my word for 2016: fresh.

ok first things first: i was really, really apprehensive about coming back here after such a long absence. i was convinced that even if i COULD find the time and energy to come back (and get through the especially difficult post to explain why ive been gone so long) that nobody would remember me and that id just be blogging into a vacuum until i re-built my entire audience from scratch. now i would like to take a minute and say a big fat THANK YOU to everyone thats read, commented, emailed, etc., it was SO nice to come back and instantly know that people are still reading here. 

but i digress.  

last year was the first year that i had done the whole "choose a word to center your goals around" thing, and i have to say, i really liked it. even though my word ("focus") was a little vague and turned out to not mesh well with the goals i made and the year really, really didnt turn out the way id hoped, setting a theme for my goals was a great way to get myself excited about actually doing the things i said i was going to do. 

so, obviously, im going to do it again this year. 

honestly i actually had a different word (and goals) picked out (and i was really excited about them) up until, oh.... about a week ago. but then some things happened (mainly car stupidness), and well... i needed to make some adjustments. and by adjustments i mean we needed to start ALL over and find something else more appropriate. 

and as i was sorting through all my blog papers half-heartedly trying to salvage my old editorial calendars and scouring craigslist for a similar replacement to my station wagon while not only dealing with all the bad things that happened over the last year but also the repercussions of how i just suck at life when im pregnant/have a newborn, my word for 2016 came to me: 

fresh. 

2016 is a year for fresh starts: for letting go of whats not working for us and focusing only on what is, for making our life better instead of just treading water. 2016 is a year for a fresh, positive outlook, for dropping bad habits and replacing them with good ones. 2016 is a year for really making a life we enjoy rather than just checking off a bunch of lists. 

so what does this mean? 

well first and foremost im not going to make a long, itemized list of goals to feel guilty about not accomplishing. but this is what weve been working on so far: 

ive officially quit jamberry and selling handmade clothes. yes, those things did technically make money but not very much, and definitely not enough to make up for the time they took away from my family AND being able to work towards what i really want to do for money. 

ive decided what i actually want to do for a career. im not going to juggle a whole bunch of tiny little jobs that im really not into anymore. i want to be a pattern maker. obviously i cant just go be a pattern maker right now, but my priority right now is to work as much on my education as possible so that when the time comes, i can be an awesome pattern maker. 

were getting back on all kinds of wagons. remember how i said i super suck at life when im pregnant? well... over the last year i completely lost my grip on a lot of my household responsibilities. mainly the REALLY important things like budgeting, meal planning, and cleaning the house. so our first order of business is to get back on track with our former thrifty, healthy, tidy lifestyle. 

im going to be like, a legit blogger. and by that i mean, i threw out all my old editorial calendars, cracked open a brand-new note book and started planning a whole YEAR of new content that im actually excited about, rather than just what i felt like i "should" be doing. 

whether we like it or not, were buying a new car. ok maybe not a new, new car, but this time were going to REALLY research and carefully shop for a reliable long-term family car so that we dont end up in this exact situation not even three years from now (can you tell this has happened to us before...)

but most importantly:

im not making a lengthy list of arbitrary goals to feel bad about all of the time that im not accomplishing goals. because if theres one thing ive learned from setting new-year goals, its that (for me) they really get in the way of (me) enjoying life as it happens and celebrating the things we DO accomplish without comparing them to the things we didnt. (not knocking new-year goals in general, this is just how things have gone for me). 

so yeah, thats where things seem to be headed for this fresh new year. 

what do you have planned this year? do you pick a "word" for the year? if so, whats yours? let me know in the comments, i love hearing what other people pick!

the 15 best things to happen in 2015 (and what happened to those 2015 goals).

