Week in Review: 6-12 April 2013 - Photoshoots, Product Development & Passions

Oooooh, this week has been mega Savvies! Meeting so many fab people who are helping me make my dreams comes true. Also just stumbling across peeps doing magic in their own worlds and seeing how I can help them work towards the lives they want. There truly are amazing things out there when you zip past all the crap and focus on the good.

Here's what I've been up to this week. I know it looks like a lot, but if you did the same, you might amaze yourself...

Meeting with two designers for new Life is Crafted product designs - amazing peeps!

Cleaned house - mopping magic!

Got ready for a night out only to discover it was on Friday, not Saturday - #lifeblooper

Extra early wake ups due to Daylight saving time changes

Celebrated Zander's 2nd birthday. He's such a puppy delight

Online meeting with amazing international mastermind group

Business name brainstorming session for friend

Wrote raw and real post over at LIC about freaking out. This was a hard one and it took heaps of energy out of me. 

Went to 'More Money for Shoes' event, met some amazing women in real life and heard Jodie Fox of ShoesOfPrey speak.

Won gorgeous Uberfine necklace

Brainstorming new product ideas

New connections with people who will be skipping the paths ahead with me

Website ideas being developed

New branding meeting with Designer

Wrote 3 Best Qualities Post and got some great emails about it - go powerhouse women!

Contacted printers, lots of printing associated thinking and decisions

Beauty stuff

Lots of instagramming! I'm playing around with a few photo Apps. Check out my profile on on Instagram!

Mum and stepdad arrived - only for one night though! 

Prepping for a natural light photoshoot (pics to come!) with Lauren Emily Photography. Choosing outfits is sooooooo hard!

Got may hair done and then made friends with the gorgeous gal who did my makeup! Ooooh loved the pampering

Lots of timeline and project planning

2 days away from the computer doing a lot of the above!

Spending time with Lisa Fox of Open Shed - she is AWESOMEness

What was the highlight of your week darlings?

Make it as you wish!
Arienne

10 Minute Trips: What Are Your 3 Best Qualities?

I know, I know, it is hard talk ourselves up but it is so important! I went to a Self Love and Sisterhood event last week and it was such a good reminder that we need to look after ourselves so that we can make life truly work for us. If we are constantly focussing on everyone else first, we get depleted and can deviate from the path that is right and wholesome and worth while and that makes life truly fun for ourselves. But that is a whole 'nother post Sister!

I'm doing a course at the moment where we are looking at building a business around ourselves. As part of that, getting to know who you are, what you want to be and what your strengths and values are is really important.

One of the exercises was to ask 25 people around you (family, friends, colleagues and/or clients) what your 3 best qualities are.

Sure, it felt funny asking, but it was such an interesting and enlightening experience. The responses were varied but I could definitely see a theme. It was truly heartening to see what impressions people have of you that shine through!

So, are you interested in the findings?! I put the words through wordle.net to create a word cloud (that was fun playing around with the colours and word directions!)

Now I know what my strengths are so that I can put more of those qualities out into the world as I see what people appreciate and benefit from.

I really recommend doing it. It is powerful. Plus when I am feeling a bit bleh it is a beautiful reminder of part of who I truly am. What an uplift!

I challenge you to do it Savvies. Go on - what an adventure it will be! Take a few minutes and put together an email and send it out to the people in your life that you trust or admire.

It could be something along the lines of "I'm doing an exercise someone recommended to me to find out my personal strengths. Could you please let me know the 3 best qualities you see in me?".

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne

Week In Review: 29th March - 5th April 2013 - Reunions, Self Love & Sisterhood

I've been missing my week in reviews and all the benefits it gives me! Here is a wrap of the past 7 days :)

Visited Corban and Blair - a beautiful Sydney-based stationery/lifestyle business. Small world as one of the co-founders is the mother of a student from the School of Nursing I used to work at. The other co-founder is the mother of a boy that The Man will start soccer coaching this week...We had good chats around products and business. Hello Universe and Synchronicity!

 Had good chats with a potential printer around paper and production

Me with Janice & Charlie in Bondi

Caught up with the Beautiful Janice, who was my roommate at Kimberly Wilson's Paris/Provence Yoga Retreat last year and her partner Charlie when they had a quick visit to Sydney from Arizona.

Been having lots of instagram-ing fun. I'm @ariennegorlach - join in the visual lovefest! Joining in with the #fflovephotoaday challenge. Love my Filofax!

