Living

As a visual person, nothing puts things  into perspective for me more than having a vision and seeing it come to fruition. The satisfaction expands far beyond my own accomplishments, it extends to joyfully watching goodness manifest itself in the lives of others. It’s all relevant to me, celebrities or common folk I love a good come up story.

The Chip and Joanna Gaines story has been so incredibly inspiring to me over the past few years. Literally, their fan base witnessed them level up from a simple husband and wife house flipping, “Fixer Upper”  duo, to  a worldwide brand in a little under  6 years.

During my visit to Magnolia Market which you can read about here, I remember looking at the silos and thinking how much bigger they were in real life compared to how they looked on television…like duh. I vividly recalled the episode when Joanna passionately shared with Chip her vision for the dilapidated building and silos. Chip was very real in his I don’t know about this response, and although he didn’t quite see her vision at the time he went with it. Their future was literally staring them in the face and they didn’t even know it. We all know the rest is history.

Whether you are a fan of farmhouse style, and shiplap or not there are takeaways from this family that cross over into business and life. After reading their book, I felt more inspired than I’d ever felt after reading any self help book. Something about the realness of trying to raise a family and purse your dreams and not having enough money struck a chord with me. These are a few takeaways I’ve gleaned from Chip and Joanna’s success with the Magnolia Brand

| FAMILY | Their family focus is spot on. I have a hierarchy and I’m unapologetic about sticking to it.

| STEP INTO YOUR PASSION | In the book Joanna went to school for broadcasting and when that didn’t work out the way she planned she worked in her dad’s tire shop. She didn’t delve into design until after she met Chip who was already flipping houses and owned property. She fell in love with design and immersed herself in it, learning all  she could. When it turned into a passion that didn’t always pay the bills she stayed with it. That’ll preach.

[bctt tweet=”What We Can All Learn From Chip, Joanna and the Magnolia Brand #MagnoliaMarket #FixerUpper #MagnoliaMarket #ChipandJoanna #WacoTX” username=”glossymimi”]

| TAKE RISKS | Before HGTV ever knocked on their door they had taken some pretty huge risks. Like bankrupt you risks. When the bottom fell out of the housing market they put their tail between their legs, robbed Peter to pay Paul and kept pushing. They knew better was out there.  Risks sure are scary but as the saying goes, ” No risk no reward.”

| DON’T GIVE UP | Sooooo cliche, but so true. There’s not much to expand on here. If you’ve got a feeling keep going. Don’t worry about the naysayers, put your head down and do the work.

| DON’T BE AFRAID TO WALK AWAY | I have heard a plethora of moanings about how could they just walk away from HGTV. While I’ll be sad to no longer see them on television I thought it was a good move. Bow out at the top of the game and move on. Sometimes we stay stuck because of complacency. I’m sure they could’ve continued to stretch themselves and ultimately their family would’ve taken the brunt of it, I think they made the best decision for their family.

I want to gift one of you a copy of The Magnolia Story. I loved the book and intend to read it again. I think you will enjoy it as well. I think it’s a great end of the year read that will inspire you to push into the new year with vigor and focus.

[bctt tweet=”Enter to win a copy of The Magnolia Story #TheMagnoliaStory #FixerUpper #Giveaway #JoannaGaines #ChipandJoanna #Magnolia” username=”glossymimi”]

Giveaway will run until November 24, 2017.

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It’s Saturday evening and after being out all day and not planning ahead for this whole blogging every day in November thing I have going on, today’s blog post is just a few of the random thoughts that have been running through my head the past few days.

| This dance mom life is the most.  I’m just getting started and I’m already tired. Every weekend from now until the middle of December there is a dance performance and/or practice sucking the life out of my Saturdays and Sundays. We breathe for two weeks and right when the new year starts we jump into competition season. Anything for the kids they said.

| I’m contemplating some really tough decisions on whether to cut out a few things I love in the new year. I’m in that time of year when I overthink everything and everyone’s intentions. One discerning factor that remains constant is I need  GOOD VIBES around me. If they aren’t there some things will need to go for sure, but that still doesn’t make the decisions any easier to solidify.

| While I’m confident in myself and my abilities I often sit on my gifts, why I don’t know. These past few weeks I’ve been so thankful for girlfriends that have shown me a whole lot of hard love mixed with encouraging words. While I’m not quite ready to get up off my *ss on a few things I so love them for calling me out. Timing is everything. If you don’t have girlfriends that will gather you all the way together, email me, I’ll be that friend for you. We all need at least one.

I got this text from a friend early one morning and it has resonated with me for some reason, I guess because it came out of nowhere. This week send a friend a random email celebrating them. I’m adding this to my list of things to do, these little words of encouragement mean a lot.

| We’re doing a Friendsgiving this year. I need to get the menu together. From the very preliminary looks of it, we’ll have the traditional mixed in with crab legs, barbecue, and adult beverages. I can’t wait.

| I went over to my neighbor besties house and went in her closet and realized that I have no clothes. I literally did a purge and didn’t replace anything. I really need to go shopping.

| I ran up on one of those little free libraries today. I took a book, I’m going back during the week to put a few in. Those things are the best. As soon as I’m done with this post I’m going to start reading.

| I have a tattoo on my wrist. Trying to talk myself out of getting one on my other wrist. It’s not working.

| After asking my daughter to clean her room for the past week and her not doing it, today I had enough and packed up all her toys and will be taking them to the Goodwill in the morning. She was allowed to keep her American Girl doll and accessories, one other doll and that’s it. The thing is she didn’t seem phased at all. This just goes to show kids today have way too much.

