I'm Kayla. A millennial obsessed with makeup, planner decorating, and board games. Working towards a more organized, simplified life one post at a time. #catlady
24 hours. 24 hours ago I crumpled into my husband's arms outside of my parents' house. Police cars and an ambulance surrounded the house. I knew before my husband spoke through his own tears. I knew someone was dead.
My dad died yesterday. At 57 he just didn't wake up. The man that walked me down the aisle at my wedding. The man who was always there to help me when I couldn't figure something out. The man who bought me a hot pink tool set when I moved out of the house. The man who loved fiercely without so many words. The man who has left a huge hole in my heart.
Life will go on without him. That's the thing about life. It has a magical way of carrying on even when someone's world ends. It doesn't care if your dad just died. It doesn't care about you, in a beautifully tragic fashion. And you know what? That gives me comfort in some strange way. Life will go on. Day after day will continue to trudge by. I know that in time I won't want to shrink into a tiny ball until I blink out of existence to go find wherever dad went without me.
My dad would always say, "Welcome to my world." I'm looking forward to the day when I'll get to hear him say it to me again. In a world that has no end.
I feel like "resolutions" has become a dirty word this time of year. Sure most resolutions are given up by the middle of February, but I still love the concept of resetting, refocusing, and picking goals for the start of the new year. It all comes down to creating a good plan that'll help you stick with it throughout the next 365 days.
MY GOALS FOR 2020
Lose 20 pounds to regain a healthy lifestyle and build more self confidence
Take a yoga class in a studio
Put at least $5,000 into savings
Spend at least 2-3 days a month with girl friends
Spend one day a month with my family doing an activity together
So how am I going to actually achieve these things? Simple. I'm going to put them in my planner and make time to do them. Like purposely set time out in my day in order to do yoga. I'm mildly obsessed with the new Erin Condren Softbound Planners* as they're so easy to throw into a bag and travel with. The quality is top notch but I don't feel the pressure to make it hella cute to post on social media.
Plus I've given my goals clear benchmarks for success. I don't just want to "save money." I want to save a certain amount so that when I know when I have an extra $5,000 in savings, I've hit my goal. It's so important to know exactly what constitutes a goal accomplished.
What are some of your goals (ehm...resolutions...) in 2020? Do you have a word for your year? I'm thinking mine is going to be purposeful.
What a title. I can honestly tell you I never thought I would write that sentence. We opened a gift shop. Full stop. It's happened. It's here. People come and shop daily. What is life?
In 40 days we went from getting the keys to the location to our soft opening. 40 days of sleepless nights, gallons of spackle, and a whirlwind of emotions. But here we are on the other side. We're no where near "finished," but we're at a point where I feel like I can take a deep breath before diving back into things. Like blogging. And videos. And sleep.
We got the keys to our location in downtown Grand Rapids on November 1st. Look at us...all smiles without a clue in the world what we were doing. I mean we still don't know, but we've learned a ton since this photo (like you can't paint outside if it's below fifty degrees. The awkward paint swatch on the outside of the building is testament to that gained knowledge...)
Looking at this photo I'm amazed at how far the space has come. I remember standing in this space not two months ago thinking, "what the hell did I just do?" I had so much doubt and fear that I had just made a terrible mistake and four year commitment to something I most definitely could not do.
I've tried my best to document the journey. It's been lacking in the recent weeks as we turned our life up to eleven to get the store open for Small Business Saturday. But there are still a few videos showing you where we started and walking you through the journey.
Putting the logo on the door really made it real for me. You'd think the hours of painting and rearranging furniture to get the perfect "customer flow" would have done that, but nope. When we put that vinyl on the door it became officially our place.
There were so many 2 a.m.'s that I thought for sure we wouldn't be able to open for Small Business Saturday, yet we somehow pulled it off. A sneaky selfie was a must.
And people showed up. People continue to show up to shop. It's mind blowing. When I'm able to complete full thoughts I'll do another post I'm sure, but it's completely astounding what can happen if you decide to do something and just do it. I'm a gift shop owner now.
I'm currently planning our calendar of events for 2020 and it's been amazing to meet local artists and talented crafts-people to talk about workshops. Be sure to follow our Instagram and Facebook so you know what events are coming!
Thank you so much for your cheerleading and patience during the past months as I completely disappeared in a whirlwind of paint swatches and wholesale orders.
