The Monthly Edit: October 2019
Hey paper people!
Hope you all are having an amazing October so far! Hard to believe we are already in the last week of the month, and once again it seems like I’m so behind on trying to get these monthly posts out on the first of each month haha. In my defense, I may or may not have had a little freak out moment on October 1st when it occurred to me how little time I had left before this baby arrives to get all the things I wanted done. Both on the personal/home front as well as for the shop. Plus I definitely had a week of first trimester EXHAUSTION where I basically was asleep for several days in a row. So perhaps what I am learning is to be okay with things being undone, or not done the exact way I want - but that’s just life too right?
In any case, I am one happy camper that the weather seems to have cooled off significantly and I think those 100+ degree days are over. I think everyone in Austin can agree we were all so over the extreme heat!
p.s. Sharing about the baby shower a sweet friend of mine hosted for me this last weekend in Life Lately so be sure to read through the end!
xo, Pei
A QUICK LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER:
1. Hosted a really fun and successful Plant Swap Party (something I hope will become an annual event that grows with our community!
2. Hosted our 82nd workshop + event of 2019. Literally looked through our studio calendar and counted out everything - sometimes it’s nice to take am moment to look back and be proud of what we accomplish as a small business :)
3. Worked on the final top secret details of our 4th birthday bash (more details in this post later!)
THINGS COMING UP:
FALL WORKSHOPS
Y’all know how quickly our workshops tend to fill up, so don’t say we didn’t warn ya! Our entire Fall workshop calendar is LIVE!
Don’t miss out on a chance to join us in our studio and get creative before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is here. We can’t wait to have you!
FINALIZED OUR P+CP FALL + WINTER COLLECTION
Yep, maybe I’m crazy but we will be releasing 34 new product SKUS very soon! It’s been amazing how much you guys have loved our in-house line :)
SAVE OUR TOUR STOP NUMBER FOR EAST THIS YEAR!
We’re officially a part of the East Austin Studio Tour! And we’ll be featuring 8 local, women artists in our studio - 4 of each of the weekends!
WE’RE TURNING 4!
And we want to celebrate with Y-O-U!
LIFE LATELY:
Well….I’m officially 35 weeks this week and I have NO clue how time has gone by so fast. My mom has been in Singapore and she finally got back the end of last month - she’s been in town for a little over a week so far helping us with things around the house. And we also had a baby shower this weekend, so it’s been a busy, busy week around here. We’ve had a bunch of family and friends stay with us too so it’s been a little more hectic at home than usual. My mom and step dad plus their two dogs were here for a week, then he left with the dogs before my friend and her husband plus two kiddos came to stay with us. And then Evan’s mom came into town for the shower. Talk about FULL HOUSE haha
Like I said earlier I’m feeling a little stressed (to be perfectly honest) about how I’m supposed to get “everything” done. Also nervous about how I’m supposed to step back/away (even temporarily) from the business. And to top if off throw in the fact I don’t feel ready to be responsible for another life. Everyone says you’re never ready and you’ll figure it out so here’s to hoping they’re right!
Anyway, the baby shower was hosted by one of my dearest friend who planned it all from Houston. I was very anti-baby shower the whole time but she promised it would be low key, no weird baby shower games, and I did not want to sit around and open presents (idk why but that makes me super uncomfortable - so we waited to do that until after we got back to my house with just a few friends/my mom and Evan’s mom around)
I’m sharing bunch of photos from Saturday morning - it was seriously such a cute and sweet way to celebrate with close friends!
A FEW MORE QUESTIONS Y’ALL MIGHT HAVE:
How long do you plan to be on maternity for?
I don’t really have a set time frame honestly. From the time the baby arrives I anticipate it being a huge (and difficult) transition personally so I’ve been working really hard to get as much as I can done for the business so I can truly step away. Again, feeling super blessed to have some amazing gals on our team who I know will keep things running smoothly in my absence! I’m guessing I won’t be able to stay away for long and will likely still be working whenever I can/remotely and occasionally popping in when I can too. But I think it goes back to the fact that I’m really proud that over the years, I’ve worked really hard for this business that I feel confident it’s time that it can work for me while I go through this new chapter in life!
What else do you need to get done before the baby gets here (personally)?
We just got the baby room kinda put together and started doing a bunch of laundry. Tiny clothes and things are really cute you guys! There are still a few things on my to-do list at home that we’ve been slowly knocking out - my mom has been in town helping out and that’s been really nice. I know we are going to try to make some freezer meals for quick meals and mostly just making sure that we have someone to help care for the dogs once I go into labor until we get home!
What else do you need to get done before the baby gets here (for the shop)?
SO MUCH! haha I’m already squaring away our Q1 workshops and events so all that can go live while I’m away. I’ve done all my holiday + rest of 2019 buying which is terrifying because all small businesses know cash flow is a very real and scary thing. I still have so much fomo of not being here for the holiday season.
How are you feeling?
It changes day to day. Some days I feel good physically and mentally, some days I feel terrible. My physical symptoms change day-to-day and range from really bad joint and hip pain to heart burn. I’ve also got some kinda allergy + cold combo going on and that’s no fun at all!
I’m trying to focus on taking one day at a time and giving myself a lot of bandwidth to do things a little slower than I normally do. It’s really a struggle to not move and do things at a more efficient pace as someone who is a doer and go getter. I guess a part of this whole thing is learning to slow down and be okay with doing the best I can, knowing that there will be things left undone - and it’ll all still be okay. At least that’s what I keep telling myself!
BABY CASO BABY SHOWER!
