{hashtag stalking}

Things are all sorts of crazy around here this week. 

I have one of my big work events this Saturday so I'm in final prep for that which = Mandy in full anxiety/panic/"I can do this!" mode. And of course the rest of life keeps going like school delays and doodle orders and piles of laundry and the perfect timing of "auntie flow"...yeah I said that one with lots of sarcasm. And yes I just told you waaaay too much information. But you all can feel my pain, right?

Oh, and THIS happened on Friday. {insert a million exclamation points}

Right after I blogged about the rollercoaster of emotions that is art licensing. That one was SO God's timing, I tell ya. 

I knew that stalking #homegoodshappy on Instagram would pay off. And I did some SERIOUS stalking. 

If you skipped the link up there...THIS = this...

That's my "shine" piece in the upper right corner, and that lovely blogger purchased it at HomeGoods! So if you missed my news on every other possible social media platform, I'm super excited to be able to announce This Girl's Doodles is available at HomeGoods!

I'm not sure which stores are carrying my pieces but hopefully they will be available across the country. The closest store to us is about an hour away so I haven't been able to do any checking myself. 

If you happen to be at your local HomeGoods and see one of my pieces, snap a photo of it and share it on Instagram or Twitter with #thisgirlsdoodleshomegoods and tag me! 

I would love.you.forever. 

Not that I don't already love you. But you know that, right? Right.

So although things have been crazy, they are mostly crazy good and for that I'm so, so thankful. 

Oh! And I'm working on a fun March freebie for my email list subscribers, so if you haven't already, head on over to my home page and sign up to get This Girl's Life in your inbox!

XO,

{quick diy project}

On my last trip to Goodwill, I was lucky to find this great stair basket...

I've wanted one to corral all of our hats and gloves. But I wasn't too excited about the boring paint finish.

Simple enough to fix though, with a can of pretty olive green spray paint and some painter's tape!

I wanted to keep the wooden balls the original color, so I taped them off and then went to town with the paint. And I'm super happy with the results!

Not bad for a $4 basket and a $3 can of spray paint!

I would show it to you on our stairs, but they are currently a mess of dried up salt and random shoes from this nasty weather we're having. So we'll just leave that to your imagination, OK? 

Have you done any quick DIY projects lately? 

XO,

{a tale of two dressers}

I happen to be a big fan of dressers in entryways. I've wanted one in ours for quite awhile now. A midcentury one to be more specific. 

We've had a console table in there for a few years, which looked just fine, but offered zero storage.

And we had an adorable midcentury modern dresser in the boys' room...

A few weeks ago, someone at my work was selling a barely used IKEA dresser for super cheap. So we snagged it up and moved it into the boys' room...

It offers SO much more storage than the midcentury piece.

And speaking of my MCM dresser...

It is now in the entryway where I always wanted it!

I'm so happy with how it works in the space, both aesthetically and functionally. 

And I'm also loving some springy decor, considering it has been around 10 degrees here this week!

Do you have a dresser in an unexpected spot in your house?

XO,

{am I there yet?}

It has been awhile since I've given an update on my art licensing situation.

That's because it is a freaking long, and if I can be honest, at times excruciating, process. 

Over the past almost year and a half, I've found myself on many occasions whining to God like a toddler on a long road trip, questioning over and over again, "Am I there yet?!"

When is the magic going to happen?

When can we remodel our kitchen with my huge royalty check?

I found out in November that a large national chain bought some of my work. And I was doing a major happy dance. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops but because of legal stuff I have to keep my lips zipped until I know my pieces are available for sale.

You all...it is February and still no sign of them in stores. So here I am...sitting on this exciting announcement like an annoyed, squirmy cat.

Oh, and that big fat royalty check? I got my first one a few weeks ago. 

And I'm gonna be REAL honest with you all now.

It was $78.

Yep...I waited like the most ridiculously impatient child you've ever seen, for over a year, for $78. 

I threw a total pity party for myself for approximately two hours {or two days, but who's counting?} after I opened that envelope because: 1. I pretty much knew the first check was going to be small; 2. Just not that small; 3. I reallllly want a kitchen sink that stays white; and 4. I had SO much hope tied up into this art licensing thing.

I still do. 

But now it is a bit more realistic, in the harshest reality-check ever sort of way.

Once I was over feeling sorry for myself, I decided to spend my whopping nearly $80 earnings on a pair of turquoise leather moccasins and a sweet little tree necklace. 

And an owl mug because...well owl mugs make everything happier. 

It's no kitchen sink, but hell if I don't look cute wearing my moccasins + necklace while drinking coffee out of my owl mug.  

But seriously, friends. After I came back from the throws of my one-woman pity party, an exciting and fresh reality hit me over the head like one of the boys' Nerf darts.

I made more than that royalty check {OK...not much more, but still more} in my Etsy shop last month. 

I can do this with or without art licensing.

Sure, I'm still early in the licensing game and it could grow into something much bigger. 

But it comes down to this: My focus has to return to making art and putting it out into the world. 

And I need to stop tossing all of my hopes into the art licensing basket, because right now it is the tiniest basket ever, holding itsy bitsy eggs that haven't had much time to grow. 

