New Decade! New Days! New Dreams!

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Happy New Year, sisters!

Can you believe we are on the heels of a brand new decade? I swear the older I get the faster the years go. I actually had a dream that I was 70 years old last night. ( I am 58 years young). Some of you are already there, ( thank goodness) and many of you are creeping up to it. Some souls never make it, and others live well beyond. What’s my point here? I think as we get older we become more mindful of how we spend our precious time ( and who we spend it with) because we truly appreciate what a blessing ” our ” time on this earth truly is. I always say, it’s never too late to begin a long-held dream or take a risk on a new one that you didn’t see coming! Let’s walk into the new year together with a keen eye and open hearts.  Where will your footsteps take you? Or better yet, where will YOU take your footsteps? You may recall the Vision Board exercise I shared last January as a way to ease into the new year with a focus on imagination and fun! I thought it would be fun to do it again this year! If you weren’t able to join in last year, click here to review the steps then share your vision boards with me at deb@maryjanesfarm.org. DUE DATE: FEBRUARY 6 TH 2020 

If you’ve cut way back on your magazine subscriptions, a trip to your local Saver’s or thrift store is a great way to gather some inspiration for your board for little money and you won’t feel guilty cutting up your pretty magazines! If you’re a techie, try using a program or an app that allows you to create photo collages with text boxes on your phone, iPad or computer.

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I’m still working off of last years vision board because who says everything has to happen in one year? Making our dreams come true isn’t a race to any finish line. Some ideas never germinate at all, other ideas are sooooo BIG they need more than a few seasons to come to fruition. The point of taking the time to create a vision board is to remind you to slow down and enjoy the process. The joy is in the day-to-day actions we take along the way.

Here’s my year in review: Let’s see if all that cutting and pasting helped me stay true to my vision. Have you looked back at your boards to see how true you stayed to yours?

 

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Making our goals and dreams a reality is about taking small steps and big leaps simultaneously. Getting out of our comfort zones and doing the things that make us nervous, doubtful, and sometimes keep you awake at night scared! Farmgirls know this! We keep moving forward despite those uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. With a steady breeze of can-do spirit under our wings ( and help from the sidelines ) we can accomplish anything we set our minds and our feet too!

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I mixed in inspirational quotes and messages to motivate me and keep me feeling positive throughout the year. I also kept my vision board handy so I could see it from my desk.

This saying was very meaningful for me last year and it still resonates at the start of this new decade. I believe there’s always a world of ideas to draw from no matter what you’re dreaming up. The key is how do you whittle them down to fit YOUR DREAM?

As a floral designer/flower farmer this phrase motivated me to stay true to my passion for flower designs that would truly touch my clients on their wedding day. My goal was to deliver designs that were above and beyond my clients expectations. Part of that process was having a healthy, open dialogue with them throughout the planning process which allows me to get to know them better and create with them solely in mind. IT WORKED! We had the joy of working with some amazing families, couples, venues, and vendors. Each one plays a part in bringing an entire wedding vision to life. To see some of our recent work visit my website here! New wedding galleries are being added as they come in.

IT. WAS. HARD. WORK. And, IT. WAS. WORTH. IT.

My goal was to do 15 weddings and we did exactly that many. And by ” we ” I mean my Handsome Yankee and my friend and fellow freelance farmer/florist. Tara Riggs.

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My hubby worked hard devising packing methods for flowers, setting up arbors, carrying the heavy stuff up and down stairs and keeping me calm during the panicky moments. And there were a few!

” No one can prep you for these day-of surprises”

  1. Car starter goes out on delivery SUV morning of flower delivery.
  2. Urn topples over going up stairs inside of the church before the ceremony.
  3. High winds make it difficult to install draping on outside arbor for beach ceremony.

Luckily we prevailed and the flowers arrived on time and in beautiful condition thanks to quick thinking and moving on my hubby’s part.

