Archives for April 2015

$20 Made Me “The Best Mom EVER”

22 Apr

A simple $20 investment each month has named me, and I’m quoting here, “the Best Mom EVER.”

You heard it here first folks: I am officially the best Mom EVER. I hope I get some sort of trophy or certificate or something. Now, the best mom ever title may already be claimed, but you could absolutely be named the SECOND best mom ever… and that’s still pretty good, right? How, you may ask, can this oh so coveted title be yours? Enter the amazing folks over at Kiwi Crate.

Kiwi Crate is a subsccription box company with four different offerings: Koala Crate, which is designed for the preschool crowd, Doodle Crate, which is designed for girls over the age of 8, Tinker Crate, which is science and engineering projects ideally designed for kids 8 and up, and their main box Kiwi Crate, which is designed for kids in the 4-8 range. (Aidan’s Grandma has recently and generously subscribed him to the Tinker Crate, so we’ll review that service another time.) Inside the box is a magazine for the kids, and the supplies and instructions for not one but two projects that fit whatever the theme of that months box is. Within the magazine and some of the added materials are instructions for additional projects you could complete as well, often with supplies you likely have in your home already. They even included a page of pieces to cut out and use to make the box itself into a play stove! When all is said and done you could easily get a weeks worth of activities out of this one box if you did everything they included.

Our first box was a baking theme. Because it was our first box ever, our kit came with two extra items: a chart where Aidan can proudly display sticker badges he receives for each box he completes, and a bright green pair of children’s safety scissors, so that we always have a pair handy for future projects. Normally we would spread out all the fun things in his kiwi crate over the course of a week or two, but for the purpose of this review we headed out to the front porch to enjoy some unseasonally gorgeous Oregon weather and to demonstrate just how amazing this service really is. I could talk about our crate all day, but I’ll let the pictures do the talking instead.

(If you decide to sign up for Kiwi Crate to try it yourself, you click any of the photos in this blog and use the code KC25 on check out to get 25% your very first month! Best of all, you can cancel anytime, no obligation to go past the 1st month or to be “on contract” for any length of time, so it’s no risk to give it a try. The code works on Kiwi Crates other boxes, like Tinker Crate, as well!)

She’s The Boss: Rachel Fisher

by thejoyparade

7 Apr

Today I’m bringing you the second installment in my “She’s The Boss” regular series. I’m pretty giddy about this one. Chewable Charm is changing the face of teething jewelry by creating beautiful, chic, and fashion forward designs that you’ll want to wear even when you’re long past the teething phase. In fact, I wore three different pieces from their stunning collection throughout the photoshoot for my own press shots. Rachel, the brains behind this fantastic brand, is as smart as she is delightful, and I know you guys are going to love her as much as I already do. So let’s hear from Rachel!

Hey Rachel! So tell us a bit about who you are and what you do.

Hi there! I’m Rachel Fisher Owner/Designer of Chewable Charm. Momma to my sweet baby boy Austin, who just turned 1, & wife to my wonderful husband Blake. We are a true family business making Teething Necklaces for moms here in sunny California, currently living our dream of being parents and business owners.

Where did the idea for Chewable Charm begin? What has the journey looked like, going from just a concept in your brain to the successful brand you’re running today?
I started making my own Teething Jewelry that matched my own style, which as most of my friends know is a mix of neutrals and whites and grays, so neutrals. I felt like there had to be other moms out there who would much rather wear a Teething Necklace that complimented their style without overpowering their outfits. I really… like really, enjoy the craft of designing and making something beautiful in my home and sending it out to other moms and babies to wear and enjoy. I have always had “my brand” in my mind. You should see my secret Pinterest boards which I have gathered over the years. I started dreaming of a brand before I knew what our product would be. Being a mom of a teething baby was exhausting, overwhelming and heartbreaking. Finding something fun and stylish to wear and not worry about while my little guy shoved it into his mouth triggered a spark that caught to fire in our household. Quickly came the designs, the website, the Instagram, the photography done by our fabulous friends, and soon after that, came the orders. We are now in a handful of retail stores over the US and UK and growing into many more. It has been so much fun to see this little dream of ours turn heads.

