Momtrepreneur Spotlight: Roberta Sobran of Delicious Designs Home

My cousin's sister-in-law is an inspiration to me... and I've never even met her. Roberta Sobran is a wife, mom, interior designer and the successful owner of Delicious Designs Home in Hingham, MA.

I often like to connect with those who inspire me, so after reading a particularly gorgeous newsletter of hers, I sent her the following note:

Hi Roberta,

I just want to tell you I love getting these newsletters - I love your style and your portfolio. You are truly a great role model for me - so thank you for providing inspiration! Any tips on how to juggle it all - designing, business owning +  being a mom, I'm all ears! You make it look easy!

All the Best,

Lindsay Saccullo

Soon after, I received the following response back which I'm here to share with you. It's not only wonderfully written but poetic, inspiring and soothing. It was comforting to hear this from a fellow mama/designer and gave me hope that the best is yet to come:

Advice/Words of wisdom (I think, I hope!)

Well, I wish I could say it was easy.

It’s a boat load of work but the thing is, I LOVE what I do!

I eat it up.

Seriously.

I’d rather be in my studio or store than most any other place. (Except home with my family! That’s definitely my happy place!)

I love and adore every moment with them so that’s why if you don’t find me at 88 North Street, you’ll find me at my home address which is only about a mile from my work. The lack of commute  is priceless!

Thankfully this career allows me to make my own hours and work from home to my hearts content so I feel like I’ve been able to have my “cake and eat it too”.

That is, I’m home for breakfast with the kids, when they walk through the door from school and enjoy dinner with them every night.

(Half the time when they come home from school,  they grab a snack and go up to their room to decompress and maybe do some homework but I feel it’s important to be a presence b/c there are definitely days when they walk through the door and can’t stop talking about their day-which I love!)

That said, I’ve spent more time talking about my family life than my work life but it’s how I flow.

That is, first comes my family and then work. Always.

I find if you have your priorities in this order, everything will work out.

I’ll never regret “too much time at home” but would definitely regret “too much time at work”.

Time flies and as much as it is a cliche, it’s true. They grow up so fast!

(My son is a senior in high school and my daughter is a sophomore and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wonder, “how is this possible?”)

RE: Work.

I find that the quote you see pinned everywhere is spot on-“ Work hard and be nice to people”.

That’s it in a nutshell.

Give it your all.

In life as in work, you get what you give.

So that’s about it.

Work hard.

Be nice.

And oh yes, hire great people and take good care of them.

And remember, “you get what you give”.

Good luck with holding it all together.

It’s not easy being a working mom.

Some days will be better than others.

(But that would be the case regardless.)

I hope you found this feedback helpful:)

My best,

Roberta

Yes. So helpful. It's something to aspire to.

I often find in our warped world, it's easy for our priorities to quickly misalign. I'm totally printing Roberta's email (once I fix my darn printer once and for all) and pining it on my bulletin board to remind me to come back to center. When I'm feeling particularly swamped with work + life, about to tear my hair out wondering how I'm going to do it all, with energy and success no less, I'll just take a look at the print out and remember to prioritize. 

Although there's no real answer on how to do it all, I take solace in the fact that there are other  momtrepreneurs out there who have built successful businesses and managed to maintain a healthy balance of work + family life.

I also find it therapeutic to simply just talk about and share this with you. Perhaps it will inspire you, mama or not, to keep your priorities in order so that the rest, whatever "the rest may" be, will fall into place. This is easier said than done, I know, but at least it's a reminder. Knowing that this is something I (and the rest of the Type A's out there - there's a lot of us!) struggle with, perhaps we can lean on each other and just know that we're all doing a good job. Figuring it out. Day by day.

Below, a round up of some of Roberta's most Delicious Designs. Bon Appetit!

~L.S.

For more info on Roberta (including her amazing photography) and Delicious Designs, click here.

