When you support a SMALL BUSINESS…

Jannel and I had a wonderful vendor event at April Sound Country Club this Wednesday for the April Sound Ladies’ Association Holiday Market.  Not only is it fun to meet customers and “show off” our clothing, but it’s interesting to meet the other vendors as well.  I love hearing their stories, and it reminds you, when you support a SMALL BUSINESS you are supporting an actual PERSON and FAMILY.

My goal, this Christmas, is to purchase all my gifts from a local, small business.  It makes my heart warm and giddy knowing that I am supporting someone local and part of our community.  Part of my vision for forming “Sister Tribe” was to promote other small businesses in our area, especially women business owners.  Too often, I find women criticize one another.  Why?  We should be there to support one another.  Most of us know and understand the daily struggles a woman endures and all the stress that comes along with just simply being a woman.  So, why not help each other out?

I have created an interactive app for Sister Tribe that I am hoping will bring together a “tribe” of women.  Promoting “Sister Tribe Boutique” is only a small portion of the app.  I really want it to be a resource for connecting with women in our community, promoting local small businesses, offering recommendations for good reads, providing information about community events, and simply allowing women to connect with one another.  After all, WE understand and can relate!  The app is currently available on Google Play and iTunes App Store.  It is still a work in progress (ironic because so am I), but I hope you will take a look at the different functions I’m implementing and try them out!

One important feature I am implementing is a “Local Small Business Directory”.  I plan to utilize this when I start my Christmas shopping, so I can find unique, local gifts.  I met many awesome vendors, Wednesday, at the April Sound Holiday Market and will be including them as well.   If you own a small business, please send me your link, and I will be happy to add you as well.  No catch, no fees – just simply helping and promoting to “pay it forward”.

Below, I will list a few of the awesome vendors I met.  Check out their social media or webpages!

Wreaths By Mary

The pictures simply do not do these beautiful wreaths justice!  The detail, creativity, and quality is simply amazing!  Mary is the owner, and has a store front, in addition to attending local events.  She will even be at the Nutcracker this year, so if you are attending – go check out the beautiful wreaths!

 

They even have a wreath that matches our Crazy Train Fall “Happy Harvest” shirt!

The Garden Lady – Texas

Not only is Vickie, the owner and talent behind “The Garden Lady – Texas”, she is also a hoot!  After a long day of standing on our feet and getting stuck in the pouring down rain, she had us rolling with her sense of humor and stories!  My girls and I LOVE her grape jam.  She makes MANY different flavors, in addition to pickles, relish, and other jellies.

 

Scentsy Consultant Kim Merdian

Kim had a large selection of fragrances (in stock), and products for your home, car, kids, etc!  Everything smelled amazing, and I loved the little stuffed animal buddies that can be clipped on a backpack.  Visit her site to see additional products and scents, or book a party with her!

 

Mary Kay Reps Gaylene Koehn and Cynthia Ponder

Gaylene and Cynthia gracefully shared a portion of their space at the April Sound Holiday Market.  Well, truthfully, we kind of invaded their space, but they were kind not to kick us out.  LOL 🙂  These women are knowledgeable about every Mary Kay product and skin care line.  They can host an in-home party, schedule a one on one consultation, or make recommendations based on your skin type and complexion!

 

Drawing by Stephanie “ARTiculating Memories into Masterpieces”

Pure TALENT!  Stephanie is an incredibly talented freelance, professional artist and custom framer.  She can create hand-drawn drawings and portraits of people, animals, architecture, and much more!  We met at the end of the show, as we were waiting out the storm, and they graciously helped us load the truck afterwards.  I learned that she is a former teacher as well!  Stephanie can be reached at 832-244-5511 or colorwheels2016@gmail.com

 

Wine Shop at Home, Loretta Jammal – Wine Consultant 

If you are interested in learning more about wines, or even a wine expert, Loretta is the person to call.  As a wine consultant, she organizes and hosts in-home tastings and offers wines that can not be found in stores.  Contact Loretta to host a tasting, and swirl, sip, and enjoy exclusive, award winning wines in the comfort of your own home!