How do you personally define success?
Success is loving what you do and loving how you do it. For me, it’s a peace of mind that comes from giving, making pretty things, and being able to experience life and enjoy every second with my family and friends.

Where do you see your brand in the next few years?
Some of you don’t know this but I’m a working mom in the corporate world on top of starting Chewable Charm. I hope in the next few years to be able to have more time to dedicate into my brand. I see us in more retail stores and being able to spend more time working with retailers to bring Chewable Charm to more mommas.

What’s the best piece of advice you can give to women who are thinking of becoming entrepreneurs and want to make to leap into working for themselves?
Sometimes you have to balance both worlds at the same time when you are getting started, and that’s ok. Right now I am balancing my corporate job while building my own brand. You need to know when to dedicate time to each one and stay focused. I think keeping a realistic expectation while getting started is key and don’t be afraid to slowly ease into the transition of doing what you love.

So tell us a bit more about the products. What can a new client expect when purchasing from Chewable Charm?
I hope that moms feel just as fashionable as they feel practical wearing our handmade necklaces. Remember the days where you could actually wear that cute Anthropologie necklace without those little fingers pulling and nibbling on every inch? Your new “Mom style” is a real thing and believe me, it happens to all of us! We are here to help keep your pre-baby style with our modern designs while helping soothe your little ones teething gums. Our beads are 100% FDA approved high quality food grade silicone. BPA, PVC, Latex, phthalate and lead free. It’s great for gift giving and baby showers because all orders come gift wrapped.

What are a couple of your favorite products or designs you’ve put out so far? Do you have a specific product you’d recommend to a first time buyer who’s new to teething jewelry?
I love our new Spring and Summer line that has some pops of blush, light gray and nude colors incorporated with our mint and creams for the original line. My go to is the Austin in Blush, the Hudson Gray, and the Jameson Nude. I’ve noticed smaller babies teeth easier on the rounded beads because they are a little bit softer. The hexagon beads are still soft and great for teething gums, but they are a little firmer which is great for older babies and babies cutting teeth. I tried to incorporate the two types of beads in a few necklaces to get the best of both worlds.

Any hints or inside scoops you want to share on new ideas you’re working on for future releases?
We just introduced our new handmade wooden teether toys which incorporate one of our teething bracelets, they are so cute and babies love them. They are made with quality craftsmanship and you can expect to see more fun things for our wooden teether toys.

Not only did Rachel agree to participate in the interview, but she generously offered up one of her new products to giveaway to one lucky reader! YAY! You could win “the Lacey” for yourself by entering below. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Biggest Lie We Believe

by thejoyparade

4 Apr

I hear it time and time again from people I care about: the insidious little lie that wriggles in and sets up root in our hearts and minds, gradually pushing everything else out as it grows, until finally we let it become so large that it stifles out any semblance of quality of life. This one lie takes away our ability to thrive and convinces us its all we can do just to survive. It makes the days drag on long, but makes the years fly by too quickly. It convinces us to trade up our passions and priorities for the mindless fodder of just getting by. It destroys us from the inside out, and we don’t even know it’s there.

My friends, it’s time we stand up once and for all the lie of completion. It’s the idea that if we just get the right ducks in a row, if we can only get our circumstances up to that certain level of security, if we can just reach those particular goals and cross those certain checkpoints - THEN we’ll have the chance to really live our life; THEN we’ll have our joy. Once it’s all complete, then we can finally get down to the rest.

How many years of my own life were wasted to this lie! How many moments did I spend surrendering my joy, convinced it all hinged on the ever shifting circumstances around me, circumstances all too often out of my control. It’s a horrible feeling when you finally bring your head up for a moment, reflect back on the years you’ve just left behind, and wonder to yourself what you really DID with them, and where they had gone to. When you look back and wish you had made more memories instead of plans, more “remember that times” instead of “someday whens.” And yet all too often we stand there, reflecting on time wasted and chances lost to us, and simply return our head down to our work - convinced ever still of the lie that there will be time for those things eventually, after we reach all the “whens” and “if onlys” in our path. We return to our toil, watering and tending the lie as it chokes the life out of each of our dreams, and robs us of all but the hope of the eventual completion - when we can finally put down our tools and set about the business of living.

