Do eet!

Wow, so this weekend was packed full! I took loads of pictures (see below) and put a ton of stuff up on Etsy, had an extremely delicious breakfast in bed for my birthday AND a very relaxing bubble bath thanks to Jeremy, and just relaxed. I know, I know, relaxing isn't usually part of a packed full weekend, but it was pretty great for me! 

We've both gotten in to take care of the worst teeth in our mouths and both have gone well-- they were the most likely to be either root canals in my case or extractions in Jeremy's case. I'm very pleased that they went well-- as much bad luck as we've had with our teeth falling apart, it's nice to have luck treating them! 

We're planning our year out, hoping that this is the year we get "fit"-- get all of our dental work taken care of, get in shape, I have some weight to lose, and Jeremy wants to run a 50 miler with a friend from his running group in the fall. This summer, we'll take most of a week to go up to Indiana and see Josh and Sarah again, and visit Grandma and Earl (and give me a chance to ride the horses 'til I can't walk straight!) and over Easter we'll head up to Mississippi to see Marc and Jan. In November, the F1 race will be in Austin so that's four days right there, and then, in September...

WE'LL FINALLY GET A HONEYMOON!!!!

My friend Elyse is getting married and MAN I'm excited! She lives in England at the moment and is marrying a great guy aaaaaaaand, they are getting married at a huge church and then putting everyone on double decker buses to take us over to THE TOWER BRIDGE!!! for the reception! We can't really afford it, but it's a once in a lifetime opportunity so we're going to make it happen! 

This year is about getting healthy and seeing people. All of our travel recently has been family based, and we love our family but we haven't seen most of our friends since the wedding! Over two years! I'm dying to see Lauren and Joey again, I miss them SO much, and Brent, too! I don't know that we'll make it up to NY to see Joe this year, but it's definitely up at the top of my list since it looks like he'll be in Niagara Falls for a little bit and I've always wanted to visit! Plus, it would be an easy way to dip in to Canada for a day trip! 

Octopus' Garden Earrings

Anna Earrings

Busy Bee Earrings

Cloud 9 Earrings

Cora Earrings

Helen bracelet

Jade Bracelet

Molly Bracelet

Chocolate Rose Bracelet

Carolina Necklace

Helen Necklace

Jenn Necklace

Octopus' Garden Necklace

Busy Bee Ring

Lemongrass Boutique!

So my vision is to have these two businesses that every so often intersect-- Agape Events being my "love this/do it for fun" business that I hope will make money, and Lemongrass Boutique will be the money making venture. I'll sell some bridal/high end jewelry designs, planning binders, and wedding emergency kits on the Wedding Belles ATL site that's linked to Agape, but most of my jewelry and gift sales will go on the Lemongrass site. 

At least, that's the idea... 

I put a bunch of stuff up on the Lemongrass site today and got the ball rolling on that-- my goal is to make at least one item a day and do all of my photography on the weekends. Our dining room makes a fantastic jimmied up studio!

Branch Out Necklace

Opera Necklace

Ballerina Ring

Erin Ring

Janet Ring

There are also several bracelets, but I don't like the pictures for those quite as much ;)

Things have been going pretty well so far in 2012, which pleases me infinitely! My car is broken, but easily fixable, and the internet has sucked a little more than usual, but I've been hired to coordinate at least one wedding and my hair stylist has handed out a billion of my business cards! I'm stoked! Also, an hour after I put some of my stuff up on Etsy, one of my sorority sisters saw a bracelet and it was something she'd been trying to find for years and she's buying one! What a blessing social networking can be!

I'm hoping to really beef up the offerings on the Lemongrass site once I've had a chance to get to the fabric store-- I'd like to offer some makeup bags, travel bags, fabric covered cuff bracelets (some with embellishments), small card sets, fleece and felt pocket warmers for winter, and eventually some tops and skirts.

It's ambitious, but mom's boyfriend was telling us the other day how one of his co-workers at Home Depot was able to quit her job last week because she was doing so well with Etsy sales! I'm also hoping to be able to sell at the numerous craft fairs and arts festivals in the area. So, the point of all this is... keep your fingers crossed and your prayers and positive vibes coming my way! I'm really hoping to be at minimum down to part time in a "real" job and subsisting mainly on my own stuff by the end of 2012!!

Etsified!

I've got a shop on Etsy now! Not much up yet, but I'm trying to get at least one thing up every day, even though that's a little difficult when you're working on a limited startup budget!

M's Boutique Chic-- tell your friends ;)