I’ve been listening to this song all morning {because I love it}, but still I believe that I can and I will. I love the attitude that our generation has – we’re inspired and we refuse to believe that we have to conform. True, it’s tiring, it’s stressful, it’s exhausting. Sometimes I get worn out, too. But we can use all of this action and ambition to our advantage and keep pushing one another to try harder and work harder. We’ll make our dreams our lives. We got this. We can and we will.
We all wonder where we are going. We all have inspiredthoughts, but sometimes we shove them into the backs of our minds because they are unreasonable, unrealistic, and seemingly unattainable, and during the day we have “more important” things to do. I have a teaching degree for high school English. I picked that major before I went to college because they asked me to pick a major when I was 16 and 17 years old and that was what sounded reasonable to me. I liked to read and I knew I could handle school – but it was never my dream.
When I lay in bed at night waiting for sleep to come {the time when I have always allowed myself to entertain those fanciful ideas I’ve shut out during the day}, my head has never once filled up with images of my life as a high school English teacher. No, these wonderful moments before sleep takes me have always been dedicated to the things that make me feel the happiest, the most inspired. I have always snuggled into my pillow, closed my eyes, and let a smile spread across my face as the thought of something truly perfect came to mind. There, in the comfort of my own imagination, it didn’t matter if my thoughts were unreasonable, unrealistic, or seemingly unattainable – this was the time for dreaming, not for doing.
Now 10 years have passed since they asked me to decide my future, and for the first time in my life I feel like I know myself enough to start making those kinds of major decisions. Those ten years, and thousands of dollars later, I have finally learned the lesson that my imagination and my heart have been trying to tell me all along – follow your dreams. Pursue the fanciful ideas that you are inspired by. Because, if you can make these brilliant things happen in your life {and you can}, you will feel a thousand times more fulfilled than if you simply pass your days doing what you were trained to do.
And with less than a week left, I’m finding myself super inspired to decorate our new space! I’ve been scouring Pinterest for some ideas on how to use what we have to create a new and different look for our home and here are some of the images that have really gotten my gears turning:
I can’t wait to get settled in and share a new home tour with you! Our new apartment doesn’t have as much built-in personality {fireplaces, moulding, etc.} as the one we live in now, so I’ll be doing a lot of creative styling to try to bring it to life. But, I suppose that just makes it more challenging and more exciting!
I’ve already got a list of must-do move-in DIYs going for things like the tub caddy above and a mug tree. It may take us awhile to get to the point where we’re ready to share our space, but I couldn’t be more excited about pulling everything together. Furniture arrangement ideas fill my head and my studio space will be the first thing I focus on since my shop’s reopening is scheduled for May 10th!
I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a favourite actress.
But recently I’ve been really charmed by Shirley MacLaine’s older films. Somewhere between her pixie perfect looks, her sweet + subtle sound, and the way she can be both goofy and graceful is just so inspiring! She plays a convincing role whether she’s a nun or a harlot and her spunk is so refreshing. It’s fantastic to see an actress who doesn’t take herself too seriously.
She said in one interview that she is “just desperately in love with people”. That she loves knowing “what they’re feeling…what bothers them”, and trying to make things better for them. I love that perspective!
What will you do when you have no fear of failing?
There’s a saying I once heard that I’ve always kept in the back of my mind: Keep true to the dreams of thy youth. When we’re children, we dream big. Reality hasn’t yet clouded our perception of the world, so we don’t fear the outcome of our desires. We believe in ourselves and in our abilities. The Failure Club asks you to embrace that childlike inspiration to accomplish a goal that seems nearly impossible.
Our friend Kaylon is organizing a group of people to each pick their own impossible dreams, and together we’re going to hold each other accountable, and pick each other up when we fail, so we can each accomplish an important personal goal. He suggests that we choose something we’ve always wanted to do — a dream that we’ve had for a long time, but never thought was possible.
I love the idea of this group, and I’m excited about the outcome. We are aiming for a January 1st start date and will have an entire year to accomplish our goals. Problem is, I have to choose something to do! So, I’m asking you to help me decide. Which of the following should I try to do in the next year, without fear of failing?
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If you had asked Little Julia what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have said either Writer or Artist. These umbrella terms offered a certain comfort to me because I knew that they were creative pursuits. I never identified what I’d be writing — poetry, novels, articles, children’s books — or what I’d be making as an artist. Would I be a painter? A sculptor? Who knew! I certainly didn’t. I just always knew that I would have to be doing something creative. I don’t feel like me when I’m not.
So, here’s your chance to vote on my future. Shall I be a published author? A sponsored blogger? A full-time maker? Help me decide!
And we’re not watching the movies yet either. But I’d be lying to you if I said we didn’t spend a significant amount of time yesterday brainstorming Christmas ideas. Ryan + I got jazzed on coffee, then sat down with paper and a pen to make a list of the people we wanted to make gifts for this year, and what we thought they might like.
Now we’re all ready to start working on our handmade Christmas! I’m really excited to share with you all of the projects that we’re going to be working on for gifts. I also have a couple of super cute ideas for holiday decor {I’ll make sure I share them with you when the time is right}.
Here are some of my favourite handmade/vintage holiday gifts from last year:
Any great ideas for your holiday crafting this season?
I love this website. It’s really brilliant. While browsing the internet, if you see a beautiful image that inspires you, you can “pin” it to your pinboards with a simple click! Organize your pinboards so the images you pin are categorized, and come back to the boards when you’re ready to utilize that inspiration.
Each image that you pin retains its link back to the original place where you found it, so you know who to credit for the source, + if you need more information it’s really quite simple to find. This website is ideal for planning parties, room redecoration, or style inspiration. I’ve got so many boards going, you’ll have to see the possibilities for yourself!
A lot of the boards I follow {oh yeah, you follow other people’s boards, too!} often pin DIY tutorials. It’s so nice to see what other people are making, + pin the instructions for myself for later use.
It’s currently invite only, but I would be happy to send you an invite if you leave your email below. I’ve started looking at my pinboards for style + hair help in the morning, ha! It helps me get more out of my day because I browse in my time off, save the images I like, then quickly pull them up in the morning when I’m limited on time!