The envy is real when I see all of those planner girls at events carrying around their caddies full of supplies. They're so organized and chic. Like they're part of the cool planner crowd and I'm just over here rummaging through a messy stack of stickers. I could never find a caddy or tote system that I loved and didn't feel dated. But no more! The lovely folks over at Mollie Ollie answered my organizational prayers and sent over the Mimmo Caddy* that has sent my heart a flutter.
I'm a sucker for felt and this caddy is so high quality I wish you could feel it through the computer screen. It's cool enough that I don't feel like an 80-year-old lady carrying it around, but it's still practical as hell. There are a ton of storage pockets along the sides that securely hold items in place. The side zipper pocket has a ton of loops to hold other supplies as well. This could be used for so many different hobbies and purposes. It was originally designed as a diaper caddy, but the sky's the limit on its uses. It could be great for knitters, scrapbookers, and other crafty folk. Plus it's under $30 and would make a perfect addition to your holiday wishlist since it's sold on Amazon.
The larger compartment fits all of my planners perfectly and would likely fit any 7x9 inch planners without issue. I have three planners stashed in the pocket, but I'm sure you could fit up to five comfortably.
You can find me toting this thing around throughout my house. I've even brought it with me on the bus to take it to Oh, Hello Paper & Gifts. It's serious love. The quality is insane and the straps are nice and sturdy. The interior divider pockets can be removed if you're looking for a larger space to store items, but I personally love being able to divide out my products.
Click here to purchase the tote and be sure to use code 10HELLOLIV for a 10% discount! I would have never thought to use a diaper caddy to store planner supplies, but this tote has got me thinking about all the other products I could adapt to my planning needs! Do you have a planner caddy? What planner supplies do you always have with you?
How am I even writing about the holidays already?! Anyone else feel like 2019 didn't even happen or is it just sleep-deprived me? Regardless, I have no control over how fast the year goes by and here we are, talking gift guides. It's kind of a given that an Erin Condren gift guide is the first one I post. Five years later and the addiction is stronger than ever. Thank you to the team over at EC for supplying the items for this post!
This year they've released a ton of new products that would make the perfect gift for the planner addict in your life, or to add to your personal wishlist. Up first is their new, smaller planner tote. I wasn't a huge fan of their original size but I'm all about this new option. This tote still fits a regular 7x9 planner in it and has a variety of different internal pockets to store things. Plus they come in a few different color options (this one here is a canvas black). There are a ton of new straps to choose from as well.
The new desk trays are probably my favorite from the bunch. They're beyond gorgeous, heavy duty, and are headed straight to my store as decor as soon as I'm finished with this post. My wallet isn't super jazzed about all these new home goods EC is releasing...
Another surprising new launch the team at EC executed very well are the new brush pens. I'm by no means a hand lettering expert, but I've used my fair share of pens in the past. These are high quality, easy to use, and dry very quickly (you can literally see them drying). I hope this means more people will take a stab at hand lettering in the future!
Erin Condren is usually where I go when I'm in need of stocking stuffers or smaller gifts for my girl friends and nieces. I already have a few more sets of these gold page markers in my shopping basket. I love adding a few smaller gifts on top of a main item to round out the gift.
After five years EC is still going strong with some amazing new releases. And although I'm not mentally prepared for the holiday season, at least EC has my back when I find myself scrambling to order gifts for friends and family.
Before the Oh, Hello Co. store consumed my life, I eagerly filled free time with baking. A delicious hobby that didn't clutter the house (except with cookies, but that's a welcome clutter) and felt like a cheap (did I say delicious?) form of therapy. I'm eager to get back to it for sure. But this post isn't for me to gripe about missing baking, but to share how I've turned my cookbooks into scrapbooks. I love the idea of my recipe books becoming mementos to pass down in our family.
When I picked up baking as a hobby back in college, I would always write in my books any notes or changes I wanted to make to a recipe. Very half-blood prince of me I know. Just little tweaks here or there or our review of the recipe. Plus I've always had this habit of writing the date of when I first made the recipe. A scrapbook wasn't a big leap.
After I create one of the recipes in my favorite cookbook I'll take a photo and print it out on some sticker paper. I like seeing how my creation compares to the photo in the book and it encourages me to keep trying new recipes. My ultimate goal is to complete every single recipe in one of my cookbooks. It's lofty, but someone has to eat all of these delicious creations...
Such a simple, easy way to make a cookbook that much more meaningful.
Now if I had to pick a team, I'm definitely team cat. But after two months of watching Cadence, Alex's parents' dog, it's hard not to have a soft spot for pups. It's been a few weeks now that she's returned home after their move to Virginia, but she's definitely left a lasting impression on me and taught me a few things I didn't expect...
