Let 2022 be the year that you go out of your comfort zone to try new stuff. It doesn’t have to be anything earth-shaking or life-changing, although you could go that route, too. A “new thing” could involve changing the color of the lipstick you always wear or shopping at a different supermarket.

Trying out new things, we’ve discovered, is one of the best things to get out of a rut, which most of us have been in since 2020.

So here are some ways we can spice things up in our lives without necessarily making big changes:

Try a new restaurant

So you always go to your favorite restaurant in a certain mall and then have coffee somewhere near while you and your friends talk and people-watch. Check out something new in an area you don’t frequent. If you like Japanese food, go to Oedo Japanese Restaurant (105 Sto. Domingo Avenue, Corner Scout Oscar M. Alcaraz St, Quezon City) the next time you’re in Quezon City. Try the sushi, takoyaki, yakisoba, chicken teriyaki and spicy tuna.

Wear fragrance again

We’ve been cooped up for nearly two years and whenever we’d go out, we need to put on a mask so applying fragrance has taken a hiatus. Bath and Body Works has a variety of body sprays and mists in different scents. We like In The Stars, which is said to smell like the very popular and expensive Baccarat Rouge 540. The right fragrance will improve your mood and lift your spirits.

DIY your phone cases

Instead of buying expensive phone cases, just get those transparent ones from Lazada or Shopee and decorate them with stickers that you already have. You could have themes for every phone case. You could also draw or write letters on them just to spice things up.

Learn how to cook

You could start by learning how to turn on or light up a stove. Take baby steps and learn how to boil water first. Once you’ve mastered that, learn how to boil an egg. Take it from there. Who know? You might be cooking pasta and steak in a month or two. Boiling water and an egg may seem simple but we understand that for a person who doesn’t know how to cook at all, this may be intimidating already. Also, cooking is a survival skill and you’d need to start somewhere.

It’s important to use good quality kitchen equipment like La Germania. Built according to the highest European standards in terms of construction and design, La Germania appliances allow you to prepare restaurant-worthy dishes in an efficient and easy way.

Start scrapbooking

This may be a controversial suggestion but if you have lots of K-pop albums with duplicates, you might start scrapbooking using cut-up photos from the photo books of said albums. Some fans balk at the idea of cutting up photo books but we think this is better than letting the albums stay on the shelves without even being opened. Aside from scrapbooking, you can use the cut-up pictures to decorate your planners for inspiration.

Change Your Part

If you’ve been wearing your hair with a side part, perhaps it’s time for a change. A middle part helps conceal a lot of things, such as a receding hairline and thinning. It also said to be more flattering because it elongates the face. Also, Gen Z has declared that the side part is dead. Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian are only two celebrities who have been seen with middle parts.