Let's do this! And how did I get here?
Welcome!
Hi! If you're new to Styled by Steph, welcome, welcome!!! I am so excited about the new direction the boutique is headed in! So, how did I get here?
The Dream
Before we had children, my husband and I both dreamed of a day when I could be a stay-at-home mom. We both came from divorced families and had leftover trauma from the way our families had been fractured after the divorces. But one thing that we both remembered with joy and a lot of bittersweet memories was how comforting it was when we had a parent that was home and not working outside of the house. So that was our dream for our kids.
We were able to do that years later and I was home with our kids for almost 11 years. I have a lot of stories that many of you would laugh at, roll your eyes at, and say out loud, "Yep, been there, done that' about those crazy, exhausting, wonderful years. In fact, I blogged about them for most of those 11 years and I'll have to find that link to reread some of those entries. Maybe. lol.
But as the kids got older and I went back to working outside of the house, I knew that it wasn't working and I needed to be home again. Our kids have some medical issues, my husband's job is extremely stressful and he's not home much, and I needed to be more available and more flexible.
Me? Own a clothing boutique?
And, as the time drew near for our oldest to start college, I needed to bring in a larger income. Just as I was starting to look for a new job, I was invited to an online fundraiser. Fundraisers are near and dear to my heart and I happily joined the Facebook group. Within a week, I received my first order and fell in love with a pencil skirt!
I had no experience whatsoever with clothes or running a boutique. But two months later, I joined the company and sold their clothes out of my house for four years! Not only was I able to pay for my oldest daughter's entire college education, but I able to work from home and made some of the best friends I could ever have asked for! All through my Facebook group that I had created for my online shop and by doing a lot of fundraisers that helped a lot of people! It was kind of amazing!
A new beginning
Fast forward four years and so many wonderful parts of my job that I'll expand on more in future posts, I was ready for something new. Things had changed and hadn't been so wonderful for quite awhile. The company had become increasingly restrictive, was having trouble fulfilling inventory requests, and it had become a job that instead of filling me with joy, was making me feel like I lived inside a pressure-cooker and it was overwhelming all of our lives.
And so I left. And that's where this story begins! I'm going to chronicle boutique life, probably some goofy bits of my life, and I hope you'll follow along!
Steph is wearing: Spring Fling Bell Sleeve Top and Beware the Flare Judy Blue Jeans
Leave a comment