Whew! What a whirlwind the last two months have been. But, in a good way. Everything in the last 8 weeks have led to this moment! Over the weekend I moved to Jackson, MS to be with Joe!
If you follow me on Instagram then you know that I have been in a long distance relationship for a little over a year with Joe. But we weren’t always long distance. We started out as friends, then became boyfriend/girlfriend and then he got a great job opportunity out of state and I gave him my blessing to go for it – fully knowing that it could be a challenge for our relationship.
Fast forward to this Fall and I was being very intentional about finding a job near him. I was getting interviews but the money wasn’t right. Finally I got a call from an insurance company to be an Area Development Manager. So it was not only potentially more money but it also gave me the same flexibility I’m used to so that I can still sew and blog as I like. The only catch was that I would need to pass a state insurance test. Everyone told me it would be hard and that I would have to take it twice (the studying almost took me out)…but during Thanksgiving break I took the test and passed on the first try! So going into the New Year I will have a new job! Whew!
As soon as I received the job offer in October (which was conditional on me passing the insurance test) I knew that my sewing and blogging life would prove challenging if I didn’t plan accordingly. So, that’s exactly what I did -made a plan!
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to devote all my time to any new projects so I finished all my sponsored ones just before Thanksgiving and then went fully into #memadeonrepeat on Instagram. I didn’t create the hashtag, but OMG it certainly helped my situation. There I was with a ton of clothes I didn’t wear all year. So I took about 3-4 days to re-imagine outfits for a fresher look and took photos. At the end of my planning, I had about 15 posts I could spread out and use in a single month period so that I could continue to share content with y’all.
In my stories I tried so hard to hold my secret in. Only revealing that I was taking trips to the storage unit and waxing nostalgia over Barbie dolls and old sewing class books. It was extremely hard when I visited for Thanksgiving and I couldn’t show anyone my future sewing room. I kept all my packing and transitional phase away from IG and that felt totally okay – until I realized that I would need to find a way to share my big news. I know from experience that people can tell when your surroundings and city change. But this is not your average move! Not only is this my first time living with a significant other, but I’m also getting my first sewing room -and for that I felt like I had to share this news in a big way.
Now for the plot twist, next week is Christmas and I have just 8 short days to get the house together before BOTH sets of parents come and visit our home for the first time! I love hosting and cooking, so this is like my Olympics but boy this week is getting intense. The good thing is that I’ve already made curtains while I was here for Thanksgiving and so far both Christmas trees are up and the kitchen is unpacked. I’m saving the best for last! 😉
Until next time, xo!
RAVEN MAUREEN 