enJOY it

weekend links / 69.

June 20, 2015

hooray! Kal is coming to San Diego! Join us for a pop-up custom script shop!

we love this book and it's super appropriate today on Ellerie's birthday.

I was so interested to hear about Fund, a new crowd-sourcing program from Etsy, from Elyse of Prim Society.

hoping to work some magic with this in the new kiddo room.

our gender announcement won't be quite this epic, but I'm still so excited!

Hillvetica.

staycations are for everyone. (makes me want to get out my big camera and wander downtown.)

Paul's shifts have been nutty this month and I relate to this parenthood post on all the levels.

the power of setting a 10 year vision.

this tee made me laugh.

cool crayons!

& wow! knits!
june : currently.

June 18, 2015

celebrating the halfway mark of pregnancy! 20 weeks yesterday and feeling good. We were able to go in for our anatomy ultrasound yesterday and get a peek at this little one. Two arms, two legs, two hands, two feet, face, spine, belly, brain, heart…it's all there and it's all normal. What a joy to see.

waiting until the end of the month to find out the gender with our families and friends. This is 99% for sure our last kiddo and we wanted to do something a little more fun then just text everyone the news. We don't have the patience to wait until the delivery room, but we can stretch it an extra 10 days.

eating all the fruit. It's not uncommon that I think to myself "hmmmm, this is my third peach of the day" (and it's 1pm).

starting to think about turning Ellerie's room into a two-kid room. I'm so excited that these babies will share a bedroom and I have so many ideas for how to fancy things up and make them new and fun for Ellerie.

growing so many tomatoes in our backyard garden. I planted nine tomato plants originally and just added three more when my cucumbers and zucchini plants died. Next year, I'm going to JUST plant tomatoes. Twenty sounds about right.

reading The History of Love and enjoying it.

getting very close to a GET TO WORK BOOK sell out. (That is something I didn't think I would ever say when it was the middle of May.) Less than 15% of stock left and it's moving quickly. (Insert all the happy emojis here.)

speaking of emojis … the taco is coming!

working on crossing more things off my list than I add to it. The never-ending (but always rewarding) battle continues.

fighting a cold (all three of us are!) and working on getting a lot of sleep.

remembering where I was this time two years ago…anxiously waiting the arrival of Ellerie. Life feels totally different and exactly the same and for both, I am so grateful.
for the love of june.

June 17, 2015

Kobi Yamata's What Do You Do with an Idea? book, Sarah Rhodes digital art prints, oh happy day giant confetti balloon, made by love flamingos are my friends tee, magical thinking GOOD VIBES pillow, odd daughter "ford the river" card, Leah Duncan triangle fabric, kid + kind hold me onesie.

Just a random collection of FUN + colorful stuff this month. I've been working hard, but there is a light at the end of this tunnel (and let's get real – I love the tunnel) so it's all good. We're halfway through JUNE!
rainbow thank you cards (& a free download!).

June 16, 2015

Last weekend, Ellerie spotted her watercolor paints up in her closet and wanted to paint. I got everything set up, strapped her into her highchair and prepared myself for the five minutes of "coloring" before she was splashing in the water and declaring herself "all done!"

And after my usual activity of writing out potential baby names for #2 (the boy name is set! the girl name TBD!), I wrote "thank you." And loved the look enough to repeat it in rainbow colors.

Sidenote : this brush set from Ikea is so great. I use that pointy one for handwriting with watercolor and am always so pleased.

I realized quickly that this will be perfect graphic in case we do get gifts at Ellerie's big rainbow bash at the end of the month. I took a photo of the words with my iPhone and worked a bit of magic in PSE (basically just boosting the color and completely white-ing out the background) and printed them on textured cardstock. They turned out so cute I figured I'd offer them up here as a free download. Consider this a MAKE&GIVE30 project.

Download RAINBOW THANK YOU CARD << Click this link to download a .jpg file and a ready for printing .PDF file of the rainbow thank you cards. For personal use only please.

The cards are designed to fit two to one 8.5×11 page and once folded are 5.5×4.25. They fit into A2 envelopes like these.

And THANK YOU. It's been a crazy few months around here and I think it's only going to get more insane. I appreciate you reading what I write in this space and being supportive of my various projects.
how I’m using Instagram these days.

June 15, 2015
Last June I wrote a post about how I use Instagram to promote my online business (blog, shop and podcast). Since then, A LOT has changed except for the fact that IG is still my very favorite social media platform (and the only one I use with any real consistency).

