The Best "First"

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

If you happen to be one of the people who stopped by my booth at Deluxe Winter Market over the Thanksgiving weekend, this message is for you: THANK YOU!!!

I had such an amazing time at my first show with Loops & Belles. Honestly, never in my wildest imaginations did I think that I would officially launch my business and then exhibit at a show 3 months later! 

It was a crazy whirlwind to prepare and get ready for the show - and I'll admit that at times there were tears - but it was totally worth it!

I'm not really sure I can put into words what it felt like to have the full inventory of my cards spread out over my dining room table for the first time. "Real." I guess that's it. It felt really real. Like I was actually starting this business and following my passion. (The excitement on my face in the picture below also helps to shed some light... I had just picked up my two Christmas card designs from the printer, and I was ecstatic!) 

As a self-proclaimed organizational-obsessed gal, I had an absolute blast packaging and sorting all of my cards for transport to Leadership Square for the event. 

I also had a lot of fun working on the mailbox and its mini-post for my display! The "booth in-progress" was set up in my laundry room for about a month prior to the event with new aspects being added and adjusted almost daily. (Now, I just need to get that 6ft. table out of my laundry room and back into storage! Details.)

I'm very happy with how the final display turned out. Naturally, I have a few ideas of how to enhance it for the next show, but I wouldn't have changed a thing for Deluxe!

I have to give Momma major kuddos here for how she wrapped the mailbox post in the garland and lights. I was mighty frustrated with the work product I was turning out. In swooped Millie with her patient spirit, and it looked great once she was done!

Speaking of Momma, she was absolutely the best "helper" during the show. She has such a calming presence about her and she had me giggling the whole weekend. She is also the best packager and change-giver. It was so nice to be able to chat with friends and customers during their purchase and let her worry about the math part of the transaction. #MathTeacherForTheWin

I didn't have any concrete goals for my show in terms of sales. Truth be told, I didn't even know where to start with it being my first experience! But man oh man, I was so surprised and pleased and ecstatic with all of the support from friends and strangers!!

I was so thrilled that Linzy and her mom were my first customers on Saturday at Deluxe! The visits and purchases from all my other people - both pictured and not pictured below - meant the world!! 

Booth setup for the second day of Deluxe was a bit speedier than the first - Momma and I had our system all worked out! Since we had a little bit of time to kill before the doors opened, we gave the photo booth a spin.

Day 2 was also filled with visits from friends and silly photos. Erick said that it looked like Kimmy and I had halos over our heads when he took our picture -- naturally, I made a joke about how of course there were halos... we're angels after all! -- and he snapped a candid. 

I feel like I can't say it enough - but thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by and supported Loops & Belles during my first show at Deluxe Winter Market! I am really excited to plan out what 2015 looks like for my business - more shows, new cards, and more!

xoxo, E

Wonderful [Crazy] Christmas Time

Well, as it tends to go this time of year, things have been absolutely crazy!

Momma came into town for a week over Thanksgiving to help me with my first Loops & Belles show at Deluxe Winter Market. (More on that tomorrow!) But before she came to visit, I wanted to be sure that my house was decorated for Christmas!!

I watch "The Holiday" every year while I put up my trees. This year was especially fun because I had my new white tree to decorate as well. (Please ignore the fact that there is still no tree skirt on the white tree... this girl is struggling to find one that I love!)

Momma and I continued our tradition of running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving - and this was our first one in OKC!

It's always so cool to see the firefighters in full gear during a race. It was amazing to see them during the OKC Memorial Half Marathon in April; it was also pretty fun to get to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving during the Turkey Trot!

Speaking of half marathons... I finished my third (and final) half marathon of 2014 this past weekend. And of course, I'm already starting to plan which half marathons I want to run in 2015.

I think I've decided to amend my 26 while 26 list (yet again) and remove the "run a full marathon" goal. While I think it's possible, I'm not sure I'm ready for that training commitment just yet!

But I digress, back to my last half of 2014...

I love a good expo - and this one definitely didn't disappoint. Once I grabbed my bib and runner bag, it was time to start browsing all the booths! In addition to finding a half marathon that I want to run during the Plano Balloon Festival in September, I picked up a 13.1 Christmas ornament, and signed the giant wall of runners.

The calm before the runner swarm. I seriously couldn't believe the size of the crowd of runners! I was in the third corral to start and it took us 10 minutes to get to the start line once the gun was fired.

I think this was the "smartest" that I've run any of my races this year. I listened to my body and walked when I needed to walk. Then, when it was time to start running again, it felt good! I didn't suffer from "lead legs" like my last half marathon in October! 

As far as time goes, I was a bit slower than the last half, but still faster than my first! Not too shabby... if I do say so myself. And you guys, I'm super in love with the finisher medal!! 

Now, the best part... no more running for the rest of the year! I am giving my feet, and quads, and brain a bit of a break. Looking forward to getting back into Barre3 in January - and checking that goal of 3 classes a week for 2 months off my 26 while 26 list!

Oh! I finished another 26 while 26 goal last week - but we'll talk about that on Thursday...

I'm SUPER excited to share all about my first Loops & Belles show with you guys tomorrow!! Brace yourself for a lot of pictures.

xoxo, E

New Product Alert!

It's Deluxe Winter Market week, and I'm crazy excited for my first show with Loops & Belles! In preparation for this week, I updated my website and Etsy shop with some new products -- including two Christmas cards!!

 

Make sure to follow along on Instagram to keep up with all the latest!
xoxo, E

Forty Under 40

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of being named one of okc.BIZ's "Forty Under 40." This was a pretty exciting honor, but admittedly surreal to be 26 years old and named among this group of wildly successful individuals.

Thank you to all the friends and family who sent text messages, Facebook posts, and cards of congratulations! It really meant the world to me.
xoxo, E