Momtrepreneur Spotlight: It's a Katie Schorr Thing

Writer? Check. Actor? Check. Blogger? Check. Podcaster? Check. Mom? Heck, yes.

Momtrepreneur Katie Schorr has quite the resume. Together with her writer-actor husband Lance Rubin (who just wrote a book, no big deal), the two make a serious power couple. Add into the mix their adorable 15-month-old son Sly, and you've got quite the trio. 

We met by total chance while on "vacation" in Florida. Seated next to each other at the pool-side snack bar, I noticed Avery making eyes at the most adorable little boy. The two were clearly around the same age, and as parents we all gave each other the knowing "aw, so cute - and we're friggin' exhausted" smile and nod. Our families got to talking and discovered that we lived within walking distance of each other in Brooklyn. Also, Sly and Avery had the exact same due date - what were the chances? (Feb 5th, 2014, in case anyone was wondering). 

How interesting to know another baby who is the same gestational age as Avery, and another mom who is the same age as me. Although Sly was born on Feb 1st, and Avery impatiently decided to arrive about a month early on January 10th, it's amazing how many similarities the two have developmentally. It's so fun to watch them play together and for Katie and I to gush (and commiserate!) about the joys, challenges and anxieties of motherhood. More about that on Katie's hilariously honest blog O Mother Where Art Thou? If you haven't already, I advise that you immediately download Tumblr and follow "schorrthing".  Be prepared to laugh, cry, and cringe along with Katie.  And if you're me, basically feel as if she has transcended into your brain, reading your innermost thoughts. 

Fellow new mamas, semi-new mamas, and mamas to be, I cannot emphasize how important it is to have "mommy friends" in your life! I highly encourage you to get on that thing they call tha intra-net and troll around until you find one that feels like the right fit. Whether it's Park Slope Parents, Babies in Boise, or Malibu Mommies, being physically surrounded by those who are "in the thick of it" with you will be way better than that $600+ shrink who specializes in #mommyproblems and doesn't take insurance. (But if you feel that you need her, it's money well spent! Pay now or pay later, as they say.)

If you are a part-time stay-at-home-mom, as Katie and I sorta consider as one of our many titles, things can get mundane and lonely in no time. Playdates are as much for the mamas as the babes, and we're not afraid to admit it! If you're ever at the playground and you feel creepy because you're wavering about asking another nice mom for her digits, just bite the bullet and do it. Chances are, she's thinking the same thing. Nothin' wrong with picking a mommy up at the park, the neighborhood coffee shop or your Music Together class.

Seriously, if there's one thing I've learned about motherhood and just life in general, it's that I know nothing and there is so much out there to learn. The best way is to learn from your peers. Oh, and podcasts. Podcasts are your second best friends and mentors. And lucky you! You too can now be podcast besties with Katie by listening to her awesome new "momcast" with friend Cody Lindquist on "What do we do Now?"

Avery and Sly had a playdate yesterday. They crawled and toddled around consuming excessive amounts of cheese and cheddar bunnies, performed a proper concert with maracas and castanets and conversed deeply about Elmo. While Avery was relentlessly banging on the refrigerator and Sly was chucking around UK copies of his daddy's book, I managed to sneak into Sly's adorable room and snap these pictures. 

I mean, how Pinter-Etsy can you get? I love this bright and airy nursery. Right down to the clean white walls, the colorful decals and the vintage orange chair accented with a playful robot pillow. But what really wins me over here is the whimsical artwork. Oh, and of course the mini teepee tent!

Wall Decals by Trendy Peas

Play Tent by Haba

Robot Pillow from Land of Nod

Fox Print from Society6

Personalized "Sly" Fox Painting by Artist Lisa Fontana, a friend of Katie's. For info email fontana.lisa@gmail.com

The monsters picture is by the artist Inocente, who starred in the self-titled documentary which won the Acadamy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2013.

Wall Decals by Trendy Peas

This was a D.I.Y. with a card from Paper Source + a West Elm Frame!

Yep, it's official. Sly's nursery is almost as cute as he is. Almost.