good morning 2016! and happy new year everyone! hope you didnt party too hard last night (not to brag, but we just had our SIXTH consecutive new years eve of going to bed early because at least half of the family was sick). 
after yesterdays totally downer post, and before i jump into the legitimately awesome stuff i want to do i wanted to take a minute to reflect on all the great things that happened over the last year, as well as catch up the goals i made at the beginning of 2015, so that we can start moving forward from a nice clean slate. and, what better day to do it than new years day? none, obviously. 
moving on to our first order of business, lets get to the 15 best things to happen in 2015: 
1. we had a baby! not only does this mean im not pregnant anymore, but we also got a really cool baby! and i got to give him a totally ridiculous name without anyone noticing how ridiculous it is (except, like, my mom. she knew EXACTLY how ridiculous it is).
2. i got to collaborate on a rap song! no, im not kidding. my favorite rapper mc lars asked twitter about hipster mom stuff and when i (obviously) had the best answers we emailed a bit and he actually used a lot of my suggestions in his song hipster mom. 
3. i got a trophy in pattern making class! pattern making class was NOT easy (for a variety of reasons) but my teacher pushed us all REALLY hard to do the best we could and when i made the largest collection of the class (11 pieces!) she totally recognized my effort. (sidenote, i never did sports so this is probably the literal first time ive ever gotten a trophy). 
4. we bought all new bedroom furniture! for the first time, our bedroom is cute and functional and filled with stuff we like! and it only took a million trips to ikea and a medium amount of fighting!
5. we went on our first ever family trip! when my childhood best friend got married at a gorgeous but pretty out of the way park, we made it a weekend trip and it was pretty awesome. 
6. alice got tall enough to go on big rides at disneyland! also, her hitting 40 inches coincided perfectly with her turning four so she had a VERY special birthday this year. 
7. james worked at target during christmas time so all our christmas shopping was at least 15% off! honestly, im pretty bummed target doesnt pay enough for us to live off of, because i already miss that discount. 
8. my guts totally calmed down! remember how i used to have like a million food allergies? well now its down to literally only gluten! for a long time i couldnt tolerate too much corn or soy but guess who can have (moderate amounts of) regular soda and tofu? thats right, me. 
9. everybody totally killed it on christmas gifts this year! james got me a boxed set of harry potter books, i got him a bunch of clothes from american apparel, and we managed to get alice ALL of the things she asked for this year. 
10. james and i both embraced minimal living and we got rid of tons of stuff! ive lost count of how many loads weve taken to the thrift store, and theres no signs of them slowing down any time soon. 
11. i got As in all three classes i took this year! which means my GPA since coming back is a solid 4.0! (well see if i can pull my cumulative GPA high enough to graduate with honors though...). 
12. we had some pretty big milestones in the family. my youngest sister turned 13, my brother turned 18 AND graduated high school, and my other sister turned 21. there were a LOT of great parties in 2015. 
13. we saw my favorite band play my favorite record! and i only cried a little. and maybe that was mainly because i was pregnant...
14. james and i celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! we didnt have the money to do anything crazy so we just went out to dinner, but still, thats a lot of anniversaries. 
15. james leveled up to a level six apprentice! which means he only has two more levels before he journeys out and we never have to deal with this apprenticeship process ever again!
so while 2015 DEFINITELY had WAY more than its fair share of bad times, it had its good times too. and we cant forget about those good times. 
now, what about those goals i set at the beginning of the year? well, in retrospect "focus" was a GREAT choice in a word for the year, but pairing it with 43098574983 little goals was NOT a great decision. i figured out midway through the year that i had spread myself too thin and it just wasnt realistic to do ALL of those things anyway. but, in the spirit of finishing what i started (something ive never been good at but would like to master), heres the final tally: 
i did: solidify my blogs brand and content, blog consistently (for the 2/3 of the year i was blogging), schedule my posts in advance, collaborate with other bloggers, vend at 3 craft fairs, experiment with new designs, have more family time, purge and simplify our home, buy a new bed/mattress, replace the hi-fi in the living room, improve my credit score, get straight As in school, and experiment more in the kitchen. 
i did not: apply for any of the patchwork shows, turn my fabric stash into inventory, go one one "real date" per month, start consistently homeschooling, stick to a reasonable budget, get 1/2 way to our goal emergency fund, or maintain a part time income with jamberry. 
so, looking at the big picture (not one of my strengths but im working on it) i did a LOT more than i didnt do, and we did have an unreasonable hard year. and i learned a lot about goal setting, so thats what really matters i guess. 
now, on to 2016! stay tuned for monday when i talk about my word for 2016 and what i have planned for us as we start the new year! 

