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Hi friends, I hope you are all doing so well! I wanted to pop in tonight to share that for the month of April, I am going to take an intentional break from social media for Grace and Serendipity. In order to choose what matters most, to serve my April and May brides in the best way I know how, and to make sure everyone and everything is taken care of beautifully for the @creativefounders conference this month, as odd as this may sound, choosing to put posting to Instagram and Facebook on hold for G+S for the next 30 days was an easy decision to make. So, I will see you in May. xoxo!
Last week, I wrote a blog post about five ways to become a "morning person" to be more productive for your business over on @creativefounders. I wanted to let you know here too, so the link's in my profile to read it. I found it funny that the same day it was posted and I scrolled way back through these squares, this image caught my attention. This is what life used to be like daily, trying to work and keep my sweet baby boy entertained moments at a time. Life isn’t quite like this anymore, but if you are in this season and you are trying to figure out how to do things, the caption is below from the original post that I wrote almost two years ago now. The same words still ring true and I hope it encourages you wherever you are in this journey. Cheers to you mama. 💕 ..... We don't need real toys around here. We have a roll of washi tape that rolls like a car and a pack of tic tacs that shakes just like a rattle. Instant entertainment for the non-napping child, and this mama finished up a few details while he happily played on. But in all seriousness - oh my goodness, the days that our littles decide they aren't going to nap are some of the hardest, aren't they? I had a few more things on my list for the week that I wanted to accomplish during that precious quiet time today, and they didn't get done. I could easily have spent my afternoon disappointed and been frustrated with my kiddos, but I chose grace instead, and will finish them up after they head to bed tonight, starting fresh tomorrow. God gave me these kids to be a mom to, and he also gave me the love of being a business owner to be able to work from home and spend this time in our lives with them too. I am in a season filled with ebbs and flows - it definitely is not a straight road these days. Grace is given and received daily, and I don't know where I would be without it. Mamas, if you are in that same boat as me, know you are not alone. You are doing a great job, and you are exactly where you're supposed to be. You've got this. 💕
I love looking back at collections that were previously designed that didn't make the “final cut" for a collection, changing out colors and serendipitously (yes, this IS a word!) creating something entirely new from them. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Today, I took a creative break and designed JUST to design for a bit and this beauty was born. And then (of course!) to add the perfect finishing touch, I decided to switch out the photo to one I took with my husband a couple of months ago with @annafilly just for giggles so I could have him here in this feed and it simply warmed my heart. When I showed this to him today and told him his name was Michael and mine was Olivia for design purposes, he looked at me and just shook his head, smiling and saying "I hope you had fun with this today honey. Next time make my name something more studly if yours is Olivia." We are coming up on nine years of marriage this year, fourteen years in total being together. I met him a month after I moved down to Florida, and the rest is history. I was talking with @mariannesdesigns yesterday and at one point I said "he didn't marry an entrepreneur, he married a teacher who was supposed to go down a totally different path." He didn't know what he was getting into, nor did I. BUT. In all of this up and down rollercoaster of what being an entrepreneur includes, he has been there supporting me through all of it. And life is SO much better because he is the man I get to grow old and wrinkly with, still holding hands and making each other laugh for years to come. When you say yes to forever with someone, say yes to marrying all of the unknowns and figuring it out together ... because it certainly makes the ride a fun one. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Curated Collection has six new collections arriving in late May of this year, they'll be available for couples getting married in September and beyond. I can't wait to share them with you, and continue this journey as a designer with all of you as well. Thank you to all of you who have continually supported this dream business of mine over these last few years, I have loved every minute of it. #gsweddinglove
SO excited to be speaking with @tizzit.co for Makers Biz 2018 tonight, all about Creating Product Collections! I have added a link in my profile above, register for the FREE LIVE CLASS that's taking place tonight at 7pm CST! . If you can't join us live, there will be a replay for 48 hours so make sure to sign up if this is something you want to learn more about. Want a peek as to a fun way we'll be talking about collections when it comes to creating them?? Look at my stories today to find out!
Today is quite the fun holiday being #nationalnappingday (ha! What?!). But I have to admit, I’ll take a really great cup of coffee (even if it’s been reheated seven times) over taking a nap. Every time I think it’s a good idea, when I get back up I am just plain cranky, whether I slept for 20 minutes or four hours. Anyone else here with me?? Or am I just the odd one out?? #coffeeloversunite 😂🤷‍♀️☕️ #gsfaves
It’s hard to believe this was our view just three days ago. 💕 My husband came home from work one of our cold spell days in January and said “that’s it, we are going on a cruise.” I think our random “snow” days had finally gotten to him 😂 I had never seen a cruise boat in person and had no clue what to expect, but agreed instantly without hesitation. This was the first time we had vacationed without our kiddos and although that in itself was a struggle for my mama heart, this was also such a good vacay for the both of us. The day we went swimming with dolphins in Cozumel followed by being poolside overlooking it all was the icing on the cake and being something I’ve wanted to do since high school (dolphins were actually the reason I majored in Marine Biology for a hot minute in college), it was everything and more I had imagined. Today, being back home a bit sunburned and with our littles back in our arms, life is good. We decided in December of 2017 to take a vacation once a quarter this year ... and this was a great way to begin that tradition! We are easing back into our “normal” routine today but my mind is definitely still thinking about this view 💕 #gsfaves