I never thought I’d miss the formal management reviews I was forced to endure when I worked in retail, but I do. Sometimes external expectations, accountability and encouragement are nice things to have at your disposal. Being my own boss means it’s up to me to review my progress, cheer myself on, and have a stern word whenever there’s room for improvement.

So, at the end of 2017, as I do each year, I compiled a list of all my professional achievements from the previous 12 months. When you’re busy doing the work, it’s not always easy to be subjective about the systems and processes that keep things ticking over. I find examining what went well, and identifying things that didn’t, helps me adapt and change.

‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.’ – Steve Jobs

Looking back at the best work I’ve done also helps me figure out which tasks and projects have given me most pleasure. As I read through my list from last year, I asked myself: ‘What do I want to do more of in 2018?’.

Love Audrey Workshops the Wedding Sessions at Bakesmiths in Bristol

The Wedding Sessions

For me, the highpoint of 2017 had been hosting a workshop with my friend Kirsten, otherwise known as The Little Wedding Helper.

Kirsten originally founded The Wedding Sessions in 2014 with our mutual buddy, Emma Woodhouse. Aimed at both fledgling wedding entrepreneurs and established businesses that have lost their motivational mojo, the inspirational day-long workshops promise practical advice, anecdotal tips and lots of little lightbulb moments.

With Emma busy building a new empire, Kirsten asked me to take the reins with her. We spent a day surrounded by inspiring female business owners, telling them everything we know about chasing dreams, working for yourself and running a wedding business.

The Weding Sessions workshop Think Bigger Shine BrighterThe Wedding Sessions business workshopFemale business owner at workshop Female business owner taking notes at workshop

What Did I Learn?

Sharing knowledge and expertise is something I’ve always had a knack for and I’m generally happiest when I’m helping others. When I was little, after published author, teacher was next on my list of dream jobs. It was an idea I held on to for years and I always intended to do a PGCE after my undergraduate degree. When I worked in retail, recruitment and training was a huge part of my role. Whether I was showing a small cohort of Christmas temps how to use the till or inducting 100 new employees for a big store opening, I always found the experience fulfilling.

Writing will always be my first love, but it can be a lonely pursuit. The Wedding Sessions reminded me how much I enjoy working in a team and spending time with like-minded people. It also helped me recognise how important it is to keep challenging yourself and doing things that push you outside your comfort zone.

Looking back and realising how much I’d enjoyed working with her in 2017, I sent Kirsten a text, suggesting we team up again in the new year. Fast-forward to the end of last month, and we were hosting another workshop together at Bakesmiths in Bristol.

I enjoyed the experience even more than before and came away feeling incredibly motivated and inspired. The response from attendees has been excellent and we’re preparing to release tickets for two more events in the autumn.

The Wedding Sessions workshop BristolLove Audrey workshops The Wedding Sessions BristolFemale business owner taking notes at workshopThink Bigger sign at The Wedding Sessions

How to Do More of What You Love

Don’t wait till the end of the year. Write down all your professional achievements from the last 6 months. What is it about them that makes you feel proud? Which ones make you smile the most? How might you create similar opportunities for yourself going forward?

Once you’ve figured out what kind of work you’re seeking, set yourself some goals and make a plan! If you feel stuck or uncertain, Kayte’s post about Goal Setting for Your Creative Business is well worth a read.

I don’t think the benefits of this process are limited to the professional sphere. Looking at your personal life and identifying the things that feel most nourishing is also a good idea. We can’t necessarily remove everything we hate doing {the laundry won’t wash itself, sadly}, but if we prioritise the things we love and commit to doing them more often, life can only get better, right?

Love Audrey xxx

All images shot by Evoke Pictures for The Wedding Sessions.

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Love Audrey
Seeking and Doing the Work You Love
Love Audrey Workshops the Wedding Sessions at Bakesmiths in Bristol
The Weding Sessions workshop Think Bigger Shine Brighter
The Wedding Sessions business workshop
Female business owner at workshop
Female business owner taking notes at workshop
The Wedding Sessions workshop Bristol
Love Audrey workshops The Wedding Sessions Bristol
Female business owner taking notes at workshop
Think Bigger sign at The Wedding Sessions
May in photos 🤳

1. Finally, some Franky weather. One of the best things about this month has been dusting off my summer dresses and being able to wear sandals ☀️

2+3. Coronation weekend. So many thoughts 💭 But the food was good! I made a vegan version of my mum’s famous coronation chicken and it was delicious.

4. Jesse staying upbeat during yet another trip to hospital. That steroid buzz though. IYKYK.

5. Some of the food served at the first meeting of Bristol Cook Book Club since 2020. It felt so good to get this going again. I can’t wait for our next feast!

6. Me among the cow parsley, snapped by Jesse.

7. I’ve been thinking about creativity a lot this month while working through the ‘The Artist’s Way’. 

8. Breakfast outside.

9. {Still} scrapbooking December. Fingers crossed I can finally wrap up this project in June 🤞🏻

10. Izzy’s final show at The Tobacco Factory. After tonight, she’ll be done with college {and compulsory education} forever 🤯

We packed a lot into this month. Enough to fill two carousels! This might explain why I’m so tired! I’m looking forward to June though. Everything’s better when the sun shines ✨
@_charlieswift has been raving about ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron for years. I finally caved, ordered the book and agreed to work through the course with her and some other artists. 

