Shelly

Home Office Inspiration

When we first moved into our Indy home in August, we’d originally thought my home office and craft space would be in the front room as you walk into the house. We had anticipated me staying at home with Sophie and needing to have her near while I worked. I’d envisioned a space that was light and airy with all of my craft supplies hidden behind white storage. I dreamed of having a mini desk for Sophie with easy access to her craft supplies. I would craft, photograph and write in that room while she would happily do arts & crafts beside me. I was so young and naive.

We’ve since decided that Sophie needs more than just me to learn, socialize and thrive. She’s attending a Montessori school a block away giving both of us the time we need to thrive. I thought it selfish to take up that large room on the main floor and decided I’d enjoy a more confined space for my mess. Taking the extra upstairs bedroom was exactly what I needed to feel like I belonged. I had my own space with my own stuff that I could decorate however I wanted. Although I make the majority of the design choices in our home, I know that painting pink on the wall would be shut down by my husband in any other room of the house. Which brings me to where I’m at today.

I wish I would have shared the design, building and decorating stages of our previous house but realize it’s not too late for me to share our progress on this house. I’ve got an entire office + craft room Pinterest board dedicated to designing my work space. I noticed that I was torn between having a ton of bright, happy, busy colors or simply white. When looking at the board as a whole I realized I was most drawn to the crisp feel the well organized white rooms possessed.

Home Office InspirationHome Office Inspiration

Home Office Inspiration

Home Office Inspiration

Home Office Inspiration

Swoon, right?? Here was my space when we bought this home:

Office Before

Yes, I had the white walls but it was a dingy white that had teeth and claw marks everywhere indicating they kept their dogs locked in here while they were away. It smelled like dog and was incredibly dark, despite the white walls.

Here are a couple sneak peeks of what my home office space currently looks like:

Peg Board Workspace

White Office Inspiration

White walls, check. White desk and chair, check. Pegboard, check. My work space is slowly evolving into the images I see in my head when I imagine my perfect studio. I’ll be back with the reveal once I’ve finished (and likely another to show my organization of making one room work as an office and craft studio).

What’s your work space style? Do you have a space that’s completely dedicated to you? A corner of the room with a DIY desk, your own room or even your own off site studio? Do you like having tons of inspiration up on the walls and your supplies at easy reach or do you focus better with a clean slate? I’m a bit of both as you’ll see in my office reveal.

workspace inspiration sources: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4

Cheers to New Beginnings

Cheers to New Beginnings Inspirational Quote

Cheers to New Beginnings

Start somewhere. The first of a new year, although just a date in a calendar, is a great reminder that life has beginnings and endings throughout. I’m learning to end things that are toxic to my happiness. I encourage you to think about the various areas of your life that make you happiest as well as give you that pit in your stomach. Don’t push aside those bad feelings, but instead, face them and figure out why they’re controlling your emotions in a negative way. It might be a specific person that you’ve realized makes you feel obligated to continue their friendship or a house chore that is draining you and can easily be swapped with your partner’s chore. I noticed myself getting really burnt out on cooking and cleaning the kitchen, to the point we were ordering out because I didn’t want to clean the mess. I simply asked my husband to take turns cleaning the kitchen with me and we’ve eaten at home much more. That’s obviously a very simple issue to solve but yours might be too. Put your glass up and cheers to new beginnings in 2016. Your happiness is solely dependent on you.

January Goals

Sound the trumpets, I’m back! Happiest of new years to you all. I am hoping you had a magical 2015 but fingers crossed that your 2016 is even better. I’ve been absent from this lovely blog and most of my social media for a few weeks because I needed to decompress from the internets and focus on my family, home and a bit of relaxation. It’s amazing how much I can accomplish (or not accomplish) if my nose isn’t in a laptop. While I’ve been away I’ve gotten mostly caught up on Game of Thrones, painted two rooms downstairs, had cousin sleepovers and family hot tub parties. Life has been good and I’m ready to see what changes 2016 brings.