Tara owns and operates a small CSA Flower Farm and Floral Design Business called Raising Bloom @raisingbloom. We bumped into each other at our favorite boutique wholesale floral supplier last spring. We got to chatting about our flower businesses and she offered to help me during my wedding season. I had 15 weddings already booked and no idea how I was going to get them all done myself! Tara grows the most beautiful flowers, has amazing design skills and did I mention she’s a mother of 5 boys ranging from early 20’s to 13 years old. That chance meeting was one of our biggest blessings for 2019. We had so much fun and worked so well together that we are continuing the Dandelion House/Raising Bloom collaboration in 2020!

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Here she is above with an arm-load of her CSA Bouquets and below working away in my dining room on one of our weddings.

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As you can imagine, working from my home dining room and kitchen is fairly disruptive to the rest of the family. Buckets line the floor on design days. Centerpieces and bridal bouquets over flow onto the kitchen counters, dining room table and stove top. Some  arrangements have even ended up in the living room! Everything must stay put until the wedding day arrives. If it’s a wedding week that means  that Tuesday-Saturday the spaces are UN usable except for brewing coffee and making a quick sandwich or snack. While we do have fun and make the best of it we have decided to build a small barn/studio on our property to work from this coming season. I have two dream work spaces glued to my Vision Board. One is a red barn and another is a retail space. I decided on a home studio rather than a full fledged retail business so I can focus on events only for now.

I’ve been ” pining” and ” pinning” away ( on Pinterest) for months and I think I’ve narrowed the exterior colors down to three possibilities. We have several Shed Building companies  right here in New England. I’ve gotten one quote and I’m setting up a few more appointments for home visits just to be sure I’m covering all my bases.

1). I love the drama of this Black ” Dark and Sexy” exterior. If your tractor can be sexy, so can your barn!

Bonus: We have black accents on our home and in the garden so it would compliment our home exterior which is a golden yellow with white trim and black shutters.

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2.) I love an all Barn Red Exterior as well. This matches our Hen House and little garden shed already.

3.) What about a combination of both Barn Red and Black! This adorable shed is made by Amish Builders. I love the metal roof and the arched windows on the doors.

12'x14' Board & Batten New England Barn - Red siding | Black trim | Black metal roof

What color would you choose? Can you guess which one I’m leaning towards?

Leave me a note in the comments below and let me know if you’re going to join the 2020 vision board party! I’ll be looking for your boards in my inbox!

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Until our next shoreline visit~ Cheers to a brand new decade!

Keep dreaming, planning, believing, working, living and loving and having fun.

Happiest of New Years to you all!

Beach Blessings and Much love,

Deb

The Beach Farmgirl

#1199

 

 

 

  1. SUZANNE says:

    Hi Deb,
    I have to make this comment is response to your blog post re decades.
    Thirty one years ago, at the age of 50, I enrolled in nursing school. Of course, I had a few re-requisites to do before I actually started my nursing. I had started college many many years before when my children (3) were still quite young and underfoot. But, I never finished, it seems like “life always gets in the way” of something or other.
    I started working when I was 8 years old in my parents small grocery and meat market. Had to stand on a stool to reach the counter top and cash register. I worked at one thing or another throughout my adult life. Including baker, designer, truck driver (18 wheeler), secretary, adm. assistant. etc. At the age of 48 we moved from Oregon to Texas so that I could help take care of both a niece and brother who were dying. AFter life settled down again, I realized that working at what I had been doing was not what I wanted to continue doing. Funny, that at the age of nearly 50, I didn’t even consider that more than half my life had been lived; so I went to college with young people that were my children’s ages. I was actually older that a couple of the nursing school teachers.
    When I graduated from nursing school, I had four job offers. I took one of those and kept moving on to bigger and better things. By this time, I was missing my children and grandchildren so much that we moved back to Oregon. Then my husband decided that he wanted to move to Florida to retire. Guess what, less than 2 years later we moved back to Oregon. From there,sixteen years ago at the age of 65, I started my own Telephone Nurse Triage Business and am still working at this. I can’t begine to tell you the great satisfaction and hope that I have experienced since I decided that I wasn’t too old to make a change. There is nothing more wonderful than being able to give help and care to others. Especially young mothers who don’t know what in the world to do when their baby has his first fever.
    So, all you young chicks out there, don’t be afraid to dream big! Don’t be afraid to push forward with all of your hopes for something bigger and different.
    One of the things I have dreamed of doing since I was a young girl is writing a book. Guess what, I have my first chapter written and that was done just this last year.
    So keep on dreaming and keep on doing!
    I pray that each and every one of you have a healthy, prosperous and wonderful NEW YEAR!
    Suzanne

