Finding The Balance

So this past year has been a crazy one.  I am rapidly approaching 30 and things are finally starting to fall into place in my life.  A large part of my 20's were spent feeling down on myself, not knowing where my life was going, and feeling frustration at the fact that my creativity wasn't being utilized in my life the way I would like it to be.

I have finally found my groove.  I feel more secure in my own skin and don't over analyze every little physical aspect of my being.  I found the man I am meant to be with and we are happily married.  I will not lie to you, the first year of marriage and adjusting to marriage was definitely a challenge but we seem to have moved past the rough patch.  My career seems to be falling into place.  I have more responsibilities at work and don't work in a stuffy office.  Believe me, I have tried that and it was an epic fail.   This past year is also the year I got my Etsy shop going.  Finally!  My creativity is being utilized!  Sound the harps and angels.  Yeah, it feels good.

Given all that has been going on it has been rough trying to balance the important things in my life.  At first I was probably devoting a little too much time to my shop and I think some people in my life were starting to feel neglected.  So then I tried to distribute my time more evenly between Etsy and those I love but then that left me neglected.  This past week I have turned more focus to myself.  I have been eating much healthier and am finally running again.  It has been a while and it feels great to get out there and hit the pavement.  My farmer's tan is developing nicely :).

While I feel much better I do feel guilty for not creating enough for my shop.  I suppose this is the way life goes.  You have to weigh the things that are important to you and find the right amount of time to devote to each thing.  The friends that haven't been true friends to me are getting significantly less time so that I have more time for my family.  My shop is filling up so I can cut back a little on creating.  My marriage is going well so we are spending less time fighting and more time having fun.  What can I say, life is good.  Now I need to go charge up my i-pod knock off so I can go on an "adventure run" as I like to call them.  Thanks for reading!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AutumnAndAmber?ref=pr_shop_more

Scouring the Streets

Ever since I was a little kid I've loved poking through other people's things.  That nosy little kid grew into an estate/garage sale junkie.  It's rare that I will actually buy anything but every now and then I find something I can't pass up.  Hence the bargain of the century painting we have had leaning against the wall in our bedroom for the past 4 months.  We don't have the wall space for it in our little condo but once we get a house that baby is gold! 

So what I am getting at is this whole estate sale crazy has sparked my interest in opening a vintage jewelry / bag shop.  Mind you, I am extremely picky so if I am not absolutely in love with something it isn't going in my shop.  So this will probably take a while but as I am estate sailing this summer I am going to be scouring the streets for the once in a lifetime finds.  Once I build up a decent inventory I will open up shop.  So for now, it's all handmade for me but be on the lookout for my newest endeavor!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AutumnAndAmber?ref=seller_info - check out my shop :)

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Autumn-Amber/256883414342078  - you can like me on facebook

https://twitter.com/#!/AutumnAndAmber - and....follow me on twitter!

Thanks for reading!

If you build it they will come - right?

So here I am at about 5 months in online selling.  I have never been so motivated to make something work in my life.  My sales so far have been steady but meager and I have to say I am completely determined to turn this hobby into something more than just a hobby.  My social life is basically non existant at the moment and I've gotta say I'm pretty exhausted but I have been having so much fun building up my shop.  I have been a knitting machine and am determined to make it to 100 items by Christmas time.  This past Christmas was pretty busy for my small Etsy shop so I'm hoping to have this coming Christmas be significantly busier.

Things that are keeping me sane at the moment - dancing on bubble wrap with my cousin (seriously), lunches with my mom, yarn shopping - a euphoric experience :), and dancing to the funk channel on pandora with my husband.  Any gaps between these activities are filled with insanity.  It's all good though  - I am accustomed to crazyness.  Okay, gotta cut this off - bootcamp class, then bootcamp knitting :)  Have a good one my dears!

I'll leave you with a few new product photo's from my shop


http://www.etsy.com/shop/AutumnAndAmber?ref=pr_shop_more

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Autumn-Amber/256883414342078

https://twitter.com/#!/AutumnAndAmber