Hi friends. The first few weeks of 2018 have been a whirlwind so blogging has been non-existent. I’m hoping to get back into a rhythm this week so thanks for hanging in there with me.
Before we get too far into the new year, I want to share my Word Of The Year with you.
Like many bloggers and business owners, I start a new year by outlining my goals and vision for what I want to accomplish. Part of my process involves creating a vision board along with picking a word that summarizes my overall intentions. For 2018, that word is Clarity!
Throughout 2017, I felt a little scattered with work and personal stuff so my aim for the new year is to be more intentional with work and home life.
Here are some of the things I’ll be focusing on this year.
My Personal Life–The hubs and I will be celebrating 27 years of marriage in July which is kind of mind-blowing. The years have been good to us and I am proud to say that we have a great marriage. When we first got married we use to travel a lot, took lots of weekend trips and even spent weekends camping (my only requirement is bathroom facilities). As the years have passed, we’ve done less traveling and stepped away from some of the things we love. So for 2018, we are making a shift and focusing on fun. We’ve already got a few trips planned and are committed to doing have more adventures.
My Design Business–When I closed my retail store and launched my interior design business, my goal was to keep my business small and curated. I wanted to work with a handful of clients each year on residential and seasonal decorating projects. I’ve been blessed to have maintained a steady flow of work with clients that make my job joyful.
One aspect of my design business that I thoroughly love and want to grow is teaching design workshops. I started teaching workshops in my store and love sharing my knowledge, ideas and inspiration with others. A focus this year will be to grow that piece of my business and touch more lives through my passion.
***update–as I was typing that last sentence, a friend called to say she wanted to plan a holiday event for her business and asked me to be part of it and teach a design workshop. The universe was listening!!!
My Blog–It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging for 10 years. You can read my first (short and sweet) blog post here. In that post I stated my goal as this… I look forward to sharing with you “my favorites” in the world of design, fashion, gift giving and entertaining…the things I love…the things that inspire me and my creativity. Ten years later and with many changes in the blogging world, my goal still remains that same–to share and inspire. Look for more design how-to’s, decorating inspiration and DIY projects this year including the process of decorating our new home.
This is also the year that I’ve decided to get a little more personal here on the blog. I’ll be sharing the story of how the hubby and I met (it’s a good one). And because people often ask me for advice about opening and running a business, I’ll be talking more about my business background and experience.
I’m also planning on a little revamp of my brand, both for business and blogging to make them both a little more robust. Stay tuned.
My Creative Time–As far back as I can remember, I have been creative. As a kid I loved crafting, painting and sewing. After I graduated from college I started painting pottery and painted with friends several nights a week of years. And then there is my passion for paper crafting and rubber stamps. Believe it or not, I had a collection of over 1000 stamps until a recent purge. The last couple of years I’ve been so busy that I haven’t made time for the creative stuff I love. And I’ve neglected my Etsy shops. This year I want to devote more time to creative projects and getting my Etsy shops back on track. (I have about 70 new vintage decor pieces that I’ll be adding to my shop over the next few months).
Friends & Fun–I’m sure you can all relate to getting so busy with work and life that sometimes you don’t make time to spend time with friends. I found myself doing that last year and want to do better this year. So I’m planning on scheduling more friend time in 2018.
I’m starting the year with a new focus and sense of clarity and can’t wait for all the goodness to unfold.
“EVERYTHING THAT STARTS IN THE UNIVERSE STARTS WITH INTENTION” – DEEPAK CHOPRA
Cheers to an amazing year ahead!
