Welcome to my blog! This blog is a space where I document my professional growth, explore various side projects, delve into my diverse interests and hobbies, and share the lessons I learn along the way.
Join me as I navigate the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, artificial intelligence, search engine optimization, e-commerce, and beyond, all while striving for continuous self and professional improvement.
Can AI really generate a publishable novel in a day? I used BookyAI, a locally hosted Llama model, AutoCrit, and Amazon KDP to create and publish a 126,743-word novel with almost no human rewriting. Here is what worked, what broke, what AI invented, and what I learned about authorship along the way.
Solving an 87-year-old genealogy mystery became an unexpected lesson in research, data literacy, AI-assisted analysis, collaboration, and the value of publishing imperfect work. The breakthrough did not come from one perfect source, but from generations of people preserving pieces of the puzzle.
Transform your website content with essential tips that captivate audiences and boost conversions. Discover the secrets small business owners often miss.
By shifting our perspective on setbacks, we can unlock hidden opportunities for growth that transform challenges into powerful lessons and discover how to embrace this mindset.
Navigating community connections can unlock unprecedented business success, but what strategies truly foster these vital relationships? Discover the secrets to sustainable growth.
Discover essential content creation hacks for busy entrepreneurs that can transform your routine! Are you ready to elevate your productivity?
Genealogy is more than old records and family trees. It is data analysis, source evaluation, AI-assisted consistency checking, historical research, and the careful work of separating truth from bad data.
A behind-the-scenes look at building a custom WooCommerce site for Hobby Discs, including product taxonomy, cart stability, hybrid fulfillment, SEO, and why e-commerce requires strategy, not just design.
Being a solopreneur requires a bizarre balance of raw creativity and rigid systems. If I don’t use tech to automate the tedious stuff, I have zero energy left for the creative stuff. Over the years, I’ve built a tech stack that keeps my businesses (and my brain) functioning. Here is a look at the exact tools I am currently obsessed with.
People often tell me I talk a lot. I choose to take that as a compliment because they usually follow it up with, “…but you’re always interesting.”
I remember hearing once that a good politician from the Ozarks can tell a story about using the bathroom at a sketchy gas station, and somehow make it universally relatable—whether he’s talking to a millionaire or a farmer. That right there? That is the entire secret to marketing.
2025 was a year of massive, earth-shifting changes, and my body essentially demanded a pause. For me, celebration isn’t about bubble baths or forced positivity. It’s about recalibration. It’s about taking a hard look at the baggage you carry, realizing you don’t need it to survive anymore, and letting it go.
If you asked an AI to describe a side project, it would probably tell you it’s a “thrilling journey” that feels like a “big, cozy hug.” (I know this, because an AI literally drafted a version of this post, and I nearly choked on my coffee reading it).
Let’s be real. A side project is not a hug. A side project is often late nights, Googling things you don’t understand at 2 AM, and questioning your own sanity. But it is also a lifeline. It’s the door you build yourself when the room you’re in gets too small.
If you run a small business, you can’t exactly just opt out of the digital world entirely. You just have to become ruthlessly efficient. If we have to play this game, we might as well play it smart. Here is how you can maximize your social media impact without completely burning yourself out.
I built my first SaaS: Reseller Command Center—an AI-powered toolkit for vintage resellers that helps identify pieces, generate platform-ready listings, and remember your goals so you can run your shop with less friction. It’s the “no-setup” version of the workflows I’ve been building for Vintage Reveries, powered by Gemini (and yes, it’s paid because it uses my API key). I’m in beta and genuinely want feedback—especially from sellers drowning in backlog.
I built a lightweight Google Apps Script that turns folders of scanned images into clean, editable text—right inside Google Docs. It detects columns and tables, preserves order, and outputs pipe-formatted rows you can paste into Sheets or CSV. Perfect for archivists, researchers, and bloggers working through vintage scans at scale.
BFCM cleared $1K+ after fees, a no-comps tee sold for $300 in 90 minutes, and I shipped 50+ coats in two weeks. December has been heads-down systems work — theme refresh, database cleanup, precise shipping — plus an AI project that turned a public domain dictionary into a usable dataset. Here’s what worked (and what I fixed).
For years, VintageReveries quietly carried me through job changes, pandemic chaos, and burnout. This fall, I rebuilt the site from the ground up on a new Divi layout, automated my social posts, and started listing again in earnest. With just over 100 active listings, I’m already seeing a 3 percent sell-through rate and a 50-plus dollar average order value—proof that vintage and WordPress are saving me, again, in a very real and measurable way.