10 Facts You May (Or May Not) Know About Me
How is it I’ve blogged for a year and haven’t done an “About Me” post yet?
Recently, (July 21st) I turned 25 and, in those 25 years, I’ve had so many monumental life changes. With almost all of my posts being dedicated to sewing, I thought a change of pace was due! Here are 7 facts I find myself regularly discussing with you all (but you might now know all about):
1. I’ve been sewing since I was 7 years old. My mom decided to sign me up for lessons with a local sewing teacher who taught out of her home and I carried through those lessons until I was about 15. I started off doing all the little craft-type projects (bean bags, pillows, zipper wrist wallet - suuuuper fashionable lol) then, when asked which I wanted to do next: Doll/Doll Clothes or Clothing to (hypothetically) fit me, I chose the doll so I could make everything for my sister. When I started flying through the project book, my teacher told me she was impressed because the doll clothes were meant to be second of the two options and I was finishing them with no issues. The small size of the doll clothes makes it more difficult than human clothes. Through high school I made most of my homecoming and prom dresses. In my adult life, I’ve worked at a sewing shop and know quite a bit about a number of the big brand machines. Don’t worry - I’m working on a “Questions to Ask When Buying Your New Sewing Machine” post!
2. For those of you who don’t know, I’m an orphan. I cringed so hard the first time I heard that term applied to me (let’s just say that person really needed some major sensitivity training sessions). When you’re young you never imagine something like that happening to you - that your parents and grandparents (if you have them) will live forever or at least until you’re married with kids. My siblings and I learned young that that wasn’t the case. In the blink of an eye we all knew and understood that “Well that could never happen…not to me,” was just a phrase. It can always be a possibility.
I was 17 when my siblings and I legally became orphans. My mom passed away very suddenly when I was 16 and I instinctively tried to fill her shoes - taking care of my siblings and dad as best I could as a 16-year-old could while suddenly living with her grandparents. Not long after my mom’s funeral, my dad had a series of health issues that landed him in the hospital, a nursing home, and hospice until he passed exactly 11 months and a day after my mom. I became an adult - a parent - very quickly. Granted, my grandparents took excellent care of us (still do) but I was constantly being pulled out of school to go to court, meet with lawyers, a judge, and a magistrate, and started learning things here and there in order to get a basic understanding of everything that was happening so I could know for the future. In the span of a year, I went from a carefree high schooler focused on the year’s play and musical, prepping for the ACT, and football games to suddenly having a lot of very real adult responsibilities and worries.
3. I LOVE to travel. Every year I try to make it to one place outside of Ohio (lately it’s been a few trips to New York). My favorite U.S.-based city that I’ve been to is Seattle. My next U.S.-based options are between Atlanta, New Orleans, Lake Tahoe (family!), Alaska, or LA (I haven’t been in aaaaaaaages). My Europe list is a lot longer but the biggest goals of my list right now are Iceland, Sweden, Amsterdam, Scotland, and Slovenia. Canada - I really want to see Toronto and Quebec. Having an aunt who worked for the airlines means I’ve been traveling at least once a year for as long as I can remember (meaning Covid really messed with my head and my life).
4. I went to college for fashion design (which almost didn’t happen). I originally wanted to go to school for music therapy but, after some long internal conversations with myself and practically spending my entire junior year in hospitals and nursing homes, I decided it was best not to continuously expose myself to those memories. Then, I thought about business school and that disappeared quickly when one of my mom’s friends told me that she saw true passion when I talked about fashion - not about business. I spent four years studying fashion - living in Florence for a semester (the best experience of my life), focusing on childrenswear, interning at a childrenswear company in Seattle… I found an area that I actually loved studying. I didn’t mind the 3 days of no sleep while I worked on projects. I found myself looking up additional information to the materials we were given in class. I finished my 4 years wanting to go into childrenswear but not landing any jobs right away so I moved home to attempt to find a job without spending $5000+ to move to New York without the promise of success (much to the dismay of my college staff). I had a gut feeling that I was supposed to move back home so I followed that feeling.
5. I’m a total Harry Potter nerd. I was in the first grade when my grandma introduced me to Harry Potter (she got me the first book to read right before the first film came out). I finished the book in time to start attending all of the movies for their midnight premieres with my dad, mom, grandma, grandpa, cousin, or friends. All book releases from Order of the Phoenix onward I was found standing in the bookstore with my dad. Deathly Hallows was released on my 13th birthday and my dad (having talked to the manager on duty) made sure I got the first copy sold in the store. I have a tattoo dedicated to Harry Potter and have plans for another (possibly 2). I’m a proud Hufflepuff with a Hazel wand. I forced my sister to agree to go to Harry Potter World in Universal when I took her for a Disney/Universal trip post-college-graduation. Oh and, while we were living in Europe, my friends and I went on the Warner Brothers Tour just outside of London (where I cried so many happy tears).
6. I’ve definitely struggled with finding my footing as a woman in her mid-twenties. Soon after moving back home, my grandpa passed away without warning and I am once again in charge. Instead of the normal post-college experience of moving away to begin a professional career in a big city, I was suddenly put in charge of one college kid, one finishing high school and almost college-bound, a grandma in her *ahem* older age, and a Boston Terrier that picks the absolute most inconvenient times to say “Mom I have to go to the bathroom again.” This all came as I decided to start dedicating time and effort to sewing blogging since I I love sharing my knowledge as well as the clothes I’ve made. Not only that, but I adore writing. Being able to sit down every few days and write to brain dump, write a “favorites” list, or share the process of making a garment is actually very therapeutic for me. I won’t lie and say I’m the model blogger because I know I can be spotty. Trying to balance work, school, parenting, banking, and trying to teach myself as much as possible in order to keep our lives running as soon as possible tends to tire you out pretty quickly.
7. I’m in the midst of a (very) slow-moving room makeover. When I moved home I hadn’t planned on staying but now that I know I am, I’m slowly making changes to my room in order to make it feel more like me. I bought a bookcase to hold my reference books, magazines, and a couple of fabrics. I’ve found my favorite sheet set and new gauze comforter (Target is bae). I had a printed canvas made up and now have that hanging… Next up is going to be either my peg board, my second decorative canvas, or *finally* getting my mannequin where she belongs. Already having limited space available means I'm trying to maximize all the space I do have, especially since I’m in the market for a couple of new sewing machines to add! So slowly but surely we’re getting there!
And 3 more quick ones!:
8. I LOVE podcasts and audiobooks!
9. I have a slight obsession with ABBA.
10. My favorite fashion decade is tied between the 70s and 80s😍
I know some of these were a little more intense but I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a bit more! With Instagram and the Blogging world, we see a lot more of the staged, “perfect” life but don’t necessarily know those we follow and look up to. I can’t wait to continue getting to know you all!