The secret is that completion doesn’t exist on this side of eternity. It’s the most insidious of lies, because we’ve accepted it for truth for simply so long that it’s hard to imagine life without it. We’ve based so many of our choices, so much of the framework of our day to day, that if we suddenly let go and admitted it isn’t true? We’d have to change the very way we live. We’d have to accept the harrowing reality of the time wasted, the priorities skewed, and the years spent working towards a goal that ultimately proved to be a futile illusion like an oasis in the desert - as unreachable as it is imaginary. It would in so many ways be earth shattering, forcing us to begin anew with a transformed perspective on what this life is ultimately about.

And yet, it’s the only way we can begin to have what is it we’re ultimately after. Letting go of the lie is the only way to find the freedom to thrive.

The freedom to put our families before our employers.

The freedom to spend a day making memories instead of making to do lists.

The freedom to create a line item in our budgets for “marital enrichment,” to tell ourselves that taking those trips together should be as big of a priority as any other bill on the list, even on the months where there isn’t enough to go around.

The freedom to let go of the job with the great paycheck for the one with healthy work/home boundaries.

The freedom to live in the right now instead of the someday when.

The freedom to put that unexpected $500 towards a family vacation instead of into the 401K.

The freedom to use the good sheets, burn the good candles, and wear your best perfume for Saturday morning errands - because TODAY is special.

The freedom to tell ourselves each and every day that THIS is our life, and tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.

The freedom to thrive instead of just survive.

This isn’t simply a call to live extravagantly, ignore our means, and burn our budgets. Hear me when I say that there is a place for planning and that real life comes with real responsibilities. If you don’t pay the electric bill, they will turn your lights off. No, letting go of the lie of completion simply means giving up the idea that someday we’ll meet the elusive goal of total security. It’s letting go of the belief that someday we’ll reach a place where there wont be anything else more deserving of our time or our resources, and we’ll finally live happily ever after. It means recognizing that priorities don’t happen unless you MAKE them happen, and that every day we are asked to use our time and our money to demonstrate just what those priorities really are. It means that dedicating every cent of our resources, and every hour of our week, towards creating an incredible retirement some day? That means choosing to give up the time we have right now in favor of the hopefully someday - a someday we are never guaranteed to reach.

In essence we’re all playing the gameshow of life, and you have a choice: to walk away with all the cash and prizes you’ve won, or you can trade them for the mystery prize behind door number two. Sure, the mystery prize could be a trip around the world and a brand new car… or it could be a years supply of toilet paper. You wont really know until you open the door, and once you do it’s too late to go back. Is it worth the risk? How much are you willing to give up for the hope of possibility alone? What if today was your last? What if each and every day we framed our outlook with the reminder that people die, economies crash, and the unexpected happens, and all of our best planning simply cant control the future. Would it change the way you live? Can we really afford to give up the here and now, the time with our families, the chance to make the memories and have those experiences, and trade it all for nothing more than a hope of a maybe?

Give up the lie of completion.

Let go of the hope that someday it will all come together and you can start living your life.

Give up on chasing the elusive dream of a finished check list - a world where there is nothing more demanding of your time and resources and priorities stop requiring a choice.

Give yourself permission to live right now.

Grab on to today and make it count.

Prioritize the here and now.

Put your time and your money into what matters to you most.

Store up your treasures in heaven instead of your 401k.

Make memories instead of plans.

Stop choosing the mystery door.

She’s The Boss: Bobbi Bankston

by thejoyparade

1 Apr

I can’t even tell you all how excited I am to share today’s interview with you. I have had a small love affair with The Mason Bar Company and their products for some time now, so I was thrilled to have the woman behind the brand become our first interview in my She’s The Boss series. This series is all about showcasing some of the amazing #girlbosses behind amazing companies and brands, who are defining success for themselves and taking the world by storm. So without further ado, lets get down to the interview!

*Tell us a bit about who you are and what you do.

Hi Everyone! My name is Bobbi and I am the original creator of the mason jar tumbler lid and the owner of The Mason Bar Company.

