Posts in In the Life
Life Update :: Reflecting on the First Half of 2021
Anna Osgoodby Life + Biz | Life Update :: Reflecting on the First Half of 2021

I feel like the last 6 months have just been go-go-go (mostly on the business side of my life) so now that things are starting to get more settled I thought it was a great time for a check-in! if you follow me on Instagram you’ve gotten peeks here and there but I decided I wanted to do something on the blog that had a little more detail plus was reflective for myself.

Every time I’ve gone through a big chapter of change I feel like it becomes all-encompassing. To the point where I’m just trying to get through things a day at a time. Then there’s this strange stage where the dust starts to settle and you almost don’t know how to just slow down and ease back into ‘normal life’. Does that make sense? Because I feel like that’s the best way to describe where I’ve been the last few months. Stack that on top of being vaccinated nad things starting to open up again in Washington and it feels kind of like the clouds have been parted!

So what have I been up to lately? Here are some life updates!

Updates on the New Business

I won’t sugarcoat it, making the transition from closing one business and opening Going Bold Studio was A LOT! Especially since it wasn’t really a transition I was planning on making. #Realtalk, when I made the final call to start the new biz instead of doing a buyout, I’m not going to lie I was nervous. Sure, I’m not a new business owner, but I still had to start over in so many ways and I was nervous! Especially since I was also doing it while we were still in a pandemic. Nerves! But, hey I did it and now that I’ve come out on the other side I’m SO happy I decided to bet on myself.

Truly, I’ve never felt so aligned with my business, the goals I have and the direction I’m heading in my career. I’ve been incredibly blessed to have a full roster of clients pretty much since day 1… like legit I’m booking out 1-2 months for my design projects which just feels unreal 😱. Plus the projects and clients I’ve gotten to work on this year… ahhh they’ve just been the best. I feel like I’ve had so much growth as a designer which just feels great. There have certainly been some things I’ve had to get used to flying solo, and some big decisions I’ve had to make, but overall I couldn’t be happier with how this chapter has started.

Personal Growth

The last year has been A LOT…. for all of us! And I really needed to take some time to work through the emotions of everything. Honestly I think one of the tougher parts of the business transition was all of the emotions involved… top that on top of the pandemic… losing Scooter… family issues… dear lord it was an emotional roller coaster.

Through a lot of it, I repressed a lot of my feelings — I’m really good at that! 🙈 In a lot of ways it’s a survival strategy for me… I mean, we can ONLY deal with so much at a time. Once I had a little time to breathe though I realized I had a lot I needed to work through. To be honest, it’s still something I’m working on but the important part is I’m doing the work. This definitely isn’t a woe is me kind of thing, just a really transparent and raw look at what I’ve been working through. Because not everything is ice cream and ponies all of the time! I heard a saying, “you need to feel to heal” and I think it’s SO true. It’s definitely not always fun work but it’s important to reflect, work through things and soak in the lessons through it all.

Wedding Planning

On a much happier note, wedding planning is officially a go! With everything going on, it 100% got put on the backburner. Now that things have calmed down a little though it’s happeningggg and we officially have a date… June 11, 2022 — so almost exactly a year from now!

Apparently, a lot of people don’t know this about me, but I’m notttt into event planning. Like at all. Which I guess surprises people because I love doing DIY projects and decorating.. but legit even planning birthday parties stresses me out. So the idea of wedding planning was enough to give me hives. After a lot of brainstorming and researching options though, I think we found the perfect option for us. It’s an option I’ve been pushing since the beginning but Evan officially got on board once we visited the venue over Memorial Day weekend.

The venue is in eastern Washington at Loon Lake, which means a lot to us. It’s where we’ve spent summer trips with Evan’s family, where we first said I love you and where we got engaged… So it just felt right. Plus, the venue has the low-key vibes I was really after, has lots of options for lodging, and isn’t far from an airport for our out-of-state guests. It’s also close to a lot of Evan’s family who have already been so generous and supportive in offering to chip in however they can help! Which has been so amazing.

