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  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

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5 Years Later

May 20, 2016
Emily Fazio

photo by pete.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t waiting for my luck to run out every single day, but here I am, exactly 5 years after I left my job at an advertising agency to go rogue. 5 years, you guys! Today I’m celebrating that.

5 years of freelancing also means that I’ve been “on my own” for the same amount of time that I was employed by that agency, which feels pretty liberating and also makes me want to take a whole day off to sit back and take a big breather. I kind of can’t believe so much time has passed since I made that big decision, and I’m still glad I did it when I did. I fell into some lucky contracts that really gave me the confidence to keep doing what I enjoyed, and the opportunities continue to grow. I still find myself reflecting back on the years I spent at my last job and I have a pretty solid personal understanding of why the conventional 9-5 wasn’t the best fit for me; it wasn’t so much the office or commute (just a lil), but I’ve learned that I’m fueled by much different incentives than they were able to offer, and I’m so much more productive being able to embrace my own pace and work style. I love it, you guys. Of course, now as I’m approaching what would have been my second paid maternity leave I’m a little miffed at myself for being in a position where I have to get by without those benefits (basically that means zero maternity leave, working during baby naps), but aside from that, whatever. At least I’m not going to be installing floors the day that I go into labor this time around, or stressing about a blog post I wanted to publish when I’m only 3 days postpartum. It’s worth it, and all I can do is hope-hope-hope I can sustain what I’ve been working on for the last few years.

These days? I’m still freelancing and taking on special contract projects, and of course, working on ways to take this here b-l-o-g to a place where it could further substantiate my income, although my own blog sure does take a backseat to everything else. I enjoy it and the passive income it provides, but the odds of me winning the lottery are better than me making the blog my sole, full-time focus. That said, I love that Merrypad can be a space where I can continue to journal my home improvement efforts and DIY projects in a no-pressure kind of way (which is all it really expected of it when I started). I like what it’s become.

Thanks to the many of you who have been following along since the early days, and for the support everyone has shown over the years.

Share

Casual Celebrations

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

7 Comments


Staci
May 20, 2016 at 1:27 pm
Reply

Congrats on this milestone!



    Emily
    May 20, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    Thank you, long time internet friend!

Loren Pudlewski
May 20, 2016 at 2:18 pm
Reply

Huge Congratulations Emily! You are a true inspiration!



    Emily
    May 20, 2016 at 2:23 pm

    Thanks Loren, and you too are a big inspiration.

robert fazio
May 21, 2016 at 5:05 am
Reply

we know how hard and the long hours you put in. god bless you and continue to grow



Cait
May 23, 2016 at 9:08 am
Reply

Wow, five years! That’s truly awesome! Congrats, Emily!



Erin
May 23, 2016 at 6:18 pm
Reply

I remember having gchats with you when you worked for the advertising firm and being in such awe of you quitting and blogging full time. I’m STILL in awe of you because five years later, I’m still wishing for the same. Congratulations on your success! I would love to know your secrets.



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  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

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    Pt. 2: Well before Halloween, the last of the garl Pt. 2: Well before Halloween, the last of the garlic went into the home garden: 10 rows [L>R] 6 whole Nootka Rose as an experiment, 3x8 Mennonite-grown cloves from Aman’s, and 6x8 (and, I think, total 112? notes are cryptic) “normal.”
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    Out of sight but [documented so it’s] not out of Out of sight but [documented so it’s] not out of mind! #garden2024 kicks off with my favorite biennial: elephant garlic! 15 cloves planted from small, to medium, to enormous. #gardennotes
    Annual garlic notes for #garden2023, pt. 1: this i Annual garlic notes for #garden2023, pt. 1: this is getting ooc, and I love it. 👩‍🌾🧑‍🌾

🧄 65% of the planting is in a new plot in the country. 🧄 Seeing if NR grows bigger with more sunlight. 🧄 Big @chasefarms cloves from 2021 were really productive in our home garden; can’t wait to see how they can show up next year in the new space. 🧄

Hand-turned a small bed, but big thanks to my sister, who rolled into town just in time to help me double its size (and did not complain once).
    One straggler from #garlic2021 debuted with 7 stal One straggler from #garlic2021 debuted with 7 stalks and 7 scapes, and I can’t wait to see this mammoth looks like when it’s pulled next month. #garlic2022 

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    Annual garlic notes #garden2022 ~315 cloves total Annual garlic notes #garden2022
~315 cloves total
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