Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Rawls.
Brooke, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I feel like you can sum up just about any story with “life is crazy, but God is good.”
And that has most definitely been true for me.
I NEVER thought I would evvveeerrrr be a blogger. (Does anybody? haha)
But after following THE path (you know, where you go to school, make the grades, get the degree, land the job… etc.), I found myself sitting in an office cubicle, in an excellent job, doing exactly what I got my degree to do (interior design) and feeling completely trapped. I was fresh out of school, had student loans, no savings, and was basically a broke college student minus the student part. Working full-time wasn’t an option. It was a necessity. So, I stuck it out and actually wound up staying in the corporate design world through 2 jobs and another 3.5 years.
But the entire time, I was plotting my way out. Just 6 months into my first job, I started a virtual interior design studio as a side hustle, hoping it would give me a creative outlet that would grow, earn me a little extra income, and eventually be my master escape plan. But the thing no one tells you about starting a business is that it is PERSONAL.
Starting a business will force you into the biggest self-improvement journey that you never asked to go on. As I absorbed mass amounts of business books and podcasts in the hopes of creating an overnight thriving business ( hahaha, boy I was naive), I stumbled into self-development and it changed EVERYTHING for me.
It helped me to see the possibilities of life that were so far beyond THE path that I thought I was supposed to be on. It helped me figure out that as much as I love interior design, I didn’t have to stay stuck in my interior design box at all. But the biggest thing I learned that has changed my life is that every single one of us (YES YOU TOO!) has the ability to design our best lives exactly where you are right now ANDD get to continue growing and evolving. Basically, you. are. not. stuck.
Spoiler alert: My virtual interior design studio never took off. Like, at all. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was a huge part of what led me where I am today, I would actually call it a giant fail. Which is totally fine because through that whole self-discovery thing, I figured out I didn’t actually enjoy designing for clients anyway!
And so all of this…following THE path through 2 jobs and 4 years, feeling stuck in my own life and struggling through panic attacks, stumbling onto specific books and podcasts, struggling to create a design business that I didn’t even really want, and finally being let go from my job in the middle of a pandemic … brought me to this exact place in time where I get to create freely and encourage others through sharing things, I love learning about. And if THAT isn’t divine intervention, I don’t know what is.
Today I run a home and lifestyle blog/online shop called Simply B. Living. It dives into all things home decor, thrifting, DIY projects as well as health and wellness both mentally and physically. Basically… Simply B. Living is about designing not just your home, but designing a LIFE you love.
Full circle moment, right?
Like I said. Life is crazy, but God is so, so good.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not haha. But I think that we all know that life almost never goes as planned.
For me, like I said, I always assumed I would just follow THE path, degree, job, family, etc. and it NEVER occurred to me that I would do anything other than that. So, figuring out that I was severely unhappy following this one and only gameplan I had for my life really created some internal struggles to say the least. And combining that with financial stresses, losing a job, and working through evolving relationships… I experienced a season of some big-time growing pains.
Now, I recognize that I’ve been INCREDIBLY blessed and I’m fully aware that my struggles have been very mild compared to some that others face. But I do think it’s worth sharing because I feel like it’s actually a really common thing that a lot of people go through. This going through a season of struggling through the “what now?” and the growing pains that come with it, but it’s not talked about very much.
So, I just want to acknowledge for anyone who may be experiencing this right now that yes! It’s totally thing, and it totttttalllly sucks when you are in it, but you are NOT stuck there. You have the ability to start designing a better life right where you are, right now.
And if you don’t believe me, I have physical proof.
I’m a big journaler, and I have a box of old journals in the closet that are absolutely filled with entry after entry, documenting in detail that period of struggle, but the really amazing thing is now years later I also have journal entries that are filled with extreme gratitude for the EXACT things I was praying for in those old journals. And being able to look back and clearly see how God brought you out of it or even used it to bring you into a better place than you ever imagined… THAT is pretty cool and makes that period of struggle totally worth it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So, like I mentioned before, today, I run Simply B. Living, a home and lifestyle blog that explores not just how to design your home, but also how to design a LIFE you love.
I also have an online home decor shop! And what makes this shop special is that every item is specifically curated from secondhand sources and repurposed or re-imagined! And what I love most about the shop is that even if you don’t purchase a single thing, you can at least gain some inspiration from something you see there and find new ways to use things you already own!
So, from DIY projects to thrifting, finding/making home decor on a budget, to researching healthy recipes, designing morning routines that help you have a better day, to discovering cleaner and healthier products for our bodies and our homes… if it relates to designing a better life for yourself, inside or out, Simply B. Living dives into it.
Being that my background is interior design, I would say that I definitely specialize in home decor and design. So, things like DIY projects, thrifting home decor, and showing you how to style things you already own in a new way in your home are my absolute favorite things to do and share.
That being said, I think what sets me apart is the wholistic approach I try to take to everything. I’m just as committed to improving myself, my health, and my relationships as I am to improving my home. And I enjoy sharing each of those things with you too. But I’m definitely not an expert in those things like I am with home design, and so when I share anything like that it’s like we are learning together which is a lot of fun.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I think the biggest thing I personally learned from the Covid era is to do the best with what you CAN control, and let God handle the rest.
Contact Info:
- Email: brooke@simplybliving.com
- Website: www.simplybliving.com
- Instagram: @brookerawls
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebmailclub
- Other: www.simplybiving.com/shop
