Rust Factor!

As many of your fashion lovers know, Coral was a big color for spring and summer 2012.  As we transition to Fall 2012, the emphasis on coral easily shifts to RUST.  Rust is in the same family as coral...kind of a softer version of orange...but rust is autumn friendly.  It looks great with navy, camel, and brown...and as such it will look great with denim or with your fave brown fall boots.

At Flourish, we are loving the look of this new rust dress by Ya Los Angeles.  The pretty ruffle makes it feminine and it really can be worn by any complexion. 

Rust Factor Dress, $55: http://flourishboutique.com/rust-factor-dress.html#

Love the front ruffle

Cute from the side too!

Of course you can keep it simple as we have shown above: wear just a bit of jewelry and wear with some brown summer sandals.  But come cooler weather, here is how you could style it too:

To see other styles by Ya Los Angeles at Flourish: click here: http://flourishboutique.com/designers/ya.html

Vacation ...a Victory!

So many people say to me..."It must be so nice to be your own boss and make your own hours".  There's some truth to that, as I do try to plan my days around my son's school and soccer schedules.  But, the reality is usually more that my work, as a boutique owner, keeps me so busy that I don't really plan my own hours.  In fact the hours and the needed work often plan my day for me, with business issues and work "fires" seizing me from the moment I wake up until the moment I fall into bed. 

Here's my secret though: I like it that way!  I love being busy, and I love the challenge each day brings as a business owner.  Have you ever seen that commercial for Staples?  The one about Dave? He is a small business owner, and when any problem arises the answer is always to call Dave.  I have an incredible team of people and they all make tons of decisions, but ultimately each person ends up with several questions for me every day, and combined with vendors, customers, emails, phone calls, voice mails, bookkeeping issues, etc: my every day is full of answering these questions and solving these problems.  When I see the Staples commercial I get a good laugh.  I can completely relate!  If you're a small business owner, you can watch it below and laugh along with me:)



The best part of my job, like Dave's, is that there is never a dull moment.  I always feel busy and fulfilled.  The flip side of this is that it is hard to have relaxation and to get away.  My husband and I have always tried to make 2 vacations a year a priority as weekends and evenings are mostly spent working for both of us.  We need that time to recharge.  In fact, I find I do my best work and creative thinking either on the way home from vacation or within my first few days back at work after some time off.  One challenge though is that ever since around the time I started Flourish, our personal finances (both from the costs of starting a new business and because of the recession effecting his work in real estate) have kept us from truly getting away.  For example, while taking a trip up into Michigan two summers ago, we cancelled a day trip to  Mackinac Island last minute because the money just wasn't there.  And, another example, we would go places with water but not have enough money to get out on the water in any way because we couldn't afford a boat rental or anything of the sort. 

For someone who grew up with a lake house, a boat, and jet-skis, it was strange to be grounded during vacations.  Growing up, my family had always worked incredibly hard owning their own small business, but we also played hard and had the financial blessings that hard work provided.  The recession though taught me that you can work just as hard, be just as intelligent, offer the same services, and try as you might you cannot 100% control everything.  That being said, we made our own fun on the vacations from 2008-12 and overall focused on the things we could still enjoy. Some of our top things to do while we were broke but on vacation included:

1. Going to a pool: though we didn't have the recourses to go to big amusement parks or out on the water in boats and jet skis.  We always seemed to be able to find a way to get to a pool.  Sometimes even our budget hotel or home rentals had access to one or you can often go to some type of community pool for very reasonable.  This helped it still seem like summer vacation and our son loved it
2. Getting drive through food and taking it to a picnic table on the beach.  Gone were the days of sitting out on patios at nice restaurants to watch the sunset while enjoying dinner...but we found a way!
3. Going to a thrift shop and buying old games and puzzles.  You can buy old games and puzzles for sooo cheap at places like Goodwill and things of that nature: we did this several times and had a lot of fun in the evenings playing family games.

During these times, I learned that family vacation really is all about family.  Sharing a meal is about WHO you share it with and not where.  Enjoying a "drive in" strawberry shake can taste just as good as a gourmet strawberry shortcake and so on. 

