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I QUIT MY JOB. I know— it's big news. If you didn't know, I was working as a creative director in a small advertising agency run by two women I've worked with for about fifteen years.

I loved that job.

Technically, it was freelance but in the last year, it came to resemble more of a full-time gig.

Working full-time was not the problem. I have always wanted to work full-time— having kids didn't change that. But I was also working on Mommy Shorts at night and it was starting to feel like TWO full-time jobs.

With some encouragement from my husband (from the bottom of my heart, Mike, I thank you) and a pep talk from my bosses who very kindly said, "You can always come back", I decided to see what would happen if I made Mommy Shorts my one and only full-time gig. (Well, in addition to the whole MOM THING).

This is a huge leap for me but so far, it's been pretty amazing. 

FUCKING SCARY. But also amazing.

Up until a few months ago, I had not spent one dime on my blog. My only investment was time. But my limited design skills can only take me so far and (for various reasons, all of which will be really boring if I get into them), I have now invested in getting a bit of a site overhaul.

Originally, I was thinking I would switch blog platforms but keep the look of my site primarily the same (maybe add a photo of Harlow in the header so she doesn't hate me later), but the deeper I get into the process, the more I realize Mommy Shorts is going to look pretty different when everything is complete.

Honestly, I'm not sure if that's the right decision but I do think after three years, it's time to evolve. Besides a facelift, my dream is that the new design makes old and new content more accessible and easier to find. At the moment, I feel like my posts are dead in the water a few days after they go live.

But if you hate change, DON'T WORRY. The new design is not going to be ready for a few months, so you can take your time mourning Mommy Shorts 1.0 and prepare yourself for (hopefully!) something better.

Since I find working at home nearly IMPOSSIBLE, you'll be happy to hear my second piece of big news.

I got myself an office!

A MOFFICE, if you will (credit for the Moffice moniker goes to Kerri from HouseTalkN).

And— GET THIS— an employee!

Well, half an office and half an employee.

I teamed up with my good friend Seri from Little Miss Party (the party planner who designed several events for me this year, including Harlow's pancake and pajama party, Thanksgivukah and Peeps Chic) and we decided if we split a space and an assistant, we could make it more financially feasible for both of us.

Together we hired Ali, a recent NYU grad who had already been working for Seri part-time while she was still in school. 

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That's Ali on the left and Seri on the right. If you've won a recent giveaway, you probably got an email from Ali and thought— who the hell are you?

Now you know. 

And don't worry, I mugged Seri with a Mommy Shorts mug when she wasn't looking.

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The office is the walk-in closet I've always dreamed of (it looks about ten times larger in the wide-angle photo below than it does in real life) and with the exception of Hansel (our name for the faux taxidermy lying on the table in the back) the furniture was all given to us for free from a business across the hall that happened to go under shortly after we moved in.

Yes, I appreciate both the luck and the somewhat discouraging sequence of events. 

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I also need to give a shout-out to Keurig who sent me a free coffee machine. That and my computer is really all I need.

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It's small beginnings around here but to me, it feels like a pretty huge start to 2014. 

I sincerely hope you are all willing to come along for the ride.

Just promise me if this time next year, I'm back at my old job, you'll smile and say…

"I'm happy you gave it a shot."

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You know what would really be a good start to 2014? Winning BEST BLOG and BEST INSTAGRAM in Parents Magazine's Social Media Awards. I'm in second place in both categories (but closing in on instagram!) and your vote would mean the world to me. You can vote every day in both categories until the winners are announced on January 13th. THANK YOU!!!

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