I have this gorgeous art print by Lettered Life hanging in my office and I see it every morning when I walk to my desk. This quote by Mary Oliver is really thought provoking, isn’t it? I use it as a constant reminder to live life to it’s fullest. It’s a reminder to think about what the plan is for your life and not to just get lost in the day to day. It reminds us that life is precious and to cherish every moment. It also reminds us that life is wild, which encourages us to take risks and be brave. Pretty fabulous, right? If you need this reminder too, download this gorgeous print (thanks, Caitlin!) and hang it up where you will see it everyday!

With that said, I am turning 40 this month. 40? I remember when my mom turned 40 and all of the tacky “over the hill” party supplies (so awful!). Back then, 40 sure seemed old, but it doesn’t feel all that old now. However, over the past few months, as I am approaching this big milestone, I have done some serious contemplating, thinking, wondering and prioritizing. While I always have my head in the clouds, dreaming and planning, this feels different. It feels like if there is ever a time to make changes and do all of the things I’ve wanted to do, now would be a great time to get going.

Ironically, some major changes have happened with my business over the last year and the timing for a new chapter seems to be falling right into place. For the past 8+ years, I have focused the majority of my business on party styling and supplies, with the main emphasis on children’s parties. Kate’s 2nd birthday party is what really catapulted the blog, and she’s 10 now! Where does time go? With the kids getting older, the parties they want are much more simple. I have always prided myself on being authentic and sharing content and ideas that I truly would create for my own friends and family, so it doesn’t feel quite right to continue to have my main focus on kid’s parties. I was very lucky to be part of the huge trend of styling highly-detailed children’s parties, but I feel like it’s time for me to take on a new challenge. Not to mention, trends don’t last forever. I believe as a business, you have to continually evolve and change to stay ahead of the game. Once upon a time, you could only find cute, unique party supplies online at small boutique shops, but now with big-box retail stores like Target and Party City stepping up their game, it’s much harder to compete. When you can buy darling patterned plates, cute straws, banners, honeycomb balls, specialty balloons, etc everywhere, and at great prices it makes it hard for the smaller shops to continue capturing market share. Yes, there will always be a market for new, creative party supplies, and I will continue to feature my favorite products…. they will just no longer be from my own shop. We had an amazing run, but I know that closing the party shop is the right decision.

Whew. That is pretty big news, since I have been running and building a party shop for so many years. I am sad to see it go, but I know it’s time. As you may remember from this update last year, I talked about being pulled in so many directions with having so many different aspects of my business (styling shoots/brand partnerships/blogging/social media) and I have still been feeling the same way. So this is a huge relief for me and I already feel such a huge sense of freedom and possibilities ahead. I’m giddy with excitement about all of the ideas I have had so far about what is coming next and I hope you will join me on this journey as I figure out my path! I will be continuing to style shoots and create content for amazing brands that are aligned with my brand, and bring you the very best content I can! I really, really want to get back to blogging and sharing things I love and more of my day-to-day and behind the scenes. I hope this allows me more time to do that. As you may know, I’ve been working on a huge project over the last six months… our new house! We are almost done and I cannot wait to share it with you. It is our biggest remodel yet and I am completely in love. So one thing is for sure… you can expect much more content on home decorating and remodeling in the future! Also stay tuned for details about the cruise we are taking to Havana to celebrate my 40th birthday! Can’t wait!

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