Slowly, over time, with the Lord's help, combined with discipline Stephen and I used in adapting the debt free policies of Dave Ramsey, and persistence on both our parts to make our businesses successful: we have pushed through the hard times and have both turned corners in our careers.  Flourish continues to grow and is now experiencing growth and success online too.  And, my husband's real estate career is going crazy.  He is now currently number two in our county for the year in real estate and he has been blessed with lots of new business coming down his pipeline right now too.  You can check his Facebook page out here in fact.   

This summer, our vacation is the first time I have taken time away and felt truly peaceful in over 4 years.   For the first time, I knew that we could take the time we needed to recharge without feeling guilty over not working.  I am so thankful to the Lord for his blessings to allow this time away and I am so thankful to my family and my husband for making it possible too.  We made our vacations during the past few years as fun as possible, but there is something about this trip that is returning my heart and soul to a place it not has been in a long time.  Mostly it's a feeling of peace.

Today, in what seemed almost like a symbol of freedom and victory, my dad rented a boat, and our whole family spent the whole day back on the water: tubing, boating, swimming, and in the beautiful sun.  We may not have a lake house anymore, or own the boat anymore  (these were all sold during the recession) but we have our family and that's whats important....and today we had the blessing to get out on the water and have a blast.  For us, it was a real victory and marked a turning point, from which we will hopefully leave the Great Recession behind us. 



Me, Vanessa, feeling grateful and peaceful on vacation!

 And, to top off one of the best days ever, we had dinner at a great waterfront local restaurant.  The sun set while we were eating and the sky was filled with beautiful colors, including a FLOURISH pink that made me smile.  It was twilight when we were winding down, and I snapped this photo below of our clan all relaxed and with a vacation glow.  So, with that, I am off to go read a little, relax a lot,  and enjoy a vacation evening.  I hope your summer is filled with the love of family too.      Much Love, Vanessa



The Cooreman-Smith clan enjoying dinner together

Sweet Summer

I think it's officially safe to say that it is SUMMER!

I LOVE summer colors in fashion.  Bright pink, coral, turquoise, yellow, and of course red/navy combos!  So much color and so fun!  See below for an outfit I designed on http://www.polyvore.com/ which is a great example of my favorite summer colors! 

coral and turquoise combo by flourishboutique featuring engraved jewelry

You can buy the 'Wrap is Poetry Dress in Coral" at our website by clicking here!

I think part of why I like these colors so much is that they remind me of summer days gone by and wonderful memories; I look at this outfit above and I think of evening dinners at local, seaside restaurants...and the colors alone make me think of the beach, pools, sunsets, music floating in the open air, summer weddings, and more.  So somehow, getting an outfit this year in these colors helps me feel connected to past summer bliss and also makes me feel excited about the new summer memories surely around the corner.

Here is another example of great summer colors....and we love them worn with white denim!

a nod to mod outfit by flourishboutique featuring a chain necklace

You can purchase this chevron dress in navy by clicking here or going to http://www.flourishboutique.com/
What are some of your favorite summer colors? 

Graduations, Engagements, and Other Evolutions....

This time of year, Flourish is always filled with women shopping for special events like bridal showers, weddings, engagement photos, graduations, and more!  It's always fun to help them find dresses and outfits for such monumental occassions, and we love seeing the photos of them wearing their special Flourish purchases too! 

This year, though, the season of change and occassions has been felt first hand at Flourish. Shelby, our sweet, youngest team member at Flourish graduated high school this year.  Here is a photo of her looking absolutely stunning and wearing Flourish of course!  In fact you can purchase this dress here: http://flourishboutique.com/gabrielle-dress-in-hot-pink.html

Shelby, one of the Flourish girls, rocking the Gabrielle Dress in hot pink for her senior pics!

Nicole our store manager has three, yes three, children graduating this year!  Two sons from high school and one son from 8th grade. My own son graduated from kindergarten too!  Sarah, our team member who is on leave had a sweet baby girl last week.  And, Brianne, one of our Flourish girls graduated from Saint Mary's College, my alma mater, just a few weeks ago....only to get engaged just last night as well (also wearing Flourish of course, although this dress recently sold out, so sorry!)

