Change is Good…Right?

I’m in the process of learning something: No goal is achievable without sacrifice.

I know, it sounds like one of those cheesy sayings you see on the bottom of the poster of a guy free-climbing Yosemite’s El Capitan. But it’s truly a new concept to me.

I’m not one to make New Year’s Resolutions (which is good because I think that ship sailed about 3 weeks ago), but lately I have been spending some time in thought about what I’m doing with my life. It’s not my life’s dream to be rushing around trying to keep up with kids, home, husband, friends, family, church, business, blog, fitness…well, you get the idea. And though that’s not my goal, that’s what I’ve been doing for a while now.

So it’s time to step back, take stock, and when it gets down to it, figure out what needs to go. I vote fitness. I’d be happy to chuck those sessions on the treadmill right out the scheduling window, but I have a sneaking suspicion that would come back to bite me in the noticeably larger butt someday.

When I look at the list above, I see some obvious non-negotiables, like family and friends. And my church is an absolute lifeline that I can’t imagine cutting back on. So it’s time for some prioritizing. I think it’s helpful when you’re prioritizing to ask yourself two questions:

1. What do I want more of in my life (or closet, or schedule, or job, etc.)?
2. What can I move to make room for the answer to #1?

My answer to #1 was easy. I want more time for my family and friends. And second to that, when I’m just looking at my alone time, I want more time to be creative. I want to design things, make things, and share them with people.

The answer to #2 was harder, but had to be done. I decided I need to cut back on anything that doesn’t directly help me achieve #1. To make a long story short (what? too late, you say?), I’ve decided that I’m ready to sacrifice my design business for my greater goals of spending more time with my family, and growing this blog.

Why the blog? Well, it allows me to be creative, and to share that creativity with you. It energizes me to know that you’ll be reading some of the stories and projects I bring you, and my great hope is they’ll inspire you to be creative in your own life.

It’s difficult to give up a paying job in favor of a (so far) non-paying job, but the real payoff is that I get control of my schedule back. I love working with clients, but I don’t love having to scramble for childcare so I can go meet a client who has an emergency with a contractor or a couch that doesn’t quite fit. I love sharing design ideas, but really don’t love charging people money for those ideas. I’d rather share them here and not have to figure out my invoicing software! I love putting together color palettes and room designs, but I don’t always love fitting those designs to my client’s preferences.

So this year I’m taking a step of faith and closing the business that started this whole creative part of my life. I’m flying the nest, hoping that I’ll be able to do this on my own without leaning on the design business to make me a legitimate designer. I’m hoping to have more energy to develop this blog, since I’m saving all that time in the morning getting dressed up like a designer. Y’all don’t mind if I blog in my jammies do you?

This year my goal for The Palette Muse is simplification. What will that look like? Here’s what I think:

• No more running around, trying to keep up with all sorts of social media. You can find me on Pinterest for my collection of all things beautiful, helpful, or design related. And you can find me on Instagram for lots of fun behind-the scenes glimpses of blogging creativity and real life. I won’t be closing my facebook or twitter accounts, but just won’t be spending much time on them.
• I’ll be bringing my Etsy shop, Ever Evangeline, under the blog’s branding, including changing the name to The Palette Muse. That will make it easier to find, as well as easier for me to manage. I hope to create lots of new designs this year.
• I’d like to post twice a week: one regular sized post, like a DIY or craft project or design article, and one shorter almost exclusively visual post, like a color palette or room design. And of course, I can’t help myself from sharing the occasional story or thoughts on life as a mom.

On Martin Luther King Jr. day this year, I was reminded of one of his quotes:

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is this. What are you doing for others?”

Not to trivialize Dr. King’s intended meaning, but I realized this is the question for my blog too. What can I be doing for you? This helped me realize that my goal in writing this blog is to either inform, inspire, or encourage you. I hope you’ll come by to visit when you need a little inspiration for a project, or the actual steps on how to do one, or just a little encouragement in your day to know that there are other people like you in the world.

So tell me, what can I do for you? Is there a project you’d like to know how to make? Or a couch you’re having trouble decorating around? How about an organizing challenge? Or something else completely? Bring it on! I’m here for you…

…until I have to pick the kids up from school.