lifeMay Richer Fuller Be: life

Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

7.14.2016

And I'm Back!

Did you miss me? I feel like I have a lot to catch y'all up on, so I'll divide this post up into three sections: where I've been, what's happening now, and what's coming up.

Where I've been:

The reason I took a little break (ok, maybe 6 weeks isn't exactly short...) from blogging was because my husband and I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help run a series of summer programs on Martha's Vineyard! Never in my life did I think that we would have the chance to leave our normal lives behind for awhile to work together on a property that hosts week-long programs for middle and high school students on an island in Massachusetts. Crazy, right? "Real adults" don't do this sort of thing, do they?

Well, we did!

With my husband finishing graduate school in May and me deciding to leave my career in healthcare to pursue Mix & Match Design Company full time, we created a gap of time this summer that freed us up to do this crazy thing. Our primary responsibility was to work behind-the-scenes to ensure that the programs ran smoothly from week to week. I nicknamed the two of us "the great communicators" because a lot of what we did involved collecting and disseminating info between the summer-long staff (kitchen, office and facilities folks) and the week-long staff/volunteers so that everything would go according to plan from day to day and week to week. We were also in charge of developing community among the college-aged summer-long staff and running weekly Bible studies for them. We had such a great group and I already miss them!

While we were on the Vineyard, we also managed to have a lot of fun in our off time. I feel like I should put together some kind of guide for all the fun things you can do there - we had a blast exploring beaches and cute little towns, hiking, catching sunsets, fishing, eating lobster, etc. I put together a little collage of some of the photos I snapped with my iPhone, which doesn't do our adventures justice, but it gives you a flavor!

What's happening now?

As of this past Monday, I'm a full-time entrepreneur! I've turned my attention to running and growing Mix & Match Design Company.

I'm excited slash a little bit terrified. Running your own business is no joke! Transitioning from a job where pretty much every minute was planned out for me to a job where I'm the boss and it's up to me to run this thing is quite an adjustment. I'm definitely up for the challenge though, and I'm pumped to finally be able to put all my energy toward my passion of offering folks affordable and approachable interior design services! With that being said, if you or anyone you know is in need of help in their homes, send them my way! You can find out more info through the website (linked above) or contact me via chaney@mixandmatchdesign.com.

What's coming up?

So many things! I've got two Mix & Match projects in the works right now that I hope to share photos of soon. I shared the plan for one of them before I went on sabbatical - the Philadelphia suburbs master bedroom. In case you missed it, here it is:

We tweaked a few of the items along the way, but this is the general gist! It's going to be beautiful and I can't wait to see it in person soon.

The second project is an industrial farmhouse style dining room. I'm still working with that client to finalize a few things and I hope to share more about it in the coming weeks!

The last big thing that's coming up is that in a couple of weeks we start our big kitchen renovation. Yippee! We're ripping everything out and starting from scratch. It's time to say goodbye to cracked, mismatched floor tiles, the makeshift "bar," old appliances, a leaky faucet and oh so much more... This may be one of the last times you see it like this, so get a good look now!

I shared my kitchen ideas and inspiration awhile back and now plans are firming up, which is exciting. My father-in-law and I will be taking this project on in August and y'all will get the full scoop as we get going. The #phillyrowhousereno is back for round two!

I think I'll wrap things up for today, but it's good to be back in action here on the ole blog. More to come!

10.08.2015

Three Year Blogiversary + A Few Thoughts

{Better off Wed via Etsy}

Today, May Richer Fuller Be turns three! When I started writing here three years ago, I had no idea I would still be writing today and how much of an impact blogging would have on my life. It's been a fun ride with lots of opportunities to grow, be a part of a community of wonderful people, and hone in on where my interests lie in the creative world, but it's also been challenging on many levels. Whether you've been with me since the beginning or are just tuning in, I want to say THANK YOU. Thanks for stopping by and giving me a few minutes of your time. Time is such a precious thing and I want to make sure that what I'm posting here is worth that time.

