Make Life Cute

HOW IT STARTED

Back in 2008, is when I originally started this blog, I was fresh out of college and landed a day job at a local marketing firm. The design work at my day job was very corporatey, so I was excited about having this space and my Etsy shop as a creative outlet for my custom-designed party invitations and paper decor. 

2010 through 2013 quickly turned into a wild ride though, with many amazing opportunities: I worked with a Hollywood party planner to the stars, had products featured on The Today Show, was invited to the Martha Stewart Show, and was approached to design a party product to be sold in Bloomingdale’s stores, to name a few. Truly a stressful, surreal blur but in the best way. 

Amid all this excitement, I began having serious health problems that quickly escalated and brought my entire life to a screeching halt for many years. To make a long story short, I learned I had numerous conditions, complicated by or the result of a genetic connective tissue disorder (Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) and also from a form of dysautonomia, which is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). 

During my health crisis, there was an issue with my website hosting company that was overlooked, and, unfortunately, I lost all of my previous blog posts and content. So while it may seem like I’m the new kid on the block, don’t be fooled, I am definitely not. 😉

HOW IT’S GOING

I’ve learned how to take better care of my body through diet and lifestyle, but there are still some symptoms that are debilitating at times and I’m still learning how to navigate and or cope with those. The worst and most challenging being chronic pain and post-exertional malaise (PEM) which is triggered by, sometimes even minor, physical or mental exertion and doesn’t get better with rest.

Last year, I realized I was never going to feel “ready” to come back and have to start all over again, but I decided to jump back in anyways. Well, more like wade back in slowly.

With never really knowing when a PEM flare will happen, my body is forcing me to slow down and learn how to properly manage mental stress and make sure I schedule more rest than always being busy. Which, Imma be honest, that’s something that I would, really, very much rather not have to do haha! I would much rather be my previous high energy, always on the go self that I use to be.

If it seems like I “post and ghost”, don’t worry I’ll be back when I can with more unique, intentional posts and ideas for you. I’d love to hear from you, whether you’re an OG or brand new around here, so be sure to introduce yourself in the comments!

Thanks so much for joining me on this journey, I’m happy to have you here and to be able to share my ideas with you for celebrating the people in your life and helping you create epic memories!