And by focusing so much of my mental energy on what I hoped it would become, I wasn't moving forward. I wasn't leaving space for spontaneous and worthwhile projects to be born. And I've found over the past few years that those are the ones I need to pay attention to. 

I'll still be working on the art licensing thing because it excites me and it has immense potential. And I hope that one day soon I can tell you where you can go buy one of my canvases. 

But until then I'm going to stop asking God "Am I there yet?" and focus more on the journey. *Not that I won't have whiny toddler days, because they will most certainly pop up here and there. 

Have you found yourself wondering when you are going to arrive to some magical destination? Do you think that focus is holding you back from the important work you are called to do? 

XO,

{in my sketchbook}

I've been having fun in my sketchbook lately with patterns and color. 

Inspired by one of my favorite artists, Lisa Congdon, and one of her online classes, I purchased a set of these markers and they are so fun to work with. The colors are super vivid and they have a watercolor-like finish. 

Here are a few of my recent doodles...

It is a nice change of pace to do something outside my usual doodling, and try different color combinations. 

If you want to keep up with my almost daily doodling, follow me over on Instagram!

XO,

{take care of you}

Today I took a much needed mental health day, complete with an appointment to cover up my quickly multiplying "natural highlights" and get a fresh hair cut. I usually joke about the term "mental health day" but to be honest I was desperate for this time.

When I'm in the middle of an extremely difficult season {day, hour, minute} of life, I find myself becoming frustrated and hurt that those around me aren't more aware of my need for attention and rest.

Surely they can see that inside I feel like I'm about ready to lose my grip, right?

While it is great to have people around that notice our need for care, here's the truth.

They probably aren't going to do it for you.

Chances are, they are having a rough time too.

We all have our things.

For me it is the feeling of my soul being suffocated by the roles of professional, mom, wife, and artist with no white space to inhale deeply.

For you it might be the total overwhelm of the stay-at-home-mom life, the fresh and still stinging grief of a personal loss, or the worry and exhaustion that comes with having a special needs child.

The point is, you have to take care of you.

Our lives don't have a built-in self-care alarm that alerts everyone to back away and give us some space. Oh, wouldn't that be nice?

So take a mental health day, grab your favorite drink from the local coffee shop, spend some time reading an encouraging book, take a bubble bath.

Whatever feels right...whatever your soul needs to get back to some sort of balance.

If you need to set an alarm on your phone to take a break at 10:00 every morning just to stop and take ten deep breaths, do it. Leave a post-it note on your bathroom mirror reminding yourself to do that mud mask you keep forgetting about.

Take care of you.

{What's one thing you can do today to better take care of yourself? Tell me in the comments!}

XO,

{your mess is mine}

I'm a bit obsessed lately with Vance Joy. Have you heard this song?



Aside from loving his voice and the tune, the title of the song reminds me so much of how we should be living life.

We all mess up. We all make huge messes. 

We are all messy. 

And one of the best parts of life is that we can embrace each other's messes.

Awhile back I was having lunch with a good friend that I hadn't seen in a few months, and she asked me about a situation that was causing me quite a bit of anxiety and sadness. I started to get choked up and I told her "If I talk about this I'm going to cry."

And her reply was, "I have tissues!"

She wasn't freaked out by my mess.

She was prepared to help me spill it out, and clean it up.

Now that is friendship. 

Living life alongside each other and not being scared of the messes. Not expecting each other to offer perfection.

I kind of think the messes are what make our time on this earth so meaningful anyway. And they are a lot more bearable with friends that are willing to trudge through them with us. 

Goal for today: Embrace your mess and help someone else with theirs. 

XO,

{mohawk home + this girl's doodles giveaway}

There are a few things that can pull a room together and give it that perfect feeling...the just-right shade of paint, a great pair of curtains, a stylish sofa, and last but not least, a kick-ass rug.

Yeah, I said kick-ass. I'm feeling spunky today.

And so is our living room thanks to our new rug from Mohawk!

I have lots of feeling about this rug. 

The pattern and color are just what this room needed. I was a bit unsure at first choosing such a bold color and design but holy cow I just love it.

Our old rug was quite a bit smaller and I had no idea how a larger rug would pull the room together and make it cozier but also feel bigger all at the same time. 

It's a keeper.



It also inspired me to sprinkle some more love around the room including a few favorite photos of the boys and a doodle above the sofa...

And a heart rock the boys found on one of their treasure hunts in a little green dish...

I forget how much happiness little touches like this can add to a space.

So now would you like to add some love to your home with a new rug from Mohawk? I'm also going to throw in an 8x10 print from my shop. Your choice!

There are lots of options below to enter, and you can also get a behind-the-scenes look at how their rugs are made over on their YouTube channel...

 


Enter the giveaway below, and good luck friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{deep breaths}

Things I'm looking forward to this weekend...

deep breaths.

covering a goodwill find with olive spray paint.

enjoying my husband's sautéed brussels sprouts.

fleece pj's against my skin.

truly being with my boys with no agenda or plans.

waking up two days in a row to my natural alarm clock.

buying some fancy yogurt.

and maybe trying almond milk in my coffee.

adding spring touches to our entryway.

more deep breaths.

starting some new doodles.

reading.

pampering myself with a mud mask.

exhaling the pressures of the week.


What are you most looking forward to? 

XO,