Friends… whew, it’s been a few months. Let’s start with the basics (which actually feels like a big deal). WE MOVED! My first house was in a family neighborhood. I moved into it dirt poor, going to therapy twice a week, surviving college, crying everyday because Tobi was a puppy and I was doing ALL the things alone. I was scared but very ambitious for the future. I believed in my dream. It was almost four years in 1,500 sq ft that I curated to (fast forward to now) run THREE successful businesses out of. We had dead trees almost falling on the house last month and six had to be removed, and then next came my worst fear: TERMITES. We have been house hunting since last December because we have needed more space since we are now a family of three (hello G). This obviously ramped things up and induced a ton of STRESS.
We found a house double the size, which has the perfect hosting space and a huge studio away from the living area which was essential. My home felt like just a workspace and I had a hard time separating the two. So one month ago, I was preparing to go on a Disney cruise, was gone for a week, then drove 10 hours straight home from the port and started moving into my new house. Yes, insane… lol. That caused me to get roughly 4 hours of sleep everyday between working still and living between two houses, which- drumroll- led me to a first-class ticket to urgent care with an upper respiratory infection that I’ve had a hard time mending because when I get sick, I stay sick forever.
SO you can see why I say it’s been insane, and today we discovered (my mom and G’s grandma were over) a gas leak in the house. What in the world, lol. I'm just a 23-year-old kid learning as I go and whew, what a month.
Also, random side note for my fellow small business owners: don't hop on the squishy trend because Squishy Karens are very pressed about it, and I’ve had death threats and false reviews left because people are NUTS about them. That has been loads of fun to deal with while all of this is happening behind the scenes.
I’m still here, I’m still creating, but just me being transparent as usual if you're wondering why the shop seems sporadic the last month. I am finally feeling better, just battling off a cough and some tiredness. I have only a few open orders which is exciting because I’ve been a fulfilling beast the last couple of weeks. I’m here, I’m showing up, and I’m excited for all the fall items coming to the shop. Our Snoopy pumpkin collection dropped yesterday and our checkered apple collection dropped today. AND UM HELLO, BLISS turned 7 last month. Actual tears because this all started in my childhood bedroom during COVID when I needed to make some money, and now it provides for my family and has given me a dream life. SO much love, I can't wait to keep growing together. Take care of yourself, stay hydrated with this crazy hot weather (I’m too thick for this), and love your spicy brains.
XO, Bri