Well, I’ve got some news. Oleander + Palm now has a studio downtown Bakersfield!!!!  Yep, I’m taking a big leap and moving off the dining table and into a studio.  I can’t tell you how excited I am. It all happened really quickly.  A couple weeks ago you might have seen me post about trying to make room for a desk in our bedroom.  I think I do pretty well working from home. We do have a small house and I was working off the dining room table.  It wasn’t easy to be always dragging out stuff, making and shooting and then having to put it all away so we could eat dinner. I felt like I was wasting so much time.  Plus, all my craft stuff (or craft crap is what I usually call it) was stored all over the house because I didn’t have one place to fit it all.  My sewing machine was in Dylan’s closet, my Cricut was under my bed, party supplies where in the laundry room, and I had an assortment of styling props in drawers in both my living room and dining room.  Needless to say, this blog was taking over my house.

We rearranged the bedroom and thought through how I could at least have a desk in the corner. Then, about a week ago we decided to drive around downtown and see if we spotted any possible spaces for rent.  Just to see what is out there.  We found one in the perfect building downtown, right above a coffee shop.  And in just a day, decided to take a risk and try something new. I have felt like I needed to make an investment in my blog in order to push myself forward and really be successful.  My husband, Lonnie and I are naturally risk takers (that’s kind of how you end up living in Yemen with two little kids).  I think there are friends and family members that think we are crazy.  But, what the heck, you only live once.  I want to live with no regrets and try everything at least once.  Success isn’t going to come with me sitting on my butt waiting for something good to happen.  I’m going to be out there giving it my all and doing what I love. Success doesn’t look like me making lots of money, sure I would love to be able to pay the bills, but I just want to be happy and love what I’m doing.  So, here was go – Oleander + Palm Studio!

It’s a small space, but it’s all mine.  Don’t worry, pictures are coming very soon.  It needs some TLC, so I’ll be sharing the process. It’s a bright white room with big windows, I think it’s going to really make taking pictures so much easier.  Plus, I can have a dedicated workspace all to myself.  I can leave unfinished out and I’ll have all my supplies in one place.  And even though it’s small, I want to begin hosting regular craft workshops.  If there is anything I like more then making, it’s getting to make and create with others.  I’ll be hosting my first workshop on March 19th.  These are going to be fun, relaxed events with just 6-8 guests at a time.  You know I love to host a party, so there will be treats and goodies for sure.  If you are local, stay tuned to more information on signing up to attend.

Well, here goes nothing. Now if I can just get my girls feeling better again, so I can get out of this house and get to work on my new studio.