A more sophisticated me

I'm 23 years old.

I'm 10 units away from my bachelor's degree.

I live away from home.

I have a dog.

I'm a grown up.

I have no idea when that last thing happened, but whether I like it or not, it's the truth. I made some promises to myself that I was going to start making a few changes. Most of these promises stemmed from the new beginning, which I posted about recently.

I'm taking on a lot of new responsibilities on unfamiliar ground, and risk-taking is now something I'm doing daily. 

So why do I still roll out of bed every morning and throw on a tshirt and jeans? Because it's easy, it's familiar, and it's safe. Part of having a successful business is being mindful of how others perceive you... and haphazardly pulling on too-casual clothing is no longer going to cut it if I want to be happy with myself and say honestly that I'm trying my best.

Very recently I started filling in my eyebrows and wearing lip stain (not lipstick people, I'm nowhere near ready for that). I also started waking up early enough to apply it in front of my bathroom mirror and not while sitting at a red light on the way to work. It's going well so far.

But I'd still like to step it up a bit in terms of my appearance. I'm talking about outfit planning, accessorizing, and wearing my hair in styles other than a ponytail.

You can check out my entire style pinboard in Pinterest, but here are a few of my favorite items and outfits that I use to get inspired...

Source: polyvore.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: None via Amy on Pinterest

Source: alternativeoutfitters.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: None via Amy on Pinterest

Source: us.topshop.com via Amy on Pinterest

Well, we will just have to see where this goes. Baby steps folks.

The Upside

I know, I'm blog lagging again. 

It tends to happen in the Summer. When you return from a trip and your mind stays on vacation. Yeah, that's me right now, and for the last week or so.

I'm writing today about a positive side to some bad news. And about new beginnings. And to wish my sweetie a happy 23rd birthday (love you, Bub... hope you're having a fantastic day!).

So, you may know this, you may not, but I've been working as a nanny for the same family for three years. Their youngest was three months old when I started, and now it seems like he's all grown up. The mother told me a couple weeks ago that he will be starting preschool sometime this year. It could be as early as September, or it could be pushed to January. Either way, I'm looking at a significant pay cut, or a complete career change. 

I was pretty sure I didn't want to go through this with another family, and I know that jobs in my field (creative writing) aren't always guaranteed steady income. So I had some thinking to do.

After sulking a bit, talking to my mom, my boyfriend, and some other wise folks, I found a positive solution that should keep me satisfied and allow me to keep making enough money to live on (or possibly more).

I'm going to stay where I am. I'll work afternoons when the little guy goes off to preschool, and I'll live knowing that my hours will be cut in half, and I'll watch these kids for as long as they need me to stay. 

With my new surplus of spare time, I'm going to work my little ass off building up my new Etsy shop. WHAT?!

That's right. 

I'm starting over from scratch.

Remember that new-ish and big-ish thing I was working on? It's a complete overhaul of my Etsy shop that will be totally focused on hadbags, purses, clutches, etc.

I'm going to sew, market, promote, sell, and build this thing so that it's a fully functioning business that will one day be my only job, and my only means of income. How scary is that?

I know it will be hard. Trust me, the loudest voice in my head telling me I can't is my own voice. And I can tell her to shut up any time I want.

Making bags is what I love to do, so I'm gonna go ahead and do it. Ok?

I'll have some more details on the new shop coming soon. And if its alright with you guys, I'd like to also post a little here and there about the process of building a [hopefully]successful online shop, and what I am dealing with along the way.

Cheers to new beginnings :)