| I really want to make time to craft and learn to sew but it always seems like I’m just trying to keep up with life and there isn’t room for these things. Truth is there is time for the things I want, and love to do. I just need to focus and quiet the noise. Stay tuned.

| I’ve been looking all over Craigslist, and thrift stores all across town for an executive desk to refinish like this one from Life on Virginia Street. How about my neighbor posted one in perfect condition for FREE in our neighborhood Facebook group and when I saw the listing someone had claimed it FIVE minutes before I saw the listing. I. Am. Still. Sick. About. It.

| While I love blogging, my love for video editing has me wanting to delve more into Youtube….like I have time to add ONE more thing to my plate. I went back and was looking at some of our old weekend vlogs and felt so thankful that I took the time to do them because they captured memories of my babies that I had forgotten. That being said I’m weekend vlogging again. Not sure if I will always announce it over here so be sure to follow on Youtube! Here’s the vlog from last weekend

Hope your weekend is going well

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I get questioned often about how to start a blog, and the inquiry seems to come on the heels of a discussion about how do bloggers and vloggers make money. The general consensus seems to be that people think people who make money on the internet simply sit at the computer, type a little of this, add a picture here or there and be done.

…..if only it were that simple. Trust me it is a tangled web of marketing, and SEO, and design, and photography, and editing and networking…..oh and writing/recording

Many of your favorite bloggers and vloggers incur a number of expenses including time away from their families to provide you with a little laughter, product recommendations, travel tips, fashion inspiration, etc. In the event you don’t know how online content producers get paid, it’s by pageviews which happen with that little click of your mouse.

Those clicks transfer into influence which brands like, which ultimately transfers into opportunities and dollars.

Running a website consists of hosting, domain and SEO fees. Cameras, lenses, and editing software. Those conferences we attend to learn about what consumers want from the internet? Travel fees.

As much as many of us love to blog and have extended our hobbies into a living or side hustle, it is just that. We are attempting to make an unconventional living doing something we love while needing to feed our families, save money, or get out of debt. It is our job.

Supporting your favorite online website or influencer is pretty simple. Here are three tried and true ways to show a little internet love

| CLICK THE SHARE BUTTON: Ever come across that recipe or outfit or DIY project and you stopped to leave a comment about how you are going to try or buy that thing. Go a step further and click the share button. Viral videos and posts go viral because enough people shared it.

No, that recipe may not be of a 3 month old baby bouncing on beat to a popular song but that information touched your life somehow and may be of use to someone else. A simple share goes a long way in putting that website or blogger in front of other people.

| PURCHASE SOMETHING FROM AN AFFILIATE LINK: There is a particular Youtuber that I absolutely love and she provides basic tips and links the products that she uses on Amazon. I always buy the products I need to recreate what she is doing. While I may be able to find them fairly cheaper somewhere else, she took the time to make it convenient for me, a very busy woman. That’s worth an extra dollar or three out of my pocket and into hers.

| SIGN UP FOR THE EMAIL LIST & READ: Most of your favorite bloggers have no intention on spamming you. If you are interested in the content, a newsletter may go out once a week with all of the top posts combined. Click around and read, those page views help in the grand scheme of things.

| FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA: In this game, numbers count…a little more than they should, but they count. Follow on the channels you frequent and like a post here or there

| LEAVE COMMENTS: I need to do better at this one. Creating content can feel like you are in a room by yourself until you look at the numbers and see people are reading. I know we are all on our phones and leaving comments can be cumbersome but every now and then if something touches you leave a comment. Tell them how much you enjoyed that post, or how useful that hack was. I can’t speak to everybody who lives their lives online, but for me I absolutely love comments. It’s like I’m not having a one sided conversation with myself.

Don’t let the trolls win. Be nice and leave a comment every now and then.

There you have it, five simple ways to show a little internet love when you can. I speak on behalf of all online influencers when I tell you a little bit goes a long way.

So to follow my own advice those lovely ladies in the photo are a few of my blog friends that have turned into family. We all blog about a variety of things. Go explore their sites to see if they may have some information that is of use to you!

Lashawn, Aaronica, and MJ ( left to right)

See you tomorrow!

It is November. NO. VEM. BER.

How?

I’m sure the monotony and rigor of adulthood effortlessly blends hours into days and days into weeks and so on and so on. I never remember months and years moving as fast as they do now.

Nevertheless I’m staring another November in the face. Whether you have leisurely perused these e-pages for years or just got here yesterday this announcement has been the same since 2010. It’s National Blog Posting Month and I am committing to blogging everyday this month.

EVERY. DAY.

There have been times in the past 7 ish years that I haven’t successfully completed the challenge but I have succeeded more times than not.

Please sign up to get my posts to your inbox if you don’t already, and/or sign up for the newsletter that will start going out weekly….ish. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and you can find me on Snapchat under UnlikelyMartha.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss this epic display of foolery, life happenings, fashion, beauty, recipes, photography and videos I have planned for you. As a creative I often fall in a rut here and there and challenges like this force me to climb out of the box and shine creatively.  I’ll be so happy to have you and even happier if you decided to share the wealth and some of this good content to your social channels every now and again. Nothing makes a blogger beam more than a little share love.

I would also totally love to connect with you. Leave me some comments, here, there and everywhere. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow but I will get back to you.

So here’s to November. I’ll see you around the way, tomorrow.