My 22 hour flight with 2 boys

We did it.  All our stuff {that we need} made it into the suitcases and now we're here. 

So here is a little window into the world of traveling/moving internationally with two small children.  And if you've been reading my blog long, you know that by small, I mean young, because in no way are my kids small.

We left for LAX at 2:00pm Wednesday afternoon.  Four suitcases, 4 carry-ons, 1 car seat, 1 stroller, 2 kids and a momma, we were ready to go.  Well as ready as we could be.

Trying to sqeeuze orselves into an elevator... We almost made it!

So we kinda have a tradition. We check all our luggage in and walk upstairs have have some food and relax before I have to start my awesome journey. My parents always take me to the airport and it's become kinda a thing of ours.  I think it's funny/super awesome that we travel enough to make it a tradtion.

The funniest {well, funny now, looking back} is when we had to go through security. I have two kids who just said bye to their grandparents and weren't happy about it. Needless to say, I was sad too, I like my parents. So I am struggling to get all my luggage onto the security check thing and Eli makes a run for my parents. After running after him, letting him say bye one more time, and then getting back in line, Tae now wants to say bye again. But Grammy and Papi, who have realized at this point it might not be a great idea to be standing by because the boys will keep running to them, had left. So Tae ran to say bye and they were gone. Ok, one person crying

Finally everything is on the scanner.  Computer is taken out, no one is wearing shoes and it is time to pass through.  I go first with Eli.  BEEP BEEP. Whoops, forgot to take out my cell phone "you have to go through again, ma'am."  I had over my cell phone and walk through again.  Phew, we're good. I put Eli down to wait for Tae.

Tae's turn.  He beeps too.  What they heck?  Oh ya, he took my european cell phone earlier and put it in his pocket to have one too.  Tae, hand me the cell phone.  But as I did this, I put my hand through the security again to grab the phone.  "I'm sorry, ma'am, you're going to have to go through again."

"what??  ugh, okay."  So I walk through again, without Eli, hand over the other phone and get ready to go again.  Wait, why is the alarm going off.  No one is even walking through.  What is going on?

"Ma'am, you're going to have to get your kid.  He is setting off the alarm."  I look down and Eli is stuck between the sensor and the pole crying, trying to get his binkie.  Who knows how his binkie got there, but of course it did.  I literally had to drag Eli out of there.  2 people crying.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.  Yep, I beeped again.  I have NO IDEA what set that beeper off, but I do know that it set me off.  Now we are 3 people crying.  wow, all three of us crying within the first 15 minutes, do we get some kind of award or something??

Then nice security man tells me; "Ma'am, we're going to have to pat you down." 

"That is fine, whatever, I just want to get through." I mumble, between sobs.

"Just let her through, Joe, she's fine."

THANK YOU!! 

Then there was a lovely lady who talked to Tae the entire time after when I was trying to get my things and I think it helped him a bit.  She lied to him and told him she would be flying the plane, but whatever.  He'll never know...

Okay, so we made it.  Between loading up all our stuff to make a bathroom run, to breaking the toilet seat covers in the airplane bathroom, we had some experiences.  But all in all, we got on the plane and got ready for the long flight ahead.  That means snacks...

We had a 4 hour lay over in Madrid.  Guess what they had there...

A full on, free play place!!!!!!!!!  The boys were in heaven.  Eli was cracking up and Tae was loving it.  And guess what, I read a little.  I just can't even tell you how special that was.

And so here we are.  Exhausted and still adjusting, but happy.  Happy to be in France.  Happy to see daddy {who had to leave for a game today, BOO}.  Happy to have a new yard to run around and play in.  Also excited for the new opportunities we have waiting for us this year.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers, they were appreciated and most definitely helped. 

What I wore, Hair edition

So since I have been on this kick of trying new things with my hair, I thought I would do what I wore Wednesday, hair edition!  Unfortunately, since I am moving out of the country tomorrow, I don't have anything all that exciting. {except for the fact that I am moving out of the country tomorrow!}

This outfit was kinda fun for me because I mixed a bunch of colors that I thought still went.  I love this Transformers shirt from Target.  Tae is jealous, so I got him one.  Not this feminine of course.  It's super cool.  So red shirt, pink shorts, blue necklace and blue plaid shoes.  What do you think?