Along those lines, I have a few thoughts I'd love to share with you as I reflect on my blogging journey and where I'm headed. Recently, I read two blog posts (from Emily A. Clark and IHeart Organizing) and listened to a podcast (The Lively Show featuring Young House Love) that really made me stop and think, reflect on where I've been, and given me some clarity on where May Richer Fuller Be may be going.

Blogging has changed a ton in the past couple of years. I feel like I "got in" on the tail end of the glory days of blogging and had a blast being a part of that. It felt authentic, wildly creative and was interactive - the community was incredible. Then, over the next year or so I started feeling this shift from a focus on authentic content creation and community to a focus on how to turn a profit and make anything and everything "Pinterest-worthy." Sure, making money was always a part of blogging (there's nothing wrong with that!), as were pretty pictures and projects, but it started to feel like some of the authenticity had faded away and there was a shift towards do-whatever-it-takes to make a profit. I, as a lover of blogs and blogger, was saddened and sort of turned off by this shift. Also, the explosion of new social media platforms dramatically changed how people interacted with blogs and it became more and more difficult to keep up and stake your claim in the blog world.

On a personal level, I've certainly struggled with how to balance those things. May Richer Fuller Be has had a chance to work with some wonderful people and companies over the years and I've thought a lot about what it might look like for this blog to be a viable source of income for my family. Ultimately, I've come to the conclusion that for me, blogging probably can't and won't be that. I'm always open to opportunities to work with companies, try products, make a few bucks, etc...IF it's a good fit for this audience. I want May Richer Fuller Be to be a place where I share authentically about our home, projects, life and the new e-design business on my terms, not someone else's. This is just as much a reminder to myself as anything else!

(On a side note, I should say that I'm not making any judgments on the way any else writes, their motivations or how they make an income from blogging. I'm actually a tiny bit jealous of bloggers who have "made it" and who make enough income for it to be a full-time job, but I also have to stay true to what my heart and mind are telling me about I want my blog to look like. I truly believe there's a place for every kind of blogger!)

As I move into my fourth year of blogging, first and foremost, I want to post great content. Lately, for a whole host of reasons, including launching Mix & Match Design Company, I haven't been doing that. I think I've posted one good DIY post and maybe a couple of posts about our home in the past two months? Agh! That's not my best work. It's not fair to y'all or me, and I'm sorry about that.

In order to focus on posting great content, I've decided that for now, I'm only going to write when I'm feeling inspired and passionate about what I want to post. And you know what? I'm not going to let myself feel guilty about that. I'm a total people pleaser, and sometimes that gets the best of me and I end up writing fluffy filler that isn't worth my time or yours. I also want to give myself a break when it comes to "keeping up" with social media trends. If I'm not Instagramming every day or publicizing my posts like crazy, it's ok. I want reading this blog to be worth your time. When I've got something great to share, I'll try and make sure it gets out there for y'all to read about, but I probably won't go crazy with the publicity ;). Something very exciting - that's still a secret for now - is in the works and I have a feeling I'll have plenty to share that's worth your time soon :).

Bottom line, I love sharing a part of my life and love for all-things-creative here, but I want to make I'm only sharing things that make me really excited because if they make me excited, I'm sure they'll be exciting to (at least some of) you! That's a lot of excitement in one sentence {insert cry-laughing emoticon here}.

Whew. That was a lot of words. If you made it to the end, congratulations! I hope this "state of the union" gives you some context for my less frequent posting and that you'll stick around for the good stuff that's to come. :) Cheers to year four!

8.25.2015

Where We've Been...

Edgartown Harbor, Martha's Vineyard

Hello friends!

Apologies for the radio silence for the past week or so...Charlie and I snuck away on vacation for nearly 10 days to Martha's Vineyard! We were (purposefully) off the grid for as much time as possible and it was so nice. I need to unplug more often. We spent about half of our time cooking in the kitchen of our favorite summer camp for about 100 middle schoolers, staff and volunteers, and the other half relaxing, exploring and adventuring. Here are a few iPhone and Instagram shots from our week!