goodbye 2015 + a life update

(note: this photo has absolutely nothing to do with todays blog post, i just want to draw attention to how much benedict loves cats)
in case you are brand new here (or forgot this blog existed), id like to get something out of the way real quick: yes, i am completely aware that i posted a super long, exciting post about rebranding and then went AWOL for four months. no, the irony is not lost on me. 
to be completely honest, ive been trying to mentally write this post (and have had several different versions in my drafts) for a few weeks now, and i just couldnt figure out how so i just... didnt do it (yes, this is how i typically deal with things. yes i know its terrible). but today is the last day of 2015, and probably the most appropriate time to just come out and say it: 
2015 has not ended well for us. 
in the interest of catching everyone up to speed with whats been going on without descending into a bottomless pit of self-pity, heres a brief list of bad things that have happened lately in more or less chronological order: 
1. in early september we lost my stepdad to suicide. im not going to go into detail explaining how horrible this was/is for everyone involved because, well, this is something id rather deal with privately than publicly discuss, but yes, it was (is?) terrible. 
2. james didnt work at all for two whole months after that. this was entirely coincidental, and, while on the one hand it was helpful to be able to just stop everything and grieve as a family, we also need james to work so we can like, pay rent and stuff. 
3. my health got, like, way worse. right at the very convenient time of right after we were dropped from our health insurance. (dont worry, im not dying, im just in absurd amounts of pain for no reason. also, im probably too old for having babies).
4. jamess bike got stolen. you know, the thing that makes our whole "having one car" thing totally manageable? stolen at the also very convenient time of right when james started working again/got a second job at target. 
5. i had a really, REALLY rough semester. the first 2/3 was a lot of confusion and wasted class time and the last 1/3 was constant stress and insanity. and i was only in one class. 
6. james (briefly) worked two jobs while i was still in school and we were sharing my car and it drove everyone literally insane. also he had to work (at target) on thanksgiving/black friday, which was stupid. 
7. i spent months trying to figure out our health insurance situation, and when i couldnt get any answers i started the process with getting insurance from the state, only to find out at the very end that WE HAD INSURANCE THE WHOLE TIME (well, not the time when they sent us a letter saying "no more health insurance" and cancelled all my scheduled appointments, but all the other time. yes i just realized i described the worst m. night shyamalan movie ever). 
8. overall james had a terrible year at work (like, made about half of what he made last year), right when we decide that im going to go to school instead of having a job for the next two years. 
and
8. my car died. literally, completely died. TWO DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS. seriously. 
so yeah, that about catches us up to today. obviously, other stuff happened in there too and were all still alive and healthy (ok, the kids are sick with sniffles) with lots of friends and family around to help/make us feel better (also, christmas was great), so life isnt that bad. and i mean, things can only go up from here, right? 
good riddance 2015, and stay tuned for tomorrows post where i talk about stuff thats not totally depressing! 

2015: a year of focus (part three: financial and personal goals)

hip, hip, horray! weve made it to the last part of my 2015 goals series, and after today, we can jump back on the exciting new blog schedule that ive been working on!

today im talking about my personal and financial goals, which ive tacked on to the end here because while in past years financial and personal goals have consumed my whole life. but this year, things are different, and im really excited to start a year with way less pressure in these departments. 

but, of course, this doesnt mean that im not going to make financial and personal goals, because theyre still important. just not, as important as they used to be. and without further ado, here we go: 

financial goals: 

1. set a reasonable monthly budget and stick to it. after spending years in bare-bones survival mode, our recent (relative) financial stability has been a HUGE relief. but its also been a HUGE learning curve as weve had to adjust everything that we do as we figure out the balance of fitting what we need, what we want, and saving money for later (seriously, having leftover money for those last two things is completely foreign to me), within an income thats not quite predictable (construction has its ebb and flow over the course of the year). my goal for this year is to find that middle ground (frugal and intentional, but not austere and depriving), and consistently keep it month-to-month. 

2. keep improving my credit score and get a card with better rewards. over the summer i was finally able to get my first real credit card, and i have been using it very responsibly every month, both to improve my credit score (which was nothing) as well as to earn a tiny bit of cash back on all the money we spend anyway (might as well make the bills we pay anyway work for us, right?). now id really like to get a card with nicer rewards to maybe help us save up for a vacation and my credit score is almost to the point where i would qualify for one of the nicer cards (and not get dinged for having too many accounts in too short of a time), so while i wait til the right time, i also need to research my options. 

