to do is to have a full Willow-inspired look, that light orb and all, and take pictures in a forest or park in the middle of trees. I have the full vision in my head, so this is just about having a little plan to get this done at some point.

14. Live by the witchy calendar

I've been pretty open about leaning into my witchy side in the past couple of years, including starting to do little rituals and all that. And honestly, it makes me feel good. I don't know if it's really the magic (my science mind wants to decline everything seemingly unexplainable), or if it's just the settling down and doing something fun offline with pretty candles and shiny crystals. Either way, I'm not hurting anyone with it so here we go. This year, I really look forward to honoring the Wheel of the Year festivities at least in some form. Maybe that could be something to write about down the road. 

15. Finish a concert jacket

Above, I mentioned wanting to go to a Linkin Park concert. And for that, I'm making a fun little jacket, painting things from band logo versions to (hopefully) an actual band portrait on it. I'm a little scared to start the portrait part, so the project has been on hold for a few weeks now, but I think I might have a bit of a stencil now ready to mark the placements and proportions, so... I think I can do this. You know, at least somewhat decently. 

16. Learn one new hairdo

Back in the day when I (and every other blogging girlie) wore hair extensions, I feel like I used to be more playful with my hair - and now, I have like 6 styles I cycle around, most of the time opting for letting my hair just hang wild or snapping it on a ponytail or half updo. I would love to master a few more looks, so I could better match my hair into my outfits. But for now, I'd be very happy to just master one new style. 

17. Learn to bake one new thing

I think I've said this somewhere before, but I really suck at gluten-free baking. (For those who don't know, I'm a celiac, so I need to eat gluten-free for my whole life - no exceptions, no "just taste a little, it won't hurt you".) I can admit that I get easily discouraged by it being harder and the creations coming out quite honestly just bad or at least disappointing. It doesn't seem worth my time when I can just eat less baked goods and just get the great, more expensive ones made by professionals. But in the theme of embracing the witchy holidays, I want to learn to bake a little bit more. (If you don't know, the pagan holidays often relate to baking one way or another.)

18. Learn to cook one new thing

As a creature of habit, it's so easy for me to want a familiar food over and over again - until it's one time too many, and I'm grossed out for months or years. To avoid that, having at least one more dish in the rotation would go a long way. In reality, we'll probably end up trying more than one new dish, but I'm hoping at least one would stick to our little routines. 

19. Go to Comic Con

Now that Comic Con is slowly but surely taking its place in Finland, the geek in me is extremely excited to go. Last year in Tampere was fun, however, you could easily tell we were just taking the first baby steps with the event. This year in Helsinki seems more promising, and I can't wait to see which guest will join Ian Somerhalder and Don Rosa in the lineup. It's one of my must-go events this year - and I have to figure out a fun look for it during the next few months.

20. Go to museums/art galleries

We started the year by visiting Ateneum and the Gothic Modern exhibition (which by the way was awesome, I was so hyped about the art I didn't even bother taking pictures), and that kind of inspired us to go see even more exhibitions. We have already talked about a couple we'd really like to see, so I think this will be the year we add a touch more culture into our lives. 

21. Visit the Christmas market

Our city has quite a pretty Christmas market every year, and it's always on my bucket list. This year is no exception, but I'll keep my fingers crossed I get to go at a time when the traditional mulled wine won't be all packed to the fullest with people. This is the only regret from the past holiday season, missing out on the glögi (as we call mulled wine here). 

22. Enjoy my favorite season (autumn) to the fullest

Last autumn, while magical and one of the best ones of my life, got pretty hectic and I didn't really have the time to just enjoy it the way I would want to; just take in the leaves changing color, smell the rain, cozy up on the darkening nights and just generally romanticize the heck out of it. So that's exactly what I will do this year, as much as possible. I know it's such a basic girl thing to say, but I genuinely just love autumn and everything it brings. 

23. Enhance our backyard towards our dream patio

This is another thing that I just delayed due to budgeting and scheduling. Which was a pretty easy decision as the previous owner of our place had done such a lovely job with the yard. But like with anything, making it our own just feels like the right thing to do. I've been mulling over this one for a couple of years now, and I'm finally starting to have a vision for it. Even if this year would bring just a small step towards the vision, I'll be so happy with it. 

24. Go through our closets and storages, and generally declutter

I'm in no way a minimalist, and even when I go through periods of liking more minimalist things, in my core, I'm a bit of a maximalist. And it's all fine and nice, as long as everything I have still has a proper place and somewhat decent organization. I go crazy if searching for something takes me more than mere minutes to find at home because I genuinely think I always, without exception, have so many better things to do. So, going through what we have (or at least what I personally own) little by little and decluttering what's not used or needed anymore is a good thing to do now that it's been a while since we moved. So that is definitely on my list of things this year. 

25. Enjoy just being.

I've already established that I have a hard time just being still and in the moment without doing something. Sure, I can occasionally rot for a moment playing a mobile game and watching something silly on a streaming service, but the back of my mind usually keeps just running around like my life depends on it. As an experiment on how that will help my back tension, I will take intentional steps to slow down and just be every now and then. Most likely, music and jigsaw puzzles or coloring will be the combo to try and ease into it since I have unfortunately encouraged myself for years to never stop doing things. So essentially, I will need to silence the internal bully in my mind who constantly screams I'm not doing enough. Which will surely be a challenge but I'm up for it. 

If you read this far, please share some of your goals or dreams for this year in the comments!

This is the part where we can put a bet up if I end up posting more this month, this year, or somewhere way later. What do think will happen? 

For more updates, I highly recommend following my socials; I'm @metalwitchjohanna pretty much everywhere. Links can be found on the sidebar!

xoxo

Johanna