+What do you think about this idea of a blogging roadmap? I am all about being organized and thoughtful with blogging. But I also like room for ebbing and flowing.
+Check out EmilyNoel83's series on her top picks for 2011's best make up products. I love that Emily, and I hardly ever purchase anything outside of her recommendations.
One of my major Pigeons of Discontent is how long it takes me to blowdry my hair. Seriously. I hate blowdrying my hair. It takes forever and I have to stop and start while I chase Kate around, prying the TV remote from her hands, answer her 3,975 demands for water/snack/diaper change.
I've gone through numerous drug store blowdryers than last a couple months before they died slow deaths. They're loud, take over 20 minutes to get my hair dry, fall apart, and frizz out my ends. Tired of hearing me swear up a storm each morning, Dan suggested maybe I need to ask Santa for a new blowdryer for Christmas. Maybe even something high end that would actually dry my hair.
He didn't need to ask me twice. I got to researching right away and soon learned more about the mechanics of blowdryers than I know about algebra. After reading upteen reviews, I settled on the Elchim 5000 Da Vinci Ionic Hair Dryer.
Holy moly. This blowdryer is crazy wonderful. Three words: HURRICANE FORCE WINDS. Yes, hurricane force winds. This thing generates an unreal about of...blowing power.
Exhibit A: With my old blowdryers, it took between 20 and 30 minutes to get my dripping wet hair dry. With the Elchim Da Vinci (isn't it's name awesome?!), it takes between 7 to 10 minutes. Yes. You read that right. A mere 7 to 10 minutes to go from soaking wet, straight out of the shower to 100% dry. It's a miracle.
Exhibit B: No frizz. All my drug store variety hair dryers burnt my hair to a nice crispness. The Da Vinci leaves my hair feeling silky smooth. Whoa, I am sounding just like a comercial.
I would classify my hair as thick, medium length, with a tendency towards an ugly, poufy wave look when left alone. The Da Vinci solves all my hair gripes, and now I actually look forward to blowdrying my hair. In my opinion, it's worth every penny (it retails for about $100) given its effectiveness.
You're probably wondering what you should do with all your extra time not spent blowdrying your hair. Well maybe you'd have time to style your hair with the Caruso steam rollers...more on those later.
When Dan and I decided I would quit my job to stay at home with Kate, I envisioned she would play quietly and entertain herself while I blogged, made dinner, cleaned, organized, talked on the phone.
That is not how it happened.
Instead, I found out babies require a lot of attention. There is no such thing that looks like independent play in Casa Bagley. If I'm not watching Kate at all times, she would be jumping off the end of the couch, naked, with a mixing bowl on her head and a fistful of permanent markers.
Toddlers. I wish I could bottle their energy and mix it into my morning coffee. Think how productive I'd be!
Anyway, it took a good long time for me to accept that this new gig of stay-at-home-mom would not allow for me to accomplish all that I want to do in a given day. That some days I might only be able to make the bed or throw together a dinner but that might be all I accomplish. Also, I didn't know it at the time, but I got a lot better at accomplishing things as I became a more experienced mom. Stuff that used to wig me out and take 20 minutes or more now take a mere 5 minutes now that I know what I'm doing. Except for leaving the house on time. For some reason, Kate and I can't seem to get that one under control. Baby steps.
Since I struggled as a new mom trying desperately to find a routine for this stay-at-home-mom thing and to feel good about myself at the end of the day, I put together a couple tips for new moms. These are strategies that worked for me. Feel free to accept, modify, reject. You're in charge!
+Come up with a schedule that works for you. This will get a lot easier once you're out of that newborn-eats-sleeps-cries cycle. If that's your current state, relax, watch all six hours of the Today Show, read The Help, tweet. I did not get out much for the first three months. I knew so much about what was going on in the world that CNN tried to hire me as a news anchor. Okay, that didn't actually happen. But don't feel bad if you and your newborn have become one with the couch. Give it a couple months.
Okay, so sometime after three months, I started planning my weeks to include activities and errands that got us out of the house. I'd plan to attend a mom's group meet up one day, head to the grocery the next, meet up with another mom, walk, take Kate to some free kid's concert. (Don't feel silly taking your three month old to these free kid events. It tires them out, taking in all the toddlers running around screaming. Plus, this is a great way to pick up mommy friends. Everyone will want to coo over your new baby, so hello, instant new friends!). Planning a morning out each day really helped me get back on my feet and feel in control of the days. Sure, I missed Matt Laurer, but I found I felt better about myself when I got out and about.
