Tag Archives: 2015

Three Years of Blogging

September 14, 2015 Pamela Stephens

It’s somewhat hard to remember a time before this blog. Today marks exactly 3 years since my very first post, and I’ve been writing here consistently for the last year. When I think back, I can distinctly remember the nervousness I felt when creating that first post (and those terrible photos that followed.) However, I don’t really remember a time before I was writing about my life. It’s such an integral part of my life now that it feels like brushing my teeth. Or sipping yummy coffee. Plus, I’ve created stories around my experiences in my head for years before having this blog. In the midst of every experience, I’ve always envisioned myself telling someone that story. That makes it seem like I’ve been doing this for even longer.

As I was thinking back on the beginning, I remember how the blog came to be in the first place. I remember stumbling upon my first lifestyle blog from Pinterest. Prior to seeing this, I was unfamiliar with the concept of a lifestyle blog…a place where someone wrote about their experiences and interests, even if they vary. I can distinctly remember staying up way too late and exploring every nook and cranny of Smile and Wave. I spent hours going back into the archives, amazed with every varying post topic and the realness of the conversation. It was upbeat, yet honest. I was immensely blown away by the opportunity to write about whatever one was experiencing…good or bad, varied interests, and different topics. I thought blogs had to be specific. You could have a food blog. Or technology blog. Or DIY blog. Who knew the concept of a blog about your life could exists?? I was hooked. To this day, I still follow Smile and Wave and each post brings with it a bit of nostalgia as you’d feel running in to an old friend.

Shortly after finding Smile and Wave, I was exposed to A Beautiful Mess. Their perfectly executed DIY projects and beautiful photos showed me the magnitude of possibilities with a blog. Right after I started following them, their business really took off and I learned just a few of the ways in which a blog can lead to business opportunities. It was through ABM that I found, Elise. Again, I saw the lifestyle format at work. I read Elise’s posts and felt like I was chatting with an old friend. They were real with a hint of humor…music to my ears. I wrote more about Elise’s influence on my blog last week.

Honestly, I think blogging is the most fascinating and wonderful thing. There’s nothing that you can’t find on the internet. No matter what your worry, fear, or struggle is, there’s someone out there sharing their journey. No matter what you’re hoping to create or make, there’s someone showing you how. It’s an amazing place, the internet. I’m happy to have been a part of the noise for 3 years now, and I feel even more honored that YOU read along. Thanks for joining me on this ride.

Sewing Scissors

September 10, 2015 Pamela Stephens

Sometimes it’s funny what little bits and pieces of things you hang on to from your younger years. When you’re thinking back on life, there’s most likely a few specific, seemingly insignificant, memories that stand out. You might remember this one particular time at the park or that day that your Dad spilled Cheerios all over the kitchen floor. In the big scheme of things, these specific memories may not have much affect on the entire picture. For some reason though, these little pieces tend to linger in your mind.

For me, there are several memories of this sort that I could share, and maybe someday I will. For now though, I want to talk about sewing scissors. For anyone who is crafty or grew up in a home where there was even a bit of craftiness taking place, you know what sewing scissors are. You know that the absolute only thing you can use them for is fabric. There is never an instance where it’s acceptable to use them for anything else. Not paper. Not plastic. Not cardboard. If the house were burning down and you could save it by cutting one strip of tiny cardboard somewhere, you best not use the sewing scissors.

The part I find most comical about this is that for the longest time, I didn’t really know why this was the case. Honestly, it didn’t really matter if I understood the reasoning…I just better not use those scissors for anything but fabric. As I grew older, I collected bits and pieces of craft items, and even though I didn’t actually do much sewing, I had sewing scissors. When I decided to make Matthew bow ties for Christmas, I bought a fresh pair. Immediately after, I made sure the husband knew not to use those sewing scissors for anything else. They were simply sewing scissors. Months later, I realized he had been avoiding a certain pair of blue-handled scissors thinking they were the sewing ones. Poor fella.

I was reading this post on A Beautiful Mess recently and her references to sewing scissors made me think more about this. (Side note: I really, really want to make that dress.) First, I thought about how interesting is was that “sewing scissors” are somewhat of an industry term. People who’ve never been around much sewing likely don’t see the importance. Anyone who’s ever been exposed to much craftiness though, understands.

