Whew! It's here! Functional for You (or, as I like to call it "FFY", or "double-F-Y")...
is finally live! And it has been nearly a decade in the making (I'll get to that in a minute...)
The Story behind FFY
In September 2021, I posted this "Hi" infographic to my personal Instagram page, inviting friends to follow my new passion project, @functionalforyou. To those who did, they found my intro post where I told them all about my intention behind FFY!
I even had some content already built up! Including reflections on turning 31, a quote on habit formation (which I put in a simple black and white box because color theming felt too daunting at the time), and several posts on home organization... including what I like to refer to as "functional fixes".
For anyone who followed me from the beginning, it probably looked as if I was starting a home organizing business. I can't say I blame them (and, hey, i'm not ruling it out!)... because there was that one time I took three whole days to organize our pantry and decided to share every little detail on my IG stories. Hehe.
Meet our son, Harlow!!!
As far as my personal life at the time... our first born son, Harlow, was nearly four months old! And he was definitely keeping my husband, Joey, and I on our toes!
Our days were fuller than ever! With plenty of entertainment, lots of newfound love, and, of course, our fair amount of parenting challenges.
After having Harlow, I made the decision to transition to part-time status in my work as a Physical Therapist. I am still so grateful for the ability and opportunity to be able to be a partial stay-at-home-mom!
So, between diaper changes, play time, and all the daily chores, it was nice to have @functionalforyou as a creative outlet. I started posting all things relevant to our current life while trying to be as relatable and honest as possible.
About one month after launching FFY, I shared about how I was struggling with breast feeding. My breast milk supply was dwindling quickly and I knew my last time nursing Harlow was near.
In a practice of vulnerability, I posted about how I went to an exercise class that week which ended in uncontrollable tears during savasana. I was coming to the realization that even though it was difficult to think about my BF journey coming to an end, it meant I could celebrate "getting my body back" since pre-pregnancy!!
Well, in an ironic turn of events, I was about to discover I couldn't have been more wrong.
We found out were pregnant again! And baby BRO #2 was set to arrive shortly after Harlow's first birthday.
So, turns out a surge of first trimester pregnancy hormones was likely contributing to my breakdown on the yoga mat. Once the initial shock wore off, this surprising (and exciting!) news prompted several changes in our lives...it felt like we were never going to slow down!
We sold our first home and moved out to the suburbs (big BURB fan over here!). Right away, we decided to undergo a kitchen reno project, which would explain the sudden influx of home design related content on FFY. My husband also decided to make a major career change that would allow him to have a better work-life balance.
It's been quite the year!!!
Flash forward to today.
As I am writing this, I am 39 weeks pregnant. I'm proud to say I met my goal of publishing functionalforyou.com before baby bro's arrival! And I learned how to build a website all on my own! (which probably was one of the most challenging things I've done in a long time!)
Here's a little unknown fact about me: this isn't my first website or business venture! I made my first website in 2013 and then another in 2016. Both are no longer public. And, by the way, you'd really have to twist my arm to get me to tell you the names of those sites. I equate the cringiness I feel thinking about my web names to the cringiness most of us feel thinking about our AIM screen-names ;)
As far as the business venture goes...in late 2020/early 2021, my husband and I were on a serious path to opening a plant-based grocery store (more on that story another day).
And that's what I mean when I say Functional For You has been nearly a decade in the making! There were several reasons why nothing substantial ever came of my previous efforts. But, the desire to create something of my own has always been there!
The past 7 months has given me the time to think about where I want to take Functional for You. I am most excited to have a space where I don't have to be tied down to one theme or topic.
Visit my About page to learn more about the purpose behind FFY, what kind of content you can expect to see, and, I'll explain what the heck I mean by "Functional for you"?!
The elements that make up FFY and what led me to develop this space stem from one idea:
Just because you’ve never considered yourself to BE a certain type of person…or CAPABLE of achieving something…doesn’t mean it always has to be that way!
The moment I changed the story in my head from "I could never" to "well, maybe I could...." was the moment that the opportunity became possible! All the moments that followed led me here.
And I am so happy you are here and to share it with you!!!