Holy cow…tomorrow I'm turning 40! I remember when I thought 40 was SO OLD. As a kid, 40 seemed like you had been around forever, you had done so much, you were past your prime. It's funny how turning (and being) 40 is much different than I thought it would be…

I thought that by 40, I'd be a true domestic goddess and be the mom that my kids come home to amazing home-cooked meals every night. I would have my signature recipe they knew and loved me for.

    In reality, I barely can cook many homemade meals. And, I have no signature recipe. I still want to cook more, but I've realized I don't have to be that perfect domestic goddess I always imagined in my head. Trader Joe's is my best friend, and I'm proud of myself if I can make my family something somewhat homemade at least a few nights a week!

I thought that by 40, I'd have certain "grown-up" things…own a house, a car, have some kids, a great marriage, be on my way to retirement…

    In reality, I have never owned a house and am still currently renting (but a house is coming soon). I don't have car…I have something better (a mini van!), two amazing kids, and a great marriage. But I'm no where close to retirement. I still have lots of years left that I'll happily be working so that I can pay for the above mentioned house that I will finally own ;P

I thought that by 40, I'd be climbing the corporate ladder and be an executive at a design job somewhere.

    In reality, I climbed the ladder to building my own business. And where that ladder is going always changing and very exciting.

I thought that by 40, I'd have to stop wearing short skirts, wear less colorful clothing, and be a little more serious.

    In reality, my legs still look great (so I'm still wearing those short skirts), I love color more than ever, and I'm actually trying to be less serious.

So while some things are drastically different than I expected 40 to be, they are strangely so much better. I have slowly over the years (and especially in the last decade) come into who I am, felt more confident about the difference I can make in the world, and have truly felt like the most "me" ever. We are all always a work in progress, but it's progress I'm happy to keep making…even if it ends up being different than we think it will be!

P.S. We're celebrating my birthday in the Oh Joy! Shop all weekend long with FREE GROUND SHIPPING on all orders over $40! So go shop 😉 It ends Monday, May 20th at 9AM PST.

{Photo by Lily Glass}