WE CAN ALL TRY A LITTLE BIT HARDER.

Every now and again I get a little introspective. and of course poor Nate then has to listen to me ramble on about what thoughts I have been lost in (Ha!) but as of late I have really been pondering self growth. Where am I, where am I going, what am I doing now and am I doing enough? I really believe that it is all on us to cultivate growth within ourselves and that it can take a lot of self discipline and perseverance but that the rewards are far worth it.

I think there are a lot of ways to grow and move forward. As a creative individual with a creative partner we always talk about how we could be pushing ourselves more and make things a bit more challenging ... and we have been working on it! I recently picked up watercolors and have started on a series that I am really excited to put in the shop and the mister is starting a project that involves screen printing- a technique he has wanted to work in for awhile now. We had been feeling zapped and creatively dry for such a long time thanks to 9-5 jobs, obligations, and just life in general but it boils down to if you love it, you will make time for it. And thats what we are doing and we are already seeing a difference in our work.

We have also been trying to push ourselves more in the great environmental campaign. Working on ways to better our lives through being more eco friendly and creating less of a carbon footprint. Using our goodbyns, lights out in empty rooms, car pooling to work, and we are still trying to think up other ways we can work towards a greener existence. Being apartment dwellers without a yard, gardening and composting are limited but in terms of what we throw away, the products we use and how we use them is the angle we are going (Suggestions always welcome!)

Recently, we went through a giant purge around our little nest. We seriously thought about all the items we had and if it had a purpose, if we could live without it, or if it was broken were we fine without? We emptied out a ton of stuff and it was a weight off our shoulders, our closets are more bearable, I downsized my closet by half (thats quite an accomplishment for me!) and have made our work spaces easier to navigate. We made the room for ourselves to grow. We traded up on some things that were out dated and completely rearranged our living space to make it work for where we wanted to go ... for example, our dining room is now my work space- this gave Nate and myself a lot more space to move me out of our second bedroom studio space! And with purging we also looked at food. We have gone soda free, we went from eating out 5 nights a week to 2-3 nights and we are making more of an effort to cook better meals. I already feel a difference (4.2lbs to be exact!) Purging out the bad or useless has proven to open up lots of space physically and mentally for us!

So bottom line to this little post is that we can easily feel stuck, we can easily take complacency because its easier, but as Nate and I have slowly transformed a few small things in our lives we are noticing bigger and better things happening, one of which is our new shop! I like to think that just about everyone finds themselves in this predicament at one point or another and that we should all take a deep breathe because if you break it down little by little great things can happen. Or take a big bite out of it and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to change your ways. Its almost addicting!

Thanks for taking a minute to read :)

Xo
Janae