12
Calendar for a Cause 2012
Hey Y’all! Slowly getting to blogging. It’s been a big adjustment period for me, so thank you for bearing with me! Every year we get requests for sponsored tables, donations for various (wonderful) causes, but this year we decided to narrow down our focus and all of our energies into one cause, that is joining the fight against pediatric cancers and childhood illnesses.
A few years ago, I stumbled upon a blog by Holly McRae, the mother of a beautiful (actually stunning) 5 year old little girl diagnosed with an agressive form of brain cancer. Her words (she’s an amazing gifted writer), grace and faith during her family’s difficult journey touched my heart and I felt an instant connection. As a mama myself, I just can’t even begin to imagine what Holly must be going through. Today, Kate continues to defy the odds as she undergoes chemo treatments and therapies for a second relapse. If you have a moment, I encourage you to read more about her story here.
So when Georgia Watson asked us to create a cake pop dessert table for Tampa Bay’s Calendar for a Cause event, we seriously did not give it a second thought. A culmination of talented photographers and event planners came together to create a 12-month calender filled with children either battling cancer or survivors. All proceeds from the calendar and the gala went directly to the Children’s Cancer Center. It was a great event and all I can say is that I was so incredibly grateful the chance to be a part of it.
Special thanks to Michael Schuhmann for all of the images.
Other Contributing Event Professionals
Colours by Linny
18
Chocolate Brown and Red Dessert Table by K&K Photography
Hey Y’all! I’m happy to share some magic from my favorite person, Jeff from K&K Photography. We last worked with Jeff on one of the best shoots we did last year, our Dia de los Muertos with MMD Events that was featured in the blog, Rock N Roll Bride.
This wedding was great because it worked with a color palette that we don’t get to work with too often, chocolate brown and deep shades of reds. We also LOVED the brown and gold damask backdrop which really worked well with the colors going on our table. The backdrop along with the labels and paper that was used to line all of our vessels, just really made everything come together for one cohesive look.
Enjoy lovlies and have a fantastifc week!
Floral and Decor: MMD Events
Planning: Lauren Grove from Every Last Detail
Labels: Papermints
10
Taking a Moment…
So as you can see I’ve taken some time to hold off on blogging. Since I’ve always been one to maintain total honesty here, in my blog, I can just say that it’s taken me some time to adjust to my schedule, transitioning to working Chic Sweets full time from home, and also taking care of my toddler boys and Baby Preston.
My life feels so very different now and part of my avoidance in blogging has been not quite knowing how to put everything in words. It seems like just yesterday my life was quite different. I was “the working mom,” dropping boys off at their daycare by 8:00AM, an hour commute to work, home by 6:30PM (if I was lucky), hug the kids, make dinner, then bed. Most nights as I kissed my boys and tucked them in bed, I would be okay. Other days, I would drive home through my tears and into my husband’s arms, wondering how it was possible that my kids spent more time with everyone else other than their own mother. And on and on the cycle would go…good days…bad days…but when I became pregnant with Baby P, my gut was telling me that it was time for a change, that I needed the change whether I was ready for it or not.
But working from home? With Baby Preston? Could I even do that? Am I built for that?
When you’ve spent so many years, going through the same routine it honestly felt daunting at first. With my other two children, they were already going to their “special school” at 8 weeks old. Now to imagine that the same wouldn’t happen with Baby P was a little scary. When my leave was officially up and I made the decision to stay at home, I was nervous and unsure. The first few days felt a little unreal…working at my desk…turning around to see my son sleeping or playing in his swing…then going to pick up the boys from school. It’s exhausting–undoubtedly. But the constant emotion I feel is happiness. Happy because a year ago I would dream about being in this spot and today, here I am. Are some days not so great? Yup, of course and those icky feelings of self doubt creep up and take over. And as you can see from my blog-hiatus, I’m still adjusting and I’m allowing myself the time to adjust without beating myself up. I’ll get there…soon enough.
Also never to far from my thoughts are the millions of mamas still out there, still getting up at 8am…going to work…coming home…tucking in their child late at night. Those mamas are never too far from my prayers as I was there just a few months ago.
I know exactly how you feel times a thousand. Believe me, your child loves you even when you are at work, burning the midnight oil. I’m here to be the little voice and remind you that YOU are doing the BEST you can for yourself, your family and of course, your career–what YOU are passionate about.
So there you have it. A little piece of where I am today. Hoping to catch up with some blogging goodness soon, but if it takes a little longer. Well…you’ll know why!
Happy days everyone!
Natalie
6
Introducing the new Chic Sweets!