1. Dogs truly know how to be happy. Like all the time. Cadence couldn't wait to go for a car ride, got excited at every turn, and wanted her head out of the window any chance she got. Happiness just spilled out of her and it's impossible not to get swept up in it.
2. Definitely get a dog before having kids. I know people say it, but I never knew how true it could be. A dog teaches you a lot more responsibility than cats do.
3. Dogs keep you healthier. I went on so many walks, got myself out of the house, and enjoyed the fresh air so much more thanks to Cadence. Even if we were just hanging out in the backyard, she pushed me to get some air every once in a while.
4. You become weirdly obsessed with their bathroom habits and overall routine. I can't tell you how often I found myself saying, "Oh she definitely has to poo." Like my lord. And you know what, I felt proud knowing that information. She became my girl for two months and I learned her every like and dislike.
5. Older dogs are something special. Cadence is nearly a decade old and I loved having an older pup around. She's so smart, well trained, and listens. Definitely a must. Sure puppies are cute, but there's just something about a loyal dog who is more than happy to take a nap with you in the middle of the afternoon.
I miss this girl. I'm sure she's having a blast in Virginia exploring her new home, but I wouldn't mind if she came back to stay again...
Another trip is right around the corner (Houston for PlannerCon Parties) and my brain is already telling me to pack. You'd think after travelling at least once a month for two years straight that nagging voice in my head would go away by now. But we are who we are.
I've become a bit of a packing pro over the years and have fine tuned the essentials I take with me every trip. There are a couple new additions to the mix since we started doing personal item only travel (we're midwest cheap at its best).
Since we're rocking personal items only, I usually pack a small purse I can pull out later and use while exploring. Just big enough for a wallet and my phone. This brown one gets a lot of questions whenever I post it on Instagram. It's from a secondhand store and is the perfect little travel companion.
I was gifted these Sudio headphones* earlier this year from the company and they're a complete game changer. They're bluetooth, but also still have a headphone cord to plug into the screens on planes. Plus they're noise cancelling and hella cute. I definitely lucked out with this one.
There's always a water bottle (this one Oh, Hello Promomade for a client) and my vlogging camera in the mix. I recently added the new Erin Condren Accordion Pouch to the lineup as well to separate out toiletries. My pouch loving ways can't get over the genius idea to attach separate pouches together. GENIUS.
As far as planning tools go, I'll sometimes bring my to-do list planner, but more often than not I just bring a pocket traveler's notebook to write down ideas I have or things I don't want to forget to do when I get home. I store all my writing tools in my Erin Condren Planny Pack and attach it to the TN or a memory notebook if I've brought one.
I started bringing a couple of thank you notes when I travel to leave for housekeeping or people we visit. It's a nice little gesture that doesn't take up any packing space but leaves a seriously great impression. How else am I going to get invited back?!
I keep cotton pads in a little jar and makeup wipes for super lazy days in a soap holder. That way they'll stay damp and I'm not bringing a huge package along with me or unnecessary plastic from a travel pack.
With personal item only travel I had to get super creative with how I pack EVERYTHING. I found these little craft storage jars at the dollar store and use them to decant products into them. I'm super picky about my toothpaste and it doesn't come in a travel size so this is perfect! Evil genius status achieved.
The next time we travel with actual carry-ons or (heaven forbid) a CHECKED bag I won't know what to do with myself. You mean I can pack clothing OPTIONS!??! Now that's just crazy talk...
The makeup fairies dropped off a package on my doorstep a few weeks ago and I've been playing around with the Urban Decay the Ultimate Brush Off Set & Go Powder* ever since. This summer I've been a bigger sweaty mess than normal, so setting powders have become quite common in my routine. And presto, a new powder just finds its way to my doorstep. The odds seem to be in my favor *buys a lottery ticket*
Let's talk packaging first because damn Urban Decay, you know how to design some crazy packaging. It's plastic, but sturdy and glossy and wonderful. At first I was on the fence about the brush built into the packaging, but it's an incredibly high quality, dense brush that definitely works. Personally if I'm feeling super high maintenance (and when am I not) I'll use a fluffier brush with the powder, but the built in one is great if you want to bake your powder or apply with a slightly heavier hand.
The brush locks in with a twist and the powder is separated by some plastic with holes. A lot of powder does seem to come through the holes rather than a regulated amount, but I just tap it off the brush and call it good. See, I'm not completely high-maintenance...