~L.S.

You can follow Katie on Twitter @katerschorr and Pinterest here.

Stay tuned for a fun upcoming style board collaboration!

Professional Help

I need professional help. In more ways than one - hah!

But seriously, it's tough starting your own business. Having worked for years at a very well established high-end interior design firm, I am now starting back at what one might call the bottom. I am in no way complaining. Quite the opposite. I am thankful to have this opportunity to develop my own business while attempting to be a present mom. I know that many people would love to do this, but for a variety of circumstances cannot at this time in their lives. There are also those who love their corporate jobs and have no desire to grow a business and a child at the same time. No judgement here. Hats off to everyone! This is what makes the world go 'round, and we're all just making it work.

I'm just sayin' - being a small business owner can be scar-y. It's definitely outside of my comfort zone to completely put it all out there. But they say (who are "they" anyway?) that if you're not pushing beyond your comfort zone, then you're not growing. Case in point - I've been working on branding myself - basically just by being myself. I've heard that that is the way to attract your dream clients.  It has been exhilarating and satisfying and energizing and terrifying.

That fear of rejection, the "what will they think?" lingers in my head way longer than it should. I know that at age 32 this is ridiculous. I should just tell that little nagging voice in my head to shove it. Sometimes I do. But often, I don't. I answer it's call like I would an old emotionally draining high school friend who I just can't resist meeting at the old neighborhood pizza joint.

That's okay though. I'm only human. Especially in a creative profession, you are pouring your heart and soul into your work. You then suck in your breath and hit "post", catapulting your creation into the universe (aka Twitterverse) like a helium balloon from your kid's first birthday party. Up, up and away it goes. Where the heck is it gonna deflate and land? An artist's rooftop party in Bushwick? Nice. In the dumpster behind Key Food? Ugh. Or does it reach the tip of the atmo(blogo)sphere and explode into oblivion, never to be seen again? No one really knows. But maybe that's the beauty of it.

I recently had the amazing opportunity to attend a creativity workshop with some other Brooklyn moms (thank you momtrepreneur Leah Fox of Charm + Magic!) and some of these issues of self doubt and judgment came up. I found it so therapeutic. These intelligent and creative mamas had similar hopes and dreams for themselves and their families. They also  often had that same nagging doubtful voice, that little devil on their shoulder. I thought I was the only one - so glad others are suffering too! Kidding. But it's good to know I've got company.

These ladies also had some amazing recommendations regarding inspiring books, blogs and podcasts. I tried to soak up all of this useful information at lightning speed. I sat there furiously scribbling down notes. I realized I only know what I do not know, how much I have to learn from others.

I couldn't wait to scoop up these books, subscribe to these blogs and download these new podcasts. And speaking of podcasts, lately I've had a little addiction problem... As far as I'm concerned, they are the new therapists. While miss Avery Etta babbles herself into her afternoon nap, I excitedly scramble over to my iPhone like it's the secret 1 lb bag of M+M's I store in the back of the top kitchen cabinet (mom!). I can't wait to click on that little purple podcast icon, update and see what's new for the day. I empty the dishwasher along with my motivational podcast friends (more on them soon!). They can do it, and so can I!

Let's be honest - I need all the professional help I can get in the department of learning how to own it, love being boss, love myself and live life with intention while simultaneously running a successful interior design business and being a wife, mom (and don't forget organizational enthusiast). Phew! I'm not afraid to admit that this is as overwhelming as it sounds in a sentence. But listening to these podcasts sure makes it seem doable. (And it definitely makes scraping smushed blueberries off the floor feel a little less mundane.)

So, in the spirit of growing my business, working it and loving my s(h)elfie, I recently decided to have some professional portraits done for my website. Eek! How scary to be up close and personal with the camera. And to share that all with you. Here are the outtakes! 

For the winning image, click here. 

All photographs were taken by Alex Blaiotta, and have been professionally helped!

~L.S.