+Reduce expectations. Okay, this pill is still hard for me to swallow. Because I keep telling myself, I'm home, how can I not get these things done? Here's why. Kate likes to play this fun game where she hangs on my legs while I try to organize the linen closet or pick up toys or vacuum. Lugging around a 28 pound toddler has done wonders for my thighs. But I can't move that quick or efficiently with her dangling from my legs. Thus, everything takes roughly 100x as long as it would take someone who doesn't have a toddler wailing from their lower half.
I find so many stay-at-home-moms (and moms in general) try to be this cross between an Inspector Gadget and Super Woman who can use her go-go-gadget extender arms and Super Woman muscles to clean her house while making dinner and folding laundry at the same time. I know because I've tried. And all I end up with is a giant mess and a screaming toddler. One thing at a time.
It helps me to make a list of just a few things (Okay, I see you, adding 20 items to your list. I said a few! Like maybe three. And that's pushing it.) to my To Do list. Make them manageable. Totally do able. Don’t set yourself up. And, most importantly, don’t feel bad because you think you haven’t done enough in one day.
Is your kid (or kids) still breathing? Did you feed your kid today? Give hugs and kisses and pretend to eat plastic food? Then, congrats mom because you did a great job today. I’m serious. It takes effort, ingenuity, bravery, and strength to entertain your kids all day.
+Take a break. When I decided to become a stay-at-home-mom, I took that quite literally. That I was to stay at home with Kate all day, every day, and never be alone or pursue my own interests. That was a bad idea.
It took me a good long time before I refound myself and what I wanted to do. I use nap time to the fullest. I don’t fold laundry or clean sippy cups. I sit down and write blog posts. I read. I call my best friend. I work on a scrapbooking project. I watch The Bachelor. I do whatever I want because these moments of alone time are few and far between. Just because I stay home doesn’t mean I’m some sort of chore-mobile who should be on her feet all day cleaning. Look, when other people go to a job, do they slave away the entire day and never take a minute to go to the bathroom, grab a cup of coffee, share a laugh with a colleague at the water cooler, take a quick walk, read blog posts? When I worked in cubicle land, I sure did. So, stay-at-home-moms need a break, too. You are not lazy if you use nap time to recharge. In fact, I’d argue that recharging is the single most important thing you can do because you’ve got to rest up for Round Two: the long afternoon before dada gets home. Take a break, soldier. You’ve earned it.
+Find an outlet. I found the transition from working 40+ hours a week in a cubicle performing analytical tasks on spreadsheets to solitarily wiping butts and breastfeeding a shock to my system. I knew Excel. I didn’t know much about mothering an infant.
I found I did better as a mother when I had something else going on in addition to The Itsy Bitsy Spider. I needed an outlet where I was Sarah, not Kate’s mom. I worked it out with Dan, so I could get back to my morning group fitness classes. I got more into blogging and connecting online. I explored the idea of part time work on my schedule. I did things that made me feel good about myself, outside of motherhood.
Finding your outlet might be an ongoing process. And that’s okay. Take your time. Try this and that. Explore. And once you find that thing or things that work for you, give you energy, make you feel fulfilled, carve out time for those things, ferociously protect your time for those activities. Do what makes you feel whole.
The biggest thing I remember is that raising my happy, healthy, well-adjusted little girl is an accomplishment in and of itself. So, no, I didn’t solve world hunger or contribute to a presentation or maybe even put on makeup today and for the second day in a row my family ate sandwiches for dinner. But my Kate talks a blue streak, pretends she’s a mama and gives her babies hugs and kisses (oh, and brushes their teeth), says please and thank you. I taught her those things. I tell her she’s enough. I give her what she needs while giving myself what I need. And that’s an accomplishment.
When I talked to friends and acquaintances about blogging, most people ask me the same question: how do you decide what to blog about? What’s off-limits? What won’t I talk about?
The answer to this question is completely personal. Every blogger has her own line she won’t cross, and that line varies from blogger to blogger. As a blogger, I understand why some bloggers won’t share children’s names, a spouse's name, work information, whereabouts they live. It’s a personal decision that depends on what works best for that person and that family.