The Dining Hall at the camp where we cooked for 100 people!

Edgartown Harbor

Edgartown Lighthouse and Harbor

C and I being slightly ridiculous in the kitchen. That's one big bag of potatoes.

Beach time at Great Rock Bight

Great Rock Bight

View from the Memorial Wharf in Edgartown

We had a blast - can you tell? ;)

I hope to be back a little later this week with more regular posts!

5.06.2015

Team Bloggin' & Joggin' American Odyssey Relay Recap

Annnnnd they're off! The starting line of AOR2015.

This past weekend, team Bloggin' & Joggin' took on the American Odyssey Relay: a 200 mile "race through history" from Gettysburg, PA to Washington, DC. And guess what? I had an absolute blast running with these amazing women. I never thought I would have so much fun running 17 miles over the course of 24 hours!

The way this relay works is that each team has two vans with six runners each. Each of those runners runs three legs of the relay, so there are 36 legs total varying from 3-9 miles each. Still with me? Van 1 starts, and all six of those runners complete their legs, then meets up with van 2. Van 2 takes over and runs all of their legs, then van 1 picks up again...etc. until all 36 legs are completed. The running never stops!

Karah (The Space Between) completing her first leg!

Allow me to introduce you to the 11 wonderful ladies that ran with me:

Van 1 (left to right): Heather (The Heathered Nest), Beckie (Infarrantly Creative), Karah (The Space Between), Cassie (Primitive and Proper) - team captain extraordinaire!, Jessica D. (Dear Emmeline), and Jessica H. (Pace of Me)

Van 2 (left to right): Paula (Sweet Pea), Sarah (The Thriftress), Vidya (What's UR Home Story), Alexis (Flecks of Lex), Megan (Rhapsody in Rooms) and me.

I was runner 10 and had legs 10, 22 and 34. My favorite leg ended up being Leg 22, which was 4.5 miles through Antietam National Battlefield at 2am. I think I'll start running through more battlefields at 2am...just kidding :).

My hardest leg was the last one - it was 6.5 miles down the C&O Canal Tow Path. Although it was flat, I was beat and my muscles were tired. That was definitely a mental battle to just. keep. going. The scenery through Great Falls, MD was really lovely though:

My average pace across the three legs was about 8:20 mins/mile - faster than my goal of 8:30-8:45 mins/mile. I've honestly never felt prouder than I did on Saturday after finishing my last leg. I was so happy with how I did, so excited for our team and so sore!

Let's do a little photo tour of the highlights, shall we?

While van 1 kicked off the relay at the start, van 2 got to decorating our vehicle. GMC sponsored our "vans," which ended up being these awesome Yukon XLs. They spoiled us big time with two vehicles that had all the bells and whistles. #majorcarenvy They were so comfortable for all six of us and had things like wifi and USB ports that made life a whole lot easier when we were stuck in them for the better part of 36 hours!

We wrote our names on the sides with check boxes so we could mark off our completed legs!

Sarah (The Thriftess) and Vidya (What's UR Home Story) showed off our awesome packing skills :).

Then we got on the road! But first, a selfie:

We took over from van 1 after Cassie (Primitive and Proper) finished THE hardest leg of the race. Here she is transitioning to Sarah to kick off van 2's first set of legs!

Here I am on my first leg - we ran through such pretty countryside.

Checking off my successful first leg!

At each transition, there were volunteers checking in runners and helping us figure out where we were going. Our favorite transition was number 11 at a church. They opened their building for us to change, stretch and use the restrooms, and they even had food and hot drinks! A big thank you to them.

We finished up our first legs at dusk and transitioned back to van 1 to start the night legs. Here's the handoff from Vidya (What's UR Home Story) to Jess H (Pace of Me).

