Let’s talk about May. A beast of a month that I’m happy to say goodbye to, but loved the hectic rush of it all. So much happened and now I’m giving you all the deets. But first, a few favorites.
I’ve downsized my bag collection immensely over the past few weeks (I’m talking 15+ bags down to 3), and noticed a severe lack of a larger tote bag in my collection. Erin Condren to the rescue. I’ve been downright obsessed with this color pattern lately (midnight and cherry blossom) and have popped it on basically everything you can on the site. It’s sturdy, larger than most tote bags, and cute as hell.
There’s a new favorite Etsy shop on my radar these days. I briefly met Cynthia from WontonInAMillion at PlannerCon San Francisco in March, and have fallen head over heels for her stuff. All of her characters are food and more than adorable. She’s releasing a new line of enamel pins soon. My credit card’s at the ready.
As for beauty bits, I’ve rediscovered my love for The Body Shop’s Hawaiian Kukui Cream. My skin hasn’t gotten the memo that it’s no longer winter, so I’ve been in serious need for moisture. It’s thick, but settles into the skin nicely overnight. I wouldn’t recommend this during the day as it does get a bit greasy, but every time I use this the night before, my skin is super hydrated the next morning.
The DermaE Hydrating Serum has been my daily face savior for moisture. It’s the only serum I like to use in the morning because it’s super light and doesn’t feel thick or heavy on the skin while adding tons of hydrating. Plus a little goes a long way so this bottle will last me ages.
Now that it’s warmer my toes are starting to make their appearance which definitely calls for a refresh of nail polish. I find myself constantly reapplying Essie’s “For the Twill of It” week after week. Such a cool, metallic spin to a classic blue/grey polish. In the right light it even looks purple.
There are a few other favorites I forgot to pop into these photos, so definitely check out the full video. Plus there is a TON of exciting travel news and planner conference info in the video as well!
This post is sponsored by Basic Invite, but all the gushy feels are my own!
We Bendas like to throw a good party. Every year we host an annual 4th of July party, a Friendsgiving feast in November, and a few themed parties along the way. Plus I’m a firm believer that mailed invitations should never die. So I’m constantly on the hunt for good invitation sites to make my life easier, build the hype for my upcoming event, while still still being affordable. Basic Invite ticks all the boxes.
What I love most about Basic Invite is how absurdly easy it is to use the platform. So many other customizable invitation sites are clunky, hard to navigate, and difficult to use the built-in-design features. Basic Invite is what other sites should try to be like.
Beyond just being super easy to use, you can choose from over 40 different envelope colors and add foil to so many different invite options. Plus there are over 150 different color options to make sure the invite is perfect. But my favorite feature is the option to order a sample. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered invites just to have them be nothing like I hoped or riddled with spelling errors (this girl cannot spell!) And it’s not going to cost an arm and a leg to get a sample either.
Basic Invite has invitations for practically every occasion, even ones I hadn’t even thought of. Browsing through the categories has given me a ton of ideas for some future parties! With graduation season right around the corner, it’s a great option for orderinggraduation cardsandgraduation thank you cardsin gorgeous styles and layouts that aren’t outdated or overly done.
Want to send paper invitations but don’t know where to start? Basic Invite also has an address capturing service that gives you a link to share on Facebook and other social media to request friends’ and family’s addresses. The addresses are stored in your account and can be selected during the design process.
So it’s time to plan that party you’ve been talking about. And right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51. Now to start designing my invitations for our 4th of July party!
Two months ago Alex and I decided to stop using plastic straws completely. We’re always trying to find small ways that we can make an impact on the environment and this seemed like a no-brainer. Over 500 million straws are used DAILY (find out more stats and info) and we didn’t want to be a part of that statistic anymore. Straws are incredibly difficult to break down and most types cannot be recycled. Plus tons of them end up in the oceans causing damage to wildlife. I’m not in the business of harming poor sea turtles.
Honestly I thought it would be a lot harder than it actually was. But it became obvious after the first day just how often plastic straws pop into our lives. And it’s so easy just to say no thank you to a straw, or pass one back through a drive-thru window. I also keep track of just how many straws we’ve saved over the past 60 days. We’ve avoided using 70 straws so far. Not too bad.
Having drinks in the car did prove to be the most difficult thing to overcome. So we purchased these metal straws from Amazon and now drinking on the go is super easy. Plus I really like how cold the metal straws get.
We also don’t try to pressure other people to not use straws when we’re out to eat. I don’t want to become that person who shoves my opinions down other people’s throats. But more times than not, people will skip out of using straws for that meal too.
Now I know it may not seem like we can save the oceans by not using straws, but it’s definitely a start. It’s so easy to feel like the problem is too big and that there’s nothing little old me can do about it. But that’s not true. I’ve saved 70 straws that could end up harming an animal or making the oceans worse. And that feels pretty damn good.
So give it a try. Even if it’s just for a few days, say no to plastic straws. It’s a whole lot easier than you think.
I have anxiety. Specifically diagnosed as high-functioning anxiety, but anxiety regardless. I’m trying to be as open I can about the entire process and have posted a videoall about my journey so far, but there are a ton of questions about what exactly I do to manage it.
First and foremost, I see a therapist once a week. I do plan on cutting it back to every two weeks, but starting therapy did serious wonders for my anxiety. I’ve noticed more than anything, it’s helped me to become aware of the various stages of my anxiety that leads to panic attacks. Awareness helps me acknowledge what’s happening sooner, to help me start to try and come back from it sooner. If you take anything away from this post, definitely consider going to therapy.
