LUXE LINK LOVE

Cheers to the weekend!! I'm so glad it's Saturday, aren't you? Today will be my "rest" day because tomorrow we're celebrating my dad's 50th birthday, so I'll have some work to do early in the day. I can't believe it - and he still looks exactly the way he looked when I was a little girl. Both of my parents have good genes...gives me something to look forward to!

I couldn't let the weekend come + go without sharing some of the awesomeness I discovered during the week!  

// have you ever heard of The Freelance To Freedom Project? I just discovered this the other day, don't ask me how I found it, but I'm hooked! 

// are you an introvert + you dream of owning or already own your own business? Then visit The Marketing Movement to learn the "art of thriving quietly". 

// if you enjoyed Emily's guest post and were intrigued by the travel journal, then you'll love reading this oldie but goodie about creating a travel scrapbook. 

// I often struggle with being an introvert as I'm sure plenty introverts do. This is an interesting article about being an introvert in an extroverted industry. 

// this post makes me want to head back to Austin this summer - so much to explore there! 

// now that grad school is almost over, it's time to get back to this sewing business. I've been wanting to try my hand at sewing my own skirt. Do you sew - got any tips? 

// since the wedding has come + gone, I'm so excited to start dreaming (with more detail!) about our next home. This living room is so cute + gives me all sorts of inspiration!

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And to start your weekend off right, a giveaway!! I'm sponsoring The Nectar Collective and we are giving away $230 in prizes to Etsy and Amazon. Enter the giveaway below and best of luck!

Esther & Jacob | 27th + luxe | The Wellness Doer | Safaris and Sunsets

Food, Booze, & Baggage | Quaintrelle | A Home Away From Home 

| Found Love, Now What? | 

Foreign Geek | Beauty In Your Eyes | Dreams, etc. | The Nectar Collective

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THAT "AHA" MOMENT

If you read Darling Magazine, then you’ve probably seen the article “Redefining Your “AhA” Moment”. It’s all about redefining your success based on your unique passions and talents. For the past few weeks as I’ve been working on my last course for grad school and looking for a job, I’ve been thinking about my “aha” moment. It came earlier this year when I decided to create the job that I would love to have and to also work to build that job into the career (work from home entrepreneuress) I hope to have in the future. I figured why wait for someone else to decide to give me the job that I want when I can work to create the job myself.

What I’ve been struggling with is doubt, fear, risk aversion (ha!), and confusion. The first three are focused around my fear of whether or not I can really do this – build the career that I want on my own. Yes, I have people in my corner and I’ve got some online friends who inspire me every day to continue to reach for what I want, but there is still that little voice that says “Ummm…and who do you think you are? You can’t do that!!” I wonder if I’m good enough, smart enough and talented enough. Then that last one – confusion- that’s a doozy. I’m probably confusing myself because I tend to overanalyze. I think and rethink, and then rethink again. I also have tons of ideas so it has been a challenge to focus on the ones that are aligned with the brand that I want + hope to build.

One of the key things the author said that really stood out to me was that her major flaw was the belief that success revolves around money. My major flaw is the belief that my success is dependent upon having a great corporate career…and money. Since I’ve been developing my brand for this blog, I’ve discovered that I don’t really believe that. Especially when my end goal is to have a beautiful family that I can serve by being around, being soccer mom, chair of the PTA - maybe not this, but you get the picture! I want to serve my family on my own terms and not be at the beck and call of a company. Being my own boss will allow me to do that. The second big takeaway for me was this final thought:

“What dream do you have that has been silenced somehow, or that you feel is on the brink of either giving up or taking off? Either way, know this: simplify your idea of being a success or a failure. Focus on how you can rise by lifting others up along with you. Cultivate the ability to listen to your dream, because passion is loud, unstoppable and uniquely yours. Nobody on the planet was given the exact same gifts as you were, and how you use those gifts has the potential to change the world.”  - Courtney Sims –

What an amazing + insightful way to close! So, no “Luxe Link Love” today. Instead, I want you to think about how you define your success. What does failure look like to you? But, most importantly, while you’re on your own journey, how can you bring others along for the ride?

Have a GREAT weekend!

xxo-Keiz

CHANGING YOUR FOCUS + WHY THAT IS OK!

