Of all the things that can personalize the home, I consider art the most personality-packed decor item, especially if you created it yourself or if it holds meaning to you.  I still think there’s a ton of personality in choosing art that you simply love to look at even if you don’t really know why, but the ones that tell a story are always going to make you feel most at home.

As I planned out my workspace redesign (which you’re right now seeing an early peek at!), I loved the idea of framing milestone moments and accomplished goals as visual reminders to keep working hard.  Framebridge partnered with me on this project to turn my milestones into inspirational art, and further continued my belief that a frame can turn anything into art.  They do affordable custom framing that’s as easy as uploading your photos to their site or sending your art rolled up in a mail tube that they first send to you- I LOVED the convenience of this service and know it’s something I’ll continue using in the future.

So what’s the story behind each framed piece?

I shared this photo of my boxing gloves on Instagram a while back, talking about how I love boxing and more importantly, how I found my drive to stay dedicated to fitness.  As someone who prior to last fall didn’t exercise regularly or at all for more than 3 years, I thought it was impossible for me to become enthusiastic about working out.  Then, somehow I got my butt out the door to try a bunch of different classes and ended up really loving a lot of different workouts, boxing being my favorite.  Since then I’ve consistently been working out in the mornings 5 days a week (apologies to Snapchat followers who are sick of me Snapchatting about that).  This is absolutely one of my proudest accomplishments.  Ever.

Aside from the addiction to getting physically stronger, the mental training has had the most positive impact on every part of my life.  The lessons I’m repeatedly taught is that I’m always more capable than I think I am, that the only way to progress is to push perceived boundaries, and that positivity can never be overrated.  These gloves represent all of that to me, I love looking at them for that, and yes, they make me feel like a badass.

I shot this photo with my phone at the beach during a short trip with my guy this past NYE.  It was a very treat yo’self type of deal: we got a nice hotel room, ate what was probably the best meal we’ve ever had, got full body massages, ordered room service for breakfast, basically things that we never do.  Maybe it’s my work-a-holic personality, but I’ve always felt guilty about taking breaks (I’m that kid who hated missing school for any reason because I didn’t want to fall behind.)  I rarely indulge in celebrating accomplishments, and we both realized that we’ve fallen into this trap of thinking that we’ll fully let ourselves enjoy life once we retire.

I felt proud of ourselves for taking this trip, and we also ended up reflecting on some goals we want to achieve this year, traveling more definitely being near the top of the list.  This photo reminds me that retirement is not the only time to do what we want to do, that working hard and enjoying life can occur at the same time, and that we have more fun trips to plan this year.

The biggest moment of my life so far was quitting my job last fall to do this blog full time.  I sit here a lot, typing out a blog post, sometimes still feeling like an intruder, and painfully grateful that I get to do what I love.  The first time I remember feeling confident about my identity as a creative was when I got this print titled “Idea Phases” with the following description:

“Here’s to the makers, the night owls, the perfectionists who burn midnight oil in bulk, determined to nurture an idea into its strongest final form.”

I like to think that I approach everything in this manner, that I worked very hard for everything that I have now, and that all of this isn’t a mistake.  What I see in this print is how the process, as tiresome and brutal as it can be, is worth it to see an idea come alive and inspire others.  It makes me very proud of what I do.

Many thanks to Framebridge for making this project possible.  To frame your own milestones and meaningful moments, use the promo code AMYK15 to get 15% off your first order before 5/31/16!