I took three sections of my hair in the back and twisted them individually and pinned them.  Then I secured them all together. 

Sometimes, when I have time {read: hardly ever} I like to curl my hair with an iron.  This is what it looks like.

Loooooove my owl necklace!

And I am really digging these big flowy shirts.  Super comfy.

I also wore my new headband from La Luce.  I LOVE IT!  And my super cute sister-in-law complimented me on it, so it must be cute.  But I am too lazy/busy to get those pictures off the camera, so that will have to come next week!

What about you, did you do anything interesting to your hair this week?  I am thinking about making The Hair Challenge a monthly thing.  What do you think??


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Why Enchanted couldn't have been filmed in Hollywood

I am going to do my last piece in my LA Story before I head home to France.  I had high hopes at the beginning of the summer, but as we all know, life kicks in and I didn't get around to a lot of it.

Thankfully, my dad happens to work off third street, you know, where all the shows are filmed, CBS studios.  {he is a Captain on the LA City Fire Department}  Tae loves it when we visit, little boys and fire trucks go hand in hand.  And I am sure my dad doesn't mind either, feeling like a super hero and all.  So we loaded up Tae, his friend and Eli and headed out. 

Eli and the crazies

The funny thing about Hollywood is Hollywood Blvd.  For some reason people think it is perfectly appropriate to dress in an old (and I mean raggedy-old) Halloween costume and walk up and down the street.  It's like, 'dude, Spiderman, your suit is falling apart!'  This is the first year I have seen a transformer. 

And this is exactly the reason the movie Enchanted with Amy Adams couldn't have been based in Hollywood.  Because when she came out of the sewer, people would have just thought "oh Cinderella's here!" and moved on with whatever they were doing.  Or tried to take a picture with her.

I'm pretty sure that Jack Sparrow is hitting on that girl.  I guess she could say she went out with a pirate...

We drove by Kat von D's tatoo parlor.   I am not sure I really like her.  Seems like she stole Jesse from Sandra.  

Grauman's with the stars footprints out in front. Hollywood Blvd is a must see for tourists and locals alike.  I actually used to shop down there.  You know, before kids and all.

PINK'S!  I love Pink's.  It is just a hotdog stand but for some reason, there is always a line around the corner.  Maybe because of the sheer awesomeness that is the chili cheese fries, or the amount of toppings you can get on your dog.  But DO NOT order chili cheese fries and a chili cheese dog together, for the same sitting.  How do I know?  Just trust me on this one...

We then mozied over to the Farmer's market.  It is at the Grove.  Beautiful day so we walked around a bit.  The shops are a bit out of my price range, but window shopping works.  If you are in Cali and looking for movie stars, this is a fun place to go and a good chance you'll see one. {I sound like I am talking about animals... haha}

Here are some pics from the drive home.  There were ruby slippers hanging over the telephone wire.  I am realizing now that ruby slippers wouldn't have belonged to goldie locks, they would belong to Dorothy.  But I am too lazy to change it.

Successful trip, I would say.  Two sleepie heads and one screamer.  Wait.... no we have a binkie.  All is well in the world.

Tutorial for No Heat Curls

I have had a few people ask me about my 'no heat summer curls' and how it actually works. Now you might be able to find something out there on it, I thought it might be easier if I brought it to you! So I made a little video showing how to twist your hair around the headband and how I get it to look the way I want it.

Here are a couple of pictures of my no heat curls results:

This one is just out of the headband iPhone shot.  No makeup, no curling iron.  The hair looks great, the face on the other hand... girl could use some mascara.

Date night with the hubs.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of cute outfit posts or anything because all my clothes are in my suitcases as we prepare to travel to France... I am leaving Wednesday, by myself, traveling over 20 hours with two boys, 4 suitcases, and three carry ons... Pity party please? Yes, thank you. But once I settle into my life in France, I have some awesome hair ideas and makeup tutorials I want to share with you all.

So I hope you enjoy this little tutorial and bare with me while I am traveling!  Thank you!

Winner!!

I know you have all been dying to know who is the winner of the three beautiful Oaxacaborn headbands. So I thought I would pop in from not packing and tell you!  Well.... the winner is...

ME!

haha just kidding.  I do wish I could have won though...

The true winner is the giveaway is... wait for it... you'll never believe it...