Brianne, and her fiance Pat, on the night of their engagement!

So, needless to say, in addition to helping everyone else find cute outfits for those big moments, we Flourish girls have been joining in the fun as well!  As a result, the idea of change and evolution has been on my mind a lot....I can't stop thinking about those liminal moments in life where you cross over from being one thing to another....from dating to engaged....from just you to being a mom......from being a busy parent to being an empty nester.....from being single to married.....from being a student to a graduate, and so on.  These moments stand out in our memories and nowadays in our facebook timeline too...

It seemed only appropriate that Flourish too, undergo a graduation of sorts...or an evolution so to speak. Flourish will turn 4 years old in just a few weeks.  This is hard to believe in some ways.  It seems like only yesterday it was my dream instead of my reality.  Now, we have been in business for the same amount of time someone goes to highschool or college.  Flourish has certainly done it's own growing up and changing...we've moved to a better location, we've expanded, we've added a dynamic website store, and much more....when I think back on all these steps I feel like a proud momma watching a slideshow of memories. 

Here I am on the very first day Flourish was opened: July 8, 2008: Sure has changed a lot!

This past week though I have been brainstorming and thinking about ways to continue to perfect and make Flourish even better.  I met with some consultants down in Indianapolis this week to get some outside ideas and opinions. Some of their ideas really jumped off the page to me and will push me to really take the store to the next level.  Some of the suggestions are as simple as ways to improve our accounting and book-keeping.  Other suggestions though were to carry larger stocks of best selling items so that people get a better chance of getting their size and making all the work to put something on the website be more worth our time and energy (often times things are selling out so fast that we only have an item up for a day or two).  This will help save us time and resources but it will also make your shopping experience more enjoyable at http://www.flourishboutique.com/. 

There were many more wonderful ideas that I cannot wait to nurture.  I take so much joy in our store....it is my passion and my ongoing, evolving dream.  I hope you all are finding similar joy and having your own life changing, special times....  that's what this life is all about:  drinking in the moments with our loved ones,  and following and manifesting our dreams!

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Show Me the Fashion

Show me the...FASHION!

It's no secret I love fashion!  I am a boutique owner, but I have always loved fashion even as a little girl.  When I played Barbies, all I did was dress them all up for a special event, only to start over, rarely even enacting anything with them.  I also spent hours hand drawing dresses and outfits for my paper doll collection.  I didn't even care much about the pre-manufactured outfits...it was all about designing things myself.

In college, I felt torn between my love for fashion and art and a desire to stay close to my Midwestern family.  I knew if I pursued the fashion industry as a career most of the jobs were in cities like New York or LA.  For me, moving away from my family and my long time boyfriend (now hubby) was not an option.  I was always a family person.  It was my dad who tore out a newspaper article on a boutique in our community and suggested it might be a career that could work for me down the road.   He also made me stop and talk to the boutique owner and ask for a job.  She graciously gave me one, and I quickly fell in love with the job and the boutique environment. 

I tend to do things in extremes too, so only 4 years later, still in my mid 20's I took the plunge to open my own store.  What seemed like an adventure to me, probably looked crazy to my parents and family. I was young, lacked experience, and had a 2 year old to care for at the time.  Plus, only months after I opened my store in July 2008, the economy took a nosedive into the Great Recession.  However, what I lacked in experience and financial backing, I made up for in passion, faith, and determination. And, through serious hard work and perseverance my adventure has become a dream come true; I am blessed to have a growing, successful store.  I am super thankful to the Lord for helping me achieve this success.  I attribute basically everything to Him, as ultimately I believe that my hard work and determination were just ingredients in His plan for me and the blessings he has bestowed.  Flourish is His store not mine in many ways.

