2011

Looking back at my one goal for 2010: slow down, I have to laugh a little. While I had good intentions, 2010 started slow and quickly sped up to a sprint. If 2010 was just one word, it would be stretch.

2010 started with some big challenges. I was taking courses in grad school and trying to figure out what I wanted in life, but by the spring I was trying to manage a lot of negativity in my personal life and was feeling unsure about the path I was on. I finished my university courses and put continuing them on hold in favor of taking online courses from Red Velvet Art and Freckled Nest over the spring. I found more and more inspiring blogs, and made friends with shop owners and creative people, and I fell in love with the idea of living that kind of a life. I daydreamed about opening an etsy shop, doing more design work and fell in love with writing my blog (again!). I decided to at least give it a chance and threw myself into my creative life whenever I could.

At the same time, I made a big personal step forward: I let go of trying to please other people and started really honouring who I am and what I need. I made a conscious decision to be as positive and focused on my dreams as I could possibly be- and when I did that, the good started happening!

I was asked to become a designer with Freckled Nest Design, and quickly I was designing for clients and learning more than I had hoped! My friend Moorea Seal and I launched an illustrated eBook + micro gardening project called Four Little Pots, and Jesse and I went on an amazing road trip across half of North America. I was so thankful that I got to see my friends from near and far over the summer and I was excited to show them my new tattoo, even if I had to give myself a confidence boost as I got used to how people reacted to it. It took a while for me to focus on myself instead of  people looking at my new tattoo, but I got the hang of it and over the summer my confidence doubled.

Over the summer and fall I stretched my comfort zone even further by starting to blog my outfits once a month in Six Months + Six Dresses. Soon after, my etsy shop launched and I got a big taste of what it’s like to be a small business owner. Jesse and I made sacrifices and agreed to chase down my dream of becoming self employed in the next two years, and all my spare time went to blogging, etsy, and design. I loved what I was doing, but my anxiety was sapping all of my energy, so I saw a doctor and was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I started treatment for it and realized that my life could be so much happier! Jesse and I worked as a team through my anxiety and my long work weeks, and while it was exhausting, this year ended up with my dream coming true. I was invited to join Freckled Nest Design full time, a change that would have me become a full time designer and blogger in 2011.

On the other side of this crazy year, I’m thankful for the gifts it gave me. I’m more calm and patient with my friends and family – and myself – than I have been before. I’m more relaxed and it takes so much more to rattle me than it used to! Negativity and disagreements have finally started to roll off my back like I’ve always wished they would, and I don’t hold onto hurt like I used to. I’m more able to just sit with things, even challenging situations, and work through them in my own time.

This year I don’t want to have any one goal, I want to embrace this perspective shift.

Personally, this year I want to become more myself. I want to dig deep into my passions and watch them develop, to root myself in the beautiful prairies and see what I can make happen. I want to keep doing my heart work, and becoming a better friend and kinder person. I want to stay steady and grounded through the good times and bad, and I want to be profoundly joyful and enthusiastic.

Online, I want to be a better blogger and community builder. I want my blog to reflect my lifestyle and inspiration and I want to spend more time reaching out, sharing, and building relationships. I want to comment back, have exciting conversations, explore tumblr and twitter more, and get to know my readers better. I want to make sure I communicate my sense of humor and goofiness better too, and to share more photos! I’m dreaming up features that will let me share what my amazing blog friends are doing, and find new ways to express my passions.

Have you had a perspective shift in the past year?

I’ve love to hear a way that you’re taking it from thought to action this month!

Mine is taking time every morning to find new inspiration online, I want to start every day with a little jolt of wonder. I hear that a sense of wonder is a key ingredient in big life changes. Wonder + cinnamon buns, obv. :)