#1

I know, #1 never gets chosen!  Well, I guess that shows this is truly random...

Congratulations to Myrrhart.  Please respond to either me or Gina to claim your prize!!

Thank you all for entering!  

Happy weekend!!

The Hair Challenge Link up!

I am seriously so excited about this!  I feel encouraged because I have gotten many comments, e-mails and even real life people (I know, right!?) talking about how this has been inspiring to try new things with their hair!  I am loving it because it is truly stretching me as well.

So I am going to share a simple tutorial with you all and then I want to see what you got! 

The high ballerina bun!!

 Yes, yes, I see the pooch.  Good thing I am heading back to France next week.

 I didn't do a video tutorial for this one because I am sure you have seen it somewhere out there on the web.  I did however, make this little picture tutorial, you know, just in case you wanted to pin it... hehe

I know, I look hot.  And what's with the mug shot on the last one?  I don't know, it was early.

Okay so now let's see what you've got!!

Some 'rules' more like guidelines...
1.) Please link a post that has to do with hair.  Hair style, cut, color, something creative.  I am sure your craft is darling, but there are plenty-o linky parties for that.
2.) Link as many posts as you want!! 
2.) If you don't have a blog and would still like to contribute: You can load your picture onto a sharing site like flikr or photobucket and add that linky here.  I would love to see what you came up with!
3.) Please grab the button and put it on your post, sidebar, blog somewhere if you want to link up.  This way we can share the party and get even more hair inspiration!!
4.)  You most definitely don't have to be a follower to join, but I would love to have ya!  If you follow make sure you say 'wassup!'

Top Ten Small Business Tips from Elise

I am happy to have Elise from Hey Sweet Pea here today with some great business tips for fellow creatives.  She has recently launched her own successful small business and I thought she would have some very practical very awesome advice for all of you.  I know quite a few people own Etsy shops and what not, read on!  There is a ton of great info here!!

Let me first say: I love Natalia. I’m so glad I met her on Twitter and in real life at a Creative Connection USA event.  I can honestly say she’s a beautiful woman inside and out and completely inspiring! Even though I’m not a blogger, I definitely love perusing her posts and reading all about her life! Needless to say, I’m so glad I personally know her and I’m so honored she asked me to guest blog for her today.

My name is Elise Ostermann  and I am currently the Art Director at “Hey, Sweet Pea.”  I specialize in branding + design and my boyfriend, Scott, specializes in video + animation. Needless to say, we are quite the creative duo!

But we didn’t always own a small business. Up until one month ago I was a designer for SONY’s digital media marketing department in Los Angeles. I was commuting 2 hours a day and away from home 11-12 hours a day. Although I loved being a part of the Hollywood and LA scene I craved the flexibility of my own schedule, I yearned for more creative projects, and I wanted one-on-one relationships with clients. So after 5 months of planning, dreaming, researching, and networking, I made the leap! I quit my day job, left my LA apartment, and took my first big road trip. Landing in Texas wide-eyed, nervous, and excited, I officially launched “Hey, Sweet Pea.”

I was shocked and happily surprised with the amazing launch we had and the growth of our business! But I would be lying if I didn’t say we’ve experienced quite a few bumps and bruises along the way. Thankfully, those bumps and bruises have been far outweighed by supportive friends, amazing family, talented colleagues, and business/design idols. I’m thankful for these people, for their advice, and for our new business.

With that being said, here are my top ten tips for other creatives launching their own small businesses.

1.     THINK ABOUT IT FIRST: One of the best decisions I made was to slowly launch (or soft launch) “Hey, Sweet Pea.” I spent months thinking through everything, planning, preparing, researching, etc. so that when the launch date arrived, I had a good idea of what I was getting myself into. Don’t rush into starting your own small business. Take the time to prepare, think through your businesses, define your goals, refine your purpose statement, research, talk to colleagues, and write down ideas. Make sure you take the time to think through the business you want to start before you leap. Putting time into your business ahead of time will only help you in the long run.

