Well that was certainly a year for the books, am I right? Who ever would’ve thought we’d have a pandemic that’s literally kept us all homebound for almost the full year?

2020 may have been a total meltdown in every sense of the word but, in spite of a pandemic, I was pleasantly surprised looking back over the accomplishments I had throughout what could easily be considered one of (if not the) the worst years in history.

Blog

I finished setting up my blog on a new platform (Squarespace) and finally went live with it in January! It may not sound like much but considering the fact that I had been working on it for 4-6 months (I don’t even remember anymore) I’m extremely proud of it!

I started sewing as a Minerva Maker. Who couldn’t use free fabric for clothes I’d already be making anyway?!

Pattern testing! I try to pattern test for at least one pattern/patternmaker just so I can keep my skills sharp and find new styles I might love and I fell in love with Amy’s Nita trousers! I just have to go through my huuuuge “to make” list so I can get around to making another pair for the spring/summer!

I designed and made my first purse! Surprised? So was I! I had NEVER had a desire to make a purse yet after seeing one of my incredibly talented coworkers make stunning purse after stunning purse I wanted to try it out. I’m seriously still in love with this bag and can’t wait to make myself another for next year!

I actually fell into the blogging groove! For a while there I was actually posting pretty consistently! It wasn’t until the summer when I started to epically fail with posting everything (though in my defense I wasn’t really making anything either). Looking back at the posts I’ve worked on, I published about 20 new blog posts over the course of the year but wrote loads more (it’s those pesky pictures that get me every time)!

Life

I watched my sister graduate. Covid may have messed up a lot - no spring musical, barely being able to see anyone outside of our immediate home, not having a traditional graduation ceremony…But I still saw my sister graduate from high school and it was one of the proudest moments of my life. The last of our family. And I made the jumpsuit she wore to it (yes the night before).

I’ve recognized my boundaries. Before I was always someone to overshare, overextend, and stress myself out because I let too many outside influences affect me and my mental health. Quarantine was both stressful and a blessing because I realized how much time I had wasted not spending time with my family or actually talking with and planning (virtual) get-togethers with my friends. I also realized that, in sharing certain things, I was opening myself up to the bad effects so I’ve pulled back not only in the social media world but in my own personal bubble as well. I’m still working on those boundaries but, if I seem a bit vague on certain things in the future, that’s why.

I hired a coach. Seriously this woman has been worth every penny I’ve paid her. Most of what I’ve spent money on has been group masterminds but those masterminds have been the main thing holding me responsible for actually writing and making things and deciding what I want in my life in order to be the happiest I can be. I’m so happy that she’s become one of my closest friends (well as close as you can be with someone who you met online) and biggest supporters throughout all of everything and I can’t wait to kick some more butt in 2021 and beyond! (Check out The Huntswoman (Brianne) on her Website, Instagram, and Twitter!)

This is a very long run-on sentence dedicated to my boyfriend who persistently kept talking to me and trying to get me to go out with him in the middle of a pandemic (yes both families were and still are being super cautious) when I was super stressed and busy with my old job but who still stuck it out and finally convinced me months later and has made me happier than I could’ve imagined.

Work

I started not one but TWO new jobs! I left my old job when Covid started getting a bit more pressing and worrying in Ohio in the middle of August. This was all due to the fact that I had miraculously landed two amazing jobs that would allow me to work 100% from home so I didn’t have to worry about the potential of having contact with someone with Covid and the risk of bringing it home and passing it on to my family. They’ve been an incredible source of comfort and now I never want to go to work in-person again.

I freelanced for a major client. One of the biggest highlights of 2020 for me was definitely freelancing. I started illustrating technical work for sewing patterns on a whim and it’s been one of the most rewarding, fulfilling, and successful ventures I’ve had to date. I truly found something that I want to do for a very long time and cannot way to expand my horizons and work with more clients in 2021!

I’m going to stress this once more: I HIRED MY COACH. Seriously. Game. Changer. Oh and did I mention that I formed some incredible friendships with some even more incredible humans as a direct result of these Masterminds? Seriously y’all aren’t ready for the stuff that’s coming out of these creators.

Sure 2020 brought a lot of stress and pain, but with every dark cloud is a silver lining. Sometimes you just have to create it.