The Mid-year Review 2026

Here we are again, more than halfway through another strange year. Regardless of how different the energy of a year may feel, it’s always a rewarding study to look back on the patterns, themes, and impactful moments that make up my life. This mid-year review is a study in pace (mine, not the world’s), and what it takes to keep longing, dreaming, and reaching for beauty inside of it.

The threads emerging in my life so far this year have been:

• (Still) Playing tug-of-war with time: I’ve been sitting with the nagging longings for having a regular art practice, prioritizing creative side projects, and finding more consistent ways of moving my body. Do we all feel like there is just never enough time? Suleika Jaouad’s writing beautifully spoke to this as she shared about her “Things I Keep Wanting and Not Doing” list. Why is it so hard to act on the things we’re longing for? Is it an issue with capacity, responsibility, fantasy, or something deeper than all three?

• Finding the right pace: I have tried to slow my pace to see things more clearly. This has also meant softening into patience and embracing a longer tail journey towards my goals. This is not easy. We’re constantly fighting the external signals of urgency, speed, and the ‘more is more’ mentality. For me personally, it has also been a battle of accepting the differing needs of my body vs. soul.

• Reframing constraints as helpful: Designers love constraints. We need them to ask the right questions, to make room for creativity, to actually design solutions. Yet when I look at constraints in terms of my time, health, or capacity, I haven’t been able to see them as beneficial. This year I’m really trying to reframe. How can constraints become the lesson, the opportunity for self-compassion, and the gift of meeting myself where I am?

• Beauty as medicine: ‘Foraging for joy’ is my spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional medicine. Sometimes it’s learning something new or visiting someplace beautiful. But most of the time it’s the seemingly mundane: looking at my dog Benny, unique plants, the light of the sky, whatever’s in front of me. This practice is made of curiosity, interest, wonder, and awe. (“Foraging for joy” is borrowed from Suleika’s writing too).

The same “meet myself where I am” that showed up in my body this year showed up in my studio practice too. Two truths have been living side by side: I’m intentionally booking less (capacity, health, more space) but also witnessing the shifting of industry (and world) landscapes right now.

I’m 10 years in to Huzzah Studio (anniversary coming this September!) and I’m less interested in growth and more interested in resonance: inspiring and expansive projects, deeper relationships, and more creative oxygen. This just might be harder to find.

With Freelance for Life, I sunset my teaching and biz content along with our Slack community. It’s a little bittersweet but it’s giving me room to experiment with writing more here about my feelings on a “creative life” and trying out offerings like ‘Nice & Slow’ (a founding member experience that includes seasonal workshop sessions + snail mail!).

If you happen to be someone who is still curious about the numbers, here’s a quick summary of the past six months at the studio:

• Clients: 4 (3 returning, 1 new)

• Project types: 2 retainer, 1 flat-fee, 1 hourly

• Industries: Health & Wellness, Food CPG, Social Impact

• Outreach: 2 cold pitches (not won), 3 inbound projects declined (due to fit)

• Side projects launched: 2 (The Sensory Bloom, Nice & Slow)

Overall this equates to fewer clients, less income (so far), more no’s said on purpose, and more failed pitches as I stretch myself towards new opportunities.

Here’s a look at where I’ve been foraging for joy month by month.

Life: Rang in the new year with friends at Fjord’s cedar sauna at the edge of the bay, took a road trip mid-week simply to eat the absolute best scones, saw a New Orleans inspired jazz performance, visited family in LA and hit LACMA for the incredible exhibit “Tavares Strachan: The Day Tomorrow Began”, dined at The Georgian’s Italian speakeasy.

Studio: Continued with client work from 2025 retainers including brand & experience design strategy for Rula’s new therapy app and creative direction for CPG brand Butcher’s Bone Broth, met with my creative coach Tiu and began a digital garden of inspiration and ideas for both the studio and my personal art practice.

Life: I won’t sugarcoat it, this month was the lowest I’ve felt in a long while, challenged with physical & mental health struggles, I had an ER visit and unexpected time OOO dealing with new migraine symptoms. This was a hard time. I tried my best to not forget about appreciating simple comforts and cleansing tears. Just a few moments of tiny glimmers were seeing the early spring blooms, baking a delicious chocolate strawberry cake, and trying for a little Valentine's Day celebration with friends and our “A Latke Love” themed dinner.

Studio: Published The Sensory Bloom report which was the culmination of my multisensory research study from last year’s artist residency (you can read more about that here).

Life: Flowers were the theme for March, from visiting the de Young museum’s “Bouquets to Art” experience, to taking my first ikebana flower arranging class, to all of the floral inspiration incorporated into the Michelin star dinner I had at SingleThread Restaurant & Inn to celebrate my 40th birthday.

Studio: Needing a slower pace, I kept client work at part-time.

Life: Hosted my dad for his Giants vs Mets baseball series, experienced Psychopomp at SF Botanical Gardens, finally saw the sweet and touching film ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’!, took a photo embroidery workshop, grieved the death of our beautiful maple tree.

Studio: Shared a new series called Field Guides featuring my curation of experiential picks for the season, attended Off the Grid’s Astro Biz Summit, did some informational interviews on museum and experiential work.

Life: Took a short weekend trip to visit family and friends in Portland, started new treatment of botox injections for chronic migraine, found a new therapist, celebrated a friend at his tiki-themed birthday party (with a cake shaped like a volcano!), planned a coastal getaway to Bodega Bay & Jenner for In a Landscape’s classical music concert.

Studio: Continued with 1 retainer client and added on a web design/build project with an agency in Boston, reconnected with collaborator friends across the globe.

Life: Attended inspiring talks at SF Design Week, kayaked out on the Bay for the first time, took workshops on neurosomatic practices, growing a cut flower garden, and zine making, took a vacation week to drive down to LA with stops at Hearst Castle and Ojai, attended Lisa Olivera’s book talk with a dear friend, and spent an evening at the Eames Institute to hear from their artists-in-residence.

Studio: Jumped back into app work with former client Menovation, started a studio side project with my friend & collaborator Gabby, hosted the first Nice & Slow seasonal workshop where we talked about commonplace journaling to support our creative work.

I’ve found these retrospectives to be a supportive ritual of attention, alignment, and celebration. They are a favorite way to document time.

I’d love to hear how 2026 is unfolding for you. What are you longing for? What’s on your “Things I Keep Wanting and Not Doing” list? Where are you finding magic in the mundane?

May only the best come to you this year,

Sarah

P.S. Drop a comment below or hit reply. I love hearing from you.

“Living in wonder is the rent I owe God. I’m afraid if I stop looking at the stars or counting ladybug spots, that the locks will change.”

- John Roedel