Furthermore, it made me think more about what we learn and how we’re raised and the impact it has on who we become. I was very lucky to have a Mom who created things regularly when I was a child. She was a painter, crafter, seamstress, handy-woman….you name it. I watched her create many things from nothing and saw her explore many different creative outlets. While I didn’t pick up as many of her talents as I would have liked, I was still exposed to that world. I know not to touch someone’s sewing scissors, and I’m not afraid to attempt making something. Lately, I’ve really been exploring my own creative talents a bit, and I finally feel comfortable in pushing myself creatively. I have my own sewing scissors, and I’m glad that I was shown these creative opportunities.

If you don’t have your own sewing be scissors, don’t fret. Maybe sewing isn’t your thing. Maybe crafting in general isn’t your thing. Something is though. Sometimes we have to explore our options a bit before we really find something that speaks to us. Regardless of what your “thing” is, I think it’s important to share it with someone. Allow people to see what you do. Expose your children/friends/coworkers to your talents. They’ll be thankful to have seen something new, and your demonstration may be what leads to them having their very own sewing scissors one day.

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Alaska in a Nutshell

September 8, 2015 Pamela Stephens

It seems like yesterday that Matthew and I returned home from our fantastic trip to Alaska. Naturally, I have a million photos and experiences to share. To start, I thought I’d give you the condensed version of what we did. I intend to share more in depth details and more photos of some of our favorites. I’m going to spoil the ending a bit though…we didn’t see even a fraction of the wildlife that I thought we’d see (not even one bear!!) AND we tried several times and didn’t even get a glimpse of Mt. McKinley. Luckily, our other experiences made up for the lack of signature Alaskan events.Day 1: Our first full day in Alaska was Thursday, June 24. This was also our longest day and we spent quite a bit of time riding in the truck and on a bus. We rode up to Denali National Park where we took an 8 hour round-trip bus ride through the mountains up to Eielson Visitor Center. Ideally, this is where you’d get the best view of Mt. McKinley. You’d also see a multitude of wildlife as you travel through the park. Didn’t happen. We did see a few caribou, ravens, and lots of ground squirrels. Not one moose or one bear. We also didn’t see Mt. McKinley. The clouds blocked it entirely. Apparently, it had only been seen three or four times so far this summer. I had no idea that it was so tricky to get to see it. Later in the week, I saw photos from someone else’s trip and they’d seen the mountain the entire time they were there. I must say, I was blown away by how large and majestic it was! After seeing the photos, I was slightly disappointed that we were unable to see it. Maybe next time.

Even though we didn’t see as much wildlife as I’d hoped or the mountain, it was still a good experience. After the bus ride, we made the 4 hour trek back to Wasilla where we were staying. If you’re counting, that’s a whopping 16+ hours riding on our first day!

Day 2: On the second day, we made the trek over to Seward, Alaska which is a quaint little fishing town. The drive down Turnagain Arm was one of my favorite experiences of the entire trip. We saw 7 swans, eagles galore, and my first moose! (It was the only one I saw with antlers and was too far in the brush for a good photo.) We hiked up to Exit Glacier and I ate my first bit of fresh, grilled fish. This day was one of my favorites!

Day 3: We stayed in Seward the previous night, so we spent a bit of time exploring the town this morning. Matthew and I went to the Alaska SeaLife Center, which was a bit smaller than I thought. I had the best time watching the sea lions though! I think I could have sat there all day watching the sea lions and seals swim. The puffin is a native Alaskan bird and we got the chance to watch them, as well. I even bought a piece of art done by painting the bottom of a puffins feet and letting them walk around on a canvas. Silly, I know. I thought it was cute, though, and I’ll always think of Alaska when I see it. On the way back to Wasilla, we stopped by a local pottery shop. This sounds like it might have been a basic experience. Not quite. We parked at a gas station, walked probably a mile down a private, winding dirt road, and showed up to a quaint little cabin in the forest. We let ourselves in, shopped a ton of handmade pottery, made our selections, and put the appropriate funds into a box. The entire process works solely on the honor system. The potter was not present, and you simply followed the directions on the signs. To me, this was commerce in the simplest form, and I longed for a studio/shop that operated this way. I was truly amazed at the simplicity of it and thankful that Matthew’s grandparent were aware of its existence. The average tourist surely wouldn’t have known about this little gem.Day 4: This was another one of my favorite experiences. We went to Hatcher Pass and climbed to the top at a whopping 4,800 feet! This was my second mountain to climb, (Click here for the first.) and I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful the view was. We had a great view from the top to the bottom, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. After the climb, we went around the corner and explored Independence Mine, an old mining town. Hatcher Pass is absolutely one of my favorite experiences from the trip. That scenery will forever be burned into my mind, and I’m certain that I’ll long to return.Day 5: I started my morning with some reading and coffee by the fire. (Yes, a fire in June.) We went to church and then headed to Anchorage for the Anchorage Market. The market wasn’t quite as large as I’d hoped. It was still rather fun though! We ate a reindeer dog (Sorry, Rudolph.) for lunch and spent a bit of time walking around the souvenir shops downtown. I could have bought so many things!

