Good morning from my sunny living room on this beautiful brisk fall morning! I have to say, one of my favorite parts of our new house is waking up and opening all the windows to let the morning light flood in. Being in tiny NYC apartments and a Philly row home for many years never really allowed me to appreciate the natural light like I can here, so it is a big deal to me! With my coffee by my side, I feel perfectly poised to reflect upon the past month via this blog post, and I hope you enjoy!

Bird house during a quiet walk in the South Cape May Meadows, part of the Nature Conservancy preserve.

The past few months have been go, go, go. We packed up, sold our house, moved to my parents, then moved again to New Jersey, unpacked, did renovations, decorated, explored our new area, and in the midst of that I started to lay the foundations for my business. It all has been pretty busy - you get the gist! When the summer ended last month, things started to gradually slow down. The house was finally livable, we relaxed on the beach and hung out with friends, and began to establish our normal routines again. I am sure many of you can relate, right? Where life is going at light speed and then you pause and go wait a second, what happened? Things are slow and I’m feeling some type of way about it. While I am all for a healthy work life balance, slowing down has allowed me to start to process some of the changes we experienced over the past few months. I certainly prefer being busy, but I know it can serve as an emotional distraction from what I’m really feeling. I am definitely someone who is change-averse, but not to the point where it will stop me from trying new things.

I am in a weird lull with just about everything at the moment, so I have felt kind of off. We need to pause on some of our house projects to recoup funds spent on the early renovations we did. Some of the restaurants in the area are starting to close as we are approaching the super slow time of year here that literally everyone has warned us about. With Spruce Lane Shoppe (SLS), I placed some initial merchandise orders and am waiting for them to ship and come in to sell. I don’t want to launch with only a few things in hand, so I am in this holding pattern until I have enough to get started.

The thing that probably threw me for the biggest loop this month was my job. My current hybrid setup between home and Philly has actually been working out well, so there were some whispers going around that I may be able to stay in my role and keep my salary. This felt very comforting, but it turned out that those rumors were false and an offer was made to the person who will be replacing me. I start to train them this week. Honestly, this all has been really confusing for me to go through because it feels like a sense of rejection from my company, but at the same time I understand that I was the one who decided to move away and that amicably leaving allows me to embrace my next chapter fully. Staying in my job would have been nice but would put me back into the same situation I have been in for years, where I would dip my toe into the pool of entrepreneurship, but that’s it. So now I’m back to worrying about the fact that in a month from now, I really am leaving the corporate world and will have no choice but to figure this all out. Luckily, I have a very supportive husband who wants me to pursue my passion with SLS and will help carry us financially for the time being, but I know these next few months are not going to be easy. It is going to take a real effort to stay optimistic and resilient going down this new, unknown path.

To sum it all up in maybe the corniest way possible, I am changing just like the leaves are outside this fall season. LOL. I can’t help but laugh and make fun of myself for putting it that way, but it is true! Even though things are happening at a slower pace now, they are still happening. And it’s OK to step back and feel the changes fully. We have our up days and down days. To some extent, we all are figuring out our lives which can be really uncomfortable at times. Being uncomfortable is good though because it means we are experiencing growth in some way, shape or form. Although I feel anxious at the moment, I am not going to give up on my dream of turning Spruce Lane Shoppe into a reality. I even have picked out the building down here where I one day would want to open a brick & mortar! I also have found that being vulnerable in sharing how I am pursuing this goal through my blog has inspired others to take steps towards their own, and that could not make me happier. The community I have cultivated through SL is made up of some of the kindest, most creative and awesome people, so I love that this all goes deeper than just the surface level of retail and blogging. We are all in this together!

A final tip on this topic if you are looking to to aspire towards any kind of personal or professional goal: I have enjoyed following London-based blogger, Roxie Nafousi. She has ties to fashion and style which I always gravitate towards, and is a NY Times Best Selling author for her book, MANIFEST. I have the book and have subscribed to her Instagram broadcast channel where she sends motivating messages on a regular basis.

View from the bay in the Villas - the home of the best sunsets!

Laaastly, I did want take the time to highlight some cool local places we visited over the past month in case you do find yourself down this way and want to support or peruse:

Mayers Tavern - this bar/restaurant is back by the Lobster House and marina area right when you enter Cape May. It has a tightly curated food and drink menu and a cozy atmosphere. It seemed a bit more upscale (but still approachable) compared to most of the restaurants we have been to and gave us contemporary city vibes. While it felt perfect for fall and winter evenings with its dimly lit, wood paneled interior, I am excited to see what it could be like during the summer when you can sit outside and enjoy being close to the water too.
Cape May Antique Center - This retail spot is right next to Mayers in the marina section of Cape May too. I kid you not, my mom and I spent over 2 hours perusing every nook and cranny of this store when we first discovered it. We laugh because we probably looked crazy analyzing every little trinket possible, but it was the best time! A colleague of mine had told me that they purchased a lot of art for their beach house from there, and it ended up being a great recommendation. I bought a bespoke cane backed chair for our bedroom, as well as an accent table and piece of nautical art. Lots of scores to be found here!
Meraki Farm - I am still learning about this Cape May Courthouse based farm but am very intrigued! I saw their stand at the West Cape May Lima Bean Festival this past weekend and gave them a follow. They are a local goat farm and make beautiful goat milk based soaps, lotions and candles. I am hoping to sell their products on SLS when I launch!
Golden Stop - This coffee shop is in West Cape May and has a fresh, modern feel. You can enjoy an extensive menu of barista made drinks, or they have organic grab ‘n go food items to choose from. No hate on Beach Plum’s La Colombe coffee setup at West End Garage, but if there is a long line like there was this weekend, try walking a few feet over to Golden Stop for something new. I also might just hang there to work one day too because it’s that cute inside.

Thank you for reading this month and I am nervous, but excited to report back on what happens next month as things continue to progress!

Onto October

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