So, I figured an update post was in order! But before we start, please know that YES! I do realize this is JUST social media. It's not life or death and how serious you want to take it is totally your call. I'd say I take it about 80% serious because it's a big part of how I keep sales coming in and my business alive.

Here's what's new :

I currently operate THREE Instagram accounts. There's my personal one @elisejoy. Then there is a private one that is 100% just for close friends and family where I overgram Ellerie photos. Then there is an account dedicated to @gettoworkbook. I handle all three of these accounts very differently.

@elisejoy is about sharing bits of my work and home life. BITS being the key word. I am selective and critical about what "makes" this feed and have tightened that window over the past year. I work to share photos that are creative, informative, colorful & (for the most part) upbeat. This does not mean that my life is always all four of those categories. This does mean that those are the sort of photos I want to share. I still use this account to promote my blog, podcast and business BUT I also use it to document my family and our adventures. It's much more fun than work for me to share on Instagram and I really enjoy it.

the Ellerie feed is about sharing funny photos of Ellerie with our family. It's way easier to just post 8-10 photos a week there instead of texting them out. I don't edit, crop or care about what these photos look like, I just am sharing the nutty antics. I made this account private because I don't need to share this stuff with the Internet (even if the Internet was interested). I'm very happy with the level of sharing that I currently do on public accounts, but this private account gives me an opportunity to stay in better contact with those that actually know and love us. When the new baby comes, I will most likely just change the account name and share both kiddos there.

@gettoworkbook is about 100% promotion. Yep. This account is my number one tool for selling the GET TO WORK BOOK™ and all future products (!!!!) that will fall under this brand. I LOVE IT. I love that I split it off from @elisejoy. I use this account to share product photos, shipping updates, (hopefully) inspiring goal-setting tidbits and customer photos. Because this account is not personal, I think it makes sense to share photos of others using the book. I search the #gettoworkbook hashtag often to find photos and then share them on the feed, usually calling out something about the photo that I like and of course, crediting the original poster. It's a win, win, win. I get fresh content, the photo-taker gets some eyeballs and followers can see (and will be able to see more as July starts) how others are using the book.

TIP IF YOU USE IG FOR BUSINESS PROMOTION : most likely if you're trying to sell something online and you're using IG, you're expecting mobile purchases. I wish I had the data, but I think at least half of my GTWB orders come in through a phone or tablet while people are browsing IG or my blog. I set my website to be mobile friendly(ish) and I use paypal to collect payment. THIS IS KEY. As a consumer, I am much more likely to make a purchase on my phone when I can just pay with paypal in two clicks. It's VERY UNLIKELY that I am going to type my credit card number and address into my tiny phone screen. Yes, I might go sit at my computer and do it, but if you don't except paypal (or other mobile friendly transaction app) you might be missing out on sales.

I process all my photos using the VSCO app. I used to be 100% #nofilter. And then I got tired of seeing "everyone's" photos really "popping" in my feed and mine sort of sitting there, dully. So for the past year, I have been using the VSCO color boost filters (C1, C2, C3) most often. For black and white I use B1. All of these are probably very over-used filters on IG and they might be ones that you hate (or you might hate ALL filters!), but for my vibe and my photos, I tend to be pleased with the results. In the photo above, you see the original on the top left, then the exposure lightened a bit and then C1 for the finished image.

Occasionally I'll retouch a photo with the Snapseed app. I am so overwhelmed by this app, but I have found that the spot repair button to be a lifesaver. There's a wall in my office that gets good light and I'll tape stuff to it occasionally, but it has a leftover nailhole. I like to just "spot repair" that hole away and boom! Clean, non-distracting background.

I think about the feed as a whole. I used to just throw up a photo, without thinking about how it would look on my profile feed. BUT NOW, like a crazy person, I think about the last few photos (like actually go and look at them) and see how the colors of the next photo will fit in. I don't want two blue sky photos right next to each other or two black and white photos one on top of each other. This is completely ridiculous and over the top, but I started caring and now I can't seem to stop. I also never, ever (I don't care if it's the greatest photo in the world) share anything that isn't cropped in a square. Having a feed that's not perfectly gridded out makes me anxious. Can't do it.

