MIA for a min but back w/ a pivot

hello!!! Anybody there? It has been so long. But back with some big updates and a new site experience too! More on that below.

As I think a lot of you know or have determined via my social media. I left the coziness of the corporate world at the end of the Summer. Saying goodbye to 10+ years of exciting projects and cherished relationships, as it was finally time to make way for new challenges (virtual kindergarten) and exciting opportunities too.

When people do ask about why I left I always reference the statistic that you undoubtedly saw all over the internet and social media this summer. The one that stated that more women than ever were leaving the work force due to the many stresses that the pandemic had forced upon them: wfh, childcare, schooling, unemployment etc. I am a that statistic.

While I have now spent the last four months adjusting to virtual kindergarten with Momo and really leaning in to my role as mom/ kindergarten tutor. Enjoying the once in a lifetime brain break and lack of responsibility outside of the home. I really didn’t think too hard or push too much to solve for what was next professionally. I knew that when I was ready I could trust my relationships, my experience, my reputation and my network to help me accomplish what was always my natural next step.

So what is next? You are asking me thru your screen. Too much for this blog post! A lot is happening and in the process of starting to happen for us as a family. Speaking for myself professionally I am pivoting my personal ‘Making la Madre’ brand to include a few sub categories. 1) my newly founded Creative Studio aptly named ‘la Madre’ as well as 2) a lifestyle project Mike and I are working on together called ‘casa Madre’. This part of my site went live mid December. And I am grateful that my decade plus career in storytelling and marketing strategy has proven to be a great tool in attracting opportunities, clients and projects sooner than I anticipated. Careful what you wish for right?

The other big pivot is more family focused. If you have seen fotos on instagram that look a little more tropical than Portland your eyes are not fooling you! We relocated to Mexico as of January 1st 2021.

This change is something Mike and I had been discussing and figuring out the past two years. It finally clicked for us this summer once we were discussing my departure from corporate America, the nature of WFH, virtual school and the ability to have your office truly be anywhere was something we could totally take advantage of. This really focused us with the intention of getting down to Mexico as soon as we could to take full advantage.

So here we are now in a small town along the Mexican Riviera. Walking dirt roads and eating fresh fruit. Both of us doing our emails, taking client meetings and having creative sessions from the dining table just like we did back in Portland. But with warmer temperatures. I will share more about this move and what it means for our family, life in Portland and how Momo is adjusting in another post soon.

That is all for now. I will be sharing updates both on here and of course more on the fly commentary on both of my instagram channels @lydialauer & @makinglamadre. And if you are more of an email kinda person I even started a newsletter for more digestible yet irregular inbox drops if you wanna keep in touch that way too. Sign up here. 

Comment below with any questions and I will answer them all.

Lastly, above fotos by my friend Kaitlin who took some fotos of our house before we left town. She is a fantastic lifestyle photog in Portland. Don’t let my awkwardness fool you!

xx Ly