2.     NETWORK LIKE CRAZY: Looking back, one of the best things I did before starting my small business was network. Honestly, I wouldn’t have had the guts to start our small business without the network that we had in place off of which to build. I spent about 4-5 months ahead of our launch date networking with people on Facebook, Twitter, over email, and in real life.  Because I put so much time into building a network of friends and colleagues, I had the support and encouragement I needed. Without the support of so many people, from so many different circles, our launch would have played out much differently. But because of all the amazing people I had met we were able to launch with a big bang the day we “opened the doors.” So, network outside your comfort zone and social circle. Go to meet-ups, conventions, email your favorite artists, strike up a conversation with someone you don’t know on Twitter. Believe me; you’ll need lots of support!

3.     HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM: Like I’ve mentioned previously, a network is super important to have! But it’s also important that you have the support of friends, family, loved ones, etc. There will be days you’ll want a normal 9-5 job, there will be days your clients frustrate you, and there will be days you ache for encouragement. So enter a new business knowing you NEED friends and colleagues alike. You can’t do this alone, nor should you!

4.     SAVE MONEY TO LAUNCH: While you’re taking time to plan your new business, make sure and save for it! For months before I left SONY, I stuck money away to be used towards our move and towards new business start-up costs. Obviously, start-up costs vary, but there are always costs involved up front. Save your money and have a nest egg to dig into. Because whether you need a new camera, an up-to-date computer program, or office filing systems, you can’t launch a new business for free.

5.     DEVELOP A STRONG BRAND: I know it may be quite costly up front, but developing a brand is worth EVERY penny. As a brand designer, I am biased… but that’s only from years of working in the creative field and designing for creative brands. I know it may be tempting to pay a “cheap” designer to design your products, but in the end it will cost you more. A successful small business needs to have the LOOK of a great business. It needs to catch the consumer’s eye, appeal to our visually stimulated population, and represent your business accurately. Remember that your brand is more than just a logo, but it’s the colors, your image, and your style. Find a designer who specializes in branding businesses. There are a lot of designers out there, but not all of them have experience building a brand or designing a strong logo. So do your research, save your money, and find a designer who understands you and your vision.

6.     SELL YOURSELF: One of the most important things I’ve learned about my small business is that I am the face of it. People will choose to hire me not only because they like my work, but because they’ve connected with me. Whether we’ve connected on Twitter or Facebook, we’ve connected with each other in a relational way. My clients trust “Hey, Sweet Pea” because they trust me. So don’t forget that YOU are the face of your new small business. Make sure you are representing your small business well and that you focus on those one-on-one relationships. There are so many creative vendors and businesses to choose from these days, you want to give people a reason to choose your business and YOU.

7.     BUILD SOCIAL AWARENESS: Social Media is your best friend. Not only is it a free advertising source, but it’s a way that you can connect with new clients, colleagues, etc. Take advantage of it. Don’t neglect it. One tip I heard that I’ve found super helpful and true was about building your social media platforms one at a time. I started with my personal Facebook page, started my Twitter account, launched my business Facebook page, etc. I focused on each platform for a few months at a time to really build up each one. It’s been easier for me to soft launch in this way and it’s proved very effective. Take classes in social media, read books/articles, and do research. For those of you who don’t know/understand social media (or don’t have the time), I would recommend hiring someone to help you. Find someone who can build up your platforms, advise you, etc. But be careful when you hire someone! There are a lot of “social media gurus” who aren’t worth your money. Before you hire someone check out their own media platforms (how many followers do they have on Twitter, how many likes do they have on Facebook, what does their website look like, etc.). Make sure you hire someone who KNOWS what they’re talking about!

8.     HIRE PEOPLE TO HELP: Small business owners tend to want to do EVERYTHING themselves. Don’t do it. One of the BEST things I learned over the years was delegating. It’s important you learn to delegate. Know your company inside and out, but then hire people to help run the parts of it that you can’t do yourself or that you don’t have time to do. I currently have both a design assistant and a businesses assistant. The designer helps with our flow of design work; the business assistant runs the emails, the schedule, the invoices, etc. Initially, we’ve hired these people as only part time employees. In addition, finding an accountant and attorney early to help guide your business will be worth their weight in gold! My belief is that we all specialize in something and that it’s important I find people I can hire to perform the tasks I’m not as good at, I don’t know about, etc. On the same note, actually hire people and pay them for their work. If you need an extra pair of hands, don’t look for a free intern. Look for someone you can pay to do the quality work/assistance that you need.