Day 6: On day 6, we climbed to the top of Flattop Mountain. If you’re counting, that’s my third mountain to climb! I didn’t enjoy the sights quite as much at Flattop as I did on Hatcher Pass. However, Flattop brought with it my first attempt at mountain climbing! Literally, there were times where you had to use all four limbs…hands and feet…to get up the rocks. I loved it! I also got the bug to try parasailing, and ate halibut for the first time!Day 7: One day, we made yet another attempt to see Mt. McKinley that was unsuccessful. It’s hard to believe that we went to Alaska and didn’t even get a glimpse of the tallest mountain in North America. We drove up to Talkeetna, which is a quaint little tourist town. We ate on the patio at the Wildflower Café, which was delicious and lovely. The fresh salmon Caesar wrap and their french fries were amazing. After leaving Talkeetna, we drove up to the Matanuska Glacier where we saw three moose! This is where I finally got my close up photo of these furry friends. We enjoyed the Sheep Mountain Lodge for dinner where I had more fresh fish and took my funny photos with the stuffed moose. Unfortunately, these are the only photos of a moose with antlers that I got.Day 8: This was our final day in Alaska. Before heading out, we visited the Moon Stone Farm, which was just behind the campground we stayed at. They grew vegetables, flowers, chickens, and other various items. The owner packages fresh goods that can be purchased through a seasonal subscription. Subscribers pick up boxes of fresh picked goods once they’re ready. As simple as it was, visiting the farm was one of my favorite stops and it made me crave a similar lifestyle. We spent the rest of the morning driving around the valley area and seeing some of the farmland. We also drove by the reindeer and muskox farms. After returning to the campground to get our luggage, we ate delicious BLTs and played a bit of horseshoes.Matthew and I boarded the red eye home around 8:30 pm Alaskan time. We flew all night and made it back to Monroe around 10:30 the following morning. We were certainly exhausted and a bit jet lagged. However, we wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything. I’ve never seen anything quite like the Alaskan landscape and loved the crisp air and the chance to unplug. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend it.

If I had to make a list of my top three experiences, I’d have to say it was hiking at Hatcher Pass, the beautiful drive down Turnagain Arm, and visiting the pottery shop. Stopping by Moon Stone Farm would also be a strong contender. I am truly thankful for all of our experiences and for the chance to travel the way we did. We looked forward to this trip for so long, and it did not disappoint.

Where shall we go next??

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September Goals

September 3, 2015 Pamela Stephens

September’s page in my Get To Work Book sums up my thought process for the month entirely. Since I can remember, I’ve let 1,000 ideas hinder me from accomplishing anything. I have a ton of ideas, get overwhelmed by them, and then do nothing. Last month, I hired a new assistant and with her help, I’m looking forward to finally making some of the ideas a reality. Therefore, on the work front, my main goal for the month is implementation. We’ve made a plan and now we’ll start tackling one project at a time until we reach world domination. Just kidding…sort of.

In addition to this large work goal, I’m hoping to take on a few personal items this month too.

I want to be 100% present for girl time this month. I’m very fortunate to be looking forward to a bit of time with my cousin in Tennessee that I see hardly enough and to have a little, tiny girls trip planned for the end of the month. I get to spend so little time with these people that I love, that I really want to soak up the time that I’ll have this month.
Complete 2 or 3 house projects. After sharing the home tour this week, I found a resurgence of motivation to make my ideas for this house come to life. I know from experience that I better take advantage of this inspiration while it’s here and actually do some of the things I have in my head. I don’t intend to ever be “finished” with this house. However, I do want to be in a place where I’m making little tweaks here and there rather than having a monstrous list of big projects.
Review my 2015 goals. I abandoned most of these goals earlier this year and with good reason. However, I’d like to look back through them, think about what I’ve done so far this year, and decide if I want to pick any of them back up. After all, there are only 4 months left of this year!

All in all, my goals for September are fairly simple. I think the big idea is to just implement, both at home and at work. I’m working hard to break that habit of sitting on ideas until I have plenty of time, money, and resources…which never exists.

Looking back at August, I was pretty successful!

