photo by Tara Whitney
My name is Elise. I live in San Diego, California with my husband Paul. We just purchased our first house, a single story, light-filled space built in 1961. We are expecting our first child, a girl, in June 2013.
I have been blogging since Christmas day 2005. And I started a blog for the same reason everyone does... I thought I had something interesting to say. Over seven years later and I am still typing away. For better or worse, this makes blogging my longest running hobby ever. And it's the one I would most like to keep.
When I started this blog, I was a single girl in the middle of her junior year of college at USC. I was a business major and surrounded by a gaggle of great girlfriends. Today, my business major has come in handy and my girlfriends still surround me. Only now it's through email and sadly, we don't still live in a big sorority house.
After I graduated college I followed my heart to the east coast and moved in with my then boyfriend, Paul. It was the best decision I ever made. We lived together for a year and a half and then, in our kitchen, while wearing pjs and making dinner, Paul asked me to marry him.
We were married in April 2010. I would not change one thing about our wedding day. You can read all about how I DIYed it up here.
Amidst the falling in love, deciding to make a lasting commitment bits and cross-country military moves (Paul is a doctor in the US Navy) I kept blogging. And kept crafting. Soon my blog and my shop became a business that allowed me to forsake all other day jobs (and there were a lot before I found the right fit) and just do this.
And "this" is a bunch of little stuff - (you can read more about how my day-job breaks down here). I sell rubber stamps & books. I teach workshops. I was honored and thrilled to design the Seafoam kit for Project Life which is available for purchase here. But really, my focus is on this blog. I work really hard to develop original, creative and honest content.
Over the years, I have talked a lot about blogging and running a small business, but here are a few posts that really cover it.
- on self-employment
- on motivation
- Q & A on the shop and small business
- elise talks college
- the difference between goals and to-do list items
- taking blogging and creative work seriously
- how I develop blog content
- how I go from idea to reality
I could not be happier about what I get to do for a job.
The one piece of information that I would want a reader of this blog to take away is everything is what you make of it. Have a goal? Write it down. Then set a plan and make it happen.
Thank you for visiting this space. I spend an awkward amount of time with it and it makes my day that you come read what I write.
With so much love, elise
p.s. got a question? check here.
