On the Return

It's been over a month since I posted here last and my hiatus seems to have whooshed in and out so suddenly. I've been so busy these days, October feels like it never even happened. That's probably because for most of that month I was preparing for, experiencing, and then recuperating from a press trip to Cameroon. My social media followers already got little tidbits from my first trip to Africa, but I never got a chance to mention it on here. To be honest, the 12-day trip was a bit of a nightmare for reasons which I'll expand on in a future post, but let's just say I was so very glad to be home.

The recovery period has dragged on a bit in the last weeks I've been back because of the crazy jet lag, A.'s mom came to visit with us days after my arrival, and I fell ill with the flu during that time. *womp, womp* We still managed to have a lovely time taking her out to eat around the Upper East Side: Spanish tapas at El Porrón, Thai food at The Nuaa, and The Meatball Shop's newest (and biggest) location at 1462 Second Ave. I'm sure we sent her back home a few pounds heavier, but she wasn't complaining.

I'm still not at a hundred percent just yet, but I've no time to waste; the Etsy NY team's Holiday Handmade Cavalcade is next month and I'm working on some new products for the season. (Take a peek at the beginnings of Porcupine Hugs' 2014 calendar here.) In addition, I'm working on the business' wholesale marketing campaign (check out the first catalog!) and just finished an awesome collaboration with several members of the Oh My! Handmade Goodness crew that we just can't wait to reveal next week.

So yup, busy busy on my end, but I've been relishing lists, schedules, and routines as they're so necessary to my sanity these days. I still need to slowly ease back into my social life, but I'm on such a "do it do it do it" kick these days because I want so much for good and fruitful things to keep flowing my way and the only way the world will know what we're capable of is by continuing to create and outdo.

Did I mention that it feels so good to be back?