3. get at least 1/2 way to our emergency fund goal. james and i have been doing a lot of talking about our long-term financial goals. and while there are a lot of things that we just arent ready/able to do much work on (like buying a house, funding our retirement, possibly dabbling in investing), there is one thing we just need to get cracking on: a decent emergency fund that would actually be able to float us out of an actual emergency. we sat down to decide what that would entail (six months expenses plus all our insurance deductibles), and came up with the very, very scary number of $13,500. obviously, we are not going to be able to get there in just one year. but two? yeah, maybe we can. 

personal goals: 

1. stay in school and continue to get straight a's. maybe this seems really obvious and like it should be something i can just do and not something i have to make into a goal, but let me tell you something: im totally a quitter. it is really, really, really rare for me to finish a thing that i start. and well, this is one thing i really want to finish. to learn the skills i need to build my business, to be actually employable should the time come for me to need a real job, to prove to myself that i can finish big things. also, because i was such a crappy student the first time around, it would really be awesome to graduate with honors this time (though, given how few classes i have left, i dont know if that will be possible, even if i do get straight a's in my next eight classes). 

2. maintain a part-time income with jamberry. this is another area where im easily discouraged and prone to want to give up. lots of women are out there making jamberry a full time career, pulling six figures, and going on all-expense-paid incentive trips in cancun. but honestly, my goal isnt to advance in the company, turn this into my career and make the big bucks. i just need a part time job so that we can have some fun money/a little help in the slow months until i graduate/am actually bringing in money with PL. and with jamberry (and the super amazing team of thirteen ladies working with me), this is totally possible. but only if i keep with it. 

3. experiment in the kitchen more and learn some new recipes. im not a naturally adventurous person, and in general prefer to stick to what i know works. especially when it comes to cooking (much to the dismay of my husband). when it comes to the dinners we eat at home, we tend to stick on a pretty solid rotation of the same eight or nine favorites. and its kind of getting old. so this year is going to involve a lot more cook books, a lot more pinterest, and a lot more sucking it up and taking the risk with a new recipe. 

so with that, does anyone have any recommendations for rewards cards or food blogs? 

p.s. stay tuned for next time when i introduce 2015's first regular feature!

p.p.s. dont forget that ALL sponsorships are 50% off with the code JAN15! check my sponsor page for details!

2015: a year of focus (part two: family and home goals)

hello everyone! welcome to part two of my 2015 goals series! in my last two posts, i unveiled my word for 2015 (focus) and outlined my (very focused) goals for the blog and shop. today im continuing the series with my family and home goals for this year. 

in keeping with my theme of focus, i chose just a few, specific goals for each category, to keep me focused on whats most important. i also put this post in the middle, because, well, family and home are in the middle of every thing i do. 

so what are these goals? 

family goals:

1. commit to one "real date" per month. confession: james and i have always been terrible at dating each other. we werent even good at it when we were actually dating. but over the years weve learned how important this is (even if to my logical, unromantic brain it seems like a waste of time and money). so i want to commit to one real date every month. not a redbox movie, not takeout because i dont feel like cooking, not a walk in the park. a real, babysitter, thing we need reservations or tickets to grown up date. 

2. schedule family time into every week. now this, this is where the redbox movies and walks in the park come into play. last semester was really, really hard on us as a family, not only because i was busy/stressed out all the time, but because of how little time we got to spend just doing things as a family. so in addition to a monthly date, i want to schedule some kind of family outing every week. whether its something free (disneyland, the zoo, the park, the beach), or not (dinner out, a movie, or a new museum). 

3. be more consistent with homeschooling. alice may only be three, but she is very, very smart. and she needs constant intellectual stimulation. this past summer (when james was out of town all the time), i had gotten her a few preschool workbooks from the dollar store to try out. shes been doing great learning her letters, numbers, and shapes and learning to follow simple directions (like circling things or crossing them out), but her patience with school work is short, since shes, you know, three. this year i want to be more consistent with both book-type things (even though she is pretty far from actual formal schooling), but also with field trips to fun places. 

home goals: 

1. continue to purge and simplify everywhere. de-cluttering has been a HUGE undertaking over the past year or so, and it has been AMAZING. the house is cleaner and more organized, i am way less stressed out and anxious (who knew clutter had such a deep impact?), and surprisingly, we spend way less money. but the funny thing about getting rid of stuff is that the stuff you got rid of just uncovers another layer of things you realize you dont need. so it looks like weve got more to clean out this year too. 

