Side Hustles

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Ever wonder why your newsfeeds are filled with so many people “selling stuff”?  Over the last few years, direct selling companies have sky rocketed.  If you’ve followed me, you know I clearly believe in them and love being able to support other women by shopping from them! Clearly there are “right ways” and “wrong ways” to work your business, but since there is no boss breathing down your neck, you choose whatever you want to do!

Why choose a side hustle?

  • It’s fun!  If you love what you are ‘selling’ it never feels like a sale.  I adore sharing fashion and style, so when I finally jumped on board with Stella & Dot, it fit right into my passion.
  • You actually make money.  It all depends on how little or much work you put in, but I adore having my own little card with cash of my own.
  • You have something for just you.  I love being a mom.  I love being a wife. I love working the real estate gig, but this? It’s for ME!
  • Flexibility.  You never have to get stressed if you can’t find the time for it–do what you can, when you can and however you can.  For me, online style sessions are perfect so I don’t have to hire a sitter and leave my kids.  I just hop online after they go to bed and do a live!
  • Discount.  Whatever side gig you choose, you’ll most likely receive a discount of some sort.  For me, that’s a total win with adorable tops, jewels & accessories.
  • Freedom.  You can do it however you’d like, and I love having the ability to sell my gently used samples to ladies who are looking for inexpensive but cute (new to them) pieces!

I made a little video explaining a little more in depth why I love having this “job” and why after 2.5 years I have NO desire to quit! I may be busy and take pauses, but it’s not something I want to give up.

 

 

If you are looking for some new fabulous accessories, I’d love to chat about our Stylist opportunity.  If you’re looking to just host an in home or online style sesh, I’d love to do that too!

In the meantime, take a quick look at our current Fall collection that just launched…GORGEOUS!!

www.stelladot.com/ts/iq122

Happy 8 Years to Us!

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It has been a crazy fantastic and wild ride, these last 8 years!!  We have been tested, pushed to our limits, had our fair share of frustrations…but isn’t that what makes the good parts so good?  No one said life would be easy.  Marriage is just as much work as everything else in life.  Parenting. Jobs. Being healthy. Being happy.  Choosing to give your best and do the right thing, even when you may not want to.

I will be as transparent as I can, and say that year 7 was undoubtedly the toughest year.  We added a business and with that, our daily routines changed, my role as ‘homemaker turned business woman’ really took off.  I struggle daily trying to find the balance of 1950’s housewife (which I LOVE!) and being an entrepreneur (which I also LOVE!)

I will tell you one of my secrets; just don’t quit.  I will rest, I will cry if needed, I will sulk momentarily, or throw myself a quick pity party, but then I get right back up and fight for my purpose.  I fell in love with my husband 10 years ago, silly kids back then.  At 26 I thought I knew it all.

At 36, I can tell you I know nothing!! haha

I know enough, but I don’t know it all.

I know that it’s important to compromise in a marriage, for it to work.

I know that communication is key.  Blabbing to others about problems will do nothing, unless you learn to work them out together.

I know that at the end of the day, we are both tired and exhausted, but to go the extra mile and make a fresh warm meal is what my husband needs.

I know that date nights and carving out KID FREE time somehow almost every day is essential to us.

I know that the more that I focus on my husband’s good qualities vs any negative, that is what I will get more of.  (he taught me that) No one is perfect, we are human and we are bound to annoy the crap out of each other, but look past the imperfections…like the laundry outside of the hamper, or the toilet paper that needs to be put back on the roll.

I know that putting away the iPhones, ipads, laptops, etc for a little awhile refreshes us and allows us to talk freely without distractions.

I know that one day, when the kids are grown and out of the house, and the dogs are really old, or perhaps no longer with us, we will still have each other.  That is why I work as hard on my marriage, if not more, than I do at anything else.

As for our anniversary?  We got some amazing news that our perc test passed at the land!!

To celebrate 8 years, we went to one of favorite spots, Pane Vino.

It was nice and warm, the sun was still out and we enjoyed an outside table.

 

I love this restaurant right on the river.

Lobster French!!

He gave me a super sweet card with a champagne bottle and inside said let’s celebrate…

After dinner he drove to the little beach we love and presented me with a gift of champagne flutes!! I still had not caught on what he was doing…

It was a moment later I noticed the Yeti cooler with a bottle of Rosé champagne and our beach blanket.

To say that I was surprised, is an understatement.

It was by far the sweetest gift he (or anyone really!) has given me!  Aside from the fact that he completely surprised me, just hanging out on the beach with my best friend, sipping on some fine ass bubbly and listening to some tunes…was pure bliss!

At the end of our days, if you have found someone whom your soul can connect, thrive, grow and love infinitely, only to create tiny humans who will grow big and find true loves of their own…that is the most precious gift.

That and to never take our health for granted.

 

Cheers to 8 years and here’s to many many more baby!