Flourish Boutique, home of http://www.flourishboutique.com/

So...now I find myself 4 years later, settled into a career in fashion and therefore a career I was born to do.  I love, and I mean love fashion.  I can't get enough....I work all day at the store, come home and after the rest of my family is asleep start working again: editing photos, creating blog posts, email blasts, and doing online buying.  And I wake up every morning, ready to dive back in.  When I am on vacation I find myself, googling other boutiques, constantly on the hunt for merchandising ideas and new lines to discover for the store!  In fact some of my vacation boutique hunting has resulted in some of my favorite lines at Flourish like Mystree, Papilllon, and Judith March. 

For some reason, I was truly made to love Fashion and I believe called to open a fashion business.  To some, working in fashion might seem like a superficial career choice.  But I believe that there is a reason I love it so much and have been designed to be in retail.  I guess I am figuring that reason out day by day.  I don't have it all figured out yet.  My question for you though is...what is your "fashion"?  And what I mean by that is: what are you born to do and simply love?  I think so many people make career choices based on what they THINK they should do, what someone else thinks they should do, or what makes the most money...but I believe God calls us to pursue what he designed us to love.  I think we are supposed to work hard, but do it with our hearts beating fast for our work.  My dad once gave me this advice: "Do what you love and the money will follow"  What he meant was not to squander our time and resources in order to have fun, but more that if you carefully and purposefully plan your career around your passion, your drive and love for your work will carry you far and help you excel....such that money will follow.  It's almost impossible to work hard and with excellence when you dread work each day.  Almost every industry and career niches to discover to make money in...but the key is lining yourself up with those opportunities by pursuing what you love.  I encourage you to pursue what makes your heart beat fast!  Life is to short to be defined by a career you despise.  Seek your passion...start small if you have to, but start now and figure out a realistic way to do what you love.  Be wise and be responsible, but go after your dream!  Instead of saying "Show me the money...say show me the [fashion]."  (you fill in the blank!). 

The Value of Friends

Tonight I am reflecting on how lucky I am to have such wonderful female friends.

Our family had dinner tonight with a couple who we adore, Aaron and Hailey.  Hailey and I actually went to Saint Mary's College together but really did not know one another well until they bought a house through Stephen.  Hailey and I sat in her family room talking for hours tonight, and I found myself thinking on the way home how wonderful it is to have a new friend to spend time with.

This is Hailey, after she got a $500 shopping spree to Flourish (which is a program we offer to customers of Flourish who use my hubby Stephen as their realtor to purchase or sell a home)....big smile:D.  Mostly, the best part about this real estate deal though was the blessing of the friendship that followed!  Aaron and Stephen are great friends now too! 

I also got a text tonight from Ann, who works at Flourish.  Today Ann's hubby had phoned her at work and had been hurt on his job site.  I could see Ann was really shaken and knew she needed to go be with him.  I insisted she leave work to go make sure he was ok and just be by his side.  And, Nicole and Amanda, who were working today as well, insisted we would figure out covering her shift and to not worry and just head on out.  Anyway, Ann's husband is going to be just fine thankfully and her text was to thank us for encouraging her to leave work and for covering her shift.  She said she was "thankful for the wonderful women she worked with, XOXO"  Ann could not be more right...the women that I am blessed to work with at Flourish are some of the kindest, most genuine women I know.  And, I feel blessed to call them friends.  So, everyday I get to go to a job I love and spend time with a circle of women I cherish. Nicole, Kandyce, Laurie, Ann, Kerri, Amanda, Brianne, Maggie,  Shelby and myself make up our current team and I am so thankful for their comradery and the great workplace we share!

The Flourish Girls!

From Left to Right: Maggie, Kandyce, Sarah, Laurie, Brianne, Vanessa, Ann, Kerri, Nicole (Shelby and Amanda not pictured here and Sarah is currently on maternity leave, but we miss her very much:))

And, a post about friendships would not be complete without reflecting on my longtime girlfriends.  Amanda Aldridge, Shaina, Brittany, McGee, Nicole, Jessica, and Marielle are friends and cousins who I love very much and share so many wonderful memories with.  Love you guys!

