WHEN I GROW UP

When I was growing up, I wanted to be an astronaut.  That was my career choice for quite some time.  Once I went to high school, my focus shifted a bit.  I worked for a few attorneys during high school and one attorney, in particular, had a huge impact on me.  She was my mentor, I guess you would say.  She was smart, hard working and successful.  I wanted to be like her.  She even helped me get a job in college working for another attorney.  I spent six years working for attorneys and when I graduated from college, I came to the realization that I did not want to go to law school.  I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do, but I knew being an attorney was not my calling.  I ended up being a media buyer (buying radio, television and outdoor advertising) for a local advertising agency.  I liked it, but certainly didn't love it.  Nine months after our first child was born, my husband and I decided that it would work best for our family if I were to stay home.  That was about nine years ago.  Since then, we added a couple more kids and a few more responsibilities to my position as a stay at home mom.  It's a job I take great pride in and wouldn't trade a second of it.  

Now that I am all grown up and my babies are getting older, I have been yearning to do something more.  I have always loved decorating and I had such a great time decorating my past apartments, our first house and our current home. I have helped friends and family with projects from time to time and recently I have picked up a few new clients.  

I just finished up a design for a client and I am working on several others.  I absolutely love creating designs for others and I finally feel like I am doing what I was meant to do.  

Here is one of the designs I put together.  

This is the actual design board with fabric samples and paint swatches included. 

This client e-mailed me and asked for help with a few rooms in her house.  We started with a plan to transform the living and dining room.  Hopefully we'll be moving on to the kitchen soon. I can't wait to show you the changes once they are complete. She was so great to work with.  She is very open to DIY projects (like Shelley's fabulous sunburst mirror, tutorial found here) and she even knows how to sew.  She was the perfect client.

I'll be sure to share other projects as I work on them.  How about you guys?  Have you found your calling or are you still trying to decide what to be when you grow up?