Have you ever changed directions? How do you feel when you do? Does it make you feel relieved or like a quitter? Or do you feel confused? I feel a bit of all those things and decided it was time to make some adjustments to my plans for the year. 

At the beginning of the year I made some goals and while I've done pretty well with working to accomplish them, I've missed the mark on a few things like classes I wanted to take and new skills I wanted to learn. A lot of that has to do with my being overwhelmed with grad school, looking for a new job, wedding planning and working full-time. Now that it's basically June (can you believe it?!), I decided that it would be good to evaluate the goals I created at the beginning of the year. 

As I'm nearing the end of my degree program and as I continue my job search, I am constantly thinking about the plans I have for the blog and for studio27L. As things continue to evolve and change in my life, so do my goals for this space and my business. That can get really frustrating! I'm still working out the kinks where branding is concerned and I'm constantly considering whether or not what I choose will remain relevant down the road. 

I'm all about simplification remember? So I thought why not try to make my life a little easier and simplify my goals for the rest of the year: 

BLOG

+ continue to post consistently

+ create quality content

+ engage with the community

BUSINESS

+ work on website

+ secure more clients

+ HUSTLE

CONTINUING EDUCATION

+ blog life

+ brandgasm

+ photoshop

So much simpler right? How are you coming along with your goals? Or if you chose to focus on a word for the year, how is that going? It may be time to take a look at the progress you've made towards your goals/living out your word of the year. Are your  goals and your vision still the same? If so, GREAT!! And, if not, it is totally okay to reassess and change directions. Change is good. 

INSTALUXE

I thought it would  be fun to do a recap of some of my photos via my Instagram. I've never done an Instagram related post, so I thought it would be fun to share a few snaps from my last week!

Our wedding + honeymoon were so much fun! I'm blessed to have been able to experience that, I know a lot of people don't so I'm very thankful!

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I'M BACK!!!

Hello! I'm back...wish I was still on the island, but I'm back! First, I'd like to send a HUGE heartfelt thanks to all the ladies who guest blogged for me last week. In case you missed it, you can check out their posts here. They shared some pretty awesome information to get you ready for vacation season! Also, check out their blogs and follow them on social media. 

LAST WEEK'S WISHES

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//Take care of last minute wedding to do list. Oh are there last minute to-do's! It's not as bad as it seems though. I've dropped everything off at the planners house that I needed to take to  her. Now it's the little things for the day like get nails done, get bridesmaids gifts packaged, etc. 

//Put last minute items into suitcase for honeymoon. I packed this past Saturday because I went to the mall to purchase my clothes for the honeymoon. I like to go through my things when I get home to see if I still feel the same way I felt at the store when I decided to purchase it. While I was doing that, I decided to pack. This week I'll just need to add lotion, body wash, etc. 

//Enjoy these last few days of being engaged. This has been a challenge because I'm sad about my cousin's death. I was so excited to see him and now I can't. I know he's at peace and I'll be seeing him later and he was so happy and excited for me. So, these next few days I need to be excited too and not sad. 

//Get married. Wow...all the planning and preparation has come to an end. I'm getting married on Sunday. 

The last week of pre-wedding festivities was pretty laid back! I got everything done, everything packed for the honeymoon, and I got married ya'll! BEST. WEEK. EVER. 

THIS WEEK'S WISHES

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//Recover. You know how you need a vacation after your vacation? I am so tired it's not even funny! And I want to get all these thank you cards out of the way as soon as possible. So this week I will be trying to rest and get everything back in order.  

//Work on business website. I really want everything under one space. I'm not ready to make that change yet - going to one site - so everything will remain as is for now. I'm still trying to figure out what that would mean for the brand I'm working on building and if I'll need to change direction a bit. But I do need to work on my copy and fine tune some things. So my goal is to start working on that this week.

//Finish these last four weeks of grad school strong. It's almost over!! That's all I have to say about that! Once I finish I can start focusing on some other courses I have my eye on like Blog Life, Brandgasm, and Photoshop. I've been trying to start the classes on my list for the year for a while but, school comes first. So glad I'm almost done so I can pursue my other interests!

That's it for this week. Pretty simple. Just trying to ease back into real life and already thinking about my next trip in August. 

Best of luck accomplishing all of your goals this week! And, if you're anything like me, you should consider linking up with Melyssa for Weekly Wishes. They don't have to be weekly-they can fit your schedule however you see fit!