My Longtime friends; Back row: Brittany, McGee, Amanda

Middle Row: My cousins Marielle and Nicole

Front Row: Me:)

*Not pictured Shaina and my cousin Jessica

It's funny how in life, you realize that people are what really matter.  Relationship, and essentially LOVE is what sticks.  At the end of someones life, their possessions and even their achievements are not what they take with them...only love is eternal.  No one asks for their business to be by their side in the end....it's the people you love and have shared life with who you call to.  This is an area of my life where I am particularly blessed and thankful for, and yet my drive for my career often keeps me from being the best friend that I can be.  I am going to try and be a better friend, as I aim to achieve more balance in my life.  If someone matters to you, you should tell them all the time!  So, I encourage you today: who is a blessing in your life?  Have you told them recently how much you love them?  Have you nurtured a friendship that may be neglected? It's never too late to tell someone how much they matter to you.

Like many women, and especially as a small business owner: I juggle so many roles.  I run from business meetings to pick up my son from school, and right onto the soccer field many days!  Sometimes I find the back and forth roles challenging, but more and more I am gaining confidence in wearing many hats. 

Obviously one role I love is being Mom to my 6 year old son Christian.  I have to admit, I am not a perfect "shiny" mom, if you know what I mean.  My car is often a total disaster, my snacks for his class and parties are often store bought, and currently my idea of ironing is an extra cycle in the dryer.  But, I love my son and I love being his mom:)  This year was the first year I really felt like a "MOM" on Mother's Day, which was this past weekend.

I woke up to a treasure map Christian made for me, which led me on a hunt ending in a beautiful pink corsage as the treasure!  I got to stand up at Church with all the other moms, and so on and so forth:) It was exciting to really feel like a mom and my family made me feel really special.

I also celebrated by taking a full weekend off from work, which is really rare for me.  Saturday we went to my son's soccer game and had some great family time. Sunday, we went to a wonderful brunch at the South Bend Country Club and in the evening headed up to the beach at Lake Michigan.  We watched the sunset and played around a little bit, although it was still pretty chilly.  We also caught Kilwins (best ice cream parlor ever) right before they were closing, and enjoyed some delicious ice cream (my fave is cappuccino chocolate chip).

Here are some beautiful pictures I captured on the beach:)  I hope your Mother's Day was just as rewarding and peaceful as mine was!

my handsome hubby:)

Stephen and I with the sunset behind us.  Scarf from www.FlourishBoutique.com

Stephen and Christian playing on the beach

Beauty With a Capitol B...for Bergamot That Is!

Ever since I was a little girl I have been obsessed with all things beautiful.  Whether it was being captured with awe at beautiful classical architecture, to the way the green soybean fields of my grandfather's farms roll in the summer wind, to the artful detail of the finest dresses....I have always had an eye, and a passion for the beautiful things in this world.  It is no surprise, that I found a place for myself as an art major in college.  And still even less surprising that I make my living helping women feel beautiful with the fashions I buy.  It brings me great joy to help other people discover what I can see in them and how the right colors, textures, and patterns can bring out the beauty they already possess. 

For me, fashion and merchandising are like the back of my hand and I spend almost every waking hour of the day thinking about them in some way...however, sometimes I find joy in leaving behind my pursuit of beauty to breathe in someone who pursues the same excellence in another field.  For example, I love watching great movies and reading inspiring books: both of which I could never hope to do...but I recognize the same passion and love for beauty that I have in my field, in the work of others...and somehow it makes me feel part of a bigger picture...as if I am one soldier in a sea of other loyal, dedicated people.....and I take joy in appreciating the handiwork and passion of others.  I especially get a kick out of seeing other young, entrepreneurial or artistic women going after their dreams and giving their all for their vision and passion.  Somehow it makes me feel like all my work and sacrifice to make Flourish a success is not in vain...that other people are on a similar mission for excellence. 

Music, is one of those fields where I can appreciate the beauty and excellence of someone else's art, but have no ability myself.  A couple years ago, I met someone named Jillian Speece who has that same drive and passion but within the art of music.  I met her at Flourish, when she was in searching for a dress to wear to a concert.  I could tell right away that I would love her work, as I listened to her singing along to the music on the speaker system in the store.  Not too long after that first time we met, she dropped by the store and gave us a copy of her CD.  She and her sweetheart Nate call themselves the Bergamot, and they specialize in what they call organic pop.  Their music is catchy, soulful and utterly beautiful.  They cover songs you would all know and love including music by Dave Matthews, Adelle, Tom Petty, and many more.  But they also are incredible song writers and performers.  They have catchy music that stays in my head for days and whenever I see them in concert, I am blown away at their excellence: playing multiple instruments at once, dancing and singing for hours, the range of their vocals, and much more!

