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When your hobby becomes your job

February 8, 2016

I’m currently working through an unexpected overlap in my personal and professional life. This isn’t a sudden overlap, but one that’s grown overtime. For as long as I can remember, I was involved in extracurriculars. Be it a sports team or an art class at the local art studio, my parents made sure to keep me busy when I was young! This spilled over into my adult years as well. You see, photography used to be something I did in my free time. It was something I did on my days off when I worked for Starbucks or when I wanted to take a break from studying for exams in college. It was my extracurricular, my little escape from reality. But, three years ago my hobby became my job and overtime I’ve realized something a little bit unexpected, I need a new hobby!

So what does a person do when their hobby becomes their job and they need a new one at the ripe age of twenty-seven?

Well, I don’t actually have the full answer yet. But I can tell you that it’s something I’m currently working through! It’s so important that we carve out time for our minds to rest and recharge; to give ourselves a break from work and finances and to-do lists. Our minds crave extracurricular time away from work. I think this is where hobbies come into play.

So, what am I currently doing to discover said hobby? I touched on this in Wednesday’s post last week, but I’m doing several things. For one, I started reading the book, Big Magic. This book is helping me rediscover a sense of creativity in myself that I sort of forgot about. It makes me feel inspired to get out into the world and find fulfillment outside of work and mundaneness (is that a word? I digress). It’s been a beautiful reminder that we were all created for more than working and paying bills (the Bible is also a good reminder of these things ;)). Aside from reading, I’ve pushed myself to write more often and share it publicly on my blog. These things combined have begun to invite creative thinking back into my mind. I think that perhaps through this creative thinking, new hobbies will once again emerge.

What I’m starting to uncover from this recent realization though, is that you must be the one to take action. As with most things in life, hobbies and interests don’t just land on your lap. When you pursue creativity, it too will find you.

New posts every Monday and Wednesday!

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Bob & God | tracyerler[…] at the beginning of this week: Sunday. It seems like a distant memory now. Then last night I read Nicole Dianne‘s words: “…you have to be the one to take action. As with most things in life, […]ReplyCancel
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Reading, Loving, Watching, Planning

February 3, 2016

Reading: Big Magic, “…when I refer to ‘creative living,’ I am speaking more broadly. I’m talking about living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.” This book has been a completely refreshing perspective on pushing past fear, accepting collaboration with your dreams, and living creatively. I typically read before bed each night and I’ve found myself turning out the lights much later than I should when I pick this book up! :)

Loving: Morning coffee. One of my very best friends owns and operates a coffee roastery here in Sacramento. He brought us some of his coffee last week when I did a shoot for him, so Jeff and I have been enjoying Mast Coffee each morning!

Watching: Scandal. Where has this show been all of my life? Jeff and I are hooked. Season 3 here we come!

Planning: Learn pottery!! I have always had an obsession with natural elements and hand-crafted pieces. Back in college I often shopped the end of the year pottery show in Kadema Hall, wishing it was me that created those pieces. But it wasn’t until recently that I considered enrolling myself in some sort of local pottery class to fulfill that longtime dream! If you have any suggestions of sweet, local studios that offer pottery classes then hook a sister up. ;)

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Susan YeeUm, *I* want to learn pottery too!! We should enroll in a class together :)ReplyCancel

Monthly Favorites | January

January 27, 2016

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Volcano Candle: Ohh this candle, it speaks to me in magical ways. I typically burn different scents based on the seasons. But,Volcano is the perfect balance of citrus and fresh which means I enjoy burning it in the hot, Summer months and the cozy, Winter months alike.

Karma Kream: I really I have a thing for citrus right now. Perhaps due to the fact that I often associate scents with seasons (see candle above), but citrus makes me feel equal parts fresh/clean and cozy/winter. I know I basically repeated what I said above, I digress. Karma Kream does it for me right now. Not only is the lotion great, but I LOVE that Lush is entirely cruelty free. I don’t mean they’re kind of cruelty free like most products we use (see video here if you don’t know what I’m talking about), they are in fact a zero tolerance, cruelty free company. I enjoy that.

See San Francisco: I love a good coffee table book, and lucky for me my Momma dearest added this one to my collection for Christmas. Since we live so close to SF, yet rarely explore the city, I thought this book would be fun to look through and pin point a few spots to see on our next visit to the Bay.