The book focuses on ‘guiding you through the process of recovering your creative self’ to ‘help you unleash your inner artist’. It’s early days {I’ve only read as far as week two and I haven’t even started my morning pages yet - IYKYK}, but I’m enjoying the process so far. 

Today I took myself on my first Artist Date - ‘a block of time… especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist’. I decided to treat myself to a solo cinema trip to see ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ The film was brilliant and taking time out midweek to do something just for me felt… kind of naughty? And fun! It definitely filled my creative well {again, IYKYK}.

Have you read ‘The Artist’s Way?’ Where would you go on a date with your inner artist?!
Franky weather ☀️🌅🔆🌻✨

That’s it, that’s the caption.
April in photos 🤳

1. Our trip to London over Easter was a definite highlight this month. Here’s the obligatory ‘flowers outside Liberty’ shot.

2. Finally! Some sunshine! More of the same please, Mr. Weatherman ☀️

3. Dressed for a day of sightseeing in my new favourite pink jacket. It’s Boden and I bought it in the sale 💖

4 + 5. Scenes from a trip to the big Waterstones in Piccadilly. This poem by @charlycox1 floored me. Crying in a bookshop. Not awkward at all.

6. I was proud of these steps, so I’m posting them here for posterity 🚶🏼‍♀️🥄

7. The Easter holidays also featured lots of lazy days 🎮😴

8. We bought a nutribullet and I’m officially in my smoothie era.

9 + 10. Dinner and drinks at @thecoconuttreeuk with our IzzyBee. Taking your daughter out for cocktails is a season of parenting I’m very much enjoying.

Not pictured: a family funeral and the chest infection I’m still getting over 🤒 How was April for you?
Easter weekend in my hometown 💃🏼

No trip to London is long enough for me to see all the people and do all the things I want to do while I’m there, but we always manage to pack a lot in. It’s 17 years since I moved away, but somehow it still feels like coming home. Here’s some of what we got up to…

1. Being tourists.

2. Shopping at Westfield.

3 + 4. Hanging out and eating at Southbank.

5. Refuelling in Chinatown.

6. Enjoying the big Waterstones in Piccadilly.

7. Admiring the spring flowers outside Liberty.

8. Visiting the Imperial War Museum for the first time since I was a child.

9 + 10. Seeing Elton John at the O2 with my mama 👓🎹🎤🪩✨

I hope you’ve managed to enjoy the long weekend, whatever you’ve been up to! That sunshine though!☀️🤩
March in Photos 🤳

1. How it’s going…

2. How it started.

3. My in-laws were involved in a terrible car crash earlier this month. They’re very, very lucky to be alive. It was a horrible time, so I’m grateful there was a happy ending.

4. My husband sent me this photo of a photo from our wedding day while he was visiting his parents. Turns out his mum carries it in her purse ❤️

5. While I was waiting for news from Derby, I took myself out on a walk and ended up in @thesmallcitybookshop. It was like my feet knew books would bring me comfort.

6 + 7. Just spring things.

8. Vegan lemon and almond loaf and a green smoothie from @theorchardcoffeeco 🍰🌱

9. I bought it 🌸

10. Other music? I don’t know her. 

How’s March been treating you? Personally, I’m ready for April and spring PROPER!
There is a past version of me who cannot believe I get to do this every day 💭📝💻

She’s around 12yrs old, working on her first novel in a little ring-bound notebook, dreaming up stories, devouring books and trying to imagine a life filled with words. Everything that makes my business possible now barely existed then, so even she’d struggle to conjure up  an image of what my life looks like now.

I’m grateful that I get to do this, for the clients who trust me to find the right words, and I’m grateful to that past version of me too. Without her, I wouldn’t be here now. Sure, she’d probably want me to hurry up and get back to that novel, but I think she’d be proud of the business I’ve built and the way I’ve managed to create a life filled with words.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Lockdown memories, three years on 🦠⏳

Very little of my life made it on to the grid in 2020, so this is the first time I’ve shared these images. They’re all from the first lockdown and most were taken between March and May. I think the arrival of spring will always remind me of this strange time.

When Boris made his announcement on the 23rd, our children had already been out of school for a week. Jesse, who was initially deemed clinically vulnerable, spent the next 6m shielding. He left primary school one day not realising he’d never go back. He did not see another child his age until the summer. Like many kids and adults in the same situation, the experience had a deep impact on his mental health. 

Izzy was in Year 10. As the pandemic raged on, she did most of her GCSEs online, celebrated her 16th birthday via Netflix Party, finished secondary school with minimal fanfare and missed out on prom completely. When she finally had a normal night out with friends in the winter of 2021, I cried quietly in the kitchen when she got home. Seeing her so happy and animated after a simple ‘cheeky Nando’s’ only highlighted everything she’d missed out on in the previous 18 months.

It’s easy to forget how little we knew about the virus in the beginning and how frightening that was for everyone involved. We had it easy in comparison to some, but I still marvel at the way we coped with it all. The way we isolated, home schooled and kept our businesses ticking over. My goodness it was hard! As my children often joke, I hope we’re done living through major historical events for a while.