The arrival of the New Year kind of ruins the winter for me. Most of the things that make winter bearable – warm drinks, cosy knits, stews and roasts – start to feel slightly wrong. Every January, I want to feel sleek, sharp and fit and my mind is already in spring. This is disastrous in Estonia, where it might take another four months until the spring actually arrives, but is a bit less problematic in Brussels, where you could in fact have daffodils blooming by the end of February.

I’m also thinking that no matter how much I love my coffee with condensed milk and my gingerbread, we have been conditioned to associate winter pleasures with things that aren’t necessarily healthy. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have these kinds of pleasures and I’m certainly not giving up my bacon and biscuits, but sometimes I wonder if an abundant fruit and berry platter wouldn’t bring us as much joy, if we just remembered it was an option. And while I tremendously enjoy a nice cocktail or five, alcohol does not have to be a default option at every gathering. Interesting non-alcoholic drinks have been a passion of mine since I was pregnant 8 years ago. I have recently found one I love and that summarizes exactly how I want to feel at the moment: fresh, zingy, simple, full of flavour and still a bit indulgent.

This tarragon lemonade is from one of my favourite cookbooks of last year: Samarkand by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford. I was one of those Soviet kids who was obsessed with Tarhun lemonade and tarragon is my favourite herb to this day. To make the drink, I simply muddle a few tarragon sprigs with a little sugar (this time I actually used the blender for a bit, to get all the flavour out), squeeze in a lime and top up with sparkling water. You can add ice, if you feel like it. For a super healthy version, drop the sugar entirely and simply have a fantastic flavoured water.

This yearning for focus and can-do-ness is also why I don’t mind having New Year’s resolutions. I like to plan things! I approve of self-improvement! I don’t fret too much if I don’t keep the resolutions, but with a couple of exceptions, I did pretty well with my last ones (you could say I missed the two big ones, but there’s always 2017:). This year is going to be tough for me, again, as I’m temporarily changing my job from March to December and it’s going to be intense. The resolutions are therefore quite modest, but they are exactly what I want to do.

1. I will listen to podcasts. I have been a very late adopter when it comes to podcasts, but I finally plan to adopt them now. I have the equipment (see the picture for proof), I have some podcasts I badly want to listen to – the number one being In Our Time, recommended by Artfulreader – and I have the perfect occasion when walking the dog. A person cannot survive on YouTube beauty videos alone.

2. I will spend less on fast fashion. I spend quite a bit on clothes and I feel bad about it lately. Not because clothes are frivolous, but because often, they are bad news for the people who make them and the planet that has to deal with the consequences. I am not promising to quit shopping at Zara, but I will make an effort to improve. I will search for smaller, hopefully more sustainable brands. I will buy from designers I know. I will invest in pieces I can see myself wearing for five – better if for 10 – years. I’ll report back.

3. I will spend better in general. Again, my worry is not so much that I’m spending, or not even that I’m spending on things that I don’t like or use. It’s that I don’t prioritise and end up with 10 cleansers I love, but no eye cream. Or forget that I do in fact really want to get a few things for the house or a new camera. My new super pithy battle cry is: more focus, less distraction by nice stuff! Although I guarantee the latter will never disappear.

4. I will read less, do more. If you’ve been here before, you know I love reading. I will continue to read in quantities that some think are unreasonable. I always feel that I’m not reading enough, but next year I will not attempt to read more. I will, instead, make sure I also go to concerts, watch movies, see some exhibitions and have friends over. And sleep. I did all of it in 2016, but not nearly enough.

5. I will get my cooking mojo back. The second half of 2016 was a bad cooking semester for me. I very rarely cooked during the week and even skipped some weekend days. True, I usually get home so late from Monday to Friday that cooking is difficult, but I also felt uninspired. Fortunately, 2017 is already looking much better. I have been cooking from Samarkand and have ordered a couple of promising cookbooks. I also want to do a post on reasonable but non-boring weekday meals.

6. I will eat less sugar. Yeah, I guess me and 7 billion other people. I’m not going to drone on about it, but I eat too much. Not crazy amounts, but more than I’d like – cutting back can only do me good. I’m not going cold turkey and my main strategy is in fact point number 5: extensive experience shows that when I eat well, my sugar cravings diminish significantly.

7. I will blog. The job change makes me a bit worried about finding time for the blog, but somehow it’ll all work out. I blog less now than in the very beginning, but the posts have become longer, as I use smaller bits and pieces up on Instagram. Long posts take time and photos take planning. So much planning! But as I said, I’ll find a way. I’m not going anywhere.

What are your plans for 2017, no matter if you call them resolutions or not?