9.     SELL A QUALITY PRODUCT: So many people launch their businesses before they’re ready. Either their skills aren’t up to par, or their product isn’t up to par, etc. Make sure to invest in your own growth as a creative or your own creative product, before you launch a business. Take time to go to college, take classes, intern, hire a teacher, work for free, etc. Take the time to really perfect and strengthen your product so that when you do launch you can offer quality. A quality product will sell itself. Before I worked at SONY, I wasn’t ready to launch my own businesses. I needed to invest time into the corporate design world before I was ready to work on my own. So invest your time wisely and hone in your skills. This will help your business launch more quickly and successfully.

10.   PROTECT YOURSELF: Take the steps to protect yourself. Whether that’s becoming an LLC, making official contracts, requiring deposits, etc. ALWAYS protect yourself. I never assume a customer or client will hurt me or my business, but I want to be prepared in case it ever does happen. So make sure you invest in protecting you and your business. Unfortunately, you will run across bad clients from time to time. These legal steps can help you get out of a contract, protect you from getting sued, etc. If you don’t know what the correct legal steps are hire someone who does.

And there you have it! Those are some helpful tips I’ve learned from others and personally experienced. I hope they help you in your own small business journey. Being a small business owner is exciting, freeing, and empowering. Make sure you take the steps necessary to protect those things! For any additional questions or any of your own branding/design needs, you can find me over at “Hey, Sweet Pea.”  Stop by, say hi, and LIKE our page! We’d love to meet you!

xoxo, Elise

THANK YOU Elise!!  Make sure you stop by and tell her you're visiting from Ma Nouvelle Mode!  I hope you enjoyed these tips and can start to put them into play in your small business!

PHOTO CREDIT:
Margaret Jacobsen Photography (Hey, Sweet Pea)
Brienne Michelle Photography (Top Ten Small Business Tips)

Front Rope Braid & Braided Headband

I am going on day two of my little buns hairdo I did.  I try to not wash my hair for at least 3 days, and I can't go much longer than that.

I am going to link this post up to The Pleated Poppy, No Model Lady, and Momma Go Round for an outfit of the week.  I was proud of this outfit because everything in it was from the 30x30!!  Whoop whoop!  It's a bit fall-ish, and I am liking that even though our weather here isn't entirely fall weather.  It was kinda nice to wear a scarf and boots.  This is what we like to call California Fall. 

Top & leggings: Target; boots: Nordstroms Rack; Scarf: gift; Belt: can't remember...

I tried two hairstyles today.  The braided headband I wore for the first half of the day.  You can barely see the braids which kinda defeats the purpose, so I think I am going to have to revisit this with some ribbon or something.

This is the rope braid.  You may have seen this around the web a bit, and that's probably because it is cute and easy!  The video tutorial below is for this one.   I saw it first on My Yellow Sandbox, she has a lot of great hair inspiration and even an e-book! 

I hope you are getting some hair inspirations this week!  How is the Hair Challenge going for ya?  Some different each day?  Just one day?  Maybe just an afternoon?  Anything counts!!

Here is the twisted rope braid tutorial:


Are there any hair styles that you would like to see me try to do?  I would love some suggestions!!  Either leave them in the comments or shoot me an e-mail!  I can't wait to see all your hairstyles at the link up Friday!!

Some Hair Inspiration

Now I don't have a hair tutorial for this week, I am going to work on that tomorrow and get one up to you. I do however have these few that I have done over the past couple weeks and I thought I would share them for anyone out there that is in the 'hair dumps' and needs a little pick me up!!

You might recognize the next pictures from the sidebar, this is an easy high bun with headbands.  You just tease tease tease the top and put it in a pony.  Then tease the pony and wrap it around and pin it in a bun.  Then slip on the headbands!  Easy, right?

I did this little side braid because I hate it when I have hair in my face.  I braided it without taking hair from the back, just the front, so it kinda stood up a bit.  Kinda like a headband!

And I might regret putting this picture up, it's not my greatest.  I am not wearing a drop of makeup and had just woke up.  But the hair is kinda Jessica Alba-ish.  You know, the famous one that is all over the internet. 

How is your challenge going?  If you are kinda new here and want to join or need more inspiration, you can read about the hair challenge here.  I want to be clear, the challenge is new hair each day this week.  However, I want to see the pictures even if you only were able to sqeeze in one day!!  Keep it up and don't forget to take a picture!