The Invitation That Started It All

Isn't it funny that for most of us, the one thing that holds the highest significance why we start our businesses or new life chapters isn't something that everyone gets to see? Funny enough, I was made aware some time ago that I've never shared an actual image of our wedding invitation. This was just a part of our story that I hadn't thought about before. Of course, I've told our story of how our business started to clients and vendors. It's been one of the bits of information that remained after our rebrand back in August. But this is the first time our invitation will be seen (unless you were a recipient of the invitation of course). 😉

Photo Credit: Dipp Photography

Something I would like point out is that this wasn't the first invitation I had made before. In fact, I had been creating invitations for some very important family celebrations such as both of my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversaries and helping a one of my dearest friends with her bridal shower and wedding invitations. These weren't elaborate invitations at all, not like what you've see from me today. But...our wedding invitation was the first real moment I got to create something that reflected the people behind the event. It was a lot more personal and meant so much more.

You see when it came time to decide on our invitations, I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to let guests know exactly how magical this moment in our lives was going to be. While we visited a few invitation shops, they just didn't have what I was looking for. Needless to say that the more "Nos" I received, the smaller I felt. If it hadn't been for Gus' encouragement, we would have probably gone with some plain, mundane invite that everyone else was using. 

Don't get me wrong...it was a ton of hard work. I bought shimmer paper to really give the "shining, shimmering, splendid" feeling I desperately wanted to glow from the invitations. My mom found invitation packs at Target 🎯 on a clearance rack that had similar, delicate design that my wedding dress also had. I looked up through countless rules of invitation etiquette while adding some new twists to personalize our invitation suite a little more. We may have also sent them out a little later than we should have 😅 , but the results were worth it. 

So what would be my one bit of advice if you choose the same route that I did for my wedding day? PLAN AHEAD.🗓  Do your research and see if the cost and time spent (because it will take a lot of time) is really worth it for your time frame and budget. I have had cases where brides have come to me either having experience with DIY projects or know how design, but just didn't have the time to create their invitation suite. Designing them yourself can also bring extra purchases like paper cutters, extra paper and envelopes for "just in case" boo boos. 😱 🤕 

Well, that's that. Now you can't say you haven't seen our wedding invitations. 😜 😁  And maybe...just maybe...I'll be sharing some of our wedding photos too. 

The Power of Powersheets

How many times have you actually set a goal for the New Year and given up after a month? If you are anything like me, it only took me like two days and it was back to the "norm".  Well, that all changed about two years ago. That is when I caught a webinar about making things happen by a woman named Lara Casey. I ended up purchasing her book called Make It Happen and actually blogged about it here. In her book, she talked about taking small steps towards your goals instead of being overwhelmed by one HUGE goal. At that time, life felt upside down. I was working in both my business and working for someone else full time , trying to buy a house, and tons of other crazy things I won't get into. So needless to say, I was in need of making a change that would turn my world right side up.

After reading Make It Happen, it was like a lightbulb finally flickered on.  At the end of the book, she mentioned practical ways to start prioritizing what was important. #Powersheets was one of the tools she mentioned. As timing would have it, #Powersheets were about to go on sale for the next year. I knew I had to get my hands on them. So, I purchased a 6 month set of #Powersheets and waited anxiously for the mailman to deliver them. I purchased a binder (that year's #Powersheets had a 3 ring hole punch), pens and markers that would help me get messy while I began to goal set. Those sheets lasted a year. Why? Because I didn't prioritize my goal setting...but it was progress. Progress that I would not have made if I had not purchased this goal-setting tool. To be honest, it wasn't until this year that I finally began really dedicating time weekly to my #Powersheets. And, oh, how I saw things cultivate and finally bloom.

PHOTO CREDIT: DIPP PHOTOGRAPHY

Since the time I began using #Powersheets, I've been able to jump full time into the work I love, prioritize time with family and friends, and begin planning for other exciting chapters in my life. Ultimately, thinking about how your goals will affect you when you are 80 in your favorite rocking chair while sipping some cafecito really puts things into perspective. I don't know about you, but I want to enjoy that time in what's truly important.

Are you looking to make a change? Transition to work that you are passionate about, lose weight, or something else you wish you could change? Why don't you start today? It just so happens the 2018 #Powersheets are available now and it would be a great time to take a step towards making intentional, positive change. You won't regret it.

Life In My Thirties - Year One

As my birthday slowly creeps up on me this weekend,it's still crazy to think that I'm about to complete to complete my first year in my 30's. Gunna keep this blog post short and sweet by telling you what I learned in my 30th year.