Here's what's not new:

I still take the same 8 photos. If you've been here awhile, you know I have some photo composition "go-tos" and I never vary from them. Boring? Yes. Easy? Yes. Cliche? Probably. Branded? Absolutely. I've outlined most of the photos before but in sum: product held in hand, object on a wooden table, looking down at my feet, cropped up so you can see lots of sky, shot straight from above, camera resting on the ground or table, stuff coming out of the frame as if it was "causally" strewn about.

I still use Instagram as my #1 way to promote my podcast. But I changed how I do it and I love the new format. I used to just write the guest and show title on a paper and hold it in some arty way. Now I pull a quote from the episode and write that out in sharpie and take a photo of it. It's a MUCH more shareable and exciting method because it gets people to say "great point!" or "I needed this today!" and sometimes they tag their friends who might benefit from this tidbit and that helps me get the podcast more listeners.

What do you think? Totally insane?! YES! Still super fun though. 😉

ps, you might also be interested in:
weekend links / 68.

June 13, 2015

some of my faves this week…

"Writing forces you to organize and clarify your thoughts." – yessssss.

loved these Instagram account suggestions, especially this one.

tips for dealing with email.

this is inspiring my pallet garden dreams.

Paris looks for alternatives to the "love lock on a bridge" tradition.

and also, folks mourn the replacement of the PDX carpet.

there will be a second (and third!) season of the Serial podcast!

cute dress.

how Jessica Alba built a billion dollar company.

next month I plan to start working on the kiddos' room! I want to fill it with these.
super easy organizational tool.

June 12, 2015

I shared a peek at my new(ish) office whiteboard in a photo on Instagram this week and wanted to provide some details here. I’ve been wanting a big board for my office since we’ve been writing on Ellerie’s easel. There’s something special about whiteboards! They take pen so easily! They erase so cleanly! I was hooked.

I didn’t want a normal framed one because I wanted it to look a little more built into the room. This piece was picked up at Lowe’s in the lumber section and called “marker board” (I think it was around $15). My dad installed it (with a screw in each corner) when he was down here at the end of May.

Once it was up, I immediately brain-dumped everything in my head on to the board. Of course, I still use a paper planner (and in July will start my GTWB) for daily to-dos and to break things down. (Example: I need to record the podcast episodes this month, but in my planner there are notes on specific days to send reminder emails, record the episodes and publish/promote the episodes.) (Also! Yes, I am going to share a video walk-through of all the ways I’m using GTWB once we are into July and I have real stuff to share.)

If and when I get an out-of-house office/warehouse/workshop space I think I’ll cover a whole wall with marker board.

see my full home office here.
I want to remember : mornings 2015.

June 11, 2015

In May 2013, while Paul was deployed and before Ellerie was born, I wrote a post just like this one. Today in partnership with Olly Vitamins, I am sharing again all the things (some exactly the same and some so very different) that I hope I remember about my current mornings decades from now.

I want to remember six out of seven days a week waking up to Ellerie calling out "hiiii" on repeat from her crib. It's a sort of new thing and sure beats crying. It's how I know she's really ready to get up. My toddler alarm clock goes off (usually) between 5:50 and 6:15 AM and we're off and running. Both of us, generally, in a good mood.

I want to remember eggs for breakfast. I have eaten everything when it comes to breakfast and right now, scrambled eggs with salt & pepper, cheddar cheese and a bit of sour cream is what's keeping me full in the mornings. I scramble up three in a pan and give Ellerie a 1/3 of the portion. She eats them with fruit or leftover pancakes. I eat mine with a wheat tortilla.

I want to remember drinking a big glass of water and taking my vitamins first thing after eating. I've noticed if I don't drink that first glass of water, it's 2pm before I remember to hydrate. Right now I'm taking two Prenatal gummies, 1 Vitamin-C gummy and swallowing an Omega-3 fish oil capsule – all from Olly. It's a sweet and well-rounded mix I've been using for a little over a month. I'm feeling energetic (yay!) and my hair, skin and nails feel strong and healthy. I'm a fan of the natural flavor of the gummies and really love the fact that that omega-3 gives no fishy aftertaste.

I want to remember black coffee. I've been drinking my coffee black since just before Ellerie arrived. Some mornings, Paul makes it before he heads to work. Some mornings, when he's sleeping in after a late shift or still at the hospital from an overnight, I make it. We've got it down to a science, complete with measuring scale. It's worth it though. Coffee at our house is almost always better than coffee at a coffee shop (although we still make the trek to one of our favorite places at least one weekend morning).

