Happy Tuesday!

I'm not going to lie between design consultations, tax prep, normal everyday household chores, and life in general 2016 has hit me like a ton of bricks. So many people view my life through my Instagram feed- pretty pictures, clean house, and the perfect dog. But what is behind the camera lens is a whole other story.

What you don't see is the hundreds of muddy paw prints on my dark hardwood floors- because in the whirlwind of a day I didn't catch Bella to wipe her paws before she came in, dog toy stuffing from one end of the house to the other, the piles of laundry, or the dirty dishes in the sink. My house is not always magazine perfect! Actually it's never magazine perfect... I'm a normal human being too.

Dirty little paw prints and dirt... I need to sweep and mop NOW!

I can not believe I just showed you my disgusting floor! Oh well this is real life my friends. So you can see my house is far from "magazine perfect," especially when you have dog who loves to dig in the dirt that lives inside. But I wouldn't have it any other way- I love her dirty paws and all. I just wish I could teach her to wipe her paws...

You may be wondering what is the purpose of this post. Well honestly I have been reading Lara Casey's book Make it Happen and I have came to realize a lot of deep down emotions while reading this book. I realize I strive so hard each and every day to be "picture perfect," but life is not always picture perfect. I strive to answer each email ASAP, go above and beyond delivering style boards and product list to my clients, make each design job perfect, keep a clean and tidy home, complete my own home renovation projects, post daily to my social media accounts, all while trying to maintain a normal everyday life.

Photo Credit: Helloneverland.com- Click Photo to visit her blog.

Just writing all that makes my head spin. So what if the dishes sit in the sink till tomorrow... So what if I have little Bella prints on my floors... Our house is lived in and we make memories each and every day- and it is those memories that mean the most to me.

I LOVE my new business- my very new business. So I have began setting a foundation for business habits I would like to continue throughout this career. In Lara Casey's book she tells you to ask yourself what are you doing it for; what are you living for. I am doing it for me, my family and my clients.

If God allows me to live to be 90 I want to be sitting on my front porch with my husband beside me, grandchildren or great grandchildren playing in the yard, and remembering all the adventures I had throughout my life. At 90 years old how many Instagram follows I have will not matter. All that will matter to me is my family, my memories, and the knowing I was a successful interior designer that inspired others to have a loving, purposeful, functional, and beautiful home they too can make memories in.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'. --Erma Bombeck

I have always dreamed of being a interior designer and guess what?! Now I am an interior designer. I want to prove to myself I have what it takes to make it in the design world, I want to be able to provide for my family, all while providing my clients with the best service possible. Even if this means taking on less design jobs to focus on making the ones I do take above and beyond expectations.

But... while doing all these things I want to be the best wife to my husband, the best friend to my friends, the best mom to my fur baby Bella, the best listener to God, I want to be the best person I can possibly be. I never want my work to continuously come before my life. If that means cutting my phone off while at dinner with my husband- I want to do it. If that means taking a week off to travel with my grandmother to her hometown- I want to do it. I do not want to miss out on all the special moments because I am so caught up in work. I never want my business to become so busy I can not be the best possible person or provide the best possible service to my clients.

So in 2016 I will adopt the following business habits:

No cell phone at dinner.
Establish working office business hours 9 am- 5 pm Monday-Friday.
Set up auto-responders for emails received after hours. (An email sitting in my inbox for 12 hours will not kill me.)
Schedule time off and breaks throughout the day. Let the dishes sit in the sink till tomorrow morning so I can sit on the couch and watch Fixer Upper with my loves (Austin and Bella).

These simple 4 things may not seem like a lot but adapting them into my everyday business life will be challenging.

As a wife, daughter, sister, friend, family member, interior designer, mom (to my fur baby), I want to be Perfectly Imperfect!

With love,