How do I decide what to blog about and why? Here are a couple things I keep in mind:
+Would I be okay with this blog post showing up as the lead story on the Today Show or above the fold in the Washington Post? Okay, if Matt Laurer was talking about me in any context, I am sure I would get all sweaty and red-faced. But, in all seriousness, when I proofread my post, if I think that post is something that would embarrass a member of my family, inaccurately portray me, or otherwise do harm, I don’t publish that post. Before I publish, I think, okay, if everyone in the entire world read this post and it was blasted all over the news, would I be okay with that? Very often, I am. The occasional time I feel a twinge of should I really publish this?, I wait.
Which leads me to…
+Never hit publish in anger. Remember what your blog is about. I suppose of your blog is a rant blog, then rant away. And own that decision. This blog is not a rant blog. But that doesn’t mean I don’t ever feel ranty. So in the heat of the moment I might type up a post about something that makes me mad. But when I know I’m fueled by blinding anger, I never hit publish. I save it as a draft and walk away. Let it simmer in my mind. Mull it over. I always rework those posts or delete them entirely.
Here is my reasoning: things I write in anger are not helpful posts. They don’t serve anyone. And they aren’t accurate or really entirely honest. Those posts are not my truth. Those posts are better left for my journal. It’s not that I’m not being forthcoming. But I think there’s a way to be honest without flinging around mean and hateful words that, later on, I might come to regret. Things I think in anger are often just Sarah on Anger. Not the Real Sarah.
+Find a balance. My goal is to be honest. I don’t lead a perfect life. My house isn’t all that clean. Dan and I disagree. I’ve been known to yell. I make plenty of mistakes. Bad stuff happens to my family.
But I don’t blog about all those things. Why? Because some of those things aren’t my stories to tell. Whatever is going on in, say, my sister’s life, isn’t my story. That’s her story and not mine for telling. Whether it’s good or bad or neutral, I am not going to talk about her without her permission. Nor would I talk about my parents or Dan’s parents without their permission. Whatever is going on in their life is their life. And it’s not mine to reveal.
I keep my blog content to my story, my point of view because that’s the only story I know for sure. So in an effort not to misconstrue or use my family as fodder, I don’t blog about them unless they give me permission and there is something to the story that I think would benefit my readers.
+My blog is not my personal dumping ground. Everyone’s blog and blogging purpose is different. For me, this blog is a way for me to share how I live a life that shines. My journey as a young wife and mother. How I navigate the transitions in my life. Sometimes bad stuff happens and sometimes I go through tough times. And I blog about that. I say I’m struggling. But I may or may not get into it. Why? Because this blog is not a place for me to word vomit all the thoughts in my head. I don’t find that type of dumping helpful for my readers – or for me.
+Trial and error. Like most things, the more you do, the more you know. When I first started blogging, I had an idea of boundaries I wanted to set, but it took lots of lots of blogging to truly define what I would blog about and what I wouldn’t blog about. Are there past posts I’ve written that, now, looking back I think, hmmm... I wonder if I should have written about that topic in that way? Of course. I don’t regret them. But I use them as a way to help me refocus and make sure I stay true to myself and this blog.
In the end, only you can define your blogging limits. And those limits may change over time. That’s totally okay. Remember, it’s your blog and you should do what makes you comfortable. After you hit publish, it’s out there. The Internet’s written in pen. While I don’t hide who I am, I think carefully about my posts so they do no harm and offer readers a helpful perspective, new idea, or comfort instead of adding to the negative noise.
Okay, you tell me, how to you decide what to post?
A couple of months ago, my girlfriend and I took a Nikon class. We wanted to get out of automode and start taking advantage of our camera's whistles and bangs. After my class I tried to take a handful of pictures in one of the different settings outside of auto. Sometimes they turned out beautiful, and I vowed never to go back to auto. Other times they turned out yellow, completely black, or cast some sort of weird blue light making Kate look like an alien from another planet. Planet Cookie Monster, perhaps.
Anyway, this week I decided to work my way into the manual setting. Per usual, I went through a series of pictures ranging from black to yellow to blue before troubleshooting enough to find myself with these sweet pictures of Kate feeding goldfish to Belle and "reading" Llama Llama Red Pajama. It's all about trial and error.
Feeling inspired, I also shot this quick video of Kate naming Sesame Street characters and bossing around the dog, which is a pretty accurate representation of what she and I do all day. Now that Kate chatters all day long and strings together multiple words, I find myself wanting to capture her in this moment more and more. I love that sweet little voice. She sounds like one of the munchins from The Wizard of Oz. Often I find myself asking her to repeat words just so I can giggle at how she pronounces things like banana, cookie, socks, Elmo's World, and my new favorite phrase - I don't know where it is! Hey, it's a long 12 hour day with one's toddler. Gotta get my laughs in where I can.