I know they say that your wedding day is yours so you really need to plan it how you want.. but dang that is easier said than done! I know we’re on the early end of planning, but it took me a hot minute to try and get over that. I felt like if we were going to have out of town and out of state friends and family apart of our celebration it needed to be this grand event which is notttt what I wanted at all. After getting over that though, I’m feeling really good about the direction we’re taking things. BBQ noms, summer camp/camping vibes, wildflowers, colorful touches, smores, donuts and corn hole… it’s feeling very “us” which somehow takes some of the stress out of it for me.

I know I said we just officially started planning too, but at this stage we’ve already ironed out most of the key big details…. budget, style, potential vendors, food, desset, honeymoon… we’re definitely well on our way of nailing things down. Listen, when I’m in on something I’m all in 😜

Family

Last but certainly not least, I’ve also been spending lots of time with family. My mom had surgery at the end of the year so I’ve been doing everything I can to support her in her recovery. I’ve also been embracing Aunty life! Little Squish has brought SO much joy to our lives and I soak up all of the time I get to spend with him. He’s turning 1 next week too! AHH! My other sister also moved back to Washington and we’ve been getting in lots of quality time! Lots of game nights, sprinkled in with adventures (which we’re starting to do more of!)

We’re also planning a trip to Disneyworld in the Fall! Evan has never been to the Disney parks and Faith has been itching to go so we’re making it happen! I always joke Evan is a Disney princess because he lovesss Disney, Marvel and just is an overall fairytale mush so it’s been fun to see him and Faith geek out together over everything.

So there you have it! A life update on some of the key things that have been keeping me busy lately!

Year in Review :: Reflecting on 2020
Anna Osgoodby Life + Biz | Year in Review :: Reflecting on 2020

2020, we all know there are a lot of words to describe it and most of them aren’t great!😳Before we officially put this one in the rearview though, I’m taking some time today to reflect and reallyyyy take it in. The joyful moments, the heartbreaks, the challenges and triumphs.

It was the year...

  • We settled into our new home (and then spent even more time there than we thought we would!

  • We lost our best friend Scoots — a heartbreak I’m not sure will ever totally heal

  • I became an Aunty to Little Squish aka the true light of this year

  • My business was hit by the pandemic and we had to rebuild and pivot

  • We adopted Benji and got a crash course in being puppy parents

  • We got engaged at the lake

  • We went on a few camping trips and spent a lot of time at the beach

  • We upgraded to a bigger community garden plot

  • I had to put a lot of goals and projects on hold to reenvision and refocus

  • I pushed myself outside my comfort zone a lot

  • We hunkered down even more because of the crazy fire season on the west coast

  • We binge-watched more shows than I’d like to admit

  • We celebrated a lot of firsts and really soaked in time with family

  • We survived a crazy election season

  • And I said goodbye to my first business and started a new one

This year was hard. Really freaking hard, but you know what? We got through it one day at a time. And while I know flipping the calendar isn’t going to wipe 2020’s problems away, I’m very much looking forward to a fresh start and moving forward.🥂Cheers to that!

Life Lately :: I'm Launching a New Business
Anna Osgoodby Life + Biz | Life Lately :: I'm Launching a New Business | Going Bold Studio

Big life announcement alert

Exactly 5 years ago, I left the office of my agency job for the last time to go full-time with Bold & Pop. Now 5 years later I’m back with another announcement...

I’m launching a new company in 2021 called Going Bold Studio!

Anna Osgoodby Life + Biz | Life Lately :: I'm Launching a New Business | Going Bold Studio

I’ll be offering the same services — branding, Squarespace website design and social media marketing! I’ll just have a brand spanking new business I’ll be working under and I’ll be flying solo.

I’m so incredibly proud of everything we built at Bold & Pop over the years so it’s definitely very bittersweet to be at the end of this chapter but I’m also really looking forward to the next one!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the support over the years! It truly has meant the world and I hope you’ll continue to follow along for my next chapter! 💗🎉