Jillian wearing the original Flourish dress from when we met!

Long story short, I played their CD in the store every day for months...to the point that my regular customers started asking if we always played the same music:)  And, we were blessed to have the Bergamot even do a concert for Flourish's 3rd birthday celebration event. 

Since I first met Jillian, I have watched her and Nate thrive and evolve in their journey.  Some of their recent successes include a national tour, being offered an opportunity to open for Gavin DeGraw, having more than 6,000 hits for their new song Wishing Well on utube, and much more!  It's been really exciting to watch these talented young people pursue their vision, and somehow it gives me strength and inspiration to keep reaching high for my own vision and goals for Flourish!

Jillian and Nate (and yes Jillian's dress is another Flourish piece:))

Why I am telling you all about this?  Tonight, I just got home from seeing them perform live...and I enjoyed it so much I just had to tell someone about them.  If ever there was music beautiful to listen to it's theirs  (my favorite song by them is called Haven) and if ever I have witnessed someone reaching and working towards a goal, it's Jillian and Nate.  I have no doubt they will go far and most likely someday be a household name...probably someday soon actually.  What a blessing it is to have gotten to know them and watch their journey towards success!  Go Jillian and Nate!  We ♥ You!

Love this picture!   (Thanks Jillian for wearing Flourish...you always look fantastic in it and I love seeing our clothes styled with your artsy, hip musician edge!)

Curves Ahead!

People love to tell me what they would like to see at Flourish, and I love to hear it!  Because, ultimately Flourish is meant to bless and serve the women of our community and everywhere now that we have a website!  So, over the years as women have asked me for plus sized selections and larger sizes, I have been listening!  I would have loved to add it even sooner, but launching a whole new section in your store takes time and research as well as buying dollars.  But, at my last buying show I felt everything align: I discovered that several of our favorite lines at Flourish were launching plus sized collections and several of our denim companies are now offering extended sizes in their styles as well.  So, I signed us up to start getting some amazing looks in from these designers!

Our first selections have been arriving, and we now have a dedicated section in store and these styles will be hitting the website within the week!  Here's a sneak peek shot at a rack in store...

The lines that we carry which now will be offering plus sized selections include Blue Pepper (who calls their plus line Perch), Freeway (who calls their plus line Miss Curvista), NYDJ, Kut from the Cloth Denim, and several other designers too!

So, while we are starting small to test out the market, we are excited to offer these adorable fashions in sizes Xl-3X.  We hope our curvy customers will love it!  We ♥ all our customers and want everyone to be able to find fabulous fashion at Flourish!

Click here to shop plus sizes on our website: http://flourishboutique.com/plus-size.html

*Note most new styles will be going up within the week, so check back for more selection!

Rise and Shine!

Being a night owl runs in my family...my mom is and her mom, my Grandma Russel was too.  So it made sense that over time I became quite the late night person.  For the first four years of running Flourish, I often stayed up until 1, 2, even 3 in the morning working after my husband and son had long since gone to bed.  I would do buying online, edit photos for our website, create ads and marketing pieces in photoshop and much more...all from about 11 pm to 3am.  I would even have ventured to tell you I was at my peak productivity starting at 11!  And because our store does not open until 10am (and I usually don't "open" anymore either), I felt like it was a win win situation...why fight the night owl gene if I don't have to be at work as early as most people? 

