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Classy & Confused

May 27, 2020

Selling My Wedding Dress

This weekend I took my wedding dress to a consignment shop and I had so many of my closest friends in shock over my choice to sell my wedding dress. I didn’t expect it to be a big deal at all, but then I started getting messages about tradition and why wouldn’t I keep it for my future daughter and I just wanted to take this perfect opportunity to write out all my feelings.

My husband and I live in a smaller one bedroom apartment and it is perfect for us. I might feel frustrations about the size every now and then, but at the end of the day we really love this place. When we moved here, I planned on being someone who is really conscious of the amount of stuff that they own. We’ve toyed with the idea of getting a tiny house and while I don’t think I can handle living that tiny, I definitely didn’t want too much space. I don’t want to spend money trying to decorate extra rooms and spend time cleaning areas of our home that we don’t use. Maybe I will feel differently about that as time goes on, but for now, it seems pointless to me and to our lifestyles.

So, I am constantly trying to edit our home…and my closet. I love to shop, but I don’t love the way clutter feels. If I don’t wear something or don’t plan on ever wearing it again, I find someone who will. I firmly believe that good clothes deserve to be worn and loved! And of course, a great dress is no exception to that.

I know, I know…a wedding dress is so much more than just another dress. For me at least, my wedding dress gave me the best day (and pictures!!) of my life. On my wedding day my mother helped me get into that dress, that dress saw the happy tears of all the people I love, it endured so many hugs, so much dancing, and a generous amount of white wine and mud on its gorgeous open, lacy back and train. I felt amazing on my wedding day and I can’t imagine having worn anything else when marrying my best friend.

It is a really amazing dress!

And it deserves to be worn and loved all over again, instead of being shoved to the back of my closet to taunt me with its impossible tininess in 20 years!! I also don’t want to put the pressure of my dress and “tradition” onto any future daughter I might have. What if I saved my dress for 30 years, carefully packed it away and added it to the burden of each move, carved out space for it in every future closet, planned this wonderful story in my head of a daughter who would want to wear it on her own wedding day…and then it didn’t fit her and I realized all of that was for nothing? Or worse, what if *gasp* she didn’t want to wear it and wanted to have her own special dress?! I think tradition can be so meaningful and important, but a tradition that puts an emotionally charged expectation on someone you love maybe isn’t the best tradition to continue keeping.

Am I sad to know that it isn’t going to be there if I need a quick reminder of my favorite day? Yeah, of course! It is great to have sweet little memories stashed around your home just in case of a bad day! But I get to wake up every morning next to the biggest reminder of that magical day, which is better than any dress could ever be.

Even though I might be a little sad, I am also super excited for the woman that gets to use my dress next. I hope her day is as amazing as mine was and wish her a long, happy marriage filled with love and laughter.

Always Classy & Confused,

MGW

Filed in: lifestyle • by maggersmc • Leave a Comment

November 10, 2019

How to Make Money Freelancing

At this point in my life, I basically freelance full time. I also have a retail job (yay Lululemon) and a job working the front desk at a local barre studio (yay Barre3), but my main source of income is from freelancing jobs as a social media manager and blogger. Freelancing is something you can choose to do full time or you can use it as a side hustle. The beauty of it is you are able to choose what jobs you take on and how much time you devote to your freelancing ways. Right now, I have four clients and I would say they take up about 25ish (sometimes more) hours of my week. I am still taking on and looking for more clients (so if you need social media help, hit me up) and have started testing out ways to automate different parts of the job I do for each client to free up a little bit more of my time. Once I get a perfect system worked out there, I will let you in on all the tools I use (and the tools I don’t). 

But in this post I wanted to take the time to help you get your freelance on! 

First (and most importantly), you need to figure out what you are good at/enjoy doing. Are you great with social media? Do you have a knack for graphic design? Do you write great blogs? Can you create a working ebay or shopify store? Think about your skills and what you wouldn’t hate doing every day. If you are a great writer but hate writing, maybe don’t try to freelance based on that skill. If this is going to work for you, you have to enjoy it. 

Once you have an idea of what skill/services you can provide, you need to figure out how much they are worth. This is where Google comes in handy!! See what people offering your service are charging and what people looking for your service are willing to pay. Price can get tricky because at the end of the day, this is your time we are talking about. You can absolutely never get it back, so don’t sell yourself short. I think when you are starting out, it is definitely okay to charge a little less as you gain experience and a client base, but set your limits on how little you will accept and stick to them. 

Decide how much time you can give to your clients. If you only have an extra 5 hours a week and want to do some side hustling as a social media manager, don’t take on a ton of clients that you can’t really give your time to. I know that seems like common sense, but when you start looking for work, it is hard to remember how much time you actually have to give. Figure it out before you start your search. Really look at how much the clients you find need and then seriously ask yourself if you have the time to give it to them. 

