2010, you were a weird (but pretty awesome) year.

am i the only one that gets totally teary thinking about a year in review? i just can't believe all that has happened this year. to be honest, 2010 was hard. it was amazing, but there were days i just wished it was over. looking back, i don't know if i would take one bit of it back. i learned so much about myself this year and i am so grateful for that.

they look so little!!

in january i hosted my first ever benefit sale for my nephew's birthday. It was by far my favorite way to celebrate a birthday/start a new year. We raised over $1300 for autism in just 3 days!

in february I was invited to have my products in shade stores all over utah for a 3 month local accessory designer sale and worked round the clock to keep my items in stock. shade has since gone out of business, but i felt like a rockstar having my items in the local malls. the popular modern pearl statement necklace was first introduced at shade. i also got to pull off another surprise and made it to my niece's baptism in california.

 

march marked my baby's 1st birthday- i reposted the letter i wrote to him the day before he was born wrote him a new one as well.  we celebrated with friends and family at an "oh henry!" bday party.

april and may were a complete blur thanks to the first ever queen bee market. i think i talked to my sister more on the phone in those 2 months than i ever have in my life. the queen bee market was so much fun and it was so great to meet and connect with such amazing women from all over california. to think, i'd never even heard of lindsey! (i know, i was living in a cave!)

in june i participated in my first bijou market and loved it. i was really tempted to quit after a busy 6 months. but then i didn't. i hopped on twitter and quickly realized it's positive impact on my business. i sent a pair of mustard earrings to miss gussy and made a fast friend.

july 5th was allora handmade's one year anniversary! i celebrated that month with 500 sales on etsy and sent goodies to blogher with sara sophia in hopes they would land in martha's hands. july was also the begining of my soon to be re-released baby line, and really marks my switch over to this blog as my main blog. my sister surprised me with her secret plans to help me get to the creative connection. i started (and never finished! note to self!) my mary, mary quite contrary series.

i spent most of august in san diego wishing i still lived there and relaxing, went to disneyland with my kids for the first time, and celebrated clint's 31st birthday and last year of school.

september was full of prep for and recovery from my first conference, the creative connection. i was on cloud nine rubbing shoulders with some amazing women and was later featured on the pioneer woman's blog and sent pics of her wearing my necklace!

we also celebrated owen's 3rd birthday and my heart couldn't believe it had only been three years since i had become a mother. i reposted my most favorite post ever in honor of his birthday.

in october my monthly sales tripled as a direct result from the connections i made in minnesota. I introduced a new fall line, started wishlist wednesdays, and hired an official allora handmade assistant. i started thinking about christmas in october for the first time in my life. much of the month was also spent prepping for the holiday queen bee market. and then there was halloween. no comment.

 

i turned 31 on november 1st and finally joined the rest of the world in getting a smart phone. we pulled off another queen bee market - bigger and better- and had a blast doing it. i also participated in another bijou market, and got serious about filling christmas orders.

in december my mom came to the rescue to watch the boys for a few days while i finished up all of my orders a week early with blistered fingers! i participated in project 320 and christmas for cliff and celebrated the true spirit of christmas. we spent the rest of the month in san diego and ended the year with family and friends.

in 2010, i had a lot of breakdowns. and a lot of breakthroughs. i almost quit. and then decided to go for it. i made new friends. i grew as a person. i reached some goals and made some new ones. i am so grateful for the struggles and accomplishments that 2010 brought.
here's to another crazy good year.