2. buy a new bed/mattress. our mattress is starting to get lumpy, and ive wanted a cute bed frame for years. but weve been severely limited in our options since we have a king sized mattress and well, both mattresses and bed frames at this size literally start at one thousand dollars. and frankly, this bed is huge and impractical and im over it. so as soon as we can afford it, were treating ourselves to a new queen sized mattress on a cute bed frame. (obviously i am super excited about this). 

3. replace our vintage hi-fi with something actually functional. this was a hard call to make, but we just had to. the centerpiece of our living room has always been this gorgeous vintage console record player, and we both love it. thing is, its huge. it offers nothing in the way of storage or functionality (other than being a nice long surface for the computer and tv). and the wiring has a short so we cant even use the turntable. so it has to go. as soon as i find just the right midcentury style credenza to replace it with. 

i am super excited about my family and home goals for this year, and i cant wait to get started on them! stay tuned for next time, when i talk about my personal and financial goals!

(and dont forget, everything in the etsy shop is 30% off this whole month with the code JAN15)

2015: a year for focus (part one: blog and shop goals)

hello january! nice to see you around again. if were being completely honest here, ive never been a huge fan of january. i often refer to it as "the monday of the year". but as ive gotten older, ive grown to appreciate mondays. monday is a day to regroup, make a plan of attack, and kick the next weeks butt. and maybe january can be like that too. 

in my last post, i unveiled my "one word" for 2015, and in case you missed it, that word was "focus". i chose focus as the guide for my goals this year because with all the crazy changes and developments of the past year, i realized that while we have lots of REALLY cool stuff going on right now, what i really need to do is step back and focus. 

focus on our long-term plans, focus on why were doing the things were doing, focus on what we actually need to do, not just get wrapped up in whatevers being thrown at us on whatever day. 

and im starting this year of a new, focused mindset with a different kind of goal list. rather than writing a long list of scattered, random goals for the year, i picked six key areas (blog, shop, family, home, financial, and personal) and made just a few goals in each area to focus on. 

and since six topics is a lot to cover all at once, ive paired them up so that this can be a little mini-series. today: we have blog and shop goals, on monday well talk about family and home foals, and finally on wednesday well talk about financial and personal goals. lets press on, shall we? 

blog goals: 

1. solidify my brand and content. ive been writing this blog for (gasp!) almost two years and for basically all of it ive really struggled with my identity as a blogger and the direction/brand of this blog. who am i? what kind of blog is this? where do i fit into the blogging community? what is my niche? if this blog is going to really get anywhere, i need to stop trying to do all the things and figure this out. im currently in the middle of coaching about this, and its really exciting to start the new year already making progress on a big goal. 

2. plan and write posts ahead of time. since im not a full time blogger making a living at this (yet), i have to balance writing and maintaining this blog with all the other things i juggle on a daily basis. this means im not able to write, edit, and promote each post on the day its supposed to go live. i need to use my large blocks of free time (weekends, late nights, days alice is out), to get multiple posts ready to go. and if that is going to work at all, i need a plan. so in the immediate future i need to map out my topics for a, um... long time, so that i can use my writing time for writing. 

3. consistently blog throughout the entire year. this means: figuring out a comfortable (but reliable) posting schedule, finding my rhythm for social media, not taking huge breaks, things of that nature. obviously this is going to take some trial and error, but for now my first step is to determine my weekly posting schedule, both for timing as well as topics. tentatively i have things set like this: mondays - personal/family/random posts, wednesdays - money/home/shopping posts, fridays - food/craft/shop-related posts. this way, you guys know when to expect a post from me, and also, that youre always going to have something a little different to read. 

4. collaborate and connect more. one of the hardest things about being a blogger is feeling like youre in this alone, when really theres a HUGE and super supportive community out there to work with. and this year, i really want to embrace that. how? im not sure yet, this may mean more sponsorships, linkups, giveaways, and guest posting, it may mean something totally crazy and different. well just have to wait and find out. 

shop goals. 

1. apply for patchwork santa ana in the spring. black friday weekend i was invited to sell at a somewhat spontaneous holiday market with some friends, and to my surprise (it was a small event, mostly of people i know), i ended the year with a decent amount of money to invest in my business. and i decided that its finally time to stop being a scaredy cat and apply for my first "real show". if i get in, this would be a HUGE step for me as a person, and poverty luxe as a business. if i dont, well then its off to goal #2. 

