What’s going on?

If I can be honest and get right to the point, I miss the old days around here. I miss working on home projects. Taking photos. Blogging. Sometimes I even miss working alone – the days I’d put in my ear buds and work to music or a podcast. I miss a slower, more controlled pace of projects. The downtime to work from home and blog or just take a breather on a random weekday (because my day doesn’t end after work hours – kid life is busy). I miss sharing a little more personal topics and behind the scenes stuff.

To get even more real, I’m having feeling swings … from defeated and down … to optimistic and motivated … to sad, lonely and unfulfilled … to happy and surrounded by love / busyness. Anyone else have similar swings coming out of Covid (I know it’s not over) and kids returning to school? I’ve noticed it’s ramped since mid-summer when it seemed like overnight the world went from 0 – 150.

There’s a lot going on that seems to be affecting my mindset, outlook and self-confidence. What I’ve started doing to combat these emotions is reading (listening to) more books, noticing the feelings and journaling / noting them, and practicing gratitude. As I continue to work through everything, I’ll keep you up to date. Because I do plan on being here more often. And I’d like to share what’s working in case you’re feeling the same.

Let me know what you think about all of that.

I’ve also recognized how much is on my plate. And while day to day it doesn’t appear to be a lot, if I write it all down…it is. And some of it is stuff I can definitely remove by my own doing. I’ll share more about that another time but, for example, the CPO exam is looming (supposed to be taking it next month)…and wondering if I’m even interested anymore.

In light of practicing more gratitude and finding joy in the simple things…here’s some highlights that keep me going.

THE KIDS

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about them. Typically I don’t share them because they’re older and careful not to put them out there. BUT I couldn’t be more proud. They are back in school and all participating in sports they love. I have a basketball player, a football player and a swimmer. Totally fits their personalities too.

Things to note for memory sake…

Graham is on the freshman football team and has really found his groove / people in high school…

Their team plays on Thursday nights and the games are SO fun!

It’s also fun to feed this kid…the kid who NEVER used to eat anything other than bread, butter or mac and cheese….

The team is doing well this season which is even better for these boys.

The evening of this game the sky couldn’t get more beautiful…but yet, kept doing just that!…

A sign that Fall in the Bay Area is on the horizon.

The week before school returned, Aiden passed his driver’s test! SO proud of this kid! And on his first try. Most of our friends don’t pass at the first go round. He was expecting the worst, but it was such a great lesson.

The kids have all been taking the test at a location about 20 minutes south. And all of his friends who tested at this particular location ended up with a particular employee – who they said failed all of them. They had compared notes – it was cute. Aiden ended up with her – we knew this based on the description from his friends. As soon as he saw her walking our way, he said “I’m going to fail”. So we sat in the car and had a pep talk. I reminded him of all the preparation he’d done. Not only driver’s training and driving with mom / dad for the last several months…but he’s also older due to the Covid delays in the test-taking process. So he is more mature…has a better head on his shoulders and more confidence.

Personally, I knew she was not this terrible monster the boys made her out to be. It was a windy, cold day and she asked Aiden to bring me my sweater, which she found in the back seat. I knew this was a good sign. That and the fact he was taking the test on my grandfather’s birthday.

This is me as they drove away…

As I said, a windy day. But…look at this kid! A licensed driver!….

*Don’t worry – the phone didn’t stay on his lap for long.

What I wouldn’t give to go back to these days…when this was all he was driving…

The DMV is located in a mall so we grabbed Cinnabon to celebrate…cinnamon rolls are one of his favorite things…

FOOTBALL SEASON

We kicked off college football season right here in the family room…

I LOVE football season. As with most things we love, they tend to fly by so I’m trying to enjoy every weekend moment. BUT my very favorite part of football season is when the Giants are still in the game…and they are! Then it really flies because there’s a lot to enjoy and watch / keep up with through October.

We hung around all day watching football and made our favorite Arkansas football dips…

Always a weekend highlight!