I did quite a bit of watercolor practice!
I played around with Periscope, even though it’s a bit nerve wracking for me. (You can follow me @pamelapetrus!)
I did make an important business decision, even if I’m not exactly sure what it’s going to look like yet.
I shared the home tour. It was at the last minute and scary, yet I did it!
I am absolutely moving more slowly in the mornings and it’s made a HUGE difference. I switched my morning routine to have my coffee before getting dressed and it’s helped me take it more slowly and enjoy the moment more. I’m expecting this to make a big difference for me over time.

August was a great month and I’m thinking September will be pretty awesome too. I took a quick look at my goals from this time last year, and it’s amazing how much has changed in a year. That post seems like ages ago and I distinctly remember that feeling of overwhelm as we were drowning in boxes. I’m happy with how far we’ve come in a year, and I’m looking forward to a strong ending for 2015. I hope you are too. Also, I do still think September is my favorite month. How could it not be??

P.S. Those filler flowers from the August post are the same ones in today’s photo! You should buy them for every room in your house because apparently they live forever.

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#mapfirsthouse- One Year Later

August 31, 2015 Pamela Stephens

These are in no way “after” photos. However, it wasn’t until I looked through the before photos that I really realized how far we’ve come. Sometimes the slow progress towards my big ideas can be a bit discouraging. It feels like we’ll never finish everything or get it to a point where I can say it’s at least somewhat done. Now that it’s been a year since we’ve owned our first home together, I thought it would be nice to look at its current condition compared to where we started.

I think that you have to take a gander through the before photos to really appreciate the current state. I certainly did. While I felt a decent amount of anxiety of showing off my home in this awkward half way done stage, I’m thankful that I did. Honestly, if I wouldn’t have set it as an August goal, I would have continued to put it off! However, I do want to remember this stage. When I’m closer to finished, I’ll enjoy looking back and remembering this portion…the time when so much had been done and yet there was still so much left to do. If nothing else, forcing myself to share these photos inspired me to keep making progress. As I mentioned last week, we’d been at a bit of a standstill. With so much traveling, Matthew changing jobs, and no money tree in the backyard, it was hard to be inspired and find the time/money for house projects. However, I’m back in the game. I’ve started working on a few projects already, and I’m making a timeline for finally turning some big ideas into a reality.

I mentioned lately that we’ve been working on a few big projects in the house. We’re in the process of turning our old guest room into a guest room/home office. We’re also FINALLY revamping my closet room to be more useful. This means you’re seeing strategic shots of my house right now. There are currently mattresses standing in the foyer until they make it to their new home. There are IKEA returns living in the corner of the dining room until we can make that 5 hour trip again. Speaking of IKEA, they were out of a portion of my new shelving system (that I’m so very excited about), so that project is only partially done too. The hallway to the bedrooms includes bags of clothes to be donated. The parts I’m showing you today certainly aren’t perfect. However, just remember you can make anything look decent from the right angle. (And with black and white photos.)

I really wanted to wait until everything was perfect to show you anything. (Shame on me.) I have to keep reminding myself that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. I’m happy that I shared a progress report because it’s encouraged me to keep pushing forward. It also made me address those boxes of photos/memorabilia that were moved to the dining room from their safe little home under the guest bed (the one that’s now living in the foyer). It also reminded me how badly I want everything to have a place. I feel soooo much better when everything is tucked away nicely and neatly. I’m currently reading this book which is helping a ton with clutter…and is also the reason for the bags of donation items making a home in the hallway.

So far we’ve scraped the ceilings, painted every single surface (literally not one single thing was left unpainted), replaced all of the flooring, and did what feels like hundreds of small projects. Some of the big items still left to do are:

all new light fixtures (I salvaged one here.)
paint the fireplace brick and instal a wood header
paint a very big wall a very bold color
paint the hallway from the carport
add kitchen hardware (It’s been ordered!)
new appliances
bathroom upgrades – no more seashell sink!!
install my mirror gallery wall
all of the decorating everywhere – curtains, pillows, artwork…you name it!

As I prepared for this post, I did make several decisions on different elements that I’ve been stewing over. This means I’m ready to make some magic happen again! I’ve decided that I’ll tackle these projects one little piece at a time. Waiting until I had all the money and all the time has obviously slowed down progress. Just like unpacking, I’m going to start doing one thing at a time! Speaking of boxes, there are officially NO BOXES left in my house that are not intended to be there. Not even one little box hiding in a closet. That last box has been sent on its merry little way and that alone is something to celebrate.

That’s a wrap for now. I’ll hopefully be sharing even more progress very soon! If you’d like to read more about the journey, check out our new couch, tips for changing flooring, and why I’m thankful for a new home.