Thank you for loving me at my best and loving me even more at my worst.  For showing me what it means to trust, to honor and have faith that everything will be okay.  You continue to teach me to relax, even if it’s the hardest thing I struggle with.

You are my rock, my best friend, my sunshine on a cloudy day.  Thank you for choosing me to be your wife.

And I thought I loved you then…

Meeting The Real Housewives

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Saturday night my friend got us tickets to go see some of the Real Housewives at a nearby casino.  We were going to make it a real “Girls Night” and stay in the hotel, have a nice dinner, enjoy the show and SLEEP IN the following morning.  However, #momlife called and Brooke had dance pictures scheduled for 8:30 the next morning. #Awesome.  It’s all good though we made it work!  My amazing husband arranged to get out of work early so that he could drive me (it’s a bit of a drive and I didn’t want to drive home late alone). We had a couples dinner and he played some Blackjack, (and won!) while Ann and I were watching the show. In all honesty, the TV series itself doesn’t do much for me any more…and I can only tolerate it in small amounts, BUT I have always loved me some Teresa Guidice and I may or may not have read/own most of her books!

I decided to bust out the Loubs for this special occasion!

This girl and I have been friends since Freshmen year of college–straight up first day of school we met!  1999…we majored in the same field, Secondary Education English.  She may have taught me how to party and to rock confidence like no other.  I was her maid of honor 13 years ago, and she was mine 8 years this July. We live 2.5 hours apart and between jobs, kids, and life, we rarely get to see each other!! But when we catch up, watch out world!

Ann and her husband Brennan

My sweet hubby!!

Aside from the delicious bottle of Rosé bubbly we shared, and oysters, this dish was outstanding! Lobster, shrimp & scallops in a scampi sauce over asparagus.  I died! I will be recreating this dish in the future!

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We sat 2nd row, yes SECOND row!! She hooked us up with these seats!  The stage was set up much like Live with Andy Cohen and the whole bit was a Q&A sesh with our questions! One of Ann’s questions was picked!

It was pretty entertaining and the crowd was fun.  Teresa, Ashley & Brandi were really down to earth! Ashely is hysterical and Brandi is a bit of a #hotmess but hey, aren’t we all? She is definitely more on the raw/raunchy side.  Teresa was really quite calm and really cool.  She did mention “camp” which I giggled at because, girl, I love ya but jail is jail.  She did say however, she often wonders if she should have done the show or not.  I can’t imagine putting my life on display like that for all to see…it takes guts I tell ya!

We decided right before we went in to do the “meet and greet” which just meant getting a few hugs and photos.  The cost supposedly went to a charity, but when do we ever do stuff like this? Never.  I am not mad about paying a little extra for this experience!

Ann was the first in line to get her photo op!

I can’t remember exactly what we were all laughing at but I could have stood up there and talked to them for awhile!

I really wanted to hug T and I totally #fangirled and told her how I have all her cookbooks and that she’s totally my favorite. As I went to walk away after photos, I did tell her good luck and that she’s a great mom.  Lord knows us mommas always need extra support. With her husband in jail, and just losing her mom, I can’t imagine how hard it must be raising 4 girls on her own.

They were all so nice!  The only bad part was how quick it went! I could have curled up with another glass of bubbly or two…

I think it was Brandi who said something first, but the next thing I knew, they were all complimenting me on my hair! LOL

The all wanted to know who does it and how does it look so healthy! I about died.  I get my hair inspiration FROM The Real Housewives so it made my night.

As I turned to leave Teresa asked, ‘hey what’s your name?!’ I replied, “Jenn!” And they all said, “Bye Jenn!! Thanks for coming!” It was totally cool, I can’t lie!

Thanks again B for an unbelievable night!! I don’t know if we could top this one…but I’m willing to try!

PS we totally went back and forth months on what to wear!! Ann went with a hot little Express lace jumpsuit & red moto jacket & and did my black moto jacket & leggings from Express and Banana Republic top.

Accessories: Stella & Dot baby!

Curling wands = big hair!

Sunny Weekend

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For the first time in what feels like forever, (cue the Frozen song) the sun was shining!! I swear it gave everyone an extra pep in their step and the extra smiles on everyone’s faces.  It wasn’t hot by any means or really truly that warm, but man we could escape outside for some fresh air and vitamin D without freezing our tails off!

Friday was Brooke’s ‘Helper Day’ and Joe wanted to go in to spend it with her.  Our Pre-K is parent run, so every day there is a parent in helping and one of the student’s has a special turn at being the class helper. They had tons of fun!

I made it to the gym 2 days in a row and was trying to snap a sweaty selfie, even though I wasn’t sweaty any more.  Brooke insisted she be in the photo with me!

Friday night we had our fist Book Club meetup.  We were hoping to gather around the corner at the cute wine bar, but it was super packed and there was no room….so we moved to Bar Louie which was also really busy, but fun nonetheless!

