Dear 2019,
I know I say this every year but boy, what a year you were! You were so much better than 2018 and filled with so many highs, but there were still some lows.
I started the year off by cutting my hair and giving myself bangs. Normally when I cut my hair I don’t do anything that drastic, but I ended up loving it! January was filled with the typical teacher stuff; basketball games, spirit week days, and staying up late with students to finish yearbook deadlines.
February always seems like the longest month even though it’s the shortest. Nothing over the top exciting happened. I tried to get back into consistent blogging and stayed with it for a bit, but work had to come first and it just fell by the wayside.
In March I was feeling extremely stressed because of work so I took a personal day and tagged along to Mama Fox’s work trip to Harrisburg. While in the area we headed over to Lancaster and saw the show “Jesus” at Sight and Sound Theater. It was an incredible experience and I highly recommend it. While there I was also able to do some freelance photography for Mama Fox’s company and it was so fun!
In April I had a meeting with the school to see what the following year would look like. They could only offer me 2 hours a day and, while I said I would think and pray about it (which I did), I knew that I really couldn’t do that. I began sketching new ideas for t-shirts that I wanted for myself and I thought, “Other people may like these too!” And that’s how the Fox Den Design Shop was born! Opening my own Etsy shop has been something I’ve wanted to do for years and I’m so glad I finally did it. I also had the last all-nighter with my yearbook kids. We did get some work done on the book but we definitely had fun. Especially playing hide-and-seek and building a giant “bed” out of tables.
In May I made the hard decision that I would not be returning to the classroom in the fall. It broke my heart to know that I was leaving my students, but I knew that it was the right decision for me. I also knew that this was the last month I had to connect with my students as much as I could. I let my students douse me with water guns and went down the slip and slide with them during Splatter Day, I went to a new bubble tea store with another, had “free art” days with all my elementary classes, chaperoned prom, and had them help me create a dress with their artwork for the end of year art show.
June began and I finished packing up my classroom. Boy, did I have a lot of stuff. As I completed the school year and saw my last group of seniors graduate, I also completed my first Art Teacher Swap. Through it I was able to meet some other awesome art teachers on IG and become great friends with my swap partner Kelly. June was also when my Etsy shop really blew up! Again, I’m so thankful I started Fox Den Design Shop and I wish I had sooner. It was kind of taking over my life but I didn’t mind. I began working harder on my shop so that this could be my new full-time job!
July was, by far, my favorite month of the entire year. Because my Etsy shop was really taking off, I figured I needed a dedicated space to work out of that wasn’t my bedroom. I began turning the sunroom in my house into my studio but I wasn’t able to do a ton to it because I soon left for the best. vacation. ever! Mama Fox’s job is based out of California and they host a retreat every July. I flew out to join her after her work was over and we had so much fun! We did everything very tourist-y. We did a bus tour of LA, visited the Warner Bros. Studio and sat on the FRIENDS couch, went to the LACMA, visited the Last Bookstore (with one of my very best friends, Chris), and did a whole day of Disneyland! We also ate amazing and crazy food everywhere. Every day was jam packed with fun and it was seriously the best vacation I’ve ever been on.
August brought a huge neighborhood yard sale that I’d been prepping for, for months. It feels so good to get rid of things and make a little money at the same time. ;)
My shop was doing so well come September that I decided to pursue it as my full-time job! It was great because I could set my own hours and I could even help out with my hometown’s county fair! Unfortunately, it also brought some upsetting circumstances in my shop. A fellow Etsy shop owner I became friends with through IG let me know that a random website had stolen one of my best-selling designs and was using it to sell their own products. I know this happens to independent artists all the time, but you never think it’s going to happen to you. But it did. I was able to take care of it and while it was the first time, it wouldn’t be the last.
September was also the last month of Merry Monday. I’d been participating in the link party for more than 4 years and so it was hard to say goodbye but thankfully I’m still great friends with all the hosts. :)
I turned 28 in October and to celebrate, Mama Fox and I took a trip to Pittsburgh to see Van Gogh in Bloom at the Phipps Conservatory. I love Van Gogh and seeing his work in a totally different medium was absolutely amazing.
November seems like a blur. Since I decided to pursue my Etsy shop as a full-time job, I also thought I may want to participate in local art and craft shows. I went to a couple of the larger ones in my area to do some research and it’s something I’m excited to add to my schedule in 2020! Oh, I also relived my childhood all month thanks to the wonder that is Disney+.
December was jam-packed with work and filling all of the orders people bought for Christmas presents. Again, starting my Etsy shop was the best decision I’ve ever made and if you’ve ever bought, favorited, or shared anything from it, thank you from the bottom of my heart. The holidays were celebrated with family and “framily” and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
As the year came to an end, it was fun to remember all that’s happened in the past decade. In the past 10 years I’ve graduated high school as valedictorian, started and graduated college, got my first “big girl” job and worked on amazing interior projects, bought and renovated my first house, started and fell in love with blogging, changed careers and started teaching art, sold my first home, and quit teaching to start my own business!
While I have no idea where the next 10 years will take me, I’m excited to go on the journey!