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Everything AND the kitchen sink.

August 24, 2015 Pamela Stephens

I’ve mentioned time and time again that we have a rather lengthy update list for our house. There really isn’t anything here that we haven’t already changed or plan to change later. The past few weeks, Matthew and I have been a bit discouraged by that ever-growing list. Last week on the patio, we talked about how we probably just needed to start doing some things here and there to make ourselves feel encouraged again. We’d fallen in to the trap of waiting until we had all of the money to do all of the things. Let’s get real…that’ll never happen. After chatting on the patio for a bit, we decided we needed to just bite the bullet and get back to working on the updates. I had no idea that we’d start so soon.

Saturday morning we discovered some puddling water on the kitchen floor. After a bit of exploration, we (and by “we” I mean Matthew) discovered a leaky faucet. After I showed a few houses, he and I headed off to Lowe’s to pick a new faucet. We decided that we’d “price” some sinks while we were there. The old saying goes “everything but the kitchen sink.” In the case of our renovations, we had hoped to replace “everything AND the kitchen sink.” We just weren’t planning to do it quite so soon.

After shopping our options, we decided to go ahead and replace the sink while we were working in the kitchen. I practically loathed the one that we had, and while it wasn’t my top priority, we’d save a bit of money (and time) by doing it all at once. We said we needed to start somewhere. I guess the sink would be our jumping off point. In an ideal world, I’d have some lovely farm sink built into my cabinets. Since that’s not in the cards, this one-tray stainless option will have to do.

While we were at Lowe’s I browsed the hardware section and picked a few options for our cabinet knobs. (We haven’t had knobs since we’ve moved in. Don’t judge.) If nothing else, having to replace our kitchen sink and faucet, got me back in the mood to get things finished. (I use that term lightly.) I came home and pinned 100 light options on my Pinterest and started dreaming of the possibilities. (I also did a bit of housekeeping over on Pinterest, so if you’re not already following me there, you should!) While I’d absolutely love an unlimited budget to do everything I want at once, I also know that having to do things one at a time and as economically as possible has some value.

In addition to getting re-inspired, this little project also gave me the opportunity to think about my marriage a bit. You see, I learned early on to let Matthew have the reins on projects like this. For most women, that wouldn’t be a problem. For me though, it was a bit difficult. You see, I grew up with a mom who knew how to (and did) fix/repair/change/build/update everything herself. I feel pretty confident in my ability to do most minor fixes and updates around the house. I certainly won’t argue that I’d do everything perfectly. However, I do feel like I could make it work. When Matthew and I married, there was a bit of a standoff on who would be the one to handle these sorts of things. I definitely wanted him to fix things; I just had a bit of an opinion on how it should be done. Marriage is absolutely about a give and take between spouses. I decided the common DIY would be the area where I gave. That’s why I sat patiently and explored Instagram while Matthew selected what supplies we needed. He gives me the reigns sometimes and I hand them off to him sometimes. Today that means that I’ll search for amazing light fixtures while he determines how to best caulk the new sink. It’s a win, win for everyone.

Up next on Matthew and Pamela Very Slowly Update a House from Top to Bottom…..who knows. I guess we’ll see what breaks next. On a serious note, I promised you guys a house tour this month. I’m going to need for things to stop breaking in order to make that happen!

P.S. Don’t look too closely. Neither of the curtains pictured in this post are hemmed. That’s on the agenda for another day. I’m planning a before/after post (including details about that stenciled wall) once those curtains are hemmed and a few other items are marked off the list. Hang in there!

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Bathroom Gallery Wall

August 21, 2015 Pamela Stephens

It is no secret that I love a gallery wall. I’ve learned that I’m very far from a minimalist. Instead, I love a collection of several things together…in an organized and uncluttered way, of course. Ever since gallery walls started popping up on Pinterest, I’ve wanted to do one on every wall. I think it’s a great way to showcase multiple things you love, fill a large space, and add an ample dose of interest to your décor. Today, I’m showing you the wall I’ve done in our master bathroom.
The master bathroom is one of those “big projects” on our renovation list that will likely be done in the year 2072. We did a few small things to make it work better for us, like taking out a closet in the sink area to add more standing room. I’ll show you the full bath eventually. Today, we’re just taking a peek into the shower/toilet area.