+I've been enjoying this recipe from Dani Hampton from Sometimes Sweet for baked blueberry pie oatmeal. It is oh, so delicious! I love this baked method because I don't have to stand over the stove and be careful not to burn milk into the bottom of the pan. If you think you don't like oatmeal, try this and let me know if it changes your mind.
+As if I needed another source for my drugstore makeup addiction, I found Nouveau Cheap, and I am crazy for her reviews and drug store deals posts. So happy to find a kindred spirit who loves drugstore makeup as much (or even more!) than I do.
+I've been reading Natalie's blog, The Bobby Pin, for years. She recently decided to make a change and close the book on The Bobby Pin and begin the next phase of her life with her new blog, Make Today Great. It's a fun read, definitely check it out.
+I feel out of love with breadmaking after the sourdough fiasco. But, I'm thinking it's time to put my past breadmaking failures behind me and try again. I received two new breadbaking books for Christmas (this one and this one), and my gal pal sent me a link to this multigrain bread recipe that seems doable. I'm blaming all my previous bread troubles on bad yeast and try, trying, again.
You tell me - what did you see around the Internet this week? Are you planning a home improvement project? Are you into bread baking? Discover any new-to-you blogs?
While we were at it with all the painting and door installation, we might as well paint the hall bathroom, right?
Why of course!
The major issue with this bathroom is the lack of fan. Turns out, fans are super important because they pull the moisture from hot showers out of the air. If you lack a bathroom fan, like us here at Casa Bagley, you get this lovely coating of mold on your ceiling.
Gross.
Before:
So we thought, while the house is a mess with our painting project and new doors project, we might as well paint the bathroom and do something about the ceiling. Before we painted, I spent some time getting up close and personal with the mold. We figured the paint wouldn't stick unless we chiseled off the flaking parts of the ceiling and the most egregious mold patchs. Mold patches. I am pretty sure I never thought I'd use the phrase mold patches.
Moving on.
After scraping off as much of the flakey ceiling as possible, I slathered that ceiling with Behr's heavy duty ceiling paint. The transformation is nothing less than breathtaking, if I do say so myself. Begone, mold patches!
After:
For the bathroom, we went with Behr's Sage Grey (in the same pallet as the accent wall in the family room in Painted Turtle). I am head over heels for this color. It looks bluer on sunnier days greyer on cloudy days but always soft and sophisticated. Since we repainted, we might as well get some new bathroom accessories, right? I picked up these neutral bathmats and the tan and blue striped handtowel from Target.
The other annoying thing about this bathroom - besides the mold patches - was the towel bar. The towel rod used to live behind the bathroom door, meaning you could never open the door all the way because the rod would smack into the wall. This situation made me want to rip that towel rod off the door and javelin throw it out the door. But I decided a better solution might be to move the towel rod. But to where? This bathroom is tiny and doesn't give us many options for wall hanging towel rods. So I put on my thinking cap and cruised around Amazon. Oh, Amazon, you have everything! Behold, the answer to my problem: a duel shower rod and towel rod. Praise be.
And now you've seen it all. After we finished these projects, Dan and I swore off home improvement. That lasted about 48 hours. And now we're busy plotting out next home improvement masterpiece. Maybe crown moulding? Or installing a fan in the bathroom? Painting our bedroom? Stay tuned!
I am finding this project surprisingly fun. Not that I thought it'd be tortuous. But I wasn't sure if I'd feel pressure to capture every single moment of every single day.
I don't. That would be exhausting. I am finding I try to snap more pictures with my iPhone, which is something I like to do anyway. Last week, I included only images I'd taken with my iPhone. While I'm glad I captured those shots and stories, I hope to make more use of my Nikon D7000 and get some different, larger pictures. But I figure I've got 50 more weeks to work on that.
Last week Kate and I flew solo, so I filled up our week with a lot of activities. She walked the balance bar for the first time by herself at our music and movement class, and boy oh boy (her new favorite phrase) was she proud of herself. We also colored and stuck Elmo stickers to every surface of the house. I am still prying Elmo's face off my hardwood floors.
I also need to get out my camera remote, so I can take pictures of myself. Otherwise, when Kate looks back on this album years from now, she will think she raised herself.
