Where We've Been.

Hello! Wow. Can I just say it feels good to blog again?

I've missed this place--even though it is a "new" place for everyone reading! I hope you all are good with the blog swap. And the name swap. Made By Katy has a good ring to it, yes? I think so. You may be wondering why I did that in the first place, and why I waited so long to get back to this blog thang...well, I have a few well thought out reasons that I hope you agree with. Here we gooooo.....

1. Twenty Three Oh One was a mouth full. (Mouthful? I don't know.)

2. The old name had me in a dilemma, you see--I really wanted my shop name to be about what was in the shop. Simple as that. I also needed it to flow straight into a good blog name. After months (and months) of pondering (texting my sisters a thousand ideas, making 143 logos, second guessing myself, etc.), I finally came to a happy place with the name Made By Katy. Simple. Direct. And definitely true. I make all of the things in my Etsy shop (a printable stationery shop for you newbies--also, I am restocking with new stuff, so check back soon for more items!). And well, let's just say it--the new name works for my blog because I am a "maker". A crafter, a decorator, a baker, a homemaker. I like to make things. (You, too?)

3. Reason number three is a biggie...well, it's simply that we no longer reside at 2301! That's right, we moved. I know, I know--a lot can happen in six months when you fall off the blog wagon. It was a very stressful exciting time for us. Why the move, you ask? Well, I was pulling my hair out trying to fit all our stuff into our tiny little house. We had been dreaming of buying more space in a better school district; you know-- a house we can really grow in to. We weren't planning on moving until next year, but as you know, plans prove you wrong all the time. It just kind of happened. We found a steal and here we are, on the other side of town, in a great neighborhood and in a house that we love but needs SO much work. (Great blog material though!) We have gone from 1100 square feet to 2300. Yes. I need furniture. And money, haha. SO anyways, we left the little house (I cried) and we lost the address number. And of course, that added fuel to my name-change fire. :)

So sad and empty! I was crying when I took this.

4. Now, I need to be honest with you all here, I almost didn't start blogging again. If you blog, I'm sure you can understand why. I was self-conscious about always talking about me. And...what if people secretly laughed at my post? What if I didn't get comments? And then there's the time that it takes, the coming-up-with-good-ideas, the time, and well, mostly the time. It takes so much time and sweet, hard-to-come-by energy for this "hobby" and I have a crazy and very sweet little one-year-old (yes, we made it to one! Parents of the Year.) running around who I want to be a good, attentive mother to. I want Parker to remember me playing with him, not sitting on the computer. Not working. So, I was just going to have my Etsy shop open to make some extra income after he went to bed (and to furnish this freakin' house). BUT THEN. But then I started getting emails from readers. Sweet emails. And I'm sorry, because I know that I missed writing someone back (I cannot remember your name, but thank you!). And my friends and family would tell me they missed my blog. And, here's the crazy part--I started thinking of blog posts in my head. I would get a good idea or be thinking about how I want to renovate/decorate a room and I would start writing a very detailed mental post. I missed the community that blogs bring, and I missed this place that is completely mine, where you can't see my chipped nails or the pieces of half-eaten toast that are under our dining table.

So, here we are. I've had a lot of heart time these past six months. I know what is truly important to me and how to be intentional about my priorities. At least I do most of the time :). I have a "plan" to work the blog and my shop into our routine without interfering with our family life. I want to be a mother and wife first. If it comes down to writing a blog post because it just has to be posted, or taking Parker to the park, the latter will always win. BUT I am so happy to be back. And I hope you don't mind having me here, too.

Parker and I at our new digs on Mother's Day.

A shot from P's first birthday party.

Thanks for making it through my novel of a first post. If you want, take a look around the new blog! Some of the links go to blank pages...working on that. I was going for simple, modern, and classic. Hope that point comes across. :)

We have a lot to catch up on! Cannot. Wait.