A Look At 2016

I want to take a moment to reflect on 2016. It was definitely a year of learning for me – being a mom and a business owner.

THINGS I LEARNED:

– I will be honest and admit that I went through some personal battles. One was realizing I can’t run my business AND be a good mom to Evie full-time. There were many days I felt trapped and not like myself, leaving me feeling stressed at the end of the day and not in a creative state for my clients. Together, Cody and I decided to hire a sitter for a couple days a week so I can step away from my mom role and continue growing my business. I learned I just simply cannot do it all. Repeat, I cannot do it all. It’s definitely a big expense (dear family – anyone ready to move to Boston??), but worth every penny. The other personal battle I dealt with is not something I talk about often here, but it’s something a lot of people deal with on a daily basis so I’m going to be open. I struggle with anxiety and have for awhile but didn’t realize it until recently. I have some very specific triggers for my anxiety attacks, but mostly I’m trying to understand the root of my anxiety. So I’ve decided in 2017 I’m going to get help and talk to someone about it because like I learned recently (thanks to my recent coaching at Capital One), talking to a complete stranger helps you gain some clarity.

– I can successfully work from home. I’ve created a space in our guest room and it serves me well! Although for some bigger goals I have in the upcoming years, I will need more space, but for now, I am thankful to even have a dedicated space to work from.

– Traveling with a baby is hard, but worth it. Cody and I have made a promise to one another that we will not let having a child stop us from doing the things we love. That means going out to eat, traveling, etc. However, we do have a big ski trip planned for February and we will be shipping Evie to her grandparents’ in Oklahoma. 😉 Because “mama” and “dada” could use a little break every now and then.

– We’ve been blessed with a trick baby. No, not Urban Dictionary’s definition of it… YIKES. But, a baby that is easy going and he/she makes you think you should have another one! Now, this doesn’t mean we are planning for another one in the foreseeable future, but it does mean we have been given a child that loves to sleep, is easy to make smile and is great when we hand her off to friends. Since she has developed her own personality, she makes us laugh at something new every single day. This is not to say parenting has been a breeze, trust me, it has not. But we are extremely thankful for those 9+ hours a night she gives us every night to recharge since she was 4 months. You can read more about “trick babies” here. 😉

– We love New England. It turns out we may never leave…because after 3 years of living in Massachusetts, we found out how much we adore the surrounding states as well! I’m not one to predict the future because if you are a long time reader here, you know we have gone through MANY changes over the past 6 years. But I can definitely see us living here for a long time!

GOALS FOR 2017:

– Say YES to the RIGHT projects, whether it be for the blog or the interior design side. Be cautious and ask a lot of questions before committing.

– Create an email list and exciting content to go along with it! You know – like free interior design products, design tricks, motherhood, etc.

– A NEW WEBSITE! Okay, so this is actually happening, but I’m going to make it a goal because there’s a lot of work to be done behind the scenes to make this site a better one. We can all admit there are a sea of blogs out there now, so my friends at The Business Bar are working on a unique design and fresh logo to keep Oh I Design going strong. The new site will also make it easier to read previous posts, a guide to my interior design services, my portfolio, etc. I am very very excited about this!

– Attend a design conference. I need to get inspired again in the design world and I think a conference would do just that. Seeing new products and meeting other designers in real life would help. Any recommendations? I was thinking the Design Bloggers Conference in LA? It’s coming up though so I need to make a decision by early January.

– Collaborate more! I want to reach out to more companies that I love and find interesting ways for us to partner together on blog/social media projects. More of this will result in better content for you guys! 🙂

– Achieve at least one of my business-related goals – i.e. meeting my profit goals, creating an email list, etc.

– Find an accountability partner. Someone who checks in on my goals and vice versa.

– Become a part of a volunteer organization or program. We are thinking of getting Bella certified to visit children in the hospital and that’s one of our main goals for the New Year as a family.

PLANS FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE: staying in with my little family. We are going to pop open a bottle of Freixenet champagne, even if we don’t make it to 12:00! haha

I’d love to hear some of your goals if you are willing to share! Happy New Year to you guys!!