Planning Essentials I’m Bringing on a Cruise

Planning Essentials I’m Bringing on a Cruise

We are leaving on our belated honeymoon/my sister’s wedding cruise in just two days and I am not ready at all. We had the great pleasure of being a part of the Planner Boss Collective sale over the weekend and are still recovering. It’s like getting married. You never believe what people tell you it’s going to be like until it happens to you. We were blown away by the number of orders, but are facing a serious deadline that has caused a series of sleepless, work-filled nights. But I’m rambling.
Regardless of the workload situation, the cruise is happening in mere hours and luckily I started packing early. I don’t plan on bringing a ton of planning supplies with me, but I do want to document the trip better than I have other trips in the past.
I’ll be bringing my ECLP hourly, but stripped down to just the planner itself. I’ve removed all of the extra papers and stickers I had floating around in the back to make it lighter. I’m also bringing a small hardbound notebook because I’m sure being away from work will spark a mountain of new ideas.
I’m also giving the new Planny Pack a serious test out on this trip. It’s going to be what carries the few stickers I’m bringing as well as a couple of pens. So far I’m quite the fan of the accessory, but it’ll be nice to see how it fairs in an actual travel situation.
As for picking the kit I wanted to use for the week, it was a no brainer. The Novel Coffee has the perfect beach-themed weekly kit that I’ve already preplanned out so I don’t have to bring unnecessary sheets with me.
If you want to see what other few sheets I’m planning on bringing with me, I’ve included close ups in today’s video. The key for me is simplicity. Sure there might be a chance I need some obscure sticker to mark some unforeseeable event, but I much rather keep my travel stash small so I’m not toting around a ton of things I might need. I don’t want my planning supplies to hinder the trip, but rather enhance the memory keeping of it.

Why I No Longer Have a Designated Office Space

Why I No Longer Have a Designated Office Space

Why I No Longer Have a Designated Office Space
Over the weekend I moved all of my things out of the office space we have on the second floor of our house. I had been thinking about it for a while and finally decided to commit to no longer having a designated office space. And so far I’ve been loving it.
It all boils down to the fact that I just wasn’t using the space. I would only trudge up the stairs to film a video every once and a while and didn’t find myself lingering much longer after filming finished. It became a room to hold my knick-nacks and planner collection and not much else. It felt like I was taking the space for granted and wasn’t using it to its fullest potential.
Plus I didn’t need it.
I’m the type of person who much rather work at the dining room table, on the couch, or in bed. The majority of my scholarly and work accomplishments have been achieved while bed-desking. I wrote my entire thesis in bed, I started Oh, Hello snuggled under the blankets. I’m a much happier and more productive person when I have the ability to move from place to place and work wherever the mood strikes. I completely understand how office spaces are valuable and work wonders for people, but for me it’s just not necessary. 
So I moved all of my supplies into the closet in the finished guest bedroom. The closet previously only housed a couple of spare pillows and an always empty laundry hamper. I find closets in guest bedrooms to be a bit pointless as most of the time guests will never ever use it. So I toted all of my things down the stairs and set up base. The move downstairs helped me to downsize my collection, really think about what mattered to me, and helped me to focus on organization.
We still aren’t entirely sure what to use the upstairs space for since I basically up and vacated it out of the blue. It’s the kind of space that will likely transition as our family grows, but currently we’re contemplating moving up Alex’s photography studio from the bowels of the basement. That way if he ever does photo shoots for anyone it’ll be a much more enjoyable location. 
I’ll likely do a full tour of my closet storage space once I’m finally settled in completely and if there’s any sort of interest. I may add a small desk into our master bedroom at some point when I start work on finishing the decor in that room, but for now I’m quite content being a nomad in our house ready to work anywhere.
How to Blog When You’re Busy

How to Blog When You’re Busy

How to Blog When You're Busy
Blogging while busy is one of those topics I get asked about a lot. So I’m sharing with you my tips and tricks to squeezing in time for the hobby while doing a million other things.
Create a schedule you can stick with. Sure it would be amazing if we could all blog seven days a week, but that’s just not realistic for a normal schedule. Whether its three times a week or just once, pick a content schedule that works with your life.
Then actually stick with it. If you’ve made a promise to yourself to blog twice a week, then do it. Set aside time to take the photos and write up the posts no matter how hectic your days are. 
See it as a time to relax and not a chore. I always blog when I’m unwinding from the day. It’s a nice break from my daily to do list and has always been a hobby and a way to relax for me. If blogging feels like a chore and just more work, maybe you shouldn’t do it. Hobbies shouldn’t feel like a hassle. 
Forgive yourself if you don’t blog for a week. Sure it’s best to be consistent if you want your blog to get traction, but you also still want to enjoy the hobby at the end of the day. There are weeks when I’m just too busy and I literally forget I have a blog. Rather than beating myself up over it and stressing myself out trying to whip up a few posts, I give myself a break. 
Take a bunch of photos at once so you don’t have to keep setting up your camera equipment every time you want to write a post. It’ll save you a lot of time and blogging won’t feel like it takes up too much of your day.
Plan out posts ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about thinking of what to write about when your brain is concentrating on a million other things. I you feel a bit of inspiration strike, take that time to write out all the ideas and posts you have just in case you do become too busy to find a few seconds to write.
Prioritize your life and determine if blogging fits in. Sometimes there really are other things that take higher priority than typing up some ramblings, and that’s ok. If it’s really that important to you, you’ll be able to find the time to do it.
At the end of the day I feel happier and more accomplished because of my blog. It takes priority over a lot of other “relaxing” things during my day and I’m more than happy to let it. Blogging while I’m busy never feels like a chore. It shouldn’t for you either.

