High hopes, heavy hearts

Hello lovelies.

I hope you are all enjoying the new year with a sense of vigor that you forgot sometime toward the end of the last one.  Maybe this year is the year that you get your dream job, the year that you fall in love or maybe fall out of love (which is usually for the better, long after the fall) - maybe it's the year your shop gets featured in a magazine or on your favorite blog.  Maybe it will be simpler than that, maybe this is the year that you really find yourself.

My hope is that maybe this year, all of that will happen for all of you out there that want it to.  All I know is that life changes in ways that force you to grow, to change and to become a better version of yourself.

I know that life doesn't always seem like there is a plan that will benefit you.  Trust me, I've been there.  I've had my dreams come true, my heart broken, my dreams shattered, days where I wanted to burn my entire studio to the ground and days where I couldn't be prouder to be a "Small Business Owner"... just know, that no matter what - your best chance of surviving this crazy world, is you.  It's the effort that you put forth that will forge the better you - it's how hard and for how long you are willing to fight to get what you want.

Remember this, you truly can accomplish what it is that you set your mind to accomplishing.  Surround yourself with people that support you in your endeavors, however strange they might be.

Know that even when it feels like you are going to fail - remember that failure can often times simply point you in the direction you were supposed to be going.

And most importantly, remember that sometimes it's okay to cry until your head hurts, your eyes are puffy and your nose is runny - but then, stop, wash your face and remember that something else is coming.