FITNESS

I’m back into hard core workouts. Not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post – maybe I did – but I hired a trainer. And she’s not local. I’m highly motivated when it comes to gym time so I don’t need a trainer with me 100% of the time. All I wanted was to mix up the usual. She’s a bikini competitor and love her figure. She sent me a 4 week program to begin with that includes a meal program. LOVE it and in 2 weeks have already seen improvements / changes in my body. I’m planning to update the blog about my workouts / results because it will keep me accountable…and if I can’t make it to the blog, I’ve been tracking weekly for her anyway. So I’ll see the progress that way and try to get in here to share with you.

It’s definitely tough to see a difference day to day…but when you look back on 2 weeks – marked improvements.

I’m 2 weeks in and starting week 3 today. I’ll keep you updated!

I’ve had this waist trainer for a long time, but she suggested I add thigh bands. They work well and I sweat much more in those targeted areas when I wear them during cardio…

( waist band | thigh bands )

SHOPPING

This summer I again went through my entire wardrobe to remove another large bag. My goal is only the clothing I love in my closet…and nothing more.

Here’s a confession…I didn’t own a single pair of jean shorts or normal every day shorts. Truth! I don’t like my legs at all which is why when you see me in the gym or at work, I’m in leggings and never shorts. But, with all the gym work I’ve been hammering and the summer heat, I broke down to buy a couple pairs. So glad I did!

A younger girl at Nordstrom brought me about 20 pairs of jeans and jean shorts to try….she nailed it with these…

( shorts )

I’ve also been updating my sweaters because the cold weather will be here soon…and I love layering. This is a great pull-over…I’ve been living in it…

( sweater )

FALL PORCH UPDATE

Yesterday I shared last year’s decorated Fall porch. In the afternoon, I headed out to see if my favorite fairytale pumpkins were around town and yes they were!…

( garland | top | leggings | shoes )

Still in mode of deciding what else goes on the porch. I’d like it to be a little different. I’m feeling the eucalyptus…this garland is on the kitchen mantle…but wondering if I can do something around the door frame with some little lights? Something fresh and different. Thinking on it.

PROJECTS

2021 has been a record-breaking year in the business. So proud of this small business and the work we do for families. Forever grateful it’s taken off and been well received by our communities. But am definitely in a space where I’m not sure what the next move is. We need to hire and expand but scaling is VERY hard. I’m afraid I’d have to hire someone to help with that and not sure how much that would cost / if I can afford it. But it’s definitely out of my scope / skillset. There isn’t enough of me to go around…and most every project wants me – for the design / sourcing / space planning.

It’s all good problems, but I’d love a little more balance and structure. Not sure if I need to find a business coach?

Regardless, I am loving all the projects and wanted to share a few recent gems. Of course, I’ll be back with all the details behind each space.

( closet system )

This under stairs closet was amazing to conceptualize and install…

This under stairs closet crushed anything I’ve ever completed. It’s located under a curved staircase so I worked with my painter to design and install these shelves…ON A CURVED WALL!…

This nursery closet was adorable…

I updated a garage workspace we installed in June 2020. Her business has grown and she needed an update. She has the most amazing eye for vases!…

I took on a small project across the bay for the sweetest interior designer. She’s not local to us but sure wish she was! It was fun to work for her in this updated home…

( silver baskets )

( food storage | canned food riser )

( drawer organizers )

( fridge organizers )

And managed to work on a small project of my own. This bathroom needed a shelf for storing towels, washcloths and extra toilet paper. Had been searching for a while and finally found this pretty, narrow shelf at Walmart…

( shelf )

I seriously love this shelf!…

Few things have kept me going more in this business than my hard working team and their happy spirits! They make me smile ALL the time…and laugh. Here’s a great BTS shot of us…

I take 100% of the photos you see…no matter where you see them. And from time to time, we need items moved out of the shot. This emergency pull cord is an example. In order to get this shot…

And have it look clean, we needed the cord out of the way. Maria to the rescue! And Kelly snapping the picture of us in action.

Love this team and I want to do all things right by them…they work hard and love the families we work for just as much as I do.

Hope you have something incredible planned for the weekend! Back soon with more!

xo,

Sam

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