I want to remember reading a book on the couch while I wake up a bit more and Ellerie watches Daniel Tiger and eats her breakfast, sometimes with a side of chocolate and regular whole milk mix. It's amazing what she's picked up from that show and we both sing the little jingles all. day. long.

I want to remember heading out to check on the garden. Ellerie in her yellow rainboots and me in my robe. I point out the red or yellow (sungold) tomatoes and Ellerie hops into the garden bed to pick them. Sometimes she gets a little over-zealous and we end up with stems and green tomatoes. But they all ripen eventually.

I want to remember not checking my email for hours each morning. It's a habit I never thought I would want or need but it's been a game changer setting in my daily pace and helps keep stress up about my upcoming work (or mama) day at bay. Boundaries (finding them, building them, learning them and expanding them) has been the goal since 2013 when Ellerie was born. I get better. I stumble. I work harder. I play harder. It's a process. But not checking email until I've had my coffee and have time to sit down at my computer is a habit I hope to keep.

I want to remember my white robe that has turned a decent shade of "coffee-stain" after two years of daily use.

I want to remember that right now, in this season, things feel easy. On the whole, my mornings are peaceful and simple. I do remember that I felt the same way in May 2013 and then I remember that it seemed to take a very long time for any part of life to feel easy, peaceful or simple in the weeks and months after I became a mama. I want to remember that life is going to change so much in the next year but that sooner or later we will be back here again. I'll find my footing again. Overtime, I'll build the routine and rhythm that works for us again.

I want to remember that life is a work in progress. Every morning we get to try again.

+

As mentioned this post is in collaboration with Olly Vitamins, a brand I use daily, enjoy and plan to continue supporting. Olly is currently running an online sweepstakes and the grand prize is a Day Spa package for a lucky winner & a friend, a 6 months supply of Olly Vitamins, and a personal wellness consultation with Olly's resident nutritionist. 100 runner ups will receive an Olly product of their choosing. You can enter here.
when do you read?!

June 10, 2015

For the past few years, I have been sharing book reports on the blog. They are one of my favorite things to write, mostly because I get such great book suggestions in the comments. But one question that always comes up is… "when do you have time to read?"

And I get it. I have a toddler and I work from home. But I also have hobbies that are tremendously important to me! And reading is my absolute favorite hobby. I'd pick (and do pick) books over television, movies and human interaction. (Though, thankfully, not always.)

But that answer isn't enough. So here's a bit more detail…

I try to only read books that I really enjoy. Life is too short to waste time on a book you're not connecting with. I have found that going to the library REALLY helps me stick to this rule. I often check out 5-10 books at a time. That way, if I'm not loving something a few chapters in, I can move on to the next book. It doesn't cost me anything and so I don't feel like I "wasted" money on a book that isn't interesting. When you love a book, you don't want to put it down.

I stopped reading books on my iPad. For a few years, I was using the kindle app almost exclusively. But I found that it was WAY too easy for me to "just click over to IG really quick" and suddenly I was down the rabbit hole of competitive cheerleading rivalries. Switching to real books (another reason to thank the library) has helped me be less distracted and therefore get more reading done.

I would rather Ellerie see me reading than scrolling my phone. Don't get me wrong, I still scroll my phone PLENTY. But I'm trying to make an effort to read a book while Ellerie does something else (draws on her whiteboard, drives her car around, reads her own books, watches Daniel Tiger with breakfast, etc) to set a "good" example and because she's way less interested in Mama's books than she is in Mama's glossy screens. I'm not saying I get a lot of reading done while she's in the room, but a few pages is a few pages.

So with those rules in mind, here's an exact breakdown of when I read (Outlander) last week. (That sheet of paper was from a notepad from Happy Mail.) It was sort of an abnormal week – Paul was working the evening ER shift (2-10pm) so I had more "me time" after I got Ellerie to sleep. Ellerie and I also flew up to Sacramento on Friday morning so that was a little different. But with our work schedules, no weeks are "normal" so this is as good as it gets.

You can see, for the most part I read on the couch after Ellerie is asleep and then right before bed. Even when I'm tired, even after getting home from a wedding at midnight, I read for a bit. It's how I help settle my mind. It's how I calm things down. I never realized just how important those 10-30 minutes were to me until we were in Hawaii. Ellerie refused to sleep in her pack-n-play which meant we were co-sleeping and going to bed at the same time as her. I didn't get my time to read and by Friday night bedtime I felt like I had lost my mind. I NEEDED that time. Paul saw my crazy eyes and took over while I went out on the couch and got 30 minutes in with my book. It was like my world had reset. Good thing (for me) to keep in mind.