Revamped my editorial calendar for Savvy Sassy She and Life Is Crafted

Family time at the park - such precious moments

Coaching session with wonderful insight-driving woman

Future creating for Life is Crafted

Reading fun, frivolous, fiction novels to rest the active mind

Product printing for Life is Crafted & LifeTyped

Post office visits

Zander walks

Bill paying

Goulash eating. Amazing food cooked by The Man

Not the best quality shot! Me and Amanda (love the dress!)

Went to an amazing event called Self Love and Sisterhood featuring some amazing bloggers discussing these two important topics. The panel had Tara Bliss from Such Different Skies, Jess Ainscough of The Wellness Warrior, Melissa Ambrosini from Path To Wellness and Amanda Rootsey of Shine From Within. I will definitely write more about this event - they were uplifting and inspiring!

How was your week?

Make is as you wish!

Arienne xo

From Darkness to Light. What you going to do today Girlfriend?

Found On

We all have those days that aren't so good. The ones where we feel low.

It is okay girl. Things will get better. You may not see the light right this minute but trust me - you will see the sunshine again. It may take time and it will take some effort on your behalf. But when you turn that corner, it will feel even better than before because you know what the darkness was like.

We may or may not know the reasons. If it is fleeting, the Why may not matter.

If it is not so fleeting, talk to someone. Reach out. I'll bet that at the core it has something to do with not being who you really are. Dig down darling, the answers are all there. Ask yourself questions. Work out what truly makes you happy. Your joy is no one else's responsibility but yours. You owe it to yourself to explore what makes you tick. It is a journey, a process, a never-ending one. But it is a path that is so rewarding. The start is the hardest. It does get easier but takes effort nonetheless. I'm travelling down that road and am so grateful to be on my way rather than how I was before I started. I am happier, healthier, more real, more in love, more appreciated...more me.

Don't forget to enjoy the journey along the way. Your life is made up of days. Make everyday something real. Something wonderful. Make a memory. Turn a corner. Laugh at yourself. Call that friend. Give yourself permission. Help that guy. Get to you know more about you. Take a photo. Wear that dress. Ask for that raise. Resign. Read that book. Send that email. Forgive yourself. Forgive your mum. Forgive him. Go to that yoga class. Love yourself. Say thank you. Go after that goal. Say yes. Say no. Listen to that song. Put on your red lipstick and dancing shoes. Live.

I sat down with the intention to write a completely different post. This is what came out instead. Did one of you need it? Maybe I did...

What are you going to do today girlfriend?

Make it as you wish,
Arienne

Feeding Inspiration Into My World

What a way to start the day!

This morning, I kicked the day off with a dose of inspiration and connecting with like minds. Every month, Vibewire and the Powerhouse Museum put on FastBreak, a pre-work morning event and breakfast with 5 presenters speaking for 5 minutes on the month's topic.

Today was on the topic of Craft (close to my heart because of Life is Crafted!). It was five entrepreneurs discussing their take on Craft and Crafting. I always take something away from these sorts of events. Whether a re-determination to take action, a specific thing to do or inspiration to fuel my work and my being.

The pic above was of the first speaker, Rupal Ismin of Andable. Andable is a wonderful online marketplace with a difference - you can buy 'products directly from indie sellers in Australia and around the world. 
10% of every sale goes to fund a micro loan (or 'small business loan') to a person in need in a developing country.'

I've had my Andable account created for a while now, I just need to start stocking my shop there. This morning reminded me to get my Life is Crafted diaries and products organised so I can list them! Meeting Rupal after the presentation was also a treat. I am always interested in the people and personalities behind the scenes of businesses I'm drawn to.

Then I rounded it off with a coffee meeting with my weekly mastermind posse - two kickass women doing wonderful things in the world with their social enterprises. As one of them said - it was 40 minutes of Goosebump goodness going around. It is such an honour to have my path growing alongside theirs and to be along for the journey!

Sprinkling inspiration into your everyday is super important to keep you heading in the direction you want. The good news is that it is not hard to do. Here are 5 ideas:

1. Find and attend events in your area that have inspiring speakers and attendees.
2. Find a blog to read that inspires you to be or do more.
3. Make a regular date with people in your world that uplift you.
4. Take a walk and find the awe and wonder in the everyday things that surround you.
5. Connect to your dreams and goals. Have a daily reminder of the why behind what you are doing to push you forward.

How do you feed inspiration into your world?

Make is as you wish,
Arienne