30 November 2013

Shop Small Business Saturday!!

Well, the holidays are officially here! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and this year was a great one! I am looking forward to the upcoming month that is filled with gathering with loved ones, enjoying great food, taking a little time off work, and of course doing a little holiday shopping! Lately there have been a lot of ads for Small Business Saturday. I love these ads, and I am so happy this is becoming a larger movement. Obviously I fall more into the realm of small business support, as I am slowly working to build my own. But in general, I support this movement because the majority of my day-to-day shopping is done at locally owned businesses. It dawned on me recently that this has been the norm for most of my life. Whether it was in a small Mississippi community that was filled with family owned establishments, or a neighborhood in East Nashville that seems to only be willing to make room for locally-owned shops and restaurants. Either scenerio results in a great sense of community.

This year I am so proud to have some of my 400 Moons product in not one, but TWO small shops!! OAK, a gift shop in my hometown of Forest, MS, was kind enough to ask me to hop on board at the beginning of November. And recently the cutest little shop named PULP opened in East Nashville, and is literally walking distance from my house. It is currently selling my terrarium kits, as well as, some of my 2014 calendars. I am so happy that my goal of testing out the retail world is starting with these two shops! I am proud of what they are doing, and am over the moon to be working with them. There is so much work that goes into these smaller ventures, most people just have no idea! Often times I think we mistake convenience and low pricing, as equal to quality and connection. There is a place for all of it, but if you get a chance to pop into a locally owned shop today, I hope that you do. You will most likely spend your money on something that is unique, as well as, support others around you in a simple and meaningful way! Happy Holidays and happy shopping!


400 Moons Terrarium Kits are amongst various other gifts featured in PULP. A new gift shop in East Nashville.

My 2014 "BE" Mantra Calendar amongst various paper products in PULP. A new shop located in East Nashville.

Platters and pillows on display in OAK: A Southern Experience, located in Forest, MS

Holiday candles on display in OAK: A Southern Experience, located in Forest, MS



15 November 2013

Happiness vs. Wholeness



YES! Yes, let's pursue wholeness! I have so much I want to say about this concept but can't seem to form a full, well thought-out blog post about it. So instead I will just say this. I am grateful to finally understand this truth. Many young years were filled with a constant struggle to keep the pendulum on happy, and they pale in comparison to my more recent pursuit of wholeness. Instead of pursuing a list of things that would, in my belief, make me happy, I have begun to embrace the things that make up my life. All of the great things and the tough things. I find I am less afraid to change or to make mistakes. I find myself feeling less like a failure because of this or that, and instead more settled in who I am. I am no longer trying to race to some imaginary finish line, and instead have more days where I actively enjoy experiencing life. Which strangely sounds like a better list for what should make me happy than the one I had collaged together in the first place. This quote has come up in so many conversations for me lately I felt it was a concept worth sharing. Hope it might resonate with others they way it has for me!



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...