Well, this past fall I went with my hubby to Phoenix, AZ on a retreat for a group he is involved in called Christians in Commerce.  Honestly, I did not have a good time on the retreat: and it was no real fault of the organization's at all...I just felt stressed being away from the store the last weekend in October, as that's a really critical time of year to get all your ducks in a row for the holidays (there's so much to do right around then including temp hiring, schedule making, displays and merchandising, holiday decorating, final touches on promotional and advertising campaigns, and much more).  Not to mention that, while we are overall really blessed with an amazing staff...seriously amazing, one of our newer employees was really hitting heads with our manager while I was gone and I felt the weight of that too.  Anyway, long story short: while we were at this retreat I didn't think I was really in touch with my faith or hearing anything in particular from the Lord.  However, while I was there God planted a seed in my heart about the benefits of rising early and living on a schedule, through a sharing another woman gave that weekend.  I didn't really have the ears to hear it at that time, yet I absorbed the information in and stored it away for another day so to speak.

Well, I kept right on going with my late nights through this past holiday retail season of 2011.  And we had a fantastic season!  We gained almost as many new customers in the month of December as we did the whole first year we were in business.  And we more than doubled what we had done in sales the previous December!  It was by all accounts a great success, and our entire Flourish team is to thank! After Christmas, my family left for Florida for a vacation and to recover from the retail holiday craziness.  Because I don't get to do as much of the normal holiday festivities that most women and families do, I look forward to spending time with my family and making memories on our annual vacation right after Christmas... This year we decided to drive to Florida to save money.  I have never driven that far (24 hours!) and so I loaded up on books and fashion magazines to keep me occupied for the long trip.  One of the books I took with me is the Autobiography of Mary Kay Ash, of Mary Kay cosmetics.  This book was lent to me by our web director for http://www.flourishboutique.com/, who is a fabulous Mary Kay consultant.  Even though I am not involved with Mary Kay, she said she thought I should read the book because I have similar business aspirations and run a very woman oriented company. Well, that's the book I started with and I am glad I did.  I had expected to read a very business focused book, and there definitely was content about her goals and standards as well as her company's history. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover how personal the book was and how much she wrote about her faith and convictions too. Low and behold, one of the things she talked at length about was her decision to get up very early every day, plan out her day, and follow a schedule.  She shared how valuable this became for her as her business grew and evolved. Again, I heard this information and took it in...but made no personal decision to try the same.

While in Florida, I found myself awake late one evening (surprise, lol) and decided to read my bible.  I often read the Psalms but this time flipped past and read some in Proverbs.  I came across this passage that I don't really ever remember reading before:

Proverbs 31:10 [ Hymn to a Good Wife ] A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds....She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day...First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.... She makes her own clothing, and dresses in colorful linens and silks. Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers. She designs gowns and sells them, brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops. Her clothes are well-made and elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a smile. When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly.

Now honestly I eliminated some words here and there in the above about homemaking, as I am not a stay at home mom...but the words I included above jumped off the page at me...I KNOW, 100% know, that owning Flourish is my calling and that it is what I am designed to do.  But never before have I read something that felt so confirming in my calling from the Lord.  I mean right in a passage entitled a hymn to a good wife, God speaks out, talking about the value of a woman's work and her work ethic, and specifically her dressing well herself and designing and selling clothes!  And he also, talks in this passage about speaking with kindness, which I have always felt called to do as well.  But, after realizing the beauty and significance this passage held for me, I couldn't ignore the first part of the description: up before dawn and plans her day: WHAM!  Like a direct blow to the heart, I finally heard the Lord's voice and instructions.  He wanted me to start getting up early and planning my day ahead.  If I didn't hear it in October, and I didn't hear it when reading Mary Kay's personal advice, I did hear it now!  Instantly I started arguing a bit: "But why Lord?"  "I work harder than almost anyone I know...I already work 70+ hours per week.  I'm not sleeping in to be lazy so why does it matter when I work vs. sleep if the hours are in the right balance still?" 