Do the things that scare you. 😱 

There are tons of things that quite frankly I'm scared of. One of those things was dying my hair. I went twenty-eight years on this earth without having even tried putting color into my hair at least once...even in that highlight phase everyone went through during their teenage years. At age 29, I marinated on the idea of dying my hair, but the damaging effects scared the crud out of me. I tried to use the semi-permanent dye, but with my naturally brown locks, it just wasn't possible to get the red I wanted. I came to the conclusion there was only one way to really get the look I wanted. So, I did it. 😁  And somehow in what felt like a natural flow of occurrences, Purple also showed up in my color palette. And you know what...I couldn't be happier. 🦄  #mylittleponystatus #redandpurplehairdontcare

God's plan on your life holds supreme over the opinions of others. 🙌🏻 👏🏻

At my age and seemingly in my culture, if you aren't married or have children yet, something is wrong with you. Although I have been happily married for some time, "The Great Baby Debate" has been a seemingly key topic amongst some family and friends. While I'm not going to divulge anything in this post about our plans on having wee ones, I'll say this: The topic is old and you need to find new conversations to have with those who fall into either category - Unwed or Childless.  You as the reader may think I'm being harsh, but I am speaking for myself and others in this life stage. I'm going to channel six-year-old Monique, who would quote the best characters of all 90's sitcoms and say that this topic, quite frankly, is none of your beeswax and quite frankly how rude it is to bring it up (while flipping her ponytail and sassily walking out of the room). By continually questioning folks about this, you are stealing their joy in the season they are in. Yes...essentially telling your loved ones that their lives are completely unfulfilled unless they have these life stages checked off on their list. God has a plan for all of our lives already written. Whether it includes these life stages in them or not, it is not for you to instigate and continually question someone on something that may be completely out of their own control or just not in their current season in life.  

Live your life in the now. Later may not happen. ✨

By no means do I mean that you should rush to your nearest tattoo shop and get some fresh, insensible ink. I mean if there is something in life you want to do badly enough, try for it. If you have felt called to sing, go for it. If you feel like you are unhappy at your 9 to 5 and have a dream of having another career, set plans and steps to make it happen. If you want to travel the world and no magic carpet to take you there, remember we use airplanes, trains, and automobiles to get there too. 🌎 We only have one life to live, friends. Let's make that dash on our tombstone be more than just a simple grammatical punctuation.

Ok, I'm jumping off of my seemingly small soapbox in hopes that you've been encouraged or been able to take away something from my experience in this new life chapter. I'm going to, hopefully, enjoy as much Carvel Ice Cream Cake and time with the peeps I love. Happy, Happy Birthday to Me. 🎂 ✨

We Are Live!! 🎉 Our Rebrand 2017

After countless days planning and dreaming, the day is finally here. 😁  I am finally unveiling our new branding and website, today, August 1, 2017. To think that over two months ago, all of this was a thought and now it's a reality. Well, I guess you've waited long enough, no?

Here's our new logo!! 🎉

I am totally in love with this new look. For starters, the fluid flow of the text is exactly what we were looking for when trying to represent this new stage in our business. Keeping it clean, but hit with a hint of "magic" this logo is giving me all the feels.✨  "With great power, comes great responsibility"...no no no. Wrong quote. LoL. Actually, there are two quotes from one of my favorites that would be appropriate to share today. 

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

— Walt Disney

...and lest I forget..

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

— Walt Disney

Funny enough amongst all of the encouraging, sweet quotes and prints I have in my office, I actually have a similar photo to the one above. The only difference is that Uncle Walt (most Disney fans do this....calling Walt Disney "Uncle Walt". It's totally ok...) is standing beside a plot of land that at that time was known as the secretive "Florida Project". And although in a slightly faded, colored shadow, an image of Cinderella's Castle from Walt Disney World can be seen hovering on the immense plot of land. Why do I bring this up? 

Because we don't know the great work we are capable of and sometimes it takes a village (literally) to make you see the great potential there is in change. Change is scary, but if we don't change, we won't grow. We will stay stagnant in our pot of dirt and won't grow to our fullest potential.

One more thing, a little bit of scripture that been on my heart and I've shared before on the blog. 

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

— Joshua 1:9 (NIV), Bible

+

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

— Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), Bible

There is this funny saying that goes, "We make plans, God laughs". Most will take it in a sarcastic sense making it seem God thinks of us as stupid humans. I think of it differently. For anyone who has small kiddos in their life, there are moments in a learning experience where they are stubbornly trying to fit a square peg into where a circle peg should go. The adult will chuckle to themselves in a loving manner and try to show them the right way to do it. A lot of times, we aren't paying attention to the path God has thoughtfully carved out for us. Instead, we try to make our own way and wonder why "NO" appears at every dead end.

My encouragement to you today is to know that we all have our struggle figuring out what we are supposed to do in life. Let God light the path. He has the best lit path anyone could dream of.

And before I finish this post up, there are a few thank you's that need to be said.

Charisma - You helped make this happen!! Thank you for doing what I could not do for myself. Your insight and  really pushed me to think outside the box and be okay with doing away with some of the fluff that didn't belong.

Family + Friends - The ones that saw and encouraged this change and step in the right direction. Whether it was with your words or through your actions. You guys are my biggest cheerleaders and I'm so lucky to have a supportive tribe like ours.

Friendors - There is a small group of folks I want to thank that encouraged me before and through this process. Some of you told me the truth, without bumpers or any cushion for me to fall back on. You provided honest feedback and steps to better this sweet babe of mine. You know who you are. I've probably already told you "Thank you" more than anyone should...but again I say thank you. 🥑 🦄 

...and last but not least...

Gus - Kid, this is a big step for the both of us. As I sit here and type this...I am literally struck with emotion. Kid, we are no longer "Almost There". WE ARE THERE!! I love you more than words and am so excited to see what is over than next horizon.

So without anymore mushy feels and sweet words, I say with my best Arnold Schwarzenegger accent, "What are you waiting for? GO CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE NOW!! DO IT NOW!!!"