I'm working late...cause I have a million passion projects.

It's been SUCH a long time since I have shared a blogpost. Truth be told, I have written up a few different blogposts over the last few months, regarding grief, but never quite had the courage to post "publish" as it just still feels too raw and vulnerable to share. 

If you follow me on Instagram, or know me in real-life, you know these last 9 months have been full of ups and downs. I unexpectedly lost my step-dad back in December, days before Christmas, and it's been a year full of grief and processing.

Then in February of this year, I made a big move career wise and transitioned to becoming a FULL TIME INTERIOR DESIGNER. It still doesn't feel real when I call myself an "interior designer"! Probably because this field of work has been a dream job of mine since I was around 10 years old, and discovered the show "Trading Spaces" on TLC. 

Transitioning from a part-time to a full-time interior designer was a little difficult at first, due to grief and figuring things out with Wilde Folk, but I'm now feeling a lot more confident about everything! I did have to sit down and have a "come-to-Jesus" talk sometime in July about what I actually have the bandwidth for emotionally and physically, but things are moving at a manageable pace now.

I am a woman of many hobbies, and when I find a hobby, my first thought is "oh my gosh this is amazing" my next thought is... "how can I monetize this?". Which as you can imagine, inevitably leads to many side hustles & passion projects. (This video resonates deeply with me, haha)

Around the end of June this year, I realized I was doing entirely too much when it came to my side hustles and full hustles. The stress and lack of rest was taking a toll on my health. I noticed my hair was falling out, which apparently is a common side effect of grief, and my PCOS symptoms started flaring up a bit. Needless to say, I had to set strict personal boundaries, and let go of a lot of things that were no longer serving me. Which sounds so cheesy and cliche, but man alive does it make a difference.

Some of the things I had to let go of, at least for the time being, were... Wilde Folk Wholesale/Consignment Orders & The Tumbleweed House Swimply Reservations.

When I had my menty b back in July, I decided it was time to put a pause on Wilde Folk wholesale & consignment. The profit margins were just too low, and it took me forever to fulfill orders as I was just so burnt out (& depressed from grief) that I had no motivation to make any product, let alone package it and ship it on time. At first, I was nervous to let this go, as I wasn't sure it was the right move business wise or financially, but let me tell you...I couldn't be happier about my decision. By letting go of wholesale orders, I now have the time to package your personal online orders with the utmost care and attention! Which feels so good!

Another side hustle I decided to put down (for now) is renting out my childhood home, The Tumbleweed House, through Swimply. We started working with Swimply last August, and it's been SO MUCH FUN! We were consistently booked every weekend this Summer, and I absolutely loved hosting guests and creating an environment that people could gather and make memories in. Even though I loved doing this, it was still work.

I was having to put in about 4 hours every reservation for commute time & cleaning, and that doesn't even include the hosting element, which would be anywhere from 4-6 hours. Instead of having the traditional 5 day work week, I managed to create an extra day of work for myself. Which ultimately left me physically and emotionally drained. After much reflection, I realized perhaps now isn't the time in my life where I'm supposed to be juggling so much. Instead, maybe it's the time for me to move a little slower, and with intention. So, I decided to close down the Swimply calendar, and give myself the two day weekend that I desperately needed, and deserved!

It took a few weeks to come down from that fast pace of juggling all my side hustles, but when I did...oh my goodness did things start to get beautiful. Now don't get me wrong, it is still very much a practice for me not to pick up a million hobbies and do all the side hustles, but with all things in life, I think awareness is the first step!

So let's dive into what beautiful things have happened once I made space for them, shall we?

Well first off, I finally made time to rest. Grief does some crazy things to one's body and my rest definitely seems to be a bit off at the moment, but running around and working all the time was 1000% not helping my nervous system relax. 

I made gentle movement a non-negotiable, and prioritized weekly yoga for my mental & physical health. Which then led to weekly rock climbing & dinners with my sweet husband Maxwell, as well as my aunt, uncle and cousins (which is now my favorite part of the week).

I made time to enjoy our family pool rather than monetizing it and hosting guests via Swimply.

I made the decision that I no longer wanted to spread myself so thin. I was/am officially unsubscribing from toxic hustling, boss babe culture, and eagerly walking into my soft-girl & self-love era. 

You know that concept that if you put down the things that no longer serve you, you will free up space for wildly beautiful things to come into your life....well that is exactly what happened.

Because I was no longer spreading myself so thin, I was able to recharge my battery and show up to life in new ways that were actually enjoyable. I put down the things that stressed me out, and was rewarded with opportunities that have brought me immense amounts of joy!

In fact, with work I've been able to dip my toe into commercial interior design, and have had an absolute blast learning about acoustics, and functional design. People have even personally reached out to in regard to freelance projects for both commercial and residential projects, which has been so fun & fulfilling. 

So all of this is to say, life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it. (Jk, Ferris Bueller was my favorite movie in high school, but I do think he was on to something there.) Now, I definitely don't have it all figured out...but these last 2 months have been the first big step to a major life change.

Being busy beyond belief does not make you better than anyone. It does not prove your self-worth. It does not translate to confidence. It does not guarantee financial success. For me, it was a recipe for poor health, low self-esteem, stress, and missing out on life. 

So, if you have stuck around for this entire post, kudos! I know it's a lengthy one...but I invite you to take inventory of all the things you have going on in your life and edit accordingly. Are there any areas that feel stressful, or overwhelming? Is there anything that you can responsibly put down to make space for something even more magical? If so, here is your sign to put it down, and wait for the magic to unfold.