Bathroom Gallery Wall (10) While we wait on the bathroom remodel fairy to arrive, I needed some sort of plan for giving this small space a bit of personality. One way to add some pizzazz to a small space is through the paint color. I did neutrals (all shades of gray) throughout the house because I had no idea what colors I wanted and a limited amount of time to decide. I did a lighter gray (Sherwin Williams light french gray) in here because I wanted the room to feel as large as possible, especially since there are no windows. The basic light gray, though, left the room feeling pretty bland.

For the first several months, this room only had the light gray walls and plain white shower curtain. (It turns out that extra-long shower curtains are hard to find! I caught this one on sale at target.com and thought it was that fancy waffle knit fabric. It’s totally not, yet has served its purpose until I find something different.) After months of using the bland bathroom, I knew I had to do something bold in there. I found the marbled rug at TJ Maxx and started pulling together items for the wall that matched the rug’s crazy colors.

The collection started with that George Washington board. From there, I pulled together items that I already had and only had to purchase a few small things to fill in holes. I also made or re-purposed several items. Immediately after getting so many colorful items on the walls, I let out a sigh of relief. The room feels so much more alive and inspiring now…just what you need when you’re struggling to wake up in the mornings. I’ve included a list of resources below in case you’re curious about a certain piece.

In addition to adding the gallery wall, I also added photos of Matthew and me as babes in the tub over the toilet. I came across this idea in the early days Pinterest, and the link has since been removed. (If this was your original idea, Random Person on the Internet, here’s a high five for you!) I had the photos printed in black & white, because let’s face it, late 80s film photography isn’t known for its outstanding quality. I also decided to do them in light gray frames so that they wouldn’t take away from all of the color on the nearby wall. I didn’t want the toilet wall to be blank, and doing monotone art there would add something without distracting from the chaos on the adjoining wall. I must say, I absolutely love seeing our baby photos every day. I think it’s adorable, and I’m sure my husband is thrilled to have his naked bum on the internet. Shhhh…it’ll be our little secret.

In other bathroom news, adding a curved shower rod made a huge difference in making the shower feel more spacious. It didn’t make the room feel smaller like I thought it would, and made the shower feel 100x bigger. The extra-long curtain also made a difference. Adding the extra height made the ceilings feel taller and gave the impression of extra space.

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the outcome of the gallery wall. I’ll probably adjust some things here or there as time passes. For now, I’m happy with the outcome considering how little the project cost. If you’re interested in other walls I’ve done, check out my mirror wall and the small collection in my rent house living room. I certainly have more collections planned for this house and will share those as they’re completed!

Sources: 1. Nashville Flea Market 2. gift from Australia from Matthew’s grandmother. 3. Elise Blaha Cripe 4. frame – Hobby Lobby with our second photo ever taken! (I intended to replace the photo with something else and then decided it could stay.) 5. vintage 6. framed marketing piece from one of my Elise Joy purchases 7. my Mom’s house (I think.) 8. Hobby Lobby 9. free printable from the A Beautiful Mess newsletter 10. Hobby Lobby sale isle ($2!!) 11. TP Outdoors warehouse & it’s a favorite! 12. DIY painting 13. thrifted 14. Hobby Lobby ($2!) 15. DIY 16. Hobby Lobby 17. DIY & it’s a favorite. 18. thrifted 19. Hobby Lobby 20. DIY 21. Hobby Lobby (purchased right after this post)

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Week in the Life

August 17, 2015 Pamela Stephens

I’ve decided to participate in Ali Edwards’ Week in the Life project that kicks off today! Ali has been doing this for many years, and if you follow any popular blogs, you’ve probably seen the project before. I’m not very good at tracking my daily activities, so I know that this will be a bit of a challenge for me. However, I think a snapshot of what my life looks like right now would be great to have. Here are my main reasons for participating in this project:

I want to do better at tracking the everyday life moments…not just the glamorous ones.
We are in a bit of a transition period right now (projects galore!) and I think this would be a great time to document the here and now. Plus, it’s an exciting week…my new assistant starts today!
I’d like to see if my actual activities match up with what I think my day looks like. Maybe I’ll learn a bit about how I use my time.
I want to practice my photography, and this will force me to take photos that I otherwise wouldn’t…including photos of myself. (Yikes!)
I want to be more intentional about how I use my time. Maybe this exercise will show me ways to be more efficient and how to fit in more personal time.

I already know that this is going to be a challenging project. I know that I’m going to be struggling by early afternoon today. I know that I’ll want to give up completely by Wednesday. Much like my 100 day project, I’ll realize how big of a commitment I made early on. It’s likely that I’m going to miss large of chunks of time when things get breathtakingly busy. Nonetheless, I’m going to do my very best. Even if I don’t document every single thing, I will most definitely document more than I would have otherwise.

