My Visioning Board

The idea behind creating a visioning board is to begin manifesting your dreams into reality.  Now that I'm really starting to dig my heels into growing my company and enjoying life, I thought it was a good time to revisit that visioning board. 

A visioning board is essentially a collection of things that you want to have, become, or accomplish in your life.  Things can include: career, where you want to live, family, hobbies, etc.

Here is my virutal visioning board in progress:

photos from Porsche, Blue Escapes Diving, Flickr, Atlas

1. Porsche Carrera: my dream car.
2. Scuba Diving: Paul and I need to complete our open water certification. I can't wait to start scuba diving to see sea turtles and through ship wrecks.
3. Ballroom Dancing: I really need to get myself back into some ballroom classes. I can't wait to start competiting in some Pro-Am competitions
4. House in Chastain Park area: I plan on moving back closer to the Buckhead area of Atlanta in 4 to 5 years. My dream area to live in is the Chastain Park area.
5. Visit Antarctica
6. Start a NonProfit Organization: start a nonprofit benefiting a cause that I'm passionate about. Not sure what that is yet... arts & music, animal rescue, ....

Rodriguez Wedding

Paul and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of two of our good friends yesterday - Nisha and Ernesto.  We met this awesome couple just over a year ago when Nisha and I both started going through RCIA (class at church to become Catholic) last September. 

The four of us have become great friends and their wedding was beautiful!  It was one of the most emotional weddings I've been to, I guess crying runs in their family (and friends)!

Beautiful ceremony in a beautiful church, Immaculate Heart of Mary. The two of them were just glowing in love. 

These are the programs that Nisha and I worked and crafted for two weekends. I must say... they turned out quite lovely :)

Wasn't their cake cute?! It was orange creamsicle - YUM!

Beautiful floral decor by Anik Designs

The reception was at Capozzi's in Decatur. The inside of the restaurant was adorable! I loved the warehouse, exposed ceiling look.
 

The first dance, they were so cute!

Here I am with the lovely bride, Nisha!

The newlywed shoe game!

They were havin' a ball!

Nurturing Then Letting Go

I've been an entrepreneur for almost two years now and what a journey it has been.  I can't say that it was a complete accident that I became a business owner, I always knew that it was bound to happen. I just didn't know it was going to happen so quickly.

Two years ago, after I left a job that I wasn't happy at, I did some soul-searching - with the support of my then boyfriend (now husband).  My mind was filled with thoughts of... "you're too young to start a company, you need more work experience... and on and on"  I just couldn't bear the thought of returning to a corporate environment, or working for someone else.

By some luck, I stumbled upon my first client, now known as Under Stella's Umbrella.

Slowly my client base started to grow through referrals and word of mouth.  At the beginning of 2009, I started networking in local business organizations and my client base seemed to explode overnight.

Now, I'm in a position where I have more work than I can possibly handle.  So what's next?  I've started working with interns.  At first, it was difficult for me to let go of control and let someone else do the work... but let me tell you, it's been fantastic and I am even more excited about the future of my company.

I'm hoping that my next intern hire will be someone who is able to stick around for a longer period of time, with potential of full time hire in a year or so. *fingers crossed*

** Note: Marketing/Social Media Intern job description will also be up on dotdot studios' blog in the next few days

Things I'm Loving Right Now

It seems like I've been going full speed non-stop ever since we got back from the honeymoon - which was almost two months ago.  How do I keep my sanity?  Cute things that I find online help some :)

1. Wicked Witch cupcake! (by simplysweeter.blogspot.com) I must try making some of these in anticipation of the upcoming holiday!
2. Little piggy dog costume by Trixie and Peanut. Adorable costume and love this company, I always buy my dog's collars from them - Roxie's a few sizes too big for cute little costumes.
3. Bowler bag by Spartina 449.  Love their bag fabric designs!
4. Coffee mug by Crate & Barrel.  Due to massive workload, I've been drinking lots and lots of coffee.  Thank goodness for my new espresso/coffee maker!

Roxie Marie Crane

Let me introduce you to Roxie, our beloved dog and family member.  She's my loyal and not-so-hardworking co-worker during the workweek, and our goofy companion on the weekends.   I did a mini-photo shoot with her this afternoon while I was taking a much needed break away from work.

First slow cooker meal

Paul and I bought our first crock-pot last weekend (on sale for $19.99 at Macy's - sweet deal!), and I finally tested it out tonight.

Having never owned a slow cooker before, I was a tad nervous... was I going to burn the house down?  I had a client meeting in the afternoon so I wouldn't be able to stay at home and supervise.  So, I selected an Italian Chicken with Vegetables recipe off of McCormick's website and crossed my fingers.  I wasn't able to find the packaged seasoning in the store so I made up my own with a little bit of fresh garlic, parsley and basil.

Eight hours later, here was the result:

Served with some green beans and freshly baked French bread with garlic butter. 

I will have to use the crock pot more often!  The food turned out quite nicely and I didn't have to spend too much time cooking.  Great for a busy gal :)

~Chef Melissa

Reusable Bags are getting cuter!

I just returned from a quick run to Target (had to get my beloved chocolate raspberry coffee creamer) and I got to use my flippin' amazing flip & tumble reusable bags - I love them more and more everytime I use them so I had to share.  I've been using reusable bags for a few years now, but these are my favorite thus far.

image from flipandtumble.com

I love how you can just roll them up into a handy little ball and then keep them in your purse/messenger bag and never have to go to the store and then realize that you forgot your bags again.  Or at least reduce the amount of times anyways :)

Don't these remind you of the Popples?  I was an 80s baby so of course I had a Popple, mine was the white one, Puffball.   Even more reason to love these little bags.