The doors. The pièce de résistance of this mini home makeover project. When we decided to paint, we originally thought we'd just paint the front room. But then, where would we stop? So we decided to continue into the hallway...and then the eating area...and we might as well paint the kitchen.
It's funny how once you update one part of your home, you realize how yucky the other parts look. So I broached the topic of replacing all our hollow, plain front doors with much more sophisticated and modern panel front doors. Since we were replacing all the bedroom doors, we might as well replace all those awful bifold doors with double doors. See how one project rolls into another and another and another project?
Before:
Anyway, these doors presented pros and cons. Pro: they are inexpensive. I think each door ran about $20. They are easy to paint. And once installed, they look fabulous. And...that's about it for pros.
The downside? I hope you have a partner as handy as my poker-table building husband because these things are not easy to install. Well, maybe if the walls in your house are actually straight, you wouldn't have as much difficulty. But working with a 1958 rambler presented many challenges.
It took several days to install these doors because Dan had to first fit them, then take them off for me to paint them, and then put them back on. This process resulted in much mess and gnashing of teeth. And swearing.
But, the result? Oh so lovely. These doors totally changed how I view this house. I didn't realize how ugly our old doors looked until Dan installed the last door, and I saw the hallway completely transformed.
After:
Swoon. These doors make me feel so regal. And now I am on a quest to erradicate all bifold doors from my life. Watch out, all you hunks of MDF, your days are numbered.
Dan and I spent the entire week between Christmas and New Years painting and replacing all the doors on our first floor. To say this was a massive undertaking would be the biggest understatement yet of 2012. We shipped Kate off to both sets of grandparent's houses for safekeeping while Dan and I slaved away.
Before:
As you can see, before we painted, our walls were roughly the color of...mud. (And clearly I didn't pick up our household debris this particularly day). And the ceilings were mud colored, too. So, basically, we've lived in a mud hut. Oh, and the walls were a matte finish, so anytime Kate rammed her toy stroller into the walls, it left crazy, unremovable scuff marks all over the walls. After two years of living in a dark, dirty, mud hut, we'd had enough.
It took forever to decide on a color. We went to Home Depot and picked up about six paint samples to test on our walls. As soon as we slapped those samples on the walls, it became apparent which were winners and which were dubs. If you are considering painting, most definitely get samples and test the colors on your walls first. The chips can be deceiving.
After considering the colors during the day, at night, in direct sunlight, on a cloudy day, we settled on three colors (all colors are Behr's Paint and Primer in one):
+Chocolate Sparkle
+Ripe Wheat
+Painted Turle
After:
We decided to paint Ripe Wheat over most the walls and use Chocolate Sparkle as an accent wall in the kitchen and Painted Turtle as an accent wall in the family room. Since we were on a quest to erradicate all mud color, we painted the ceiling Behr's ultra white ceiling paint, and we painted all the trim in Behr's Glow.
Usually when Dan and I paint, we tape off. I am not steady enough to keep the paint on the intended wall. But when we were at Home Depot, we found this edger tools from Shurline and decided to give them a try. Since taping can take approximately 481 hours, I figured if this tool worked, it would cut our work time substantially.
Good news! This thing totally works! In our marriage, I am the cutter-inner and Dan is the roller. So while I'm painstainkingly cutting in, he's twiddling his thumbs waiting to roll. Not with this tool! Man, I whipped around the room! So fast! Super speed! I could edge the entire room before Dan finished rolling one wall. Awesome. This thing is worth every penny.
Now, you do have to be careful. It's not as if you can just slap the paint on there and willy nilly run the tool along the wall. You need to be careful not to get paint on the wheels or else the paint will smear. Also, you need to work with your walls. If your house was built circa 1958 like my house, well, the walls aren't straight. So you need to go with your wall and move it in relation to the wall, not in relation to what is technically "straight."
I am beyond happy with the result. Which is good because about halfway through, I thought, is this really worth it? Why did we decided to do this project? But then, when we were finally through, I'm so glad we took on this project. Creating a space we're proud of increases my happiness 100 fold. Looks like I'm right on track for creating a space I love - and detoxifying my space from...the mud look.
It's been a long week, friends. One of those two steps forward, one step back deals. But I'll take the one step forward.
Here are some things that inspired me this week:
My pal, Kat, is one of the sweetest girls around. She and I are kindred spirits on so many levels. Her post this week on being gentle with herself totally resonated with me.