I’ll be pushing myself a bit this week. If you’re interested in joining me, you can get tons of info, kits, and tips on Ali’s blog. You can also download this great (and free) printable. Even if you don’t participate fully, writing down your daily activities could still be fun and insightful. I’m sure I’ll share bits and pieces on Instagram, so feel free to follow along @pamelapetrus!

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Learning to Wait

August 13, 2015 Pamela Stephens

There have been a few situations in the past where I’ve waited what would seem like “too late” to start something. There have been deadlines approaching that I’ve been aware of and rather than marching full speed towards them, I’ve waited. On the outside, it looks somewhat like procrastination. However, I’ve recently decided that it’s more like patience.

With practically everything I do in life, I need for it to feel right. Over 90% of the time I operate on my gut feeling. It’s how I opened my first business at 23. In a depression. It didn’t make any sense on paper, yet it felt right. My gut feeling is the same thing I used when getting married in 12 days, selling that first business, and opening another. To the outside world, none of those made much sense. However, my gut said go for it, and I did. I’ve used the same approach for many big and small decisions over the years and it’s working for me. That’s not to say that I have always made the right decisions…that’s a different post entirely.

At first, I myself thought it was procrastination, followed by a bit of luck when things worked out. It seemed like I’d put things off until the last minute and then somehow it would magically come together. I’d feel lucky or that I squeezed right by the doors of doom. Recently though, I started seeing this tendency of mine in a new light. I realized that things did usually come together, even if it happened on a different timeline than I originally deemed appropriate. I learned that I shouldn’t force things to happen, just to make progress early on. Instead, if I’d practice a bit of patience, things would likely still come together in the end. Rather than force myself to do something, I should just have a little bit of faith and wait until it felt right.

I have two recent examples for you. First, I’ve been toying around with the idea of a new business. If I were going to run with this idea as originally planned, I would need to travel out of town during the month of August. I was forcing myself to make a decision and get things in order, so that I would meet this self-imposed deadline. It just didn’t feel quite right though, so I hadn’t bought that plane ticket. It seemed like I needed to, yet something was holding me back. As I waited just a bit longer, things started coming together, although they’re shaping up a bit differently than I originally thought. I didn’t need to “get it together and make a decision” as I had been telling myself. I just needed to wait.

Similarly, I’ve known that I’d need to hire a new assistant since June. My current assistant would be moving in August, and I had a few months to find someone new. I had plans to attend a few trainings, etc. before I started the interviewing process and those didn’t work out like I had planned. I was also considering revamping the position a bit and morphing it into something that would enable my real estate business to grow. Weeks started passing. I went to Alaska. My trainings didn’t work out as planned, and I hadn’t made those decisions on what the position would look like in the future. More weeks passed. I’d sit down to write an email or Facebook post about the fact that I was hiring, and the words just wouldn’t come. No words?? I never have a problem with words! Somehow though, I couldn’t draft a “now hiring” post or a job description to save my life.

Now it’s August, just a few short weeks before I’d be left assistant-less. I felt like I had procrastinated again. I’d waited too long to start looking. Finally though, I started thinking of it differently. I realized that in the past I’ve thought I was procrastinating, and then things fall together at the right time. I realized that I had much more success with waiting until things felt “right” than I did with forcing things along. I even had that conversation with my husband. I said that I didn’t know what this position would look like and that I didn’t have any strong leads. Even though time was seemingly running out, I just needed to wait.

On August 6, just 14 days before my current assistant would be leaving, I received a call that there was a young lady interested in the job. I knew this girl from previous encounters and had always been very impressed with her. As soon as I learned that she was interested, I was immediately excited. We breezed through the interview/hiring process over the next couple of days and by August 10 I had hired a new almost-full-time assistant. I’m thrilled with my decision and I can’t wait to see how my business grows. I’m also looking forward to the opportunity to build and new relationship and I have a distinct feeling that I’m going to learn a lot from her loving, positive attitude.

I’ll spare you the rest of the details for now, as they’re not the true reason for this post. My ultimate point here is that sometimes you just have to wait. If something isn’t feeling right, it might not be the right timing. Rather that force a new idea or plan into action, sometimes you must practice a little patience. I certainly do not mean make a habit of procrastination. (If you find yourself procrastinating often, I talk about that here.) Instead, I’m talking about those times where things feel forced…those times when the right move or decision isn’t clearly obvious. If you’re a person who operates primarily on instinct as I do, you may need to just step back and wait for a bit. To the naked eye, it likely seemed that I was avoiding the search for a new assistant. On the contrary, I finally identified that I shouldn’t force it and the right person for the job was just around the corner. If anything, I’m learning to be patient and to follow my intuition.