When it comes to doing things at home though, I have a few tricks. When I feel myself being particularly anxious, I try to switch up what I’m doing. A lot of the time what I’m working on is giving me stress, so I try to take a break from what I’m working on to focus on something else and come back to it. Usually I’m able to work out of the mood rather than trying to force myself through it.
I also communicate to my husband Alex as soon as I start feeling the signs of a panic attack coming. He’s my best defense for anxiety and the sooner he knows what’s going on with me, the better. He helps distract me, tells me things will be ok, and works me through a panic attack if it does happen.
Social media plays a huge impact on my stress and anxiety levels. Although I can’t avoid it completely because of my job, I don’t look at it when I wake up or before I go to sleep. This helps to keep my mind from wandering to unhealthy places at two very anxiety-prone times of the day.
When a panic attack feels particularly imminent, I stop everything I’m doing, wrap myself up in a blanket, and watch a drama-free show (usually the Office). It’s hard for me to just stop working and do this “lazy” action, but it helps me to avoid a panic attack that could ruin a good couple of days. I rather be “out of commission” for a few hours rather than a few days.
It’s definitely a learning process. My anxiety and panic attacks are constantly changing and adapting and I’m always trying to find the best ways to deal with them in a healthy, thoughtful way. I’d love to hear what your methods are when you find yourself in a thought spiral.
Over the past two weeks I attended the Chicago Planner Conference and PlannerCon 2018 in San Francisco. Back to back conferences proved to be quite a lot to handle while trying to build inventory for or vendor booths, prepare for our workshops, and speak on panels. But I’ve come out on the other side (with vlogs to show our adventures) and I feel like things are definitely different.
I’ve been to planner conferences in the past, but these left me feeling a mix of motivation and fear. After every speaker I became more aware of the fact that my business needs to change. For years I’ve been happy maintaining what I built in 2014 without much variety or advancement. But I can’t keep continuing like this and expect my business to sustain itself without any effort on my end. That’s a scary thought to have while everyone around me flashed smiles and gabbed about what was in their swag bags.
So I started to make lists. To figure out what I needed to do to keep Oh, Hello running and growing. Alex and I talked for hours on car rides, plane rides, and continue to dig deeper into the business now that we’ve made it home. We stopped taking risks. And now we’re gearing up to take more than we ever have before. We have two big ideas that began growing in our minds thanks to these two conferences.
We’re going to expand. We’re going to hire employees and take ourselves even more seriously. We’re going to double down on our new traveler’s notebooks since they’re something we created completely on our own. We’re going to delegate. We’re going to wake up early. We’re going to spend more money in the hopes to make more money. We’re going to accept that it’s ok if everything comes crashing down in a year, because it’s better than watching the ship sink slowly.
And we’re also going to start a planning magazine. Now you’re hearing it first and this idea is about a week old at this point. But it’s a void in the community that I think we have some amazing ideas to help fill it. Think tangible magazine/subscription/swag box all rolled into one. We’ve picked a name and snagged up the social media for it (here’s the completely empty Instagram if you’re curious). Now to find a team (email me at plannerpeacemag@gmail.com if you have any design experience) and start turning some crazy ideas into something real.
This blog has been a bit quiet as I’ve come to terms with the twisty-turny road we’ve decided to take. But I’m excited to share the uncertain journey with you. Even if it’s to document the failures as well as the successes. So let me know if you want more of something in particular as we head down this road. I’m more than happy to go into specifics. Because it’s annoying to hear about people’s journey without tangible steps on how you can trek down a similar road too.
So yeah. Here it all is. The scary truth and a promise to try despite the fear and potential of failure. Two big ideas that I can’t wait to tackle.
Whenever I find myself falling slightly out of love with blogging (key word slightly. I can’t quit you blog!) I always like to think about what the last ten years have taught me. A blog is more than just its daily posts. There’s a whole lot more to it than that…
1. Consistency.I’ve talked about how this blog has landed me actual jobs in the past and that’s largely due to consistently posting. This blog has shown me that I’m not going to be an instant success overnight, but with a lot of hard work this space has truly become something.
2. Photography skills. Ironically enough I thought I was a pretty good photographer when I started this blog, but boy have I improved since then. With every post my skills have gotten better and better. Now I do freelance photography for other companies. All thanks to this piece of the internet.
3. Pride in my work. This goes along with the first point, but I’m so incredibly proud of Microscope Beauty. For the longest time I didn’t feel comfortable sharing this blog with people in real life, but now I talk about it to anyone who will listen.
4. It’s ok to be different and have a weird hobby. What used to make me uncomfortable about beauty and lifestyle blogging is now such a defining trait. I love that what I’m into isn’t super common or a popular hobby. And that’s ok.
5. You don’t have to spend tons of money on new products to be a good blogger. I’m fortunate enough to every now and again have the opportunity to review pr samples, but for the longest time this blog ran on literally no spare money for new products. Instead of giving up I found other things to blog about to fill the gaps when there weren’t new products. It helped me become a stronger writer, be able to brainstorm a bigger variety of posts, and improved my blog overall.
I’m pretty sure you all know now my complete and utter love for blogging. I sincerely think everyone should have one. So get to it!
