LPA LiveJournal: 05.21

Oh hiii friends

Up until today I have used this blog primarily as a way to promote new products and boost SEO rankings. And while I still intend on doing that, I also have really been lacking a space that’s fully mine to be social on.

I’m on IG and FB, of course, but they don’t feel magical the way they once were. I tried to start a discord channel but that quickly got overwhelming. I still post on youtube and tiktok but all of these spaces belong to someone else.

Meanwhile, my website and my blog are fully mine. So why not get back into the form of social media that (kind of) started it all. Remember live journal? I’m going to try and recreate some of that magic in the way of behind the scenes updates and I hope that you’ll find it interesting enough to keep reading.

Workshitt

Last month I went to Little Craft Fest — this week they’ve opened Hotel Block rates for
n e x t    y e a r ’ s    e v e n t .  I honestly want to barf typing the words next year. COVID really changed the way I look at future planning. Consumer spending is at an all time low - it’s so scary to commit to anything further than six months away. Thankfully rooms are refundable so I can reserve without risk, but it’s really reminded me how differently I plan after living through the year where everything was canceled.

I used to have a five, ten and even twenty year vision for what my life would look like and now? Well, I know what I’m doing for the next three months for sure, anything beyond that is subject to change. Honestly, that instability used to fill me with a lot of fear and anxiety, but these days I’m just taking it one step at a time.

Speaking of taking it one step at a time, This week I’m trying something totally new and blocking my days out with different types of “hats” — instead of doing a little marketing, a little production, a little finance - all in the same day, I’m blocking off full days for one specific type of activity.

I struggle with transitions and find myself losing time shifting from one task to the next so I’m hoping this will be a helpful change for me. And if nothing else a useful experiment in how I can be approaching things differently.

Last up on the work front, I’m happy to report that the LPA floral mural is back at HQ and I will be re-framing it to stand tall for additional coloring. For added context, this is the mural I had at the 2024 Go Wild as an interactive photo backdrop, that has been resting in my sweet friend Jaime’s garage since then…

Driving her home was quite the adventure and I have to say, other than Pennsylvania traffic, I enjoyed every mile. I got to visit the street my mom and I used to live on when when I was a baby in Memphis, and then had the best bbq brisket grilled cheese with fresh brewed iced tea. I also drove through some gorgeous backroads and mountains. 10/10 would do again.

Plannershitt

Do not judge me when I say that I’ve swapped out of coil and back into A5 rings. Yes, the size that started it all.

Somehow I always come back to rings. The way I can take and move pages around as need. The ability to pull out weekly pages that are completed, so the spots I always put stickers on don’t start to feel lumpy when I write on them the following week. The sound of the open and close of a tight set of six rings. oooh. YES PLEASE.

Specifically I am in a Planners Anon Melody Planner - which can convert to TN, or even hold my coil planner if I ever decide to go back to it. This is from the coastal collection - I’ve been holding on to it since last year and it’s finally warm enough to start embracing the beach bum I was meant to be.

Goes without saying that I’m still using the Twzbi Eco that I got at Little Craft Fest - this week she’s filled with Forgotten Iced Coffee - the limited edition ink that The Coffee Monsters Co launched with Esterbrook last month. Shout out to Emma for selling me her second bottle when she came to visit LPA! The color is somewhere between grey and brown - maybe even greige. Honestly the name nails it, assuming you don’t take it extra creamy!

Lifeshitt

I’m about to get my surname back. Which despite being a total pain in the ass to change on every bit of paperwork right down to my social, is a very exciting thing. I always loved my last name growing up. According to M&W Couture is “the business of designing, making, and selling fashionable custom-made clothing” — making, selling, custom-made - what’s not to love about a last name with that kind of joie de vivre.

Now this might be a little TMI but I do think LiveJournal always was more information than we should have been sharing, so proceed with caution. But in celebration of having my old last name back, I decided to celebrate with a little Juicy Couture… Despite the velour suits being back, I opted for something a little more traditional to have my name all over. Yes, you guessed it. Underwear!

Sure, I could have gotten a purse, but they didn’t have anything in black and white…

Quickshitt

Listening to: Beyoncé everything mixed with a little bit of Lola Young

Watching: Its all just background noise while I play Hello Kitty Island Adventure

Waiting on: My new Iris Twzbi with stub tip (seriously, don’t let Emma come into your space if you don’t want to be influenced with crafty shit)

Crafting: Wrapping up the LCF journey in my Junk Journal & playing with watercolor

Wondering: Will blogging give me enough dopamine to post more than just this one time?

Manifesting: Good weather for The Cowboy Carter Tour on Saturday!