Ultimately I did not get an exact answer on that but in the stillness I knew that I was being called to follow the wisdom of this reoccurring theme and I knew what I had to do.  So, after getting home from vacation I decided to sit down and plan a day in general: what did I want to get accomplished each day?  Here is my list:

1. Get up early
2. Eat a healthy breakfast at home (previously been hitting MCD drive thru!)
3. Have a prayer time
4. Work Out
5. Have plenty of time to get ready and look fashionable for my day (previously always rushed and stressed)
6. Head into work and arrive ahead of my staff
7. Plan my day
8. Rework store displays on a daily basis to keep things fresh and merchandised (used to do this late at night and not on a daily basis)
9. Read and respond to emails
10. Follow up on custom orders and re-orders (was not very organized about doing this in the past)
11. time to meet with vendors, managers, or any other meeting needed
12. Lunch
13. Another meeting slot
14. Time for facebook posting, website work, blogging, etc
15. Time to work on advertising and graphics
16. Time each day for long term goals, strategic business planning, and big picture marketing ideas
17. Be there to pick up my son each day and take him for an after school snack and hear about his day
18. Head home, do some household chores
19. Make dinner at home (previously rare)
20. Eat family dinner at home most nights
21. Homework time with my son
22. Bath time and getting ready for bed time with my son
23. An hour to spend with my husband each night
24. Some nights a little time to do an important night assignment for Flourish
25. Lights out by 10:30-11.

So with all that in mind, I went through the list and wrote in the times that were set like what time I have to pick my son up at, and I went through and listed how much time each activity took.  Then I backed into what time I would have to get up.  The answer came back at 6am.  Now, I have NEVER gotten up that early, ever!  The earliest I ever used to get up at was 6:30 am during Jr. High and High school.  So 6 am took my breath away.  For you early risers, you might be laughing.  But if you are a night owl like I was, you will understand how rough this seemed to me.  It was going to dramatically change my life. But, when you feel like God directly tells you, no orders you, to do something, you know you need to do it!  So, I resolved to try it.

Well, I am only in my second week, but I am off to a good start.  And, I am happy to report that there is benefit to it.  My days at work seem so much more calm and I feel so empowered at the store: I feel like I have plenty of time to accomplish all I need to!  And there's a business upside to it too!  Being here at 8:30 each morning, an hour and a half before we open, I often field phone calls from people wanting to order things.  Before these phone calls were going mostly unnoticed!  I also feel peaceful each morning as I get ready and feel more pulled together.  But obviously the biggest thing is that I am routinely able to sit down and talk to God.  With time for prayer each morning, I am talking to him more and investing in my walk with him...so if He helped me learn the value of rising early, I can only imagine what else he has in store for me that I will now be able to discover more readily.  So....I may be a newbie at it, but I am excited to say I am trying to rise and shine, willing to discover what each day holds!  It's exciting:)

Getting Started: Why Blog at All?

There was a day and time, where I thought blogs were kind of crazy....something to do for those who had too much time on their hands you might say.  Or I thought they were good platforms for a business to market themselves and get their ideas out there on the web.  But, after following the blogs of some incredible people I admire (namely the blog of my church's pastor and the blog of a friend who struggled with the loss of a child and a journey through infirtility) I realized that blogs can in fact, be a great way to reach other people.  Perhaps your musings find the way into the life of someone just like yourself: who finds comradery and companionship in your similar journeys and thoughts.  Or, just maybe your blog and thoughts will be just what someone else needs to hear for encouragement.  Regardless, the point is that a blog is a way to stay connected or become connected with others, and I believe God intends us to be interconnected and share life with one another....so I figured, why not use the opportunity a blog provides to do just that?

The next question is what could I have to say?  Or what does my story have to offer others?  A few years ago, to be honest, probably not very much.  But through a series of events and through God's mercy I believe that my life journey has evolved such that I would love to tell it to others...and hope that God uses it for good.  And the reality is, I'm just in the first chapter of this journey...so unlike a coordinated novel, we'll be watching this story unfold together for better and for worse. It might be messy, as life tends to be sometimes, but I am so looking forward to telling you about how God is working through my life and in my business, Flourish, too!

Some of what I plan on sharing includes:  personal insights, funnny stories about family and life, business ideas and tips, fashion tips and ideas, personal trials, inspirational things, images I find beautiful and much much more....basically whatever I am thinking about, wondering about, working on, finding out, learning from God, and so on!  This will be the inside track on owning a boutique (that's my job which I love so much!), being a working mom, and a woman of faith!  Feel free to comment and share your thoughts etc!