It was hard to talk about books in a loud place so we made the most of it but decided next time we will gather at someone’s home.

It did prompt me to start making more time for books again.  I have been listening to my audiobooks but I have not been making the time to pick up actual books.  I am almost done with this and am SO anxious to see where it is headed! Saturday was the perfect combination of cuddling the kids, getting to the park for a little fresh air and resting. My body needed it.

And in puppy news, she’s doing so great!! I’m not gonna lie…it’s been a challenging few weeks of adjusting at times.  Bailey and Holly love to play but they do get a little aggressive so we have to make sure they can’t fight over certain toys or get too rough with each other.  She’s just 12 weeks old and we have had her for one month.  Puppies are a lot of work but as we continue to work with her and train her, she’s really fitting in well.

I wonder how long she will fit on this bottom step for…

Sunday was kind of a laid back day.  Joe got up early to run some errands for the houses and the kids and I resumed positions reading/playing with ipads/kindle.  I made a big breakfast and we did a little Target run, had sushi and visited our friends’ baby Aiden.  The kiddos got to play outside and it was so nice to feel that sun!

We wrapped up the weekend with grilling chicken for the week, I worked on the Pre-K Newsletter and walked the dogs one more time.  It was refreshing and just what my soul needed; we need more weekends like this.  Summer, please hurry!

After such a long stint of cold crappy weather, I am so grateful for the sun.  I think this may be the 4th day in a row of sunshine and we are not taking it for granted!

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Happy Monday Friends!

Fashion Friday: March Looks

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TGIF!!
I have been super busy puppy training, potty training and living my best life! {see last post!} Haha. I really needed to just sit and breathe for a moment and talk about some girl stuff–aka fashion!  Plus, we have the Ugly Disco this weekend so we are pumped BOOGIE!

I’m a total Summer girl, but I really try to embrace the 4 seasons. That said, this girl is OVER Winter.  Ya heard, mother nature?! It just hit me this past week; the cold, snow, wind and biting temps–enough already! I told my husband, it is time to think about moving…

Anyway, some looks from these past few weeks…

Layers for the win.

I adore this kimono from Apricot Lane Boutique.  I also love layering with this super soft white tee from Banana Republic.  Accessories are the perfect way to dress up any plain outfit! I think that they are vital for us to really create our own style.

PS If you still haven’t tried a Matcha Latté with soy from Starbucks, get on it!

I am digging the lilac trend, so I busted out my 3/4 cardi and layered it with a cross tee from Amazon.

 

I’ve been staying warm with turtleneck sweaters, but channeling warm weather with these Rose statement chandelier earrings! Obsessed is an understatement.

Graphic tee– I have my girl Rachel design my shirts; I love that she is basically my personal designer!  Check her out at Simply Mama Boutique

Sweater Cardi – Express.

Constantine feather chandeliers – S&D

Always be sure to have some cute aprons to keep your clothes free from stains whilst cooking!! A glass of Cab is always helpful too.

I adore this new bracelet, earrings & the new on the go tassel phone charger.  It looks so cute on a bag and you always have a way to keep your phone charged. If you’re like me, you probably have a dead phone halfway through the day!

I do love hitting up the gym, Align Pants from LuLuLemon & my hubby gifted me this sweatshirt for Christmas. I think he got it at Macy’s. My favorite sneakers are Nike.

Sparkle studs– $19, make ya holla!

Eve Bib- Stella & Dot

Gold Engravable bangle -S&D

Sweater – Express

Lips: Lipsense

Hat, Earrings & Celestial choker- S&D

Sweater: Vintage Guess

Lips: Pink Dust Cosmetics (vanilla latte combo!)

Constantine Feather Earrings, Celestial choker- S&D

Long Cardi- Jane.com

I went for a pale pink mani in March. I love how they look with our Intention bracelets!

Twinning with my mini me in our Stella & Dot “Self Made” shirts!  It’s never too early to teach her it’s important to be independent.  She can do ANYTHING and so can I.  Don’t forget that ladies, it’s NEVER too late to reinvent yourself, change the way you’re living and becoming the best version of yourself!

She took some photos of me with the new Ava backpack too…I think she needs to be my personal photographer!

Speaking of, this backpack is bad ass.  SUPER convenient to be hands free with kiddos and it’s so cute!

Lil B had a “Beach Day” at school and I was the helper.  Gita Tassels for the win!

This may be my favorite necklace still, the Terney. I also loved how my hair came out!! This Amie Lace sweatshirt is so comfy but still stylish enough for date night (which is why I’m all dolled up!)

I had so much fun with boots, scarves, sweaters, layers…but enough already.  Bring on the heat!! I am ready for shorts, flip flops, air-dried hair and sunshine.

What were you wearing in March? I’d love to hear!