Treat Yo Self Beauty Products

Treat Yo Self Beauty Products

Treat Yo Self Beauty Products
I’m a firm believer in treat-yo-self days. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in daily tasks and the constant grind that it’s important to stop, appreciate what you’ve accomplished, and give yourself a little treat for a job well done. Just today I bought a pair of strappy sandals I’ve been eyeing for ages as a treat for how hard I’ve been working on Oh, Hello stuff lately. Plus if you put a little pamper into your beauty routine you’ll feel, and look, better. So it’s a win, win.
Oddly enough when I started to gather items for this post I felt myself gravitating away from makeup bits to the lesser appreciated aspects of my beauty routine. Although I’m a huge fan of splurging on makeup every once and a while, I think skincare and hair care are two often overlooked categories in a treat-yo-self spree that definitely should have some light shone on them.
For hair care, nothing says pamper like the Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo. The best clarifying shampoo I’ve found to get all the grime and product out of hair to leave it squeaky clean. At first I felt insane for spending $25 on a shampoo, but I’ve only used it on Sundays for almost eight months and have barely used any of it. It’s definitely going to last me for a very long time and the results will speak for themselves with this one.
The Urban Decay Meltdown Makeup Remover Dissolving Spray is another to add to the next treat-yo-self shopping list. It’s like a setting spray, in reverse. Spritz a bit of this onto a cotton round and it wipes away almost all of your makeup. If I’m being picky I find that a little bit of waterproof mascara has a tendency to linger. It does way better than a lot of my other makeup removers and I always cleanse afterward anyway to make sure any pesky makeup is long gone. If you’re one for a fuss free skincare routine, this is one to add to the lineup. 
For skincare I’ve really been enjoying this Derma-E Hydrating Serum. It’s a brand I haven’t really explored too much, but this serum is a winner. It’s lightweight, soothing, and dissolves quickly into the skin while providing hydration to boot. It almost acts like a moisturizer without packing too much moisture. I always feel so luxurious using it.
Another skincare product that I couldn’t live without is the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. If my skin is feeling tight or dry I use this once and I wake up with hydrated, dewy skin. It’s seriously a miracle worker. Although it feels like a bit of a splurge whenever I purchase a new one, I’ll do it every time for the investment in my skin and the results it gives. 
The IT Cosmetics Je Ne Sais Quoi Hydrating Color Awakening Lip Treatment is one of those products I couldn’t believe the price of, but after just one usage I completely get the hype of higher end lip balms. This stuff makes all my other lip balm options pale in comparison. It hydrates my lips without feeling greasy or heavy, but stays on for a long time making sure they’re protected from the crazy winds we’ve been having lately. It also provides a little pop of color on days I don’t really want to bother with lipstick. 

Nothing feels like a treat-yo-self purchase quite like picking up a new makeup brush. If you’re feeling the urge to spend some cash my current favorite is the IT Cosmetics #702 Brush. The bristles are the softest I’ve ever felt and so incredibly packed together that applying foundation is so easy. I can quickly buffer everything out and it leaves such a nice finish to the skin. The handle is heavy and the brush feels worth the investment.
So if you’re feeling particularly spendy or want to celebrate an accomplishment with a little treat, these beauty products would be a fabulous place to start. What are some of your go-to treat-yo-self categories? 
Holland Tulip Time Festival

Holland Tulip Time Festival

Getting out of the house is really important for two people who work from home. So whenever there’s an event or an opportunity to go explore, we take it. It’s become a tradition of ours to head over to the Holland Tulip Festival every year. This year we were particularly interested in checking out the craft show. We’ve been setting up our own booth for upcoming shows and wanted to see how the pros do it. 
Of course it was freezing. It’s always windy and cold during the festival and I have yet to be prepared and dress appropriately. Maybe next year I’ll be adequately prepared. 

In keeping up with the promise I made to myself we brought the camera along and although freezing, took a lot of really fun photos. I always love sharing a camera with Alex. It’s great to feed off of each other’s ideas and see how we can both capture the same event or moment differently.

This photo is my particular favorite. I wish I could take credit for it, but Alex spent a good five minutes setting up the shot.

It’s crazy to think that a year from now we may have our own booth at the Tulip Festival Craft Show. It’s thinking about things like that, that make me realize just how far we’ve come as a company. And how far I’ve come as an introverted person to want to actually interact with people in real life. It’s exciting to imagine people looking at our products and experiencing them in real life. Now here’s hoping it’s not freezing cold next year.