January Goals 2016

A little recap of my December goals before I head into my January goals and 2016 goals. We did a great job on slowing down our speed on house projects as well as not watching as much TV during the week. I’ve also gotten much more patient with Sophie’s new found ‘nos’ and toddler independence. The things she gets upset about are so cute, unless we’re trying to get to school or leave the Conner Prairie that’s closing. We’ve learned to let her first try something by herself and wait for her to ask us for help, otherwise there will be tears when opening a door or string cheese. In the way of meeting people in our community, I joined a group called theCityMoms and met some new friends at their holiday party where we were pampered with manicures and crepes. I think I will get along just fine here in Indy with those kind of ‘girls nights’. We more than ‘partook’ in a few Christmas activities. There were few holiday-esque events we did not partake in. My favorite, by far, was experiencing the magic of  Christmas Lights at The Indianapolis Zoo. I was diligent about going to the gym three times per week and finished up my last PT meeting for my shoulder. I’m happy to announce that I’m able to lift my arm above my head now with minimal pain! I have faith I’ll get it back to a normal shoulder this year. Big goals people!

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Although I completed all of my blog goals, I was a bad Blog Mama. I had five posts total on this site (two of which were blurbs for features on other sites, so they don’t really count). Although I’ve not done my content calendar for this month, *slaps hand, I am out of my blog slump and ready to create some awesome content. One of my Christmas gifts was a new tripod which will be a huge advantage over my previous tripod that I’d borrowed, and broke, from my Dad. Sorry Dad. I completely accomplished my biggest goal for December, which was to live in the moment with my family, and I cherished every second of it.

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January Goals

Family

  • Set up Sophie’s easel and create a Mommy/Daughter masterpiece
  • Re-start up Monthly Date Night
  • Get caught up on GoT

Life

  • Host first neighborhood Girls Night In
  • Visit gym 4x/week and do shoulder exercises daily
  • Get office organized

Blog

  • Schedule content a month out
  • Plan at least one ‘power post’ a month for the year
  • Complete another PIN70 and 550 pins/week

Disney with a toddler

2016 Goals

My January goals are not extravagant but can be easily measured, which is exactly what my plan is for 2016. Having measurable small goals to achieve my overall larger goals. My fitness goal for 2016 is one pant size. I ultimately want to decrease by two pant sizes but know that I’m comfortable in a size 10 but will feel stunning in an 8. I want my body to be stronger so I’m able to last longer on fun adventures with my family. I want to work towards a strong body for our next child (whenever that may be). I want to be excited to buy clothes again because I enjoy fashion and the confidence I have when I’m loving my outfit. I haven’t LOVED an outfit in at least two years and that makes me really sad.

My career goal is to get a steady job. A job that has normal hours and people that I can talk to about my weekend. A job that I like but may not be obsessed with like I have been in the past. A job that will pay for Sophie’s school. A job that will hopefully allow me to have enough energy to continue writing about my DIY projects, Disney tips and our home improvements. A job that will allow us to not feel guilty to have a babysitter come once a month for date night. Fingers crossed that such a wonderful job exists and that we find each other soon!

I’m only making two big goals for 2016 but will continue to make small goals each month to assist in achieving those larger goals.  Will you be making a resolution this year or perhaps have a focus word for this year? Remember, that goals are just that. Goals. They can be changed or modified with what’s going on in your life, so never beat yourself up for not living up to your initial standards. You’ve probably over achieved in other areas of your life that you’re not even giving yourself credit for. Remember to pat yourself on the back this year and take care of yourself before others.

