Taking a Break, and Readjusting

Wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I didn’t plan to take such a long, unannounced blogging break. I’ve been having a bit of burnout for a while now, trying to figure out exactly what blogging meant for me. Did it mean income? Sharing? Validation? I felt myself trying to fit into the DIY Blogger mold and found I enjoyed the experience less and less. It wasn’t until having my second daughter that I decided to just take a step back and let it breathe for a little while. I’ve still been busy though, plugging away on the house (I’m *thisclose* to taking “finished” photos to post in a series about building the San Bernard plan from Tilson) and fun builds for friends.

I’ve been doing several “Critter Chairs” as I’ve been calling them. Free plans for them here.

I also decided to sell my flea market booth, because it was so much harder to do with two kids than I expected. Which is silly, really, because of course it would be! I didn’t really plan on how I would balance nursing/pumping during shows. And since breastfeeding meant more to me than a few sales at market, I decided to sell the booth and try it again another year. Besides, that just frees up our camping weekends this summer!

From a family standpoint, things are great. I’m loving spending more time with both of my girls, and can’t believe it’s already been 7 months since I became a mom of two. We’ve had a lot of adjusting to do, figuring out some diet restrictions for Caroline and me. We’re now both gluten/dairy/rice free, and possibly eliminating even more because of some sensitivities and eczema she’s suffered. It’s been a really big learning curve, and I haven’t had more than 3 hours of sleep at a time since she was born. I kind of forgot just how intense all that sleep deprivation is, when you’re waking up 3 or 4 times at night. That was probably the main reason for my blogging break, trying to catch up everywhere I can at home because I’m lagging in energy so much. But we’re finally getting into longer sleep stretches, and I’m feeling the upswing. Someday I’ll feel rested again, right? When they’re teenagers maybe?!

Blog Changes

As far as my blogging focus, there’s going to be a slight shift. Now that our home is mostly “finished”, I don’t plan on posting too many improvement type projects. I’m sure I’ll still have loads of furniture builds and outdoor things like the teepee we built for Christmas and I’m hoping to add a reclaimed-materials greenhouse to the yard this summer. But one major shift in our personal lives is going to come into larger focus here on Killer b. Designs, and that’s homesteading and sustainability. We’ve taken major steps to become greener and more mindful of our consumption, and I’m excited to share that progress. We’ve got our small backyard flock of hens (4 now, two production reds, an Americauna and a Barred Rock named Elsa, Anna and Christoph), 30 chicks we’re raising for meat, and a large yard garden I’m excited to manage this season. It’s very much a work in progress, but it’s my 10 year goal to be able to produce all the food our family needs. We’re not quite to the off-the-grid level of intensity, just wanting to reduce our footprint a little. So, the blog will mostly be projects still, but just not the “check out this cool tchotchke I redid!” sort.

Also, privacy. I’m planning to limit how much my kids are on the blog. There will still be photos from time to time, simply because a lot of my builds are kid-centric and I need my little model for scale But I don’t want to overdo their exposure online at such a young age. Which is also why I made the old Instagram account locked, as so much of it focuses on my kids. If you already follow and we interact, awesome! I’m planning to keep it that way. But if you found yourself randomly “out”, it’s simply because I decided to pare down my “followers” to people I regularly interact with or “know” online. I’m have a dedicated public account to blog-appropriate things like projects and country life, and keep the personal kid stuff out of it. If you would like to follow me (and my chickens/cows/garden/saws) you can do so on IG with the @killerbdesigns handle. The Facebook page will be deactivated soon, but if you would like to contact me (I loooooove seeing reader pics and answering questions!) you can do so through the IG messaging system or by emailing me at [email protected].

Thank you so much for all your comments, support, and for following me all these years. It means so much to read all your comments, especially those lately wishing me well and letting me know I’m missed. Thank you all, you are awesome. I’m excited to be back, and have some great stuff to share!

<3 Brooke

  • Love
  • Save
    Add a blog to Bloglovin’
    Enter the full blog address (e.g. https://www.fashionsquad.com)
    We're working on your request. This will take just a minute...