Working, Living & Blogging With Intention

Photo: Mallory Benedict

So something kind of big has been going on behind the scenes…I’ve mentioned briefly in passing that I’m now working for myself as a freelancer, but I think this momentous change deserves a little more than just a quick aside. This is huge people. This is the biggest of the big deals, and I can’t help but want to scream it from the rooftops.

It’s time for me to take charge.

Moving forward, I’ll be focusing on working and living with intention. If that 9 letter word sounds familiar, it’s probably because, like me, you’re a fan and follower of the one and only Jess Lively. When I quit my full time job to focus on freelancing full-time, my first reaction was to call Jess. But given that I was suddenly and unceremoniously left without a steady income I couldn’t quite afford her rate (justified though it may be). I wanted to give my situation a little more time to make sure it was REALLY what I was meant to do. A few weeks later and I intuitively knew that I was on the right track (was that how it felt for you other freelancers too?). With that gut feeling, it was time to quite literally call in the big guns.

It was time to invest in myself and my business. 

This past Tuesday, I set myself up in a corner of my studio with a pad of paper, my favorite pen, my phone and a charger and waited anxiously for our 10 am Office Hours conference call. An hour and 17 minutes later, I was left with more answers than questions and enough energy to overcome what I needed to in order to be successful on my own. Suffice it to say, I couldn’t recommend Jess more as a life and business coach.

I feel focused, balanced, empowered and intentional about where I’m headed.

Although I’m leaving out a TON of details because you guys aren’t anymore used to wordy posts here on DGD than I am, I wanted to address a few changes that Jess helped implement here on the blog:

  1. More white space – I’m so thankful for Jess’s unbiased eye and as soon as she suggested changing the background from dark gray to white, I knew she was right. Hopefully now the content is what draws your eye rather than that bold background.
  2. Even MORE white space – Another thing she suggested was to make the font bigger and the text area match the width of my photos. Done and done.
  3. Be my content – This is the biggie. In order for me to post every day, I implemented two weekly features that allowed me to chat about interior design without having to  do original projects, quite simply because I just didn’t have the time. But now I am beginning to understand that it’s about quality, not quantity, and I’ve decided to do away with “All in the details…” entirely and will move “The Options” to Fridays as a light and fluffy end to the week. If I don’t post every day, I hope that you will understand that it’s because of my new dedication to being intentional about my time and how I balance things now that I’m working for myself.
  4. Be original – Finally, I’m putting my “Weekly Pinterest Challenge” on hiatus. This one is a little sad for me because this feature has been one of the defining features of my blog since the beginning, but I have heard far too many horror stories about copyright infringement and so I’m dedicating my time to creating the most authentic and original content that I can. To say that I’m excited for this new challenge is a gross understatement.

It’s a lot to take in and I’m getting used to it right there with you, but I truly believe that this is the start of something fresh and new for me, both in my personal life AND as a blogger. I want to take this venture to the next phase and now feels like the right time.

I’m so glad (and lucky!) that you guys are along for the ride.

P.S. If you want the details on my new freelance services, stay tuned – The goods (pun intended) will be unveiled in the coming weeks! Here’s a quick hint though…

P.P.S. Click here to enter your name in a drawing for 6 free FLOR tiles! Giveaway ends next Wednesday.

An update on our FLOR {plus a giveaway}

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED.
KEEP SCROLLING TO SEE IF YOU’RE THE WINNER!!

No, that’s not a typo…If you aren’t familiar with FLOR (although I’m fairly certain that the majority of you are) I’d love nothing more than to go on and on about the brand, but I don’t want to hear infomercial-like banter anymore than you do. Besides, the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and I’ve got quite the batch for you to drool over.

Let me first take you back to the “Before.” Our dining room has gone through many a rug in its short 3 year relationship with us, but I never really felt like I had nailed it. The one that we had nestled under the table was actually a prize from a drawing and, although very nice and certainly more than I could have afforded back when I was living as a bachelorette, it wasn’t exactly my taste. It was time to upgrade.

Thankfully, FLOR came on board just in the nick of time to help us through this transition. The first step? Get set up with a FLOR Possibility Studio designer who walked  with me every step of the way to come up with the absolute P-E-R-F-E-C-T design for us. Michelle was a dream to work with and, after completing my Design Assistance Form, which asked questions about foot traffic, special concerns (ex. pets) and color palette, she designed a custom scheme that fit both our needs and our style.

The first four options that Michelle sent over were the perfect look in terms of design, but the green wasn’t quite right. But one hesitation from me on color sent Michelle on an immediate hunt, and within the hour she had sent over a revised color scheme on our top picks. Ultimately, John and I both agreed that the first of the two seen below was just the ticket.

And then this lovely box landed at our doorstep. I was able to wait all of 40 minutes before I tore into that bad boy, and was happy to discover that the installation process was going to be a breeze. The detailed instructions plus a print out of our final design allowed us to get our new rug put together and put in place in under 30 minutes flat.

After moving the table and chairs from the old rug, rolling it up and carefully laying out our precut FLOR squares in our custom pattern, it was simply a matter of connecting the corners using the FLOR dots that came in the box. Now, whenever we have an irreparable spill, all we have to do is carefully peal the tile in question off the dot and order a replacement. We’ll spend a measly $20 for one tile instead of another $150 to replace the entire rug. Can you tell I’m excited by this concept, especially since we have three pets in the house?

Now here are the lovely “After” shots of the space with its new rug, plus a new collection of color coded plates to match. We are in love with the fresh modern look and can’t thank FLOR and Michelle enough for making this upgrade such a manageable transition. It finally feels like “us.”

So. How about we get to the REALLY good part? Continuing my “Summer of Giveaways,” I’m excited to share that FLOR has generously agreed to offer up 6 extra tiles to one of my fabulous readers! Here are the details:

The prize:
One reader will receive 6 FLOR tiles of their choice.

To enter:
Head over to the FLOR website, and then come back and leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite style tile. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for their email newsletter – This isn’t a contest requirement, but I signed up and have LOVED all of the fabulous inspiration they send over each week.

Bonus entries:
For extra chances to win a prize, follow Dream Green DIY on Facebook and/or Twitter and leave a comment for each here letting me know that you did. (it’s a win-win since you’ll be able to keep up with my daily updates once you’re a follower – But of course, there’s NO pressure to do so. You don’t need to do this in order to win the prize).

Deadline:
You have until Wednesday, September 11th at 11:59 p.m. to enter. The winner will be announced here on Thursday, September 12th – Don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won.

Nitty gritty:
Contest is limited to the continental U.S. and Canada (excludes Alaska & Hawaii). The winner will be selected using random.org.

***************************************************************************************

GIVEAWAY UPDATE: Congratulations to Mary B.!!

Mary, I will be emailing you shortly with details on your FLOR tile prize pack.
Thanks to everyone for participating!!

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