Our van grabbed dinner after that and hung out for awhile until it was time for us to run again around midnight. It was pitch black for those legs, and we had all kinds of fun safety gear and lights to help us find our ways. We passed off reflective vests, headlamps, knuckle lights, etc. to each other at the transitions like Sarah (The Thriftress) is doing here with Paula (Sweet Pea).

Once the night legs were done, we crashed at Cassie's house for about three hours of sleep and then went back to it to finish our third and final (!) legs.

Sarah transitioning to Paula...

Me transitioning to Alexis (Flecks of Lex)...

Alexis finishing her last leg...

Vidya (What's UR Home Story) had the final leg, and our whole team met her at the finish line to run the last couple hundred feet through the end. Those last hundred feet were pure joy! We did it!

I still can't get over how amazing each of these women is and how hard they worked to be able to do this race. It was an honor to run with each of them and I HOPE we get a chance to do the American Odyssey relay again. A special thanks goes out to Cassie for organizing this team! We got to know each other quite well over the course of two days. We laughed, cheered each other on, and kept good attitudes even when it was tough. I have to give a shoutout to Megan (Rhapsody in Rooms): she got an injury a couple of weeks before the race and unfortunately couldn't run, but she was the BEST driver, cheer-er and she kept a smile on her face despite not being able to fully participate.

I also hope that this experience has inspired some of y'all to get in on the running game. This race pushed me to my limits and I was so proud that I conquered this challenge. We had runners of all skill levels and it looks like this race has inspired everybody to keep it up. No quitters here! So lace up those sneakers and get going. It's already looking like we'll have a team for next year. Join us!

One last thing...We couldn't have done this race without our AMAZING sponsors. They all contributed to making the race a great success by providing us things like a hotel the night before the race (our "Hometalk home away from home"), vehicles to cart ourselves around in (GMC), chia bars to munch on (Health Warrior), gear to run in (SIX:02), equipment to track our running (Milestone Pod) and so much more. Each of the sponsors below deserves a big ole thank you!

GMC

Muscles and Lungs Crossfit Aruba

Bailey Sign

Health Warrior
Unfolded (Annie Sloan)
Frog Tape

SIX:02

So here's to a great race, a fantastic team of wonderful women, so many memories made, and to lots of success at future American Odyssey Relays!

@mayricherfullerbe looking strong as she finishes her first #AOR2015 leg. #teamblogginjoggin

4.23.2015

American Odyssey Relay

Nine days.

That's the countdown until team "Bloggin' and Joggin'" will be taking on the American Odyssey Relay. I've mentioned that I'm participating in this race a few times over the past few months and I can't believe it's finally here! Our team of 12 bloggers will be running a 200 mile course from Gettysburg, PA to Washington, DC. We'll each be running three legs of the relay over the course of about 36 hours from May 1-2. I'll be running a total of about 17 miles...that's like a three-quarter marathon, people! Craziness.

{NYC Running Mama}

I couldn't be more excited to be joining this awesome group of ladies in two sweaty SUVs for two days:

Cassie (Primitive & Proper)

Megan (Rhapsody in Rooms)

Paula (Sweet Pea), Vidya (What's Ur Home Story)

Sarah (The Thriftress)

Jessica D (Dear Emmeline)

Becki (Infarrantly Creative)

Heather (The Heathered Nest)

Karah (The Space Between)

Jessica H (Pace of Me)

Alexis (Flecks of Lex)

We've all been training hard for the past bunch of months, so it'll be fun to see all of our hard work pay off. These ladies are the absolute best, and it's already been so great to be a part of this group! Having their accountability has been key to my training especially during the awful, terrible winter months. I've been running longer distances and faster than ever before and I attribute that to them :). I've never loved running, but training for something like this race has slowly made me come to like it, and on the really good days, even love it. When I first started running consistently seven years ago, it was hard for me to break a 10 minute mile, and I've broken 8 minute miles several times during my training...on my long runs! I honestly never thought I'd be able to say that.

{Fit Girl's Diary}

Want to follow along with our team during the race? #teamblogginjoggin will be your ticket :). We'll all be all over social media May 1 and 2. (Follow me on Instagram or Twitter for updates!)

