Catching Up | April 2021

This past week I felt like writing again.

It’s something I’ve always enjoyed and quite frankly, something people have always told me I’m good at. It’s one of the reasons I started this website - to share blog posts of encouragement in daily life and in wedding planning. I always feel at peace when I start writing and finally hit publish on a new post, and I’ve often felt that writing is my most natural form of communication.

Blogging has taken a backseat these past few months, but it’s something I want to make time for again. Even if it’s just a short monthly post, even if it’s not wedding planning-related, and even if it’s not perfect. Because that right there is what stops me sometimes. Overthinking and feeling overwhelmed about the content creation aspect of it all. (I actually bought a book called “Don’t Overthink It”…) So instead, I’m just going to pour a glass of coffee or wine, write a little something, and rest easy knowing that done is better than perfect.

Now that I poured my heart out, let’s talk about some fun stuff that’s happened over the last couple months! Because life has been WILD. Like truly, in all the most amazing and challenging ways.

I got a new job!

After 4 years as the event coordinator in the alumni office at my alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan, I am now the workplace operations and hospitality coordinator at Rivian - the manufacturer of electric adventure vehicles. Honestly, a dream company to work for (don’t worry, I’m still living out my wedding planner dreams too!). Let me give you a little backstory on why this job has been such a blessing.

I had been looking for jobs and interviewing off and on for over a year. Truthfully, that’s a little hard for me to write, because I really did love my job at IWU and adored my boss and team. However, I started to feel like there was no room for growth and I needed a new challenge. I interviewed at a few places, and while I got close to an offer several times, each one fell through. There were a couple that really haunted me for a long time, and I replayed the interview process over and over in my head. With all that 2020 brought, I stopped scrolling Indeed and just accepted where I was at for the time being.

Then, one day I received a LinkedIn message from a recruiter at Rivian. To this day, I am forever grateful that I actually checked my LinkedIn messages and for the person who saw something in me. I received my job offer in December, so I’m approaching 4 months in this new position! Let’s just say my current role far exceeds any of the roles I interviewed for. All of the letdowns and subsequent tears were blessings in disguise. Looking back now, I know that God had something better in mind. And it’s paying me double.

I acquired a business!

That’s right! You may have seen my social media posts about this one. In the midst of interviewing and starting this new job in the fall/winter, I was also packing up a whole studio full of wedding and event decor. Candles, vases, lanterns, mirrors, accent pieces… beautiful and unique rental items acquired from II Sisters Event Design. In 2020, they decided to transition their successful business to me and another rental company, The Event Experience Company. I acquired the smaller rental items and they acquired larger items like furniture, rugs, arbors, etc. Together we now work collaboratively to provide design services to couples!

When Jana and Elyce from II Sisters Event Design approached me about acquiring their inventory, I really had to give it some thought. It was a big undertaking, and I knew it would require a lot from me in terms of storage, inventory management, setup/teardown/delivery for events, and more. Ultimately, I decided to say yes - because why not? I knew it could only help my business continue to grow and reach new clients with expanded design services. And if it fails? Then I sell it all and move on. I really had to simplify the decision making process, and it came down to that.

So why haven’t I updated my website or shared the full inventory list? I simply haven’t felt ready. My new full-time job has been a huge adjustment in terms of responsibilities and time. While I’ve been working on finding balance and a new daily routine, I just haven’t felt ready to go all in on the rental side of things. However, I’m working on a few design proposals for upcoming weddings and offering these rentals to couples who inquire, so if you’re interested please feel free to reach out! I do have some updated pages on my site - I’m just holding off on opening the floodgates to potential inquiries until I have a better system in place.

Beyond the hard work - this is a super exciting new addition to my business! I can’t overlook the fact that I absolutely love designing and dreaming up new ideas for weddings, and now I have all these pretty things to play around with. It’s been amazing for my business to grow through this opportunity.

We got a puppy!

Ha! You probably think I’m literally insane after everything I just told you. But if you know me, you know my boyfriend and I have wanted a dog for yearssss. For real. We live in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets, but we recently had a conversation with our landlord and he agreed to allow it.

A couple weeks later, Erik was looking at the puppy section in the newspaper (I can always hear his ‘aww’ from the other room). He circled ‘mini aussiedoodles’ and put it on the fridge. I finally said heck why not, let’s drive an hour and a half and go check them out. There was a blue merle one available, and after googling adorable pictures of them, we thought for sure we would come home with that one.

When we got there, the owner let all the puppies loose so we could get to know them. There was a little black one, the runt of the group, who came right up to us and kept following us around. He was calmer than his brothers and so sweet. We just felt like he was the one. 1 month later, we are in love with our little Chego! (Full name is Manchego, named after our favorite cheese. LOL) More to come with fun puppy pics and stories! Fun fact: my boss found out and went to pick up his brother, the blue merle one! :)

We lost an offer on a house.

This one’s a short but important update. We’ve been house hunting for several years off and on. Currently we’ve been living in a one-bedroom loft apartment for the past 7 years. We love it so much, so we’ve always said that we won’t move unless we absolutely love a house. It has to feel like the right one for both of us. Recently, one of my old professors mentioned on FB that they were about to list their home. We immediately reached out, set up a tour before listing, fell in love, put in an offer over listing (including a love letter, yep I went there), then we waited. Three days later, after open houses and multiple offers over listing, we lost the house.

I know this happens (especially in this wild sellers market), but this time it really felt like the one. Everything we wanted and right in our price range. But at the end of the day, that just means it wasn’t meant to be. One week later we got the puppy, so I guess we’ve moved on. :)

wow.

After writing all of that down, no wonder I’ve been on a rollercoaster of emotions recently. That’s a lot in 4-6 months! It just goes to show how quickly life can change. Life is drastically different than the beginning of 2020, which is true for a lot of people. I am so grateful that most changes in my life have been positive, and I don’t take that for granted. Actually, some days I do take that for granted, but that’s also why I wanted to write this post and keep this as a reminder of life’s seasons. It’s important to remember how far we’ve come. In a year, in a month, in the hours in a day.

Now that you’re all caught up, let’s look ahead to what you can expect here! But don’t set your expectations too high, I’ve never been great at consistently blogging. You get what you get. ;)

I want to keep writing these little tidbits for you, and share more posts with wedding recaps, planning tips, design inspiration, and lifestyle fun (think cocktail recipes, fashion trends… anyone else want to throw out their whole closet and start over?). Are y’all still reading blog posts? Or have we moved on to Insta stories, YouTube videos, and TikToks? I know video is all the rage, but ya girl still loves a good written word.

Well friends, this has been nice and therapeutic sitting here and sharing this with you. It’s Sunday afternoon, we’ve enjoyed brunch and a mid-morning nap, and now I’m accompanied by continued light snores from my boyfriend and the pup. Life is good.

Best wishes for the week ahead! xo

Sara