{"id":2803,"date":"2017-08-10T19:17:29","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T23:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2803"},"modified":"2017-08-10T19:19:20","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10T23:19:20","slug":"soooo-hi-its-been-awhile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2803","title":{"rendered":"Soooo hi. It’s been awhile"},"content":{"rendered":"

So I just looked at the date of my last post and it was almost a year ago, to the day.\u00a0 I can\u2019t even believe it.<\/p>\n

Last year at this time I had decided to take a break from refinishing furniture and Ridiculous Redhead Design altogether really.\u00a0 \u00a0We had been dealing with a rough patch after my husband had been laid off at one point and I needed to really kick it in and fill the coffers.\u00a0 I had a number of small projects bringing in cash but I had been focusing on RRD as my main thing.\u00a0 I love working on furniture and finding out what is under 12 coats of paint.\u00a0 I love finding a great piece on the side of the road. And I love making my signs and other small things from recycled things.<\/p>\n

The problem is that people want to pay like $1 for everything.\u00a0 They think that I found this dresser on the side of the road and slapped a coat of paint on it so it should be almost free. They have no idea how long it takes to find good pieces, how much time I spent stripping the paint off of the detail work with dental tools and then researching the best finishes for 90 year old walnut.\u00a0 It got to a point where I was just burnt out from the low ball offers.\u00a0 Or the custom requests for an entire dining set to be refinished and then have someone balk at the completely way too low price I had given them.\u00a0 Or the person who couldn\u2019t understand why they couldn\u2019t just wipe permanent marker off of the table I had just painted white for them (yes this happened).\u00a0 My husband always told me I charged way too little to start and then there was nowhere to negotiate from. It all got to be too much.<\/p>\n

But the biggest thing is the time factor.\u00a0 I have a small child now to look after.\u00a0 And with my husband now working in an office instead of at home it was all on me. That meant I couldn\u2019t barter with him to watch L\u00a0until I was done with a coat of stain or finished stripping paint.\u00a0 Now when L woke up, I had to be done.\u00a0 That makes it hard to do anything that can\u2019t be stopped in the middle.\u00a0 It would take me for-ev-er to get anything done, which means I was making no money at a time when I really needed to.<\/p>\n

So last summer I started a new business, Preservation Maven<\/a>.\u00a0 I am a virtual assistant or online business manager who helps small businesses run the back end or operations side of the business. I like working with old house people who preserve old buildings, hence the name. Everything is done from my home office (or coffee shop etc.) and I have only ever met one of my clients since everything is remote. \u00a0Once I got started I really put all my energy into it.\u00a0 I was up late at night taking classes to help me get set up and learning new things. I had worked on Wall St. for years but I needed to figure out how to translate my skills to working virtually.<\/p>\n

But I have really missed it here.\u00a0 I have this killer garden going this year and haven\u2019t had anyone to tell about it.\u00a0 I just picked up 6 dining chairs, for myself for once, in a style I have been searching for for years. I pulled them out of the truck and was about to take a before picture, then realized I probably didn\u2019t need to.\u00a0 I guess it was then that I realized how much I miss this blog and all the great people I have met from it.\u00a0 I miss sharing my adventures and hearing the comments and stories from like minded people.\u00a0 Brian can only take so much of my rambling excitement.<\/p>\n

So I am going to make a point to start writing here again.\u00a0 I have a ton of garden things going on and a few house projects I will share as well.\u00a0 And those chairs!\u00a0 I will share the before pictures which might get me motivated enough to get them at least started if not finished!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So I just looked at the date of my last post and it was almost a year ago, to the day.\u00a0 I can\u2019t even believe it. Last year at this time I had decided to take a break from refinishing…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,376],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1J4KT-Jd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2497,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2497","url_meta":{"origin":2803,"position":0},"title":"The Habitat Luncheon Dresser After","date":"May 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I have for you the last of the Habitat for Humanity pieces, the dresser. \u00a0 The dresser, along with the desk and the rocking chair, will be auctioned off this Thursday at the Women Build Luncheon with the proceeds going to Habitat. \u00a0If you would like to attend the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Before & After"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ridiculous-Redhead-Habitat-Dresser-After-Side.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2080,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2080","url_meta":{"origin":2803,"position":1},"title":"New found furniture","date":"August 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As you know I have been trying to figure out my schedule so I can fit everything in. \u00a0I have been working on a lot more signs because they are much easier to stop at anytime in case the baby wakes up from a nap. \u00a0I can fit a little\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Before & After"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Ridiculous-Redhead-Toy-Chest-Inside-Before.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2525,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2525","url_meta":{"origin":2803,"position":2},"title":"Pure Tung Oil Giveaway Winners!","date":"May 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Good morning everyone! \u00a0I have just hit the \"choose a winner\" button on the Real Milk Paint Co's Pure Tung OIl giveaway! \u00a0And the\u00a0three random winners are: Joni D. Melanie B. Lori S. Each of the winners has received an mail with instructions for claiming their prize. \u00a0Congratulations!! I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Furniture"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Half-Half-All.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2566,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2566","url_meta":{"origin":2803,"position":3},"title":"A Navy Desk with Nail Head Trim","date":"July 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Back when I was posting the final makeover pictures of the Habitat for Humanity furniture, I had a few people ask if the pieces were for sale. \u00a0Since they were being auctioned off for Habitat after they were done, I couldn't sell them myself. One of those people was my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Before & After"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Ridiculous-Redhead-Navy-Desk-Nail-Head-Trim-handle.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2725,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2725","url_meta":{"origin":2803,"position":4},"title":"The Wavy Oak Dresser","date":"March 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I have another piece that was finished last fall and then kind of forgotten about. \u00a0I had a few craft shows to prepare for, then it was the holidays and then it was January when I was in self imposed work exile to take a break. \u00a0Now I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Before & After"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ridiculous-Redhead-Wavy-Oak-Dresser-After.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2721,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=2721","url_meta":{"origin":2803,"position":5},"title":"The Claw Foot Chair Makeover","date":"March 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last fall I saw a mention of a garage sale on Facebook with some pictures of furniture. \u00a0Of course I click through all of them to see if there is any of interest. \u00a0As I scrolled through I saw a lot of vintage and probably antique furniture in various states\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Before & After"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ridiculous-Redhead-Claw-Foot-Chair-After-LArm.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2803"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2805,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803\/revisions\/2805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}