Get the necessary tools of your trade. Don’t hire yourself out as a photo editor if you don’t own a single photo editing software. All I needed to start my freelancing work was my cell phone and my laptop. Depending on what you decide to offer, you might need more than those things. Make sure you have what you need, but also don’t go crazy with buying gadgets and software and supplies before you start to gain clients. Get the bare minimum of what you need and then add to it once you have some money coming in from your work. 

Make your intentions known!! If you have social media, make a post about what services you offer. Encourage your friends and family to share your post or at least let them know what type of work you are looking for so they can pass things your way. I know it can feel weird and embarrassing to put yourself out there in this way. It was one of the things I look forward to doing the absolute least. Buuuut it actually helped me get a client that I am so excited to be working with, so I’m thankful that I put my freelance status out into the world. 

Start looking for work. There are so many ways to try and find work. For my social media business I literally message small businesses on facebook and offer my services to them. It feels weird at first, but it has actually helped me gain clients and make connections I never would have made if I had just waited for work to come to me. I also use UpWork to find work! Their platform allows you to search for the exact type of job you want and how much you want to get paid for it. Fiverr is similar to this. To be honest, I haven’t had any luck on Fiverr and would recommend UpWork over it any day, but maybe it will work for you! You can also look for jobs on Indeed or Linkedin.

Once you start getting some leads, offer to send proposals! This not only helps you get a good idea of the scope of work and the time it will take you, but it gives potential clients a better understanding of you and your services. It is also hella professional. I use Canva (it’s free) to make my proposals. 

Don’t expect a yes from every proposal you send out. I would highly suggest taking the time to understand why a client said no. Were your prices too high? Were you not offering what they needed? Whatever it is, do your best to learn from it. 

I hope these tips help you land your first freelancing gig! If you need more help or advice, please reach out to me! This is uncharted territory and it can feel really lonely at first, but I am definitely here if you have questions or just need someone to vent to. 

Also, check out my top books for personal growth as you travel along this freelance journey! http://classyandconfused.com/2019/11/09/my-top-6-books-for-personal-growth/

Always Classy & Confused,

MGM

Filed in: lifestyle • by maggersmc • Leave a Comment

November 1, 2019

Free Google Home Mini with Spotify

Y’all, you can get a free Google home mini with your spotify subscription right now. Like even if you already have Spotify. I know, I know, sounds scammy, right? I felt the same way! That is until I got our new Google home mini in the mail. Want to get one too? Read on dear friends, read on!

  • Bop on over to Spotify’s homepage
  • Then you can choose to sign up (if you haven’t already) or click the “Get your Google Home Mini” link if you’re already a Spotify member
  • You’ll get a little code to redeem in Google’s online store
  • AND THAT IS IT!

I am adding some Google home items and compatible devices below in case you want to grow your sweet little Google home collection. Also, don’t wait on this deal! It will only go until supplies last.

Always Classy & Confused,

MGW

Filed in: lifestyle • by maggersmc •

October 23, 2019

Fall Winery Visit

Fall is so here! Nothing gets me hyped like friggin’ fall! I love the weather, the smells, the colors, the pumpkin spice, the cozy clothes, the food, and the excitement of Christmas being right around the corner. This past weekend, I went to a winery with a few friends to peep some leaves and enjoy an apple cider flight! It was perfect. The winery was cute (and packed!!!) and the cinnamon apple cider was delicious!

After that hardcore fall activity (we took pictures with pumpkins), I naturally thought our own home needed more of a fall makeover too. So I gathered together a cornucopia of seasonal goods to share with y’all.

I think these mercury glass pumpkins are so pretty and would look good as your decor year round. I also love fall, so I might be a little biased! 

I use trays on everything. We have one on our coffee table and on our dining room table. They just make everything look a little bit more pulled together, without you having to put in a lot of decorating effort. Just add a candle, a plant, and maybe a mercury glass pumpkin and you have yourself a perfect little centerpiece. 

I saw my mother in law wearing a sweater like this the other day and it just looked so dang cozy! 

A pumpkin colored turtleneck? Yes, please! This comes in other colors too if you aren’t feeling the pumpkin vibes. 

I love how warm and versatile cardigans can be! I think this one is the perfect mix of fall colors and would look super cute with a white tank top and some jeans.  

PSL jammies, enough said. 

Always Classy & Confused… and obsessed with fall,

MGW

Filed in: exploration, lifestyle • by maggersmc •

MGW

MGW

The life and times of a twenty-something pisces with a love for white wine, writing, exploring, and creating ah-mazing outfits.

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