I signed up for Ali Edwards'e-newsletter this week, and I'm so glad I did. Something about Ali really inspires me. She's brave, an involved mom who still manages to employ her skills and talents, and an all around impressive woman.
I found a new-to-me blogger this week who I absolutely adore. Glennon's posts really make me laugh out loud and put a smile on my face. She's an inspiring woman and mother who isn't afraid to tell it like it is.
I'm right there (and write there...see what I did there?) with you, Scary Mommy. Motherhood isn't for the faint of heart. Or the faint of spirit.
One of the reasons why I initially hesistated about this project has to do with my aversion to 12 x 12 layouts. Something about those giant sheets of cardstock give me the willies. I prefer to work in a smaller medium. Mini books speak to my soul.
But, this project isn't about 12 x 12 layouts. Even though the pages themselves are 12 x 12, the smaller horizontal and vertical pockets on each 12 x 12 page protector create the mini book experience within the 12 x 12 page. Did you follow that? Okay, good, moving on.
Much less daunting than a traditional 12 x 12 page.
These weeks aren't meant to be in depth (unlike my Week in the Life project), which I love. Rather, I plan to highlight bits and pieces, just like I did for week one.
I'm pretty crazy for this project. And I can't wait to see where it takes me.
Last year, I toyed with the idea of Project Life. Should I do it? Would I enjoy it? Or would it feel like pressure, building a page a week or taking a certain amount of pictures a day?
Even though Becky Higgins, the brain behind Project Life, stressed over and over again on her blog and in her videos that Project Life was whatever you make it, I didn't believe it. Surely, it had to be about taking the most beautiful pictures every single day for 365 days and creatively laying out these cards to create spectacular page after page of every detail of my life.
No way I could do that. So I didn't.
But this year, I want things to be different. Especially after December kicked me in the teeth. I want a fresh start, a clean slate where things I once thought weren't for me due to some ill perceived lack of ability became something I tried. I needed a push. Something to keep me going. A way to show myself in words and pictures the wonderful life I lead.
So here it is, my title page. Oh, and that picture of us? It's not even from 2012. I almost let that get to me. But then I thought, what would Becky say? Well, first she would probably say how did you get this number? But then she'd probably say, Sarah, seriously, this is scrapbooking. Not brain surgery or rocket launching. Just use the photo. It's what you have. It's good enough.
Okay, so here I go, with this giant exercise in good enough. Check out these two ladies here and here for more Project Life inspiration. Are you working on a Project Life?
Congrats, Kat! And thank you to everyone who entered. Remember, use the code SUNNYSIDEUP at the checkout to get a Maven box for $5. If you test one out, make sure to tell me what you think.
I almost quit this project. Several times. But, in the end, I decided to push through, even though it did not turn out exactly how I envisioned. (Scroll through here to see the individual days.)
The day after Christmas, I took in the mess of scraps on my desk and this almost completed album and used all my inner strength not to swipe everything into the garbage in one swoop. I was so close to tossing it all out. So close. Like hands poised above the trash can, ready to chuck this album.
But I put it down. Stepped away from the glue sticks. And told myself, I'd finish it when I finished it. Whenever that was. It might not be today. In fact, it might not be until sometime in early 2012. A December 2011 album completed in January of 2012?! Call the Scrapbook Police!
I decided not to press the panic button and to complete this album when I had a few minutes to complete it. One evening I got my chance and furiously printed pictures, wrote some journaling, and slapped it together. I felt glad, relieved I finished it. But also sad because it didn't end how I wanted it to.
And sad in general because December didn't end as I expected, either. December felt like one giant slap in the face. And my cheek is still burning from the force of it's furry.
So after I finished it, I thought, well, I can't post it. But, since I'm funny about needing things complete, I didn't want my archives to reflect a 3/4th's complete December album. So I threw caution to the wind and backdated those suckers. Because I could. Because I needed to. Because I needed to show that December that I finished it. That I crossed it off my list. That it can't pin me down and make me believe the lies it tells me. I'm free of you, December. And I'm moving on.
I'm Sarah Bagley. And I'm at my best caffeinated. I love getting up early, the color orange, and my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. When I'm not blogging, I'm organizing closets, spinning at my favorite cycle class, or learning the various settings on my DSLR camera. I not-so-secretly enjoy bowls of ice cream covered in whipped topping, beauty products, and the idea of writing a book.