And we’re off! Welcome to my new blog, Chic Sweets’ website and new brand. To my supporters, my readers, industry friends, my clients–thank you for stopping by today!
This has been quite a journey, a labor of big love and today, I can tell you that I just feel extremely proud. All day I’ve just been smiling because *finally* I feel like “me” is staring right back at me. The patterns, colors, gorgeous collateral materials, updated logo, everything is an extension of what I love the most. The process of rebranding has been a long one, much longer than I ever thought–I was forced to dig deep into what I really wanted from Chic Sweets and more importantly, what I wanted potential clients to experience.
So with all this deep “soul searching” I needed to pull together the BEST team to be on my side (and this may start to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech so bear with me). A year ago, MTH was the catalyst in my life that opened my eyes and pushed me in the right direction. From there, I knew that BIG changes had to happen in my life, so thanks to Lara Casey, Natalie Norton, Emily Ley, Gina Zeidler and some of the most remarkable women that continue to remain in my life, today.
Now for my favorite person who I LOVE to bits and pieces: Karrie Pyke Designs. Karrie is a remarkable designer whose work amazed me to no end. From the very beginning she poured over inspiration boards, answered every question, took the time to go over proof after proof until we got it right. *Karrie: thank you for your constant encourgement and for taking this project and turning it into something that I am so proud of. You. Are. Remarkable.
Also a big shout-out, high-five to my “web-guy” Tim Brandon, from Skip Agency who brought this site to life and endured endless going back and forths and my daily “how’s it going?” emails.
One of my favorite parts of my new site are the wonderful images…so as a reader, I encourage you to take a peak at our gallery and press pages. Without a doubt, part of my success as a business is having images that convey my work in a great, amazing way and for that I have to say THANK YOU, to those photograhers that have so generously shared their work with us.
The Old Look
The New Look
And saving the best for last, Steve, who recieves TONS of awards for being my biggest supporter throughout all of this…even during the not so easy times, he is always there to challenge me and there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for his love (and yes, it’s Valentine’s Day so I can be that mushy).
Enjoy everyone and thanks again for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment to introduce yourself and let me know what you think!
Natalie
21
MTH Tampa: One Year Later
Hello everyone! First off, THANK YOU for the wonderful words of support and encouragement for my latest blog post–words cannot adequately describe how comforting it feels even just reading words of encouragement. It truly fills my heart.
So this has been a whirlwind of a week–big announcements, my birthday (wooohoo 32) and prepping for our site to launch early next week, but this evening, I wanted to take this post to acknowledge something very near to my heart and that is a workshop (movement) I took exactly a year ago (today) called Making Things Happen with Lara Casey, Emily Ley, Gina Zeidler and Natalie Norton.
A year ago, I was a different me. I felt stuck, in a funk, unhappy in my current employment and as a wife and mother, feeling like I was failing miserably.
When I signed up for Making Things Happen, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had long followed Lara Casey’s blog and figured “why not?” When the first day came and I walked into the room, all I feel was a sense of relief that I didn’t really know anyone else. Not sure why I felt this way other than the fact that If I was gearing up to bare my soul, it would be easier to speak in a room full of strangers then with people I knew…don’t ask me why…but that’s how I felt at the time. As a workshop (and I really have to find another word because “workshop” just doesn’t cut it) unfolded, I found myself letting go of a lot of feelings that had been built up for sometime and seeing that my path was right there in front of me, ready for the taking. But to get there would require a lot of guts, hard work and most of all, deep seeded passion which I, and everyone else in the room had. I knew that I had to feel the fear that had paralyzed me for some time and take action to change my life. It was going to be hard, but oh, so worth it.
And it wasn’t that Lara, Emily, Gina or Natalie sprinkled fairy dust on everyone and magical things happened, but in their own, very personal way, reminded all of us that we had what it take to make things happen, it was just a matter of opening our eyes and seeing the big picture.
So I, along with several other women embarked on a wonderful (and hard) journey this past year and I’m privileged to consider them my friends. The week before when I was getting ready to resign from my position and needed my “pep talk” it was a godsend to sit down with a few of them and be reminded of where I was going (McKay, Desiree and Kate-Thank You).
But most of all, I’m honored to see their successes and growth everyday. I love everyone of you and can’t wait to see where all of us will continue to go from here!
On that note, the one thing I’d like to leave all of you with a picture of my latest love and newest addition to the “Clamp clan.” He’s a bundle of 12lb joy and partly (okay, hugely) responsible for my delayed post today.
If you haven’t heard of Making Things Happen, PLEASE click on the picture below for a link to the tumblr for the latest on their next tour and frequent updates!
Have a great weekend everyone! Natalie