2. vend at 2-3 "real" craft fairs. by "real" i mean not the small, community type events that ive done in the past, i mean serious events like patchwork or the silver lake flea market or something else similar (obviously im researching more options). ive learned (over and over) that the smaller events, while lower in booth fees, are lower in attendance, sales, and networking opportunity, and while ill probably only be able to afford a couple of larger events over the course of the year, id rather invest in events with a greater chance of growing my business. 

3. launch my kids line and experiment with womens tops. ive had a kids line planned out for a while: more sizes of skirts, a sundress that doubles as a top as the child grows, and a simple little t-shirt in fun prints, and before i can launch, i need to do a little more sizing research and make the paper patterns. also, in order to launch the shirt, i need to either be very patient and fix my serger, or be extra very patient and save up for a new one. ive also had some ideas for adult sized tops, so by the end of the year, id like to at least have made some prototypes. 

4. turn my stash into inventory. seriously, im just sitting on piles of beautiful fabrics just waiting to be turned into something useful. so this year, my focus is to build my inventory from the fabrics i have until i absolutely need to go fabric shopping (and also to donate/give away anything thats not useful. 

so those are my blog and shop goals for 2015. now, if you notice, some of those goals, well, i could use a little help to accomplish. and im not the type to ask for help without offering anything in return. so to help jump start my goals to collaborate with other bloggers more, and to help finance my future vendor applications, im having two HUGE sales: 

50% off ALL sponsorships with code JAN15 in my passionfruit shop! i have two options: one includes a large sidebar ad, social media shoutouts, AND a full blown guest post on poverty luxe, for just $10 ($5 this month), and the other includes a small sidebar ad and an introductory shoutout on twitter for $3 (just $1.50 with the code). buying a sponsorship from me is not only a super fun (and inexpensive) way to grow your blog by collaborating with someone super fun (me), but also ALL the money i bring in through sponsorships goes RIGHT back into sponsoring other bloggers! 

30% off EVERYTHING in the poverty luxe etsy shop with code JAN15! in order for me to keep things moving with the shop, i really need to keep things moving in the inventory department, both to make room for the new lines, as well as to help fund the application/booth fees for any shows i apply for this year. this means you can score some AWESOME (if i do say so myself) handmade, eco-friendly clothing at an even more awesome price. 

both codes are good for the whole month of january, too!

2014 in review + my word for 2015

i feel really weird writing an end-of-the-year post, when 1. i didnt make yearly goals in january, 2. i totally bailed on my monthly themes in like april, and 3. i havent even blogged consistently for most of this year. but im going to do it anyway. 

because, whether i was willing to admit it at the time or not, 2013 was, basically, the worst year ever. if i could compare it to anything it would be 365 of alexanders terrible horrible no good very bad day in a row. 

and 2014 was very much not that. i mean, it started out looking like it was going to be that, but then it wasnt. 2014 turned out to actually be a HUGE year for the meyers family, it was a year of growth, a year of change, and a year of things in general not sucking so bad. and i dont know if it was the low, low, low expectations i had at the beginning of the year, but honestly i am blown away at how this year turned out. i was not expecting all this. and i am very, very thankful to be able to say that. 

i thought about writing a long, emotional post chronicling the challenges we started the year with and how things have changed, but for both yours and my sakes, im going to keep this upbeat and positive by sticking to a list of our accomplishments. because im pretty pumped about what weve done this year, and i want to start 2015 pumped about whats coming next, not being all weepy and nostalgic over how bad things used to be. because nobody wants to read about that. heck, i dont even want to write about it. 

so on we go! awesome things about 2014!

james got a big promotion and worked full time for most of the year! now, promotions are supposed to be a regular, predictable thing with his apprenticeship program, but because of some weird scheduling hangups and having like no work at all for several months, his promotions got messed up, BUT i am now married to a level four carpenter and we are finally past the "this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better" part of him having this job. 

i went back to school! technically this was a decision i made in 2013, but my first classes started in march, and ive now completed FIVE of the classes toward my lifelong dream of a degree in fashion design (only eight more to go!) and i have aced ALL OF THEM! (unfortunately, due to really struggling with most of my important classes the first time i went to college, i probably wont get to graduate with honors. sad face.)

