making the most of your day

Okay so I know based on the post I made earlier this week, this may not make the most sense, but you can have a wonderfully productive day even when it starts out bad.

I recently listened to the lively podcast where Alexandra Franzen explains how you can make the conscious decision to turn your day around when it starts off on the wrong foot. I totally relate to this, so often if my day starts poorly I think what's the use, I'll have a super productive day tomorrow, and can end up feeling defeated before lunch even rolls around. Although, this could also have something to do with my all or nothing, super perfectionist personality. Regardless it was definitely something I needed to hear! I would highly recommend this podcast; in the second half of the interview Alexandra talks about how saying no can be a positive experience for both parties. If you've got time, give it a listen. And don't forget, today's not over yet go make the rest of it great!

PS: I am absolutely LOVING #the100dayproject - thanks for all of the support from everyone following along on insta!

wedding trends: photo backdrops

Cute photo backdrops are this generation's photo booths. With smart phones and social media, all your guests are going to be taking pictures, so having an amazing backdrop can be a fun way to guarantee your guests lots of instagram worthy shots. These backdrops can easily fit the tone of the wedding from formal and elegant, to fun and quirky depending on what materials are used. The possibilities are really endless!

photo credit: elizabethannedesigns

photo credit: refinery29

photo credit: stylemepretty

photo credit: stylemepretty

photo credit: greenweddingshoes

photo credit: unearthedvintage

photo credit: weddingchicks

photo credit: ohhappyday

photo credit: ohhappyday

photo credit: stylemepretty

photo credit: ohhappyday

productivity and eating frogs

So I can be a bit of a procrastinator, especially with things that aren't my favorite...tax documents I'm looking at you. One thing that's always helped me, and I have started doing again these past few months, is to start with the awful stuff. My mom used to always tell us, you just gotta eat that frog!

The saying comes from the book Eat That Frog (full disclosure: I actually have not read) but the idea is that when you start your day, to start it with the thing you are dreading the most. Whatever you hate doing, start with that - just eat the frog and get it over with. Then the rest of your day is completely downhill and you feel so proud and motivated since that gross thing is behind you! This also prevents you from doing other fun things (that do need to get done) first and running out of time at the end of the day to get the horrible thing done - because we all know that can happen several days in a row.

I can't say I do this everyday yet, but when I do, it really is motivating and prevents me from procrastinating on the unfun stuff. Give it a try tomorrow!

#the100dayproject

I recently found out about about the 100 day project, and LOVED the idea. From the website: It’s a celebration of process that encourages everyone to participate in 100 days of making. The great surrender is the process; showing up day after day is the goal. For the100-Day Project, it’s not about fetishizing finished products—it’s about the process. I have found that I do really well when I challenge myself to do something within specific guidelines (I actually won 2nd place on the #ioc45days challenge!) so I knew I wanted to do this. But what to do?

I wanted to do something that:

I like duh

I am bad at, and hopefully after 100 days will be a little better. 

Seemed doable (that I would actually have time, access, and resources to do for 100 days)

So I came up with hand lettering. I absolutely love hand lettering, and follow several calligraphers and designers on instagram just so my feed can be filled with such pretty lettering. I am horrible at it though, and even my regular handwriting its pretty atrocious. I think this challenge will be a good way for me to be real, give into the process, and break me out of my need for perfection. I am excited, and scared. If you'd like to follow along, I am going to be posting the sketches on instagram - no guarantees there won't be doodles on post-its or napkins!

favorite things: 03.12.15

Another of my favorite things...the audible app! I am obsessed with audible, really ask any of my friends ooooobbbbbsesed! I always wanted to be the type of person who reads, but after school I was just so burned out on reading. (When I was in school I was ready 3-4 hours a day 7 days a week! Any other art history majors out there? ha) Then when I started my business, my free time was so scarce. A few years ago I discovered audible and have been 'reading' consistently ever since. 

Listening to audio books is great because I can do it while I am working on parts of the job that are a little monotonous or repetitive, like cutting paper or printing. I probably listen to an audio book every two weeks, so there's a good balance of books, music and podcasts. Another thing I have come to love is the sleep timer feature on the app. I have always had a hard time falling asleep, but when I listen to a book before bed it helps me unwind and stop my brain from going a million miles a minute! 

Audible is a monthly subscription service, where you pay $15 or $23 each month and get credits for either 1-2 books a month depending on the plan. And if you don't end up buying a book that month your credits roll over, so you can buy more next month. They also have a great refund policy. About a year ago, I downloaded a book that had great review and sounded interesting, but turned out to be a little vulgar and I knew I wouldn't end up listening to it. (No, it wasn't 50 Shades of Grey!) I was able to return it and get my credit back for another book easily. It's just such a great app, I could go on and on haha. 

Below are some of the books I have read and highly recommend:

business related/educational

The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Scaling Up Excellence by Huggy Rao & Robert Sutton

Antifragile by Nassim Taleb

 

leisure reading 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 

The White Cat Series by Holly Black (Narrated by Jesse Eisenberg)

daylight savings stinks

The Monday after daylight savings weekend always stinks! Are you feeling a little like this?

Here's to tomorrow, where we all feel bright eyed and bushy tailed!

floundering

Earlier this week, I got to take an online course from the wonderful Emily Jeffords on growing your creative business. I have followed Emily's journey for a while now and it was so wonderful to hear her advice and wisdom. She was very honest and real with us, so inspiring to talk with other creatives about the passion and struggle that owning a creative business is!

One thing she talked about was floundering. How floundering in business isn't a bad thing, and is probably going to happen many times throughout our careers.

While I am not currently flailing violently, if you read this post you know the business and myself are going through a big transition phase. Sometimes my creativity is just too much, I feel like it's pulling me a million directions. Yet the struggle is sweet, and makes us stronger. It pushes us to new things, things we would have never tried without it. So when your creativity seems to be in over drive, and you can't quite pin down what direction to go - just remember, floundering is good. You'll come out the other side better for it!