There comes a point in every business when one has to make the ultimate decision- to grow or not to grow. I have been struggling with this decision for the past few months now. On one hand, I love working one on one with clients and really getting to know each person and their brand. It’s fulfilling to know that what I create really makes a difference to them. On the other hand.. I’m exhausted! Trying to do everything myself is finally catching up to me and I can tell it’s time for a change. Ideas have been swirling around in my head about how to go about ‘gracefully’ growing my small business and I am more than excited to put these ideas into motion. I hope to dedicate this summer to really strategizing what is working and what is not working and make necessary changes from there. Everything is in such beginning phases now which is why I am being so broad but I hope to expand upon this topic to share what I have learned along my journey.

Photo Source: How amazing is this photograph by ‘Rachel Marie Photography‘ - I found the image through pinterest and browsed through her other photos which are all wonderful!

No matter how stressful work is or how crazy life gets, there’s something about the summer time that keeps me relaxed and at ease. I guess I get into one of those Bob Marley, ‘don’t worry be happy’ kind of modes where there’s not really much that can get to me. Loving it!

These are some pics from my wonderfully relaxing long weekend

I’m very excited for the long weekend! I’m finding it hard to put my current state of mind / mood into words so I’ve decided to describe it through images instead. I’ve always been more of a visual person anyways so putting thoughts into visuals instead of words usually makes more sense to me. But anyways, this is my current ‘mood board’ for the upcoming weekend. All I can say is – I am looking forward to it! Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone!

image source: a mix of wonderful images I found without a source!

Some more pictures of our amazing trip to Atlanta. I will miss the atmosphere and easy breezy lifestyle but I will not miss the humidity! It seems I have become spoiled with the Cali weather! We spent Sunday afternoon wondering aimlessly in the city (one of my favorite things to do!) and discovered this ridiculously cool street fair – it embodied every idea I had of  what ‘Atlanta’ should be. From home-made popsicles to bean-bag tosses.  It’s so nice to go exploring!

While I’m still feeling a bit jet-legged today, our trip this weekend to Georgia for our good friends wedding was well worth the travel! It was such a charming southern wedding set in the suburbs of Atlanta – a beautiful weekend filled with friends, family, love and laughter- just what I needed! More pictures of my Atlanta trip to come! Stay tuned…

I’m so excited to announce that the new Alchemie Spa has finally opened! I have been working with the talented owner of the Santa Monica Spa, Mary, for the past several months designing the spas logo, signs, menu, website, etc.  She has a great sense of style so it was inspiring and fun to work with her on this project and I think everything turned out great! If you are in the Santa Monica area, you should definitely stop by and get pampered!

You can visit the website and get more information at alchemiespa.com

This Mother’s Day I decided to try something new. I always like to make something special for my mom because she is such an important person in my life and she always appreciates the little things I make for her. After thinking for days about what I should make this year, I came across a yummy recipe on the wonderful ‘passionate about baking‘ blog for a fresh Strawberry Vanilla-Bean Jam. One of my mom’s favorite flavors is vanilla and I remembered seeing bundles of strawberries for sale at the market so they must be in season.. so I decided to give it a try. After gathering all the ingredients and jars I set to work. Turns out making jam is a lot easier than I thought! I made it without any ‘jelling’ mixture so I had to let it sit over night two different days and do a lot of ‘simmering’ on the stove but I gotta say that it really turned out delicious (and my mom loved it too!)

You can get the recipe here

This past month has been a complete blur. As soon as I think things are calming down the whirlwind starts up again and I find my head spinning with so much work and so little time! I came across these fun vintage ads today while doing some project research and despite my frantic state, they still made me chuckle. You gotta admire the honesty in these old ads – nowadays, everything is so sugar coated no ones knows what is reality! Hoping to get back to a normal state soon so I can stop neglecting my poor blog :)

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