*Where did the idea for the Mason Bar Company begin? What has the journey looked like to go from an idea to the brand you are successfully running today?
Answering this question has become more frequent and each and every time I go down memory lane, it always makes me cry. Lucky for you, you can’t see my ugly crying face… hee hee. My two best friends (Jodi and Melissa) and I were sipping our latte’s in the car from mason jars- every sip we took the lid off because you know how “golden” and precious mid-day lattes are- spilling is NOT an option! I had the idea and said, “hey! let’s figure out how to put a hole in the middle so we can sip from a straw”. Because the three of us love brainstorming and dreaming together, the idea grew into a plan of action. My friend Melissa found a broken tool from her Dads sheet-metal shop that made the hole just perfect. Within a few weeks the first hand crafted “mason jar tumbler” was born! The concept caught on quickly via my first Etsy shop (Poppy & Pearl co.) and within a few months, I knew that I had found my “something”. Everyday since has been such a joy, full of unexpected goodness. On most days, I feel as though my heart might pop with excitement!

Is it ok with you guys if I give you a little of the back-story to the above? This is why my voice shakes when I tell it in person and why I have to fight back tears…

A year prior, my husband and I found ourselves in financial crisis. We were a young, hard working family living a simple life but as we all know, financial struggle is all too common. I quit my job is a Realtor to wait tables full time to help make ends meet. My youngest was only a year old at the time and leaving him killed me like nothing I’d ever felt before. Each month I would make just enough tips to pay what bills were left over. But, while I was working so hard to put a smile on my face during the day at work, my ferver for life was quickly dwindling. I became a very sad person… and friends, I’m not a sad person! I had no desire to get out of bed in the morning. It was bad. Six months into it I realized the intensity of my sadness, knew I needed a change, rolled over to my husband and said, “It’s time to start thinking outside the box”. When I said that to him, immediately I felt a little spark ignite in my soul. The thought alone and the possibility of newness was the refreshment I was longing for. That moment was the beginning of the end of my “dark hour” as I call it. In the following months, the mantra that kept going through my head was this: Refuse to look back and wonder. Refuse! We have but one beautiful life to live and I’d rather try and fail then look back and wonder what might have been. My Creator gave me a purpose. I refuse to settle for less than what I was created to for. I recited Jeremiah 29:11 every. single. day. Most days I felt defeated but this verse- it was everything. “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 a hope and a future.”

Today, 3 1/2 years later, The Mason Bar Company is shipping world wide, retail and wholesale from our 3000 square foot warehouse. There are 8 amazing ladies on the MBC team- we have the BEST time together and love what we do! It’s the greatest ride of my life!!!! Who knew little ‘ol me had a future in product development without a college degree. Miracles really do happen, folks. They do!

* How do you personally define success?
When our success becomes another’s benefit. I believe that with great success comes the ability to give in greater abundance. I could give you another back-story here but I’ll spare you the novel. ; )

*Where do you see your brand in the next few years?
I see MBC in Whole Foods Markets across the U.S.A. ( this is huge but anything is possible! ) I believe our company will be supporting the young entrepreneur all across the globe in new and exciting ways. I hope that MBC will be a story of encouragement to those who are searching for something “outside the box”.

*What’t the best piece of advice you can give to women who are thinking of becoming entrepreneurs and want to make the leap into working for themselves?
I would encourage her to first choose supportive friends and family. A core group to cheer you on and lovingly lend advice or feedback is essential. Secondly, I’d remind her of how BIG the world is. It sounds silly but it’s easy to forget that there is plenty of room for everyone! Also, she might want to grab hold of a verse or quote that deeply moves her… for the first two years of MBC mine was “Dream Big and Dare to Fail”. It was posted all around my house. It picked me up and kept me going! Inspiring words are invaluable… hence our quotes on the back of all MBC info cards.

Thanks Bobbi! It’s such a joy to have you kick off this series and give us a little insight to the gal behind the brand. I really love what you had to say.

For those of you who entered my recent giveaway for a Mason Bar Company tumbler/glass straw/essential oils package, the winner has been selected! And the winner is…. **drumroll please**

Jess Anne !

*I’ve emailed the winner of this giveaway. She has 24 hrs to respond or a new winner will be selected

Archives for April 2015

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