Be Brave

I know you probably expect me to list out some resolutions for you, but I decided that I wasn't going to do that. There is too much to bore you with the details, but I realized what there is one thing that I need to do to accomplish them all... and that is to BE. BRAVE.

Quitting my job with a steady paycheck was scary and guess what,  it's still scary and probably will be for awhile. It's scary to put my wedding collection out there and hope that brides like it. It's scary to attend networking events and meet with brides for the first time. It's ALL scary. But I'm going to do it because I want it SO much more than I am afraid of it. :) Well said Bill Cosby.

Happy New Year!

Farewell 2011!

I know I am a couple of days behind on the new year thing, but bear with me.

With the new year comes new resolutions, but before I get there, I wanted to take a peek at last year to see how I did with those. I am not normally big on resolutions, because I'd rather not draw attention to the things I never got around to, but last year I declared a few things and it was quite successful!

In 2011, I WILL... Get my accounting books in order! I did this, but still need to do better. I'm moving my excel spreadsheets to Quickbooks this year. Go me.

In 2011, I WILL... launch a new website! Check! I didn't say it had to be a detailed website. As you probably know, things are pretty basic over there right now, but I have quite a lot of changes in the works. Maybe the key to accomplishing my resolutions is ambiguity... and that may or may not have been my intention. In 2011, I WILL... design more for Minted and Indigo Prints. Double check. This year was a huge year for me on Minted and I continued to expand my collection on Indigo Prints. I made it a goal to submit at least one thing in every challenge and while I don't think that's quite as realistic this year with the other things that I am pursuing, I will want to continue to submit. Aside from it being a great creative and fun outlet, it's become a profitable part of my business and gives me great exposure.

I can see why I was successful.... those are actually pretty tame resolutions compared to the big things that happened to me this year. 2011 was quite a bit more than I could have imagined, and there are a few things, looking back, I am really excited and proud of.

The biggest obviously is that I decided to take Palm Papers full time. It was a decision made in February, officially began in November and is sure to make 2012 interesting. At this time last year, I hadn't even considered it a possibility, and so it's pretty amazing how quickly (or some might say slooowly) big things can take place.

The other is the exposure that I've gotten on the blogosphere.  I have been featured on Ruffled, Urban Scarlet, Oh So Beautiful Paper, Southern Weddings Blog, Style Me Pretty, Invitation Crush, and Minted. These posts are gone in a day or two, so it's easy to forget the feeling, but they certainly make me smile when I think of them. Hopefully 2012 will involve additional exposure because I'll be trying to make it happen... but let's not get ahead of ourselves... 2012 resolutions are coming next!

And I'm back...

Well, kind of. My first day back to work, was slow, spent mostly in bed with my laptop and a box of tissues. I am on my second cold in the past 2 weeks but hopefully, I'm on the mend. Healthy isn't the word I would use to summarize my break but luckily everyone was healthy enough for all the important stuff. I took just under 2 weeks off and it was much needed and appreciated. No designing, no computer, and very little email and social media. It was pretty great and I'll just blame my cold for my reluctance to accept that the holidays are over. My whole family was in town and we baked, shopped, opened presents, played, drank and ATE. Oh, how we ate! And I'll also blame my cold for failing my first 2012 resolution of working out this morning. I am not sure how serious that resolution was, but it certainly did not happen.

A few highlights... - decorating sugar cookies with my niece. For a 2 year old, it's safe to say that when it comes to sprinkles, more is more. - my cutest little nephew smiling constantly. Babies smiling at you really is just one of the best things and adults will sure look like fools to get them to do it. I'm not ashamed. - finally reading 'The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo'. and loving it. and seeing the movie and loving that too!

- not remembering what it was like when we went by our actual names... now we are CeCe, LaLa (that's me), Mimi, and Papa and sometimes there aren't even kids around. Again, no shame. - sister hugs, mom hugs, dad hugs, Marley hugs and baby hugs. - watching your husband be a sweet uncle by playing 'night-night' so well he actually falls asleep. - 80 degree weather to ring in the new year.  Thank you Texas for some awesome December patio weather.

I'll be back with a little look back at 2011 and maybe a resolution or two for 2012!

Merry Christmas!

I shipped my last order, my family has arrived and so my holidays have officially begun. I am going to make an attempt to really take a break from my computer this week and really enjoy the perks of working for myself - taking some time OFF! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and new year.  See you in 2012!

Getting my weekends back

Hands down, the best thing about not juggling two jobs is getting my weekends back. I knew I was busy before I quit my job, but I don't really think I realized how much I would enjoy getting my free time back. Case in point... this weekend. I spent Saturday morning at a craft market not far from our house. How can something so cool be so close and I have no idea about it? I discovered food trucks and Korean tacos (yum) and took a nap! I almost forgot what those were! On Sunday, Carter, Marley and I took a 2 hour walk around our neighborhood. We live in a such a beautiful area, with so many beautiful streets and the most festively decorated homes. One day I will have a house wrapped like a present. One day. And yes, Carter is holding Marley on our walk - we have THAT kind of dog. But she is small and it was at the end of the 2 hours. She did well.  I also finished wrapping presents and we had a couple fires which just make our home so cozy. I love the holidays and I love them even more that I get to enjoy them.

It was a busy Monday getting one of my last batches of holiday cards back from the printer and printing envelopes and sorting and packaging, but Mondays are just not what they used to be. No case of the Mondays here :)