I'm excited to announce that I'm once again participating in the coLAB project! This round Dawn Smith of Not Just a Mommy and I will be taking our shared love of entertaining and bringing a party sure to please all ages to you. You'll have to wait just a little longer for the details, but the photos in today's post give a few hints.
Before Dawn shares more details about our collaboration on her site, Not Just a Mommy, I wanted to take a moment to introduce her to you.
Dawn and I met online over two years ago and have since regularly interacted with one another on Twitter during #AltChat--an hour long Twitter chat hosted by Altitude Summit for creatives, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and social media influencers. Topics range from the basics of online publishing to the nuts and bolts of running a business, including apps to save you time and prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.
She caught my eye for a darling gift she gave attendees of Alt for Everyone, an online conference Alt Summit used to host. Her gift? Little piggy gift tags. I knew--I just knew--that someday we'd have to work together.
We finally got a chance to meet in person this past summer at Alt Summer 2015. Finally having gotten over the whole asking people to have their picture taken with me, I had Nicole Balch of Making It Lovely, snap a photo of us. We had little time to chat this summer, as Dawn, along with another of my blogging friends Melissa Bahen of Lulu the Baker, made this amazing balloon arch for the closing picnic.
As many of us do at creative conferences, we parted saying we should find a project to work on together. As the end of the year approached, little did I know we were going to make good on that promise! To kick off our project, I asked Dawn to share a little about her life in this Good Life Snapshot.
1. How do you define The Good Life?
I see The Good Life as being able to be your very best self; living your life and pursuing your passions. You may not be able to follow them full time, but you are making time for them.
2. Do you think it's possible to pursue The Good Life? Why or why not?
I think it is, but you have to prioritize. Does pursuing your passion mean quitting your day job and winging it without a plan? Then no. But if you can work towards it, set things up and eventually get there, absolutely! Event styling isn't my only gig and until it becomes full time, my life is a bit of a hustle and that works for me.
3. Do you think you have The Good Life? If yes, when did you learn this?
I don't think I'm completely there, yet...I'm working towards it and setting things up :) I know, I should probably say 'yes, my life is good and full as a wife and mother'. I don't like to measure my happiness just on those things... I have my own personal goals that I want for myself.
4. How has blogging helped you recognize The Good Life?
I started blogging when my boys were little and I needed an outlet that didn't involve the incessant mommy chatter about bowel movements and disappearing naptimes, and like I mentioned before, having a life outside of the title 'wife' and 'mother.' That's why I named my blog Not Just A Mommy. I've always loved entertaining and blogging about parties and crafts, during those magical days before party blogs and Pinterest took over the Internet, was a natural fit. It has helped me hone my skills as an event stylist and vice versa; being a event stylist has made me a better blogger.
5. Do you have any tips you'd like to share with others?
If there is something you are interested in doing, do your homework, take your time and set everything up first. There may be resources that have already laid the groundwork and you can learn from their 'mistakes'. For example, there are thousands of websites devoted to teaching you how to start a blog. When I started my blog (especially a party blog), these websites were non-existent; everything I've done has been so trial and error.
Credits: All layouts designed by and images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.
DISCLOSURE: Since March 2014 I have been consulting part time with Alt Summit. All opinions presented are my own.