I'm writing this post from a strange place emotionally. I read a negative comment about my work this morning from a previous design client of mine. *insert womp womp womp sound* It hurt guys. Though it wasn't a personal attack or anything really even all that bad, it still hit me where it hurts the most. Long story short, a few months ago, a long time client of mine decided to work with a new designer that could offer them more of what they were wanting for the future of their business. No big deal, it happens. Goals change, and often you just aren't compatible anymore.

I follow their Facebook page and so I happened to see a post mentioning negative comments about my work for them. It stung. Behind my purple hair, goofy facial expressions and sarcastic humor, I am very insecure when it comes to criticism in any aspect of my life. This had me getting caught up in self doubt, sadness, anger and ultimately made me want to throw the towel in and be done with it all.

After I calmed myself, lol, I made myself accept the fact that no matter what you do, you CAN NOT and WILL NOT make everyone happy all the time or be everyone's cup of tea. And though your business and work may be incredibly personal to you, especially in the creative field, it is not a personal attack on you when a business relationship ends.  When your style, aesthetic and tastes no longer fit a client, it is time to move on and break up. And just like any personal break up it can hurt.

All you can do is step back and access what went wrong, if it could have been prevented, what you would have done differently, and how to grow from the situation. Or if they're the clingy, stalker ex type just run! lol This opened my eyes even more to the fact that I want to only take on my dream clients. I want to work with clients who look at my portfolio and say "This designer knows exactly what we want!"

How do you deal with criticism or negativity? Whether it be at your day job, freelance business or even handmade business? Have you ever had to break up with a client or been dumped? I love this post by Breanna Rose about Managing Feedback . It was exactly what I needed to read. Also, this hand lettered quote by Mark van Leeuwen is perfection. He's only a teenager and he's a fantastic designer / artist.

Over the past couple of years I've learned a lot on the business front. I've failed, I've succeeded, I've gotten burnout, as well as really pumped about the directions things have gone. And of course I've blogged about it haha! For those who are new to the blog, I figured I would round them up into one post of small business branding heaven. This is advice from my experiences as a freelance designer and small business owner.

kdfjklsjfklsjdfkljsfklsdf.
i am so numb, yet im breaking.
i get tired and tired and tell myself that im through, that i cant take it anymore.
i feel alone and abandoned, and thats one thing, but when its our son its another.
its not fair to be selfish.
if you only knew, the most important thing you can give us is your time.
and that i do not have.
you give it to everyone but us.
i hate your pot smoking.
i hate your beer drinking on a daily basis.
i hate your constant leaving and staying gone for hours and never knowing when you will be back or where you'll be.
im tired of you smelling like beer.
i dont want to make love to somebody that's fucked up or spent the whole day gone hanging out with everyone but their family.
i hate it. i hate it.
every day, i am pushed further and further away but i still hang on.
but in the meantime, ill just keep crumbling inside.
ill keep waiting for you to realize whats most important.
ill keep waiting for you to grow up.
ill keep waiting for you to become unselfish.
ill keep waiting until i cant wait anymore.

*This post contains affiliates links. I will receive compensation from any orders / purchases made.

ModCloth's huge final clearance event is one of few things in the retail world that I watch for. I'm quite conservative when it comes to splurging on clothing. (How do you think I got started with thrifting and vintage?!) So when the opportunity comes to snag their beautiful pieces at 70% off, I'm game. It's their biggest sale of the season!

I'm no food blogger, but ever since my boyfriend started making these yummy fried egg tostadas, I've made it my mission to perfect them myself. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, one of the major things my boyfriend has taught me is all of the wonderful food from Mexico that I had been missing out on. It's hit and miss when I make fried eggs. Most of the time I end up breaking the yolk (like with these) but they're still so yummy. I've been seeing lots of fried egg and hash variations on Pinterest, furthering my craving for fried egg tostadas.


 Normally we top these tostadas off with avocado and refried beans. My boyfriend also likes chili, but that's a bit much for me for breakfast! I had neither in the house so I settled for just the tostadas, potatoes, tomatoes and green chilis topped with salsa. I didn't intend on photographing or blogging my food, but Saturday morning the light was gorgeous and I really love any excuse to photograph my favorite tribal looking plates! I may, or may not have enjoyed this with a mimosa.

Okay, I'm hungry again.