A crime against dressers

Ever since things took off in my shop I've been in dire need of an office makeover/ finish unpacking/ organization. So this past weekend Alex and I did as much work as we could on that front. Starting with adding some sort of storage for all my stuff.

About two years ago we picked up this beautiful *sarcasm* dresser at a garage sale. I'm pretty sure these people thought they were never ever going to sell this thing, but alas Alex and I came to their rescue. They practically paid us to take it it was so cheap.

Who ever stained this thing yellow and blueish-green should have their decorating privileges revoked. This is just a home decor sin. Anyways, underneath all that ugliness I knew I saw a true beauty (as well as a sturdy good quality dresser).

Can we just talk for a second about how hard it is to find a quality dresser these days? Even if you find a really good looking new dresser it often isn't made out of real wood and even more often it has those horrible cardboard/paper bottoms that fall out the second you put anything in them. This dresser didn't have that. It had real wood drawer bottoms that are reinforced underneath. I knew I couldn't get a dresser of this quality for the price anywhere.

Anyways, lets get on to my favorite part, which is the after pictures.

I love the stripes. I love that they are soft and subtle, but definitely still there. I'm still working on organizing the other half of my office, but I can't wait to show you guys how much better it looks. I actually feel like I can get some work done now. Which is actually what I need to head off and do.

Thanks for reading!

New stuff!

Hey guys! I've got a special giveaway going on over at Aunie Sauce today! Head on over there to enter! If you haven't visited her blog before you are missing out because she is probably one of the sweetest girls I have ever met (or read about I suppose?)

In other news I have also listed a bunch of new cover designs so you should check them out and see if there is anything you just can't live without! There is lots of new stuff to come so keep your eye out for more stuff :)

PS. Thanks for the beautiful collage Aunie!!

Coping with stress

Sometimes I allow stress to get the better of me. Which is just silly and a big waste of time. When I am stressed I don't get anything accomplished, I just focus on how daunting everything is. It feels like I'm running in a marathon, but instead of moving forward I'm just running in place. Or worse, sometimes it feels like I'm running backwards.

Today I've been focusing on using my time wisely and getting organized. Everything feels less stressful when I am organized. All my important deadlines need to be written down, things need to be in their rightful homes, clutter needs to vanish. Something about writing things down and putting things away brings such a huge release of tension for me.

I still feel stressed, but I feel the intensity of it ebbing away little by little.

Working from home

Gosh guys, I am so incredibly blessed by my customers and followers! Seriously you are all great! Also my family and friends! I have never felt so encouraged and able do anything I set my mind to. This summer has been a huge success. I finally started a shop selling my own products, I've taken care of an incredibly active puppy all summer (anyone a GSD owner??), and I've worked hard at keeping my house clean (I type as I'm sitting in my disaster of an office).

Before starting my own business I was one of those people that idolized those that could work from home. It sounds so relaxing doesn't it? Crawling out of bed in the morning, coffee cup in hand, sending some business emails, spending a few hours focused in your work, all while hanging out in your cozy home and pjs. Meanwhile, in the real world, working from home means being incredibly disciplined when it comes to waking up in the morning, always bringing your work home (aka: thinking about it during "non-working hours"), having to take care of household chores and office chores. I could go on, but I wont.

With all that said, I can't believe it is real. I can't believe I "work from home" and am actually making money from it. Here is my advice to anyone: If I can do it, YOU can do it! Put your stuff out there! You never know what is going to happen, just make sure it is developed first, but once you've got that down, you're golden.

I'd love to be a super diligent blogger, but honestly right now I think my focus is on my shop. As much as I love blogging, I actually love designing planners and selling them even more. I'm still confused about what I want this blog to be and what my purpose for it is, but I'm at peace with that for now. I know God brought this platform into my life for a reason, if only he would give me a clearer picture of what that was...

Also looks like I will be at the influence conference!! Who else is going??

Healthy Monday | From Heather

Happy healthy month level and lace readers!

It is Heather from Honee Bee with Healthy Monday!

Today I am going to be talking about walking and how to incorporate it into your lifestyle. Though I am really enjoying working out, and do it fairly frequently ,the more I read about health and the lifestyle of other countries, the more I realize that I (and the majority of Americans) do not move half as much as the rest of the world. We get into our cars, drive to work, park in ramps that are steps away, and sit at a desk all day. (and then we wonder why our country struggles with obesity). Then we go to the gym, slave away for an hour, and then go home and sit on the couch.  Our mobility is so low that though we have worked out, we still aren't moving as much as we were designed to do. hence, weight gain. 

However- this could all be solved by simply increasing how much we walk. Just walking!

The average american walks 2,000 steps a day, while researchers show that europeans walk 10,000 steps a day. That is five times more then us americans, and they their obesity rate is SIGNIFICANTLY lower then ours. and they don't even go to the gym! Amazing I tell ya. 

So with that. I have decided to do a walking challenge. I have found a few fun pedometer apps (the one I use is called "moves"- warning it totally sucks your battery life!) on my phone so I can keep track of how much I am going to be moving and am going to be trying to reach the 10,000 step mark every day. I started this a few weeks ago and have been playing with the apps and found that they don't always record very accurately/turn off sometimes.  But it is still the right intention and is one way I remind myself to get out and walk some more! Everyday I make my husband go on a short walk after dinner. He works at an office all day and I know that by doing this I am forcing both of us to pursue a healthier lifestyle.

The last few weeks I have been doing trial runs seeing how many steps I am taking on a daily basis and I have found that I average 4,000-5,000. so I am only halfway to the what health professionals recommend. Yikes! With this... come the 10,000/day challenge! Because I am BIG into setting reasonable goals I am going to try walk 10,000 steps a day at least three times a week.  By forcing myself to move more, I reap the benefits and really do not have to "work" that much more to achieve a healthier lifestyle! So who is with me? Let's all walk it out!

Baby times 2

I have about 6 billion picture from the baby shower on Sunday. Ok, maybe just 900. These are just a few of the ones I liked the best. Taking pictures at parties is definitely a learning curve for me. So many of them came out just a tiny bit blurry. Eek. Practice makes perfect I suppose.

Babies in bow ties

On Sunday I went to a baby shower for two of Alex's cousins. They are sisters and one is having a boy and the other a girl. How adorable, right?

If you know me at all you know that I love making handmade gifts. If it isn't hand made I just don't feel like I've actually given anything at all. I'm a gift giver. It's my love language. So when it came to making something for the little babes I had the perfect idea.

The first set of clothes I've ever made go to baby Scarlett and baby Judah. (How cute are those names??) Hopefully they can't tell that I am an amateur sewer.

They also asked me to take some pictures at the shower so I'll be back tomorrow to share those!