{When your weekend reminds you of an adventure…}

Side note: as I wrote this post I have crazy, freshly-highlighted curls blowing around from the fan near our front door. It’s still pretty warm in our apartment. Zack walked past me and mentioned quickly, “you look like one of ‘those’ bloggers as you sit in your mustard chair with your glasses on and laptop — like Sarah Jessica Parker or something.” What he doesn’t know is how much of a compliment that is to me. For years I secretly watched SATC and dreamed about writing a blog, just how SJP wrote a column. Not on the same topic as her — of course!, but the idea of typing away late at night on a particular topic, creating community on said topic, thrilled me. So, thanks babe for making me feel like I’ve accomplished something. And mom, sorry to break the news about watching an HBO show, it was always at Allyssa’s house ;)

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Santa Monica Beach and the entire time we were packing to get there I was thinking about how similar heading to the beach is with running a handmade shop from home… with a 3.5-month-old: it’s plain hard! Once we decided we were going, Zack + I rushed around the apartment packing the beach bag with extra diapers, wipes, blankets, burp cloths, clothes for everyone, water bottles, the list goes on. “And don’t forget to grab the stroller from the outside closet,” I mentioned to Zack. We like to over-prepare so we feel prepared for anything, it’s how we stay so calm as new parents ;) We changed Max one final time and headed out the door.

Because Zack works in Santa Monica we can park fairly close to the beach at a nearby garage, the same one he parks at when he drives to work. But, there’s still about 7 blocks of walking to do. Once we can see the Pier we both exhale a little, almost there! Thankfully there’s a boardwalk that takes you pretty darn close to the ocean, so we head that way and enjoy some final smooth sailing. Swim suit covers come off, Max stretches on our family heirloom quilt, water is guzzled. We’re finally at the beach :)

Running a handmade shop from home is no different: there’s so much to prepare for [constantly], little perks to enjoy along the way as encouragement, a bit of a climb near the end of a specific project, but then finally — the launch is announced, the post is published, the order has been placed. And, an exhale can be heard.

We have been super busy lately with preparing for Round 2 of The Gussy Club, we’re almost sold out — just 14 spots left. We’re getting ready to launch item 2 from Round 1 [click here to buy item 1 from Round 1, Geometric medium zip]. We are sewing lots + lots of tote bags, shipping a wholesale order to Kentucky, and browsing fabric online for upcoming events. When your job is your hobby, one that makes your eyes brighten and your soul sparkle, work never ends.

I’m so grateful the late nights I’ve had, watching the clock strike 2am, have been a positive challenge for me. Moving to Los Angeles from Minneapolis just 10 months ago was a lot more difficult than we anticipated. We’ve had to work super hard this last month and it feels so good to be seeing positive results. I am so blessed to have such an awesome team to help me make Gussy Sews happen. I’m sure I could make it to the beach on my own with Max, but I don’t think I could keep Gussy Sews alive without a few assistants. I’m slowly figuring work + mommyhood out and it feels great to be challenged in this way.

PS. I’m working on a post about being an Indie Biz mommy, I’d love if you left any questions you have below in the comments. Or email me, gussy at gussysews dot com.

So tell me, how was your weekend? Was there something about your weekend that reminded of you of an adventure you’re currently chasing? xo