Marble Table (similar): Every few months our local West Elm has a sidewalk sale where they sell pieces from their store at a discounted price. For months I had seen their marble bistro table wishing I could own it. Unwilling to pay the price and fairly certain there wasn’t room in our home for a random bistro table I let my dream slip away, dramatic much..I know. Enter last weekend’s sidewalk sale! Just as we were about to head home, my friend pointed out what looked like two table tops sitting near the entrance. As luck would have it, my marble tabletop was there waiting for me, legless and $225 less than the original price. The legless part is good because, remember? No place for a bistro table. But a legless marble tabletop? I can make room for the new coffee table it will become :).

Coffitivity: This site is just rad. If you work from home but enjoy the sounds of a busy coffeeshop in the background, you will love this site. I recently discovered it and whenever I pop this on my productivity seems to increase. There’s something calming about the buzz of a coffeeshop, but I don’t always have time to drive out to one for work. So glad to have found coffitivity.

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Three Ways to Overcome a Creative Block

January 20, 2016

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Lest you think I have it all together, let me assure you I do not. Remember last week when I had my weekly posts both written and scheduled to go live at 8am on Monday and Wednesday? Well, both of my planned posts for this week flopped and here I am, 5pm Wednesday evening scrambling to put a post together because I’ll be darned if I don’t stick to my New Year, New Me blog post schedule.

Working in a creative industry puts a certain creative expectation on you. We’re told time and time again that we need to put out fresh, relevant content, and we need to do it often. Create expectations, don’t get lost in the crowds or become forgotten by your audience! Well, what happens when the creative content isn’t there? You feel drained, uninspired, and all around exhausted of creativity. I’ve found myself circling in this pool for a few weeks now so I’ve been doing these three things to swim my way out!

Go outside. Going outside clears my mind in that cliche sort of way. That is, of course, when the neighbor dogs aren’t barking ;) I like to either play fetch outback with Turbo or take him for a little walk around the neighborhood.
Read a book. Even if it’s only one chapter or several pages, finding time to crack open someone else’s creative gift to the world stretches my imagination a bit further than it was just a few minutes prior.
Do one small task. I wish I could remember where I read this tip, it may have been Emily Ley’s blog, but I can’t for the life of me find the source! Anyhow, take some time away from whatever it is that’s blocking your productivity and complete a mundane task. These tasks can range from something small like organizing your utensil drawer to something on a grander scale like going through the clothes in your closet. The idea is that you’ll feel a “high” after completing this one task and it will then propel you into more productivity and perhaps get you through that creative block.

If you’re struggling through a creative block then hopefully these three tips give you a starting place. Before writing this post I did #1 and #2 and here I am 385 words later, creative block overcome.

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Favorite Reads of 2015

January 11, 2016

There is something quite fulfilling about becoming so engrossed in a book that you would rather read said book then do much of anything else. If you’re a book lover like myself then you understand this sentiment completely. The only bad part about reading is when you can’t find a comparable book that keeps your interest for longer than, say 50 pages. In 2015 I think it’s safe to say I began reading roughly 15 books (not including all of my audible listens), only finishing six or seven. I have an entire shelf on my bookcase with half-read books (which might drive some of you crazy), it actually drives me crazy too! There are however, several books on that shelf I may dust off and try again at some point. But for as long as I can remember, I usually can’t be bothered to finish a book I’ve lost interest in.

In contrast to the nine un-finished books, the four books listed below were my absolute FAVORITE reads of the year! These books had me completely logged out of reality and sucked into the words on the page.

The Girl on the Train: I always love a gripping thriller and though I found this book a bit predictable, I couldn’t put it down. There were just enough questions left unanswered while reading that I found myself second guessing the outcome with each chapter. Loved it!

Binge: Within the last two years I’ve loved reading several memoirs each year. Tyler Oakley’s Binge didn’t disappoint in this category! His usual charismatic self shined through on every single page. This book wasn’t PG in the least, so I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, but his storytelling ability and authentic voice made this a favorite read for me.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing: Where to begin with this book? I was fascinated by Marie Kondo’s method of tidying up a home and simplifying one’s life. As someone who loves lists, organizing, and systems this book justified my sometimes weird obsession with having a clean and organized home. Earlier this year I posted a huge recap about my opinions on this book so for a more in depth review and to see how I’ve applied it within my own life follow this link, here.

The Night Circus: I have read many-a-book in my day and The Night Circus took the #1 spot as my favorite book of all time. Erin Morgenstern weaved together the most beautiful writing I’ve ever experienced with a whimsical mix of reality, magicians and love that had me captivated throughout the entire story.

Ten Books I want to read in 2016: The Magician, A Discovery of Witches trilogy, Big Magic, How to Live in Fear: Mastering the Art of Freaking Out, Love Does, For the Love, Banish Clutter Forever, The Joy of Less, The Power of Unpopular, and Leave Your Mark.

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