    • Deb Bosworth says:

      Hi Suzanne,
      Thank you so much for this comment. What an interesting life you’ve had and continue to have! We’re never to old to Dream Big and try something new!
      You are an inspiration!
      Happy New Year to you!
      Deb

    • Kiki Mayer says:

      Thank you for this post! I am a nurse, as well and am contemplating some big professional changes. I truly appreciate your inspiring post!

      • Deb Bosworth says:

        You’re welcome Kiki! Wishing you peace and excitement all at once with your new professional changes! Hugs,Deb

  2. Carol says:

    I love the all red shed and I would like to have one in my yard. I may buy one after I get my car paid off. I am hoping that I can do that soon. I have done a vision board before, but I won’t be doing one this year.

  3. Pat Gudowski says:

    I love the Amish one but hopefully you have a half loft on each end that makes for great storaga areas. I have a ‘Quilt Studio’ shed a few feet from my house fully equiped with electricity. Love your story & Happy New Year!

  4. Mary Henderson says:

    I am just now finding you! Go with the red and black Amish barn. Go bigger or go home! It gives you the best of both & matches everything, tying it all together!
    Great to meet you! (via electronics!)
    Great ideas! Going to get a Vision board going!
    Mary

  5. Tanya Jaatteenmaki says:

    It would be all black for me.

  6. Marilyn says:

    What an inspiring post. I hope do some of the things I want . I want to learn to sew,exercise a little,get back to my dancing instruction tapes. I am teaching my self Latin and sign language. Wishing you and yours a blessed,happy and healthy 2020.
    Marilyn

    • Deb Bosworth says:

      Sounds as if you 2020 is off to a roaring good start! I love keeping busy with different things, too. And I also LOVE resting and enjoying the quiet of winter…
      Thanks for reading, Marilyn! Happy New Year! Deb

  7. Kimberley Cook says:

    I love the combination of the black and red. It’s quite striking.

  8. Carole West says:

    Enjoyed reading this and as for the shed I like the first one but the red and black would be a great first choice because it just looks like you. You are doing amazing things and it’s been fun to watch this journey unfold. I’m ready to make a change in what I’m doing but very unsettled as to what that should be. I will tell you thiis much we’ve decided to buy a winter place on the coast down here and can hardly wait for that. Best wishes in 2020 and I’ll catch you on Instagram friend. Hugs, Carole

    • Deb Bosworth says:

      Hi Carole!
      How fun of you to stop by here! I’m ” feelin'” the black and red shed as well! I so enjoy watching your progress on your land as well. You are amazing with everything you CAN do. I can see why it’s difficult for you to choose. Nothing like some down time on the beach to help you unravel the cobwebs my friend. Congratulations on your winter place. Sounds like a dream! Best wishes to you as well and I’ll be watching you on the ” gram ” too!
      Hugs!
      Deb

  9. Thank you so much for the inspiring post, it was perfect timing for me! (I quoted you in my latest post and linked back here so others could read…we’re never too old to dream!) I’m liking the red shed best…but oh, I’m drawn to the vintage car. That’s definitely a dream of mine!

    • Deb Bosworth says:

      Hi Mary! I just discovered your comment and popped over to read your blog. Such a comforting place you’ve created there for your readers. Gosh, I miss reading blogs. Why did I ever stop? I guess that’s life. It just keeps flowing!
      Thank you for your kind words. I hope you find yourself sitting in that vintage care one day!

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