i quit working at joanns and am now legitimately self employed! every year since i was like, 18, ive said, and i quote: "THIS IS THE YEAR THAT I WILL BECOME LEGITIMATELY SELF EMPLOYED". and at 24, I FINALLY DID IT. though, in a surprising twist of fate, not through my own business ventures, but by becoming a jamberry consultant (which, by the way, i had sworn up and down in college that i would never, ever do direct sales again). 

alice turned three and is freakishly, terrifyingly intelligent. alice started this year as a very verbal and observant two year old, and over the course of the year has blossomed into a witty, logical, three year old that can make recognizable objective drawings and WRITE HER NAME. and she doesnt even have an easy to write name. in other news, we have unofficially started homeschooling. 

i did a craft fair (two, actually) and didnt quit the shop or blog at any point even when i wanted to! even though my sales werent great, and i did take a major, unexpected hiatus in the middle of the year (that was only really, really hard to climb out of), i kept the shop running for the entire year, prepped for and did my first craft fair in a looooong time (which meant i was totally ready when a surprise event came up thanksgiving weekend), and kept the etsy shop up and running for the entire year. same with this here blog. 

we still have money in our savings account! last year basically drained our entire savings, so when this years tax refund came, i had hoped and prayed wed be able to keep enough in savings to renew our disneyland passes in full and pay next years car insurance in full (i just like not having monthly bills if i can avoid them, ok?). now its december, and AFTER taking care of some major expenses, way upgrading the disney passes, getting through birthdays, christmas, and the slow months, and going on a real, actual vacation, there is still twice as much in there as i had originally hoped. 

james and i went on real, grown up dates! and a vacation! and not just fancy dinners at actual restaurants without a gift card or coupon, i mean the kinds of things I've always wanted to do but we never had money for, like a concert, and a comedy show. and did i mention our first real vacation after four years of marriage? 

i made some major investments in my business goals. even though running my own business has been a lifelong dream of mine, and over the last couple of years ive figured exactly what that business is, ive always been too afraid (or broke) to make the necessary investments to really get things going. but this year i said NO MORE to holding myself back and invested in: an overhaul on my craft fair set-up, business coaching, a tripod, AND a new macbook. 

so, as you can see, 2014 turned out to be an awesome year for the meyers family. but also, as is plainly obvious by reading back over this list, it was also and absolutely insane and all over the place kind of year. which, yeah, after all weve been through in previous years was exciting and refreshing, it was also exhausting. honestly i mainly wrote this post as a pep talk for myself to remind myself why i ended the year so tired and burnt out, and that it was because of totally awesome reasons. 

which brings us to 2015. more specifically, my goals for 2015. even more specifically, my "one little word" for guiding my goals for 2015. 

see, this time last year, i was too afraid to commit to one word for the entire year. we were very much in a temporary, short term, survival mindset and well, thats changed. one of the biggest developments this year was that weve been able to shift our gears from survival to long term planning. and this time, i have a word for 2015:

focus. 

2014 was the crazy, all over the place year where we tried a lot of different things and figured out what was really important. 

2015 is the year that we zero in on those important things and make some serious progress in those areas. 

2015 is the year of focus. 

focus on what exactly? well, youll just have to stay tuned for my 2015 goals series to find out!

do you have a word for 2015? let me know what it is in the comments!

happy new year + january wishes.

i know im a little late here, seeing as its already the sixth and weve had the hardest time crawling out of christmas vacation mode, but i want to say it anyway:

happy new year!

hope everyone had a fantastic time celebrating, we spent the evening hanging out with friends and watching THE cutest, tiniest all girl punk band form:

and then heading home before 11 and promptly falling asleep (fun fact: james and i have never stayed up on new years eve, were no fun at all). 

now ive noticed that a lot of bloggers out there have declared their goals and resolutions and (my favorite) themes for the new year (amber of mr thomas and me really went fantasically above and beyond with hers), and as much as i REALLY want to participate, im just not able to commit to that kind of long term thinking right now. also i made that big list of goals on my birthday so maybe adding new long term goals isnt a good idea right now. 

so instead of picking a theme for the entire year, i think ill just pick a theme for each month (actually last year i made monthly resolutions and it seemed to work really well until about may when my health problems got worse), and talk about it when monthly wishes rolls around (also melyssa is absolutely brilliant for coming up with this one). 

januarys theme?

fresh. 

why? because the past couple months have been really difficult and stressful and exhausting and draining. also theres been a lot of holidays and junk food and getting sick and general being thrown off our regular routines.

as a result, just about everything in the meyers household has been feeling really dull, stale, unhappy, and like its about to fall apart any second. and i dont like it. so im going to be making a few changes around here to give 2014 fresh new start. heres what i plan on working on this month:

1. fresh foods. no more soda in the house, more fruits and veggies, as little processed/fast food as possible, and we are getting back on the meal planning/weekly shopping wagon if its the last thing i do. 

