life lately

Feeling: Exhausted. Moving wears you out, man. There's nothing like shuffling all of your world possessions between cities, unpacking them, then learning your new routine. We're finally setting into one, but figuring out this city has been overwhelming. It's a big city too. Just taking it one day at a time. 

Thinking: About a LOT of new ideas for my business. This move has forced me to embrace the uncomfortable and it's proving beneficial for The Tabitha Shop. Last night in particular, I stayed up until 2AM with wide eyes and mental gears spinning. 

Loving: My personalized planner. I finally made my own planner since I just couldn't find one that I wanted. It's perfect in every way because it's exactly what I need to stay on track. It shows my three priorities for the day, check boxes for fitness and spiritual goals (business goals get their own page in another binder), space to make sure I'm eating my veggies every day and planning out dinner for the night, an hour-by-hour schedule and a to do list divided into the three work areas of my life (The Tabitha Shop, my day job and personal misc. tasks). I am loving it! 

Trying: New designs. I want to constantly push myself to be better in business and in my art. I see lots of areas for improvement in my work to create meaning instead of slapping a few words on a page and crossing my fingers that they will sell. So I'm working on some new designs. 

Praying: to feel settled. I didn't realize how comfortable I felt until we moved to this new place. Knowing how to get to Target or the grocery store without a GPS is one of my first big goals to feeling settled. That and getting coffee with someone new every week in order to start making friends. It'll take some time, but I'm praying that God would ease the settling in process soon. 

Summer bucket list #3 - white water rafting!

I did it. I strapped on a helmet, gripped a paddle and bounced around on a yellow inflatable water vehicle while rushing water attempted to throw out my family and me into its icy grip.

We learned how to paddle (forward one! back two!) and navigate (left two! right one!) and even how to celebrate rafting style (raise paddles in the air together, then slap onto the water).

I was exhilarated by the raging water and learning how to steer through the rushing tides, the splash of water against my skin. We careened through class three and four rapids and even lost my brother and dad to a rather tumultuous bump. After pulling them into the boat again with our paddles, we jumped right back into it, rocking all the way to the bottom of the river.

Summer bucket list number 3 completed!

Sweat Shop Free Outfit!

dress:: craft tradition dress by mata traders // necklace:: tribal beats necklace by mata traders

booties:: caramel nomad by sseko designs // card:: the tabitha shop

Oh, these are some of my favorite posts to do. They get me all inspired and happy inside.

My dream is to have a 100% fair trade closet someday. And I'm even thinking about blogging about my journey. Would anyone be interested in reading that?

July goals check-up + August goals

Four beds, three cities, and two weeks of temporary homelessness. Finally, we're settled into our apartment. The last box unpacked this afternoon and I'm feeling rather accomplished. Going from 1,600 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 2 bath to 760 square feet, one bedroom, one bath is certainly an adjustment. But you know what? I actually really like it. It feels cozy and much easier to clean. I'm finally getting to test out my tiny house dream! 

Anyway, all of that to say that July's goals were not awesome. At all. And that's ok. 

July Goals Review

Product Development: 

- Write 10,000 words for a total of 78,000 written this year. Uh, no. Don't know why I still have this goal. Writing in the morning wasn't actually improving my writing because it was more word vomit than sharpening a skill. I'm hoping to re-do this in the future with improved parameters. 

- Hold a one-year anniversary sale to celebrate Tabitha's 1 year anniversary! Nope. Life was way, way too chaotic at the time, so for the sake of my sanity, I scratched it. 

Marketing/Networking: 

- Have 103 IG posts. Check! 

- Write 8 blog posts. {almost} Check! (Missed one!) 

- Send out another email newsletter with anniversary specials! Whoops. See above. 

Wholesale: 

- Reach out to 100 boutiques with line sheet. Almost. I only got about 1/4th of this accomplished. Seriously, moving is time-consuming. 

Personal: 

- Do the next 23 days of transitioning to a new city with purpose. Woo! It was a rough few weeks, but praise the Lord, I did the best I could with those 23 days. Now, I'm ready for this next adventure! 

August goals: 

Product Development: 

- Add letterpress to Etsy & retail 

- Change shipping on website. 

Education: 

- {finally} purchase Marketing for Creatives and start working through it

- Research a fun educational opportunity with a business owner that I truly admire

Marketing: 

- 119 IG posts

- 6 blog posts

- Brainstorm ways to make email newsletter better 

- Apply to the Jingle Bash

Wholesale: 

- Pitch to 50 boutiques. 

- Get into one new store. 

future living room

I'm writing this to you in between boxes, packing tape and a horrifying disorganized mess often created by moving. It's moving week and I'm taking a break to record our future living room design! 

We're definitely on a budget and already own 4 out of the 6 items listed. The others are hopeful and a DIY project. Going from 1600 square feet to 760 will be a challenge, but having items that are light and airy will help to make it feel much more open! 

Papasan frame & white cushion :: We have two of these and every time I plop into them, I feel myself floating away on a cloud. They are so fluffy and soft. We can only take one to our new place since it's so small. 

Couch :: I absolutely love the versatility of this couch. Comfortable and easy to clean. I threw a few IKEA pillows on there to liven it up, too, and decided to keep the legs as is (for now). Eventually, I'd like to get some of these. 

Lamp :: This is one of those maybe some day purchases. It's out of the budget, but I love the subtle industrial look that would give the living room a little bit more of an edge and help anchor it all. 

Coffee table :: Yeah, this one is definitely out of our budget. According to the Hunted Interior, it clocks in at nearly a grand. But, she create the most incredible DIY alternative with none other than an affordable IKEA table. We already have a great coffee table that my husband made, so this might not happen. But I'm a little nervous that it'll be too big in our new place and might need something a little more airy and light. 

Rug :: This rug is so lovely in our house and now that we'll be living on hardwood, I can't wait for it to truly shine. Thanks, Target! 

Happy 1 Year!

Three hundred and sixty five days ago, an adventure commenced. I launched The Tabitha Shop.

The biggest lesson that I've learned in this past year with my business is to show up every single day. Success is not guaranteed for the lazy. It's not even guaranteed for those who hustle. But I'd rather fail while trying than wistfully wishing.

I've got big, big plans for this next year that include letterpress printing services, different letterpressed products, and maybe even a fresh blogging venture.

Here's to another year of spreading cheer!

sweat shop free outfit

tank: everlane // necklace: noonday collection

journal: the tabitha shop {coming soon!} // shoes: tom's // shorts: alter'd state

Today's sweat shop free outfit is a little bit casual, a little bit glamourous. I also threw in a Tabitha Shop journal that will be available soon!