I also can't forget to mention our amazing sponsors that are helping make this race possible for us! THANK YOU THANK YOU to the following companies:

GMC

Muscles and Lungs Crossfit Aruba

Bailey Sign

Health Warrior

SIX:02

All of my Bloggin' and Joggin' teammates all be writing recap posts the week after the race, so this won't be the last you'll hear about it. Can't wait for May 1st!

2.26.2015

All The Random Things

Hey friends! Every once in awhile I find that I've compiled a list of things I want to share with y'all, but none of them are really noteworthy enough to deserve their own post. So instead I'm going to share them all at once in abbreviated form - thus, the "all the random things" post title. :) Grab a cup of coffee and have a seat. Let's chat about a few things.

First up, I'm starting to train for a race called The American Odyssey Relay that's happening in May. I wrote about it awhile ago here. The most fun part of this race? I'm on a team with twelve other bloggers - it's going to be awesome! We're still on the lookout for sponsors, so if you, your company or someone you know might be interested, please email me at mayricherfullerbe{at}gmail.com. Also, if you have any tips for me on how to run 17 miles over the course of 24 hours, I'd gladly take them.

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I'm still brainstorming on the best ways to organize and utilize the space in our laundry room/guest bath. I'm leaning toward installing a narrow open shelving unit of some sort over the bidet...maybe one like this (but painted white and without the lowest shelf so it can sit comfortably on top of/around the bidet).

{Ivar from IKEA}

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Since I have zero progress to report on that bathroom/laundry area, let's take a look at one gorgeous reno recently completed by Courtney from A Thoughtful Place. I love everything about this bathroom... marble subway tiles, that light fixture and a pretty vanity with LOTS of storage...it's calling my name.

{A Thoughtful Place}

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Y'all, it's embarrassing how long it's been since I've updated my home tour and projects pages on the blog. Our home tour is still the "Loving What You've Got" post from our DC apartment and we don't even live in that city anymore! It's time for some housekeeping.

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Speaking of cities, I recently came across this Philadelphia city guide from Design Sponge and now I'm all excited to explore new nearby neighborhoods once the weather starts to be more conducive to walking (i.e. not 18 degrees out).

{Design Sponge}

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I've had a lot of fun using my new Wacom drawing tablet. It enables me to draw directly in Illustrator, which has been so much fun, but has also been a bit of a learning curve. It eliminates the step of having to scan in and trace pen+pencil drawings and I like using the pen as a mouse/pointer. It's faster than using my track pad! I used it to design both February's and March's iPhone/desktop wallpapers. Now I just need to practice my drawing skills so I can use it to its fullest potential!

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Lastly, I'm excited to report that we're escaping winter for a week and are headed to sunny St. Lucia in March for Spring Break with two other couples! #couplesretreat I cannot tell you how excited I am to run around in shorts and flip flops - not boots, read books, climb mountains and relax on the beach. I'll be sure to give a full report when we get back. If you've ever been, leave your favorite things to do or tips in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

{Fathom Away}

1.07.2015

New Year, New Thoughts + My Word of the Year

'Tis the season for fresh starts, resolutions and thoughts about the year going forward, isn't it? I've got a few things to share today that have been rolling around in my head and heart: some blogging-related, some project-related and some house-related. It's a bit of a mish mash, but I'll try to be concise :).

Over the past year, I've been feeling especially frazzled and frenzied when it comes to writing this blog. I wouldn't exactly call it stress, but it has made this whole thing less enjoyable that I'd like it to be. There have been times this year when I've felt totally uninspired while feeling pressured to publish/produce content, and even thought about giving the whole thing up. I was feeling that way when we were living in DC (we left in May, for those of who are new around here), but I thought it was due to the fact that I had run out of projects to do in our itty bitty apartment and that we would be homeless for three months over the summer (not literally, but we were living in other people's houses and therefore no real projects/decorating/DIYing could happen), but the feelings continued when we got to Philly even when I had a whole.new.house to decorate.