Overall, though, reading is like any habit. It gets easier over time to pick a book instead of Instagram. Or to pick a book instead of television. Or to carry a book with you in case of delays or unexpected waiting. It's just habit. That's it. But you have to work at it.

Happy reading!
what to do when you have no ideas.

June 9, 2015

Last week I shared a suggestion for what to do when your brain is over-flowing with ideas. Today I want to talk about the opposite problem…

No ideas.

I wish this one had a simple solution. But it's a harder one to fix because you can't just narrow it down or force something to work. This one takes effort, but also timing and luck.

I actually suffer from this much more often than "too many ideas." Sometimes it's obvious; I want something new to work on but I can't for the life of me figure out what that will be. Or I see "everyone" and they appear to have "found their calling" and I think, "Dude. I want that." Over the past few years I have had lightbulb moments, but I have also had periods of drought.

Here are a few things that I have learned about living and working when the proverbial idea well feels dry.

Don't stop doing what you're doing. This is key. It's easy to think "oh, if I just had more time, I'd be able to come up with something." Or "if only I cleared my plate of everything else it would be easier to see the best new path." This is false. It feels like it will work because we can trick ourselves into thinking that "more time" is the solution but it's not. Ideas come when you're working on other things. They come when you're driving your kid to daycare. Or when you're getting your first five minute shower in two days. They come when you're frantically trying to solve another, totally un-related work problem. Keep working on what's ahead of you. Don't stop yet.

Don't go trying to read inspiring stories of what other people have done. I think this is another common misconception. "I know! I'll read about Jane and how she built X out of six wooden palettes and $45." NO. That's not helpful. Reading Jane's story might give you a quick hit of "Yes! Go! Get it!" but then, when your new direction doesn't immediately become clear you'll feel bummed out again and go looking for that next inspiring story hit. It's a trap! I'd recommend instead trying to find stories that INTEREST you (not inspire you). Fiction, science research, 99% Invisible Podcasts. Whatever. Fill up your brain with fun and facts and interesting tidbits that entertain you and make you think. What we're trying to do is THINK, not get inspired.

Please note: I'm not saying "try to avoid being inspired." I'm saying "when you're feeling down about not having ideas, reading about other people's great ideas will not make you feel better nor will it help you come up with your best idea."

Do share your passion often. What do you love? What makes your eyes light up and your brain go BOOM and your heart explode? Work on that. Share that. Share it as widely and freely as you can. My passion (as lame and nerdy as it sounds) is setting goals. I LOVE TO SET GOALS. I love more to reach them, but the entire process makes me giddy. I spent nine years blogging about my own goals without any plan at all to make money from this concept. Then I thought…"hmmmm, I'll write a goal setting book." And then I thought "but I don't really think people need to be talked to about goals. I think people need to just set the damn goals." And ta-da! The seed of an idea for GET TO WORK BOOK was born. The entire lightbulb moment took just a minute or two in the garage one Saturday with my dad. But getting to that moment? It took nearly a decade.

Do talk about your ideas. Tell people your ideas. Even your dumb ones. Talk about all of them. Another misconception (or at least something I hear about often) is that people think that other people are going to "steal" their ideas. Which for sure happens. People are always going to be working on similar things. Sometimes they are even going to "take" an idea from someone else. But I think this is rare. A good idea is hard to steal because it's so much a part of YOU. It's your voice and your passion and while the concept can be replicated, the heart behind it can't. You can't fake heart. You can fake almost everything else, but not that.

So talk it out. Talk it all out. You'll quickly realize just by trying to put something into words what's garbage and what's the beginning of something. You'll gain supporters for the Real Stuff and you'll get a decent sounding board for the bad stuff. It can only help to talk things through.

Personal example: For the past six months, I've been telling almost anyone I've chatted with for longer than 20 minutes that I want to create a goal-setting app that's community based. I haven't flushed it out, but I can sort of see it and love what I think I can do with it. I don't have the capital or time right now to make it real so I am no where near starting the process. Guaranteed someone else is already working on it and it's going to be amazing (at least I hope so; then I can just use it, not run it). Meanwhile I'm just talking about it. But every conversation I have gets me a bit closer to realizing this idea. So I keep talking (and thinking)…

…and working on everything else.

semi-related : my WDS speech from last summer about making a bold statement.