I feel like I’ve learned another important detail about myself this month. Identifying these tendencies has taught me how to give myself a bit a grace. I’m learning more about how my own mind and body operates every single day. With this new quality identified, I feel even more in charge of my life. Learning this, coupled with the promise of a very large and very positive change in my business, has given me a new dose of inspiration. I’m feeling recharged and motivated, and I’m more than excited to see what the next several months hold. Here’s to big discoveries and bright futures!

1 Comment Business - Inspiration & Thoughts 2015 - Business - inspiration - real estate - What I've Learned

Hanging all the things.

August 10, 2015 Pamela Stephens

Sunday was my only day off this week. This means I had one million personal items that needed to be done on Sunday, including not setting an alarm and slowly drinking my coffee…you know, the important stuff. Somehow amidst trying to squeeze in enough rest to make it through the upcoming week, I made quite a bit of progress on the home front.

I’ve mentioned before that hanging things on the wall gives me a bit of anxiety. After writing this post (and reading that fantastic book), I made a tremendous amount of progress with decorating. I was inspired and encouraged and even a bit fearless with making things happen. Then I hit a wall. Several months have passed where I’ve done very little decorating at all. The ideas were still coming, yet I was overwhelmed and not actually doing anything. I seemed to have hit that decorating paralysis where I was too afraid to do anything until I was certain. Or until I had a perfect plan.

Thankfully, I snapped out of that over the weekend. I mentioned that one of my August goals is to share a home tour, showing my home in its current state. (I feel my blood pressure rising just typing that sentence.) Even though we’re not even close to finished, we have made a ton of progress with our renovation. Knowing that I want to share a progress report this month, has forced me to really think about the unfinished portions of my home. In addition to the one million projects we haven’t started, there are also one hundred projects that just need to be finished. With our busy schedules, it’s easy to put off finishing things because we actually need time to rest or spend time with family/friends.

We’ve also started several new projects lately. We are currently in the middle of turning our guest room into a guest room/home office. This means we have mattresses standing in our foyer…totally normal. All of the items that were safely hidden under the guest bed are piled in my dining room. We’re also FINALLY making some progress in my closet room. We purchased a new storage system from Ikea that I’m so very excited about. However, some of the pieces were out of stock, so we’re at a standstill on that project too. This means there are piles of clothes here and there that don’t have somewhere to live just yet.

Starting two new, major projects while I still didn’t feel settled in the other rooms has made me feel a bit crazy. Sometimes, I’ve wanted to throw my hands up and quit. Or move. There has been a certain amount of chaos around our home lately that hasn’t been very conducive to progress for me. (Just imagine folded laundry piled up not far from the protruding mattresses.) I know that you have to start somewhere and tackle a bit at a time. However, sometimes I reach a point where I just can’t think that rationally. Finally, I started chipping away at the chaos today. I started in a corner of the dining room and worked through things one piece at a time. Shortly after squaring away a few items, I began feeling inspired to hang some things. I’d had a few lingering ideas lately and had not had the time (or the courage) to actually start putting nails in the walls. I recruited Matthew to come along, and we hung several new things here and there. It transformed my entire day and my outlook on our home.

First, we hung a new (and slightly dangerous) Hobby Lobby find over our bed. We finished my bathroom gallery wall that I’ve been working on for months. We hung two sets of curtains (!! – even though one is just temporary). We hung the pallet hanger that Matthew made for me for our second Christmas, and I played with chalk on an old chalkboard to hang there. I also ordered a print for the kitchen from Etsy and hung a frame to put it in.

After so long of a creative funk, it felt amazing to make some progress. Several of the projects still need some attention or are temporary, yet it still feels great. I am reminded that I CAN get this home looking how I’d like and that I WILL eventually be happy with it. I never intend to be “finished.” However, I want it to feel good enough. After yesterday’s progress, I’m feeling much better about the possibilities. I’m also wanting to paint everything deep, bold colors. (Thanks, Pinterest.) I’m fairly certain that at least a wall or two will become this green color. Brace yourselves! If you haven’t seen a home tour here by the end of the month, you might need to prod me a bit. I’ll probably be hiding in a corner somewhere…next to something that most likely doesn’t belong there.

(P.S. These aren’t the best photos, because I was running out of daylight. Please forgive me.)

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