Obviously, something else was going on.

When I took some time to reflect on why I was feeling that way, I realized a couple of things:

The year I started worrying more about page views, creating "Pinterest-worthy" content and how I would monetize the blog than enjoying it for the reasons I started the blog in the first place - as a creative outlet.
Posting felt more like a grind than anything else, which sapped my energy and sucked the fun out of writing and making things. I often wondered if what I was doing was a waste of time.
I wasn't getting as much feedback from readers as I would've liked. It's hard to keep something like this up when you feel like you're speaking to an empty room. I'm not speaking to an empty room based on the page views I have, but when all I hear are crickets after hitting the publish button, that can make me a little sad.

Yuck, right? Aren't you glad you're reading today's post so far? ;) Told you we'd be getting into the nitty gritty today.

Ok, so rather than just push forward and discard these thoughts as "just a phase," I've been assessing why, despite all the reasons above, I love being in this place for a few days each week.

Here are a few reasons why I want to stick around:

Creating things gives me such pleasure, and I love contributing my creativity to the blogging world.
Connecting with y'all, my dear readers, is a major highlight, even if it doesn't happen as often as I would wish. A recent encounter reminded me of how important that connection is to me. On our road trip back home on Saturday, my husband and I stopped at Chick Fil A. While we were waiting for our food, I heard someone say, "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt..." from behind me and it turns out it was a gal who follows May Richer Fuller Be (Hi Erin!) and recognized me from my picture. She introduced herself and told me that she really loved my blog. That totally made my day! Of course meeting "in real life" is an anomaly, but the excitement of meeting her reminded me of the importance of y'all.
Connecting with other bloggers is really, really fun too. I collaborated more with others in 2014 than ever, and some of my favorite projects and posts came out of those times.
Posting here keeps me accountable on getting things done. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do half the projects, organizing or decorating I do now if I didn't have a blog.
Blogging also forces me to flex my creative muscles. I love learning new skills and I want to grow as a designer/DIYer/writer - being here enables that.

So, what's happening at MRFB in 2015 you might be asking?

First and foremost, I want to be purposeful in the projects I do and the posts I write. I don't want to do projects just to have something to post or write just so that it looks like I'm posting a bunch. I want to be authentic and enjoy what I'm doing. This may mean fewer posts, or maybe more? I'm not going to be prescriptive on that one. I want to remain consistent, but I really want to avoid making this place feel like a grind. Fun is the name of the game here :).

Also, quality over quantity is the idea I keep coming back to - and I'm sure that's something y'all appreciate as well!

When it comes to content, a big theme will be continue to be making our little row house into a place we love and a place that functions well. I want to get rid of clutter and simplify things, so get ready for some posts on organization. I also want to make things pretty along the way, so there will be plenty of decor posts as well. And finally, a skill I want to continue to work on and share here on the blog is graphic design. I've learned so, so much, and I just got a new toy that will hopefully give me even more freedom and help me grow in that area. More to come on that!

I'm going to try and be patient and let things evolve as slowly as they need to. Since my husband's a student for the next 18 months (and we rent), disposable income for projects is small. We'll see how things go! Ultimately, home isn't about how magazine-worthy it is, it's about how it feels and how we welcome others into it. In the words of the Nester: it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. I don't want to fret about how good or bad something looks - I want to enjoy it for what it is. And I want our home to be a comfortable place where people feel like they can put their feet up and relax.

This brings me to my word of the year: wonder.

WONDER:

A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable (as defined by Google dictionary).

Last year, things moved too quickly and there was always too much going on in my brain. This year, I want to carve time out to just sit back and observe - both in blog land and offline. I'm excited to breathe life and the world around me in and let the beauty of those things both surprise and inspire me.

I think I'll leave it at that today, friends. I wish I could give you each a big hug and thank you for being here. Onto more projects next week! Slowly. Er. We'll see how it goes!