Follow along with my 2016 goals on Insta. If you comment on a photo to let me know you’re there, I’ll hop over to your feed. Let’s be friends! @shellybergman

Design Brings Joy

People ask me where my craftiness comes from all the time. It’s my second most asked question after the age of my daughter, Sophie. I am not only lucky to have creative parents but am surrounded by inspirational friends and family. It’s astounding how creative actually. I specifically wanted to introduce you to my cousins Ian and Edana today because they’ve started a design company called Mustardstrip LLC as they’re entering their 30s. Not only are they an inspiration for new entrepreneurs but their requirement for design bringing joy is sensational. I’ll let Edana share their passion.
Mustardstripe LLC
Mustardstripe was surprisingly not a planned venture and stemmed from me (Edana) seeking a creative outlet outside of my 9-to-5 Fashion Design job. I didn’t really know where to start, and to be honest, I got really lucky by finding some really great graphic design gigs online that served as a temporary outlet for me to explore and test my talents and design something other than clothes.
The extra cash flow was also nice because I had gotten engaged in the meantime and we all know weddings aren’t cheap.
Mustard Stripe Graphic Design
Mustard Stripe
From there, my gigs took a back seat and I used the wedding planning process as my creative source. I found myself creating and designing every detail of our big day and sharing sneak peeks on social media. Fast forward a few short weeks, I had multiple friends and family approaching me to create custom pieces for their personal events, organizations and businesses. Consequently, I knew I was onto something and decided to make Mustardstripe official with the help of my fiancee, now husband, Ian. He was the business and marketing brain child who not only encouraged me to seek my passions in a professional manor, but he also helped me figure out the financial and business aspects behind it. From there, Mustardstripe LLC was born and has quickly become more than just a business to me… it’s evolved into a passion.
Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
I love building and supporting brands and personal projects that encapsulate the human experience via
art and design. It is extremely fulfilling to create something that connects people through self-expression, visual identity and custom designs. Plus, my job is never the same from day-to-day or client-to-client, which is pretty sensational.
 Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
Looking back, I think this business was always meant to transpire, whether it was planned or unplanned. When my dad passed away a few years ago, I couldn’t bear the thought of choosing between the painfully ugly memorial cards that the funeral home was offering. The designer in me wasn’t about to damper his memory and spirit with a tacky dove flying out of some clouds. Instead, I opted to design custom memorial cards and thank you’s that reflected him, his personality and our family. Not only did it do that, but it welcomed a lot of smiles and funny stories into the otherwise dreary room. To this day, I still have people reference those cards and tell me I should make a business out of them and I’d say I am on the right track. Making people and their businesses feel fulfilled and bright is the whole reason I am doing what I am doing.
Mustard Stripe
Mustard Stripe
 Now do you see why I’m creative? I have great inspiration all around me! If you want your branding, wedding or memorial cards to be something special to you and your family, send a message to Edana and Ian. They’re good people. You won’t regret it.

Christmas at the Indianapolis Zoo

Two of my favorite things on Earth are animals and Christmas lights. We got to see both of those things combined for one magical evening at Christmas at the Indianapolis Zoo. I slightly remember riding the train around to zoo to see the lights when I was little but most of my memories have faded. I am so happy to be back in Indianapolis enjoying attractions like this with Sophie.

Christmas at the Indianapolis Zoo

Today I’m talking about our family night out at the Indianapolis Zoo and why you must make time for it this (and every) holiday season. It’s the perfect attraction for people of all ages. Sophie is at the perfect age for outdoor activities, especially when they include decorating cookies, seeing animals, riding the carousel and taking a train to gaze at all the beautiful Christmas lights. Being the music lover she is, she thoroughly enjoyed the light displays set to music and the carolers around the bon-fire. I loved the sense of slowing down and singing songs around a fire in the middle of such a bustling place. We are definitely putting this on the list of Christmas Traditions to do each year. To be honest, we may go again this year because we all loved it so much!

Christmas at the Indianapolis Zoo

Head over to Indy’s Child to check out my suggestions and let me know if you have every been to a Christmas at the Zoo in your town. PS. Those sugar cookies are worth going alone. They’re amazing.

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