It comes in a few different shades, but I find myself gravitating towards the universal shade out of habit. It's not cakey, lasts all day, and doesn't leave a weird shine in photos. I tend to use it a lot under my eyes to set my concealer, and it thankfully does not accentuate any of my wrinkles or lines. It's everything you want in a setting powder.
It could just be my algorithm on Instagram and Facebook, but I've seen ads for ThirdLove bras for months. They're marketing team is seriously impressive and a few weeks ago I finally caved to the advertisements and decided to give them a go.
A bit of boob backstory. I'm very well endowed. I've always had a hard time finding bras that had a small enough number (in the 32-34 range) yet had a large enough cup size (I thought I wore a DD or DDD). They just didn't seem to exist in the "regular" bra world of Victoria's Secret. So I settled and wore camisoles over all of my bras to keep my boobs from tumbling out. Shoulder marks were commonplace.
ThirdLove's return policy really sold it for me. You can wear the bras (and wash them!) for two months and still send them back. I took their sizing test and it suggested a 34 DDD (what they call an F), but they also offer you another size in the same style to try for free and send back the one that doesn't fit.
So I opted to try their 34E, 34F, and 34G just to really see what size I actually am. They arrived super quickly in a cute box and well packaged. Turns out I'm a 34G and haven't been wearing the right bra for nearly a decade.
I returned the other two sizes quick and easy and started shopping my actual bra size.
The bras are super soft, the straps are larger to prevent slipping and marks, and I finally feel like I don't have to wear a camisole every day to make sure nothing's falling out. Plus I don't immediately feel like ripping my bra off after I come home from a long day. And the styles. As a big chested girl I'm lucky to find a bra in my size let alone a cute one. There are so many gorgeous options for a crazy range of sizes. This girl finally can wear cute bras!!!
So I'm a convert. I'm always so skeptical when it comes to those overly advertised products on Facebook, but caving to the ads definitely paid off in spades with this one.
If you're down to give them a try, click here for my referral code to save $15. I'll get credit towards future purchases and we can be bra buddies!
Guys. I sincerely thought I would never write a post like this. What feels like two years in the making has finally become a reality. Oh, Hello Stationery has officially launched its first line of retail products!!! Our collection is now available through Notions Marketing. If you're a shop, you can order the products from their wholesale site. If you're a customer, go to your favorite retailer and ask for them to carry our products.
I wanted to take what's so great about the brand and expand it into a functional and decorative collection anyone can use. From new planner girls to seasoned addicts, I can't wait for you to check out all of the new sheets and styles.
There are eleven sticker sets as well as a bunch of traveler's notebook starter packs. We even have some enamel pin bundles. It's been a crazy process trying to figure out how to prepare our products for retail and I swear I know more about UPCs than I ever would care to admit. But they're here. They're real. And it couldn't have happened without your support. A thousand thanks.
I'll keep you posted on where you can find the collection near you, but here are all of the sticker sets that are now available.
And there may or may not be an even BIGGER announcement coming your way in a week or two...
Although I would love to go back to college and be a lifelong learner, there just isn't enough time (or money) in the day. So I've turned to business books to keep the learning going. They're easy to read on planes, during a spare tech free hour in the evenings, or in a waiting room. I've read my fair share over the past year, but there are a few that have really changed my perspective on how I approach my business.
This is the book that really changed things for me. It talks about building an operating system for small businesses and how to hold yourself accountable. It gives you actionable steps on how to develop goals and long term plans. Without this book, I doubt we'd have a team of seven employees or be looking for our first retail location. It put everything into perspective and really made me think about what I want for my business. It's meaty and filled with information, but it's one I've gone back to every few months since reading it nearly a year ago.
I just recently finished this book and love how it turns logical thinking on its head. It talks a lot about how logical ideas are not always the solution to business problems. It's important to think outside the box, try something new, and be open to failure in the pursuit of magical outcomes. I'm really not doing it justice. It's brilliant. Definitely read it.
This book popped onto my radar at the perfect time in my life. Owning your own business comes with a lot of obstacles, challenges, and letdowns. This book teaches you how to embrace those obstacles and see them as opportunities to improve, challenge yourself, and grow. These teachings have gotten me through situations I would have otherwise froze in. I'm much more open to risk and diving head first into challenges thanks to this book.
There are SO many great business books out there that have helped me in one way or another. These three have left the biggest impact on me and continue to shape my thinking and approach to my business. What are some of your favorite business/self help books?
