Hey Blog, Remember Me?
After taking nearly two years away from posting anything publicly here on HelloKorin (apart from one baby update post), I finally feel like it’s time to return.
Why did I take such a long break? What happened in that time? Why come back now, or at all? Let me fill you in.
A little over three years ago, I walked away from my last corporate job. Like, walked out the door one day and did not come back. I don’t want to get into any finger pointing or go smearing names on the internet, but I will tell you that sometimes there comes a point where you have to know your worth, know your limits, and know when to say “enough is enough.” Even though the end was terrible, I loved most of my time in that job, and it gave me so much: working in the field I’d dreamed of breaking into (interiors/home decor), getting to try out many different roles, traveling to new cities and experiencing trade shows, meeting so many of my favorite designers and brands, and gaining a lifelong best friend. And, all of that experience led me to push myself and go back to school online, working to get my certification as an interior designer.
After leaving that job, I spent a couple weeks at home decompressing and working on my online coursework. Then, on a trip to the mall to buy a wedding gift one Saturday, Jason and I passed by a sign for open interviews at a Pottery Barn store. Jason pushed me to go inside and talk to someone and I remember thinking “why not, it’s in the home decor field I love, and it would be a fun temporary job!” Turned out, it was so much fun I stayed there for two years, and I miss the Pottery Barn family I made there every day.
During those two years, life got real busy, real fast. We’d just purchased our first home and worked hard on updating it. We renovated the kitchen, expanded the patio, and repainted and decorated every square inch. We lost our first dog, Ginger, fostered another, and then adopted our Frankie girl. We both had jobs that kept us busy. We traveled a lot, to places like San Francisco, SLC, and Tokyo. We decided to try for a baby, and had to work much harder for it than we anticipated — which is another post for another time. I worked hard in my design courses and finished with a merit for outstanding excellence. Just one week after completing my certification, we found out about our Edie. With a baby on the way, we decided to start looking for more space and sold our townhouse. We bought a brand new home in a brand new neighborhood, which is entirely out of character for this renovation enthusiast, but it was the perfect fit for that time in our lives and allowed us to focus on our growing family.
Last summer, when Edie was just a few months old, a great job opportunity came up for Jason, so we listed our house and in two weeks we had packed up and moved into a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Chattanooga. Miraculously, the day we moved into our apartment, we got an offer on our house. With our old house in Atlanta sold, we started looking for a place to buy in Chattanooga, and two (very long, very cramped) months later we were moving in to our current house.
And there it is, you’re caught up. You might be thinking, “If so much happened, why didn’t you blog about any of it?” And the short answer is that in the moment, not much of that seemed worthy of being recorded. Life felt messy and incomplete, and I was always looking forward to the next step, the next thing that would make me feel like “finally, I’ve made it. We’re here and now I can enjoy life.” But that moment never came.
So why now?
To say this year has been a little traumatic for all of us would be an understatement. On top of all the global troubles the world has seen in the past few months, I’ve had some mental and physical battles of my own to face. But something beautiful has come out of all this for me: a renewed perspective. Life is so fragile and unpredictable, and nothing is guaranteed. I’ve spent so many years making plans but never acting on them, many revolving around this blog. I wanted to wait until I felt like my website was just right, or I had enough of the perfect content planned out, or I had a reliable schedule to follow so I could run a blog the “right” way. (Where my Type 1s at?) When I look back at life, I don’t want to remember not doing the things that feel fun or important or fulfilling to me because I was afraid of the opinions of others.
So what’s next?
Who knows. I’ve spent more time writing in the last few weeks than I have in the last few years, and it feels good to stretch that muscle. I would love to use my interior design certification professionally one day. I’m loving designing our current house and plan on sharing much more of that process here. And as always, being a mother is top priority so you can bet on lots of Edie posts and photos. Much like life, this website will never be perfect. But it’s a place I can be creative and share my life, and it’s the one piece of the internet that is all mine. And while it’s a little bit terrifying to put myself out there in a way that feels more exposing and permanent than an instagram photo, it’s something I’ve been wanting to get back into for a while now, so I’m doing it. Even if the only people who ever read this are my husband and my mother.
So, welcome back. I’m glad you’re here :)