2. fresh attitude. lately ive noticed ive had a really bad attitude. i havent been a very kind, loving, or patient wife/mom/friend/sister/coworker, and that is NOT ok. this is probably going to be the hardest goal for this month, but it is so so important that i fix this.

3. fresh product in the shop. so, the whole writing knitting patterns thing turned out to be a not very productive distraction and i havent had new product in the shop in what feels like forever. i really want to spend some quality time sewing this month. 

and

4. fresh blog content. this is actually the main thing i wanted to talk about today. you know how the content here on poverty luxe has been sucking lately? looking at my stats im pretty sure you have. and so have i. im really, really sorry. 

see, what happened was, as i was learning more about blogging and wanting to grow my blog ive maybe been trying too hard to do too many "bloggy" things that really dont fit with the my original vision for poverty luxe (which was, because i think we all forgot for a while, to be a crafts and lifestyle blog to complement my etsy business with a focus on learning to live well on very little). january is going to be all about getting back to those roots. 

so what will this look like? well, ive been doing a LOT of brainstorming about 2014s blog content and heres what youre going to be seeing a lot more of: crafts, outfits, money saving tips, in-depth posts about running the shop, and just more about our life in general. 

and all those link-ups and giveaways and product reviews and general "filler" posts? no more. if i dont love it, if im not super excited to put it out here for you guys, its not going up. period. 

so far, im really excited to make major progress in these areas this month (and since its already the sixth, i kind of already have). what are you working on this month?

january call for sponsors.

just in case you have really crappy internet or something and the picture at the top of this post didnt load for you, it read "you should totally sponsor poverty luxe in january". 

and why exactly? 

well, if youve been following along for the past couple weeks i suppose youd have a lot of reasons not to, i mean, i havent been around much, my content has been um... lacking... and just between you and me, traffic has taken a hit as a result. also, the "new" sponsorship options i just made werent as well designed as i thought they were and caused all kinds of problems in trying to manage them. 

just being realistic here, its not exactly the most encouraging way to start the new year, both for me as a blogger and for you as the potential sponsor. 

but i assure you, THINGS ARE NOT GOING TO STAY THAT WAY. 

why?

well, because i spent most of my time off over the holidays working out how to fix ALL THE THINGS. 

first off, content. looking over november and decembers posts, i noticed that most of what id written wasnt nearly as engaging as id like it to be. i spent a lot of time trying to be more "bloggy" and almost no time trying to be me. not good. not good at all. BUT! big changes (good changes) to the content of poverty luxe are coming your way! ill go into more detail about this later, but i assure you, content quality is going to go way up. 

second, scheduling. five posts a week, every week isnt working out anymore. not with all the juggling three jobs and a husband and a toddler i have going on right now. so for now im scaling back to four posts a week, with fridays open for guest posts (shoot me an email at wifeofmeyers@gmail.com if youre interested in a guest post!).

and most importantly, management. so, its not secret at all that i totally jumped into sponsorships unprepared when i won a free year long passionfruit membership. back in november i did some major work on my sponsor shop and thought i had come up with a perfect mix of options. little did i know that i ended up making the small (free) ads MUCH more labor intensive than the large (paid) ads. facepalm. so were starting the new year with a few tiny little tweaks:

1. in post ad is exactly the same. that one actually worked out great. 

2. large ad still includes spot in the monthly group sponsor feature (decembers was pretty fun) AND now includes scheduled social media promotion of your blog/shop content.

3. small ads now only include an introductory tweet/facebook post.

and 4. guest posts are now an option. 

oh! one more thing! i added a new rule to my completely insane business model: all the money that i bring in through sponsorships, is going right back into sponsoring other blogs. so thats a pretty big win/win for all of us. 

so, with that said, heres whats currently available: 

and one more thing! you can get 20% off ANY ad spot with the code NEWYEAR through the end of january. just saying....