 

 

Be AUTHENTIC

I have many “titles” I truly cherish and am proud of – wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, (former) teacher, (new) business owner, etc. However, the one “title” or character description that I have come to embrace and take ownership over the years is being AUTHENTIC. It took years for me to truly embrace this quality, and on some days, I still can’t decifier if it’s a blessing or a curse.

My best, and sometimes worse, quality is the inability to be fake. I just truly can not “hide” my feelings or “act”. As I get older (and hope a little wiser), I just don’t have the energy to be anything other than myself. Am I perfect? Absolutely not, and you will hear me repeat that A LOT. I overreact at times, nag, say something in the heat of the moment that I probably don’t really mean, have a short fuse when I’m not feeling well, wear my feelings on my sleeve, and so on. However, I own my actions, give honest feedback, love big, give what I can, share what I have, and constantly try to find ways to be a better “me”. If I feel or think a certain way, my body language, energy, and face will have my “thoughts” written all over them. These qualities probably inhibit me from having a large “following” on social media or a huge circle of friends. I do not say this negativity. I say it proudly. The “following” or friends I have, are true, hardcore, have your back QUALITY, REAL, AUTHENTIC people. I will take quality over quantity any day. I want the “call me on my shit”, help me through hard times, cry with me, laugh with me, people in my life, because those people are hard to find and I value each and every one of them!

How does this relate to “Sister Tribe”? I knew coming in to this business that I would not be the most “popular”, have the largest following, or make a huge profit. I did not put myself out there to make any “gains “. I’ve had a people tell me that I’m too cheap, too expensive, not competitive enough, and I need to do things like such and such boutique. While I value constructive criticism, I didn’t take a leap of faith to be like everyone else. I took a leap of faith to be MYSELF, set an example for my daughters, give back to my community, and most of all, to be AUTHENTIC.

Although I probably donated every bit of profit I made this week, I am okay with that. Why? Because through this process, I have had friends and family give their time to literally help me with nothing in return. I know, I know….thats what friends are supposed to do. Y’all, I mean work a long, hot, exhausting 13 hour day simply because they believe in me. Give up their weekend and sleeping in on a Saturday morning to watch my girls so I can attend an event. Take time out of their busy day, to email, text, or call, just simply to check on me or encourage. Stay up until 2 in the morning, on a work day, helping me tag clothes. Litterally, dropped what they were doing in that moment, to help me with whatever crisis I was having. This may not seem like much to some, but it tremendously makes an impact on me. These are people just as busy. They have kids, families, husbands, boyfriends, full time jobs, errands and tons of stress just like I do.

There have been so many sleepless nights and long days that I have dedicated to learning and mastering new skills. I’ve sacrificed and “given up” things, events, and moments to prove to myself I can do this. I’ve cried myself to sleep at night with fear of failure.

Yes, I am still okay with all of this! Crazy, I know, and once again, why??? Because it has shown me strength that I didn’t know existed. This process has shown the quality of friends in my life, made me so damn thankful for the blessings in my life, find a new self worth, and embrace the imperfect person that I am. So, at the end of the day, I can reflect and truly say that I am trying to do the best I (keyword here I) can do.

I knew coming into this, and still know, Sister Tribe will not ever be a “get rich” type of business, but what I didn’t know is I would “get rich” in so many other aspects of my life. For that, I want to say THANK YOU to my tribe for simply being AUTHENTIC. I value you, and the life lessons you’ve provided, more than you’ll probably ever know! 😘

Having “Sister Tribe”, and a true Sister Tribe, has shown me that there ARE people who still value authenticity, hard work, and individuality much more than most would expect. People, who deep down in their heart and soul, want to see others succeed for absolutely no reward or recognition. These are qualities and characteristics I want among my tribe. I don’t want to feel the need to be guarded with my words, embarrassed about an emotion or reaction, worry about how something is perceived. I want authentic, true, know my intentions people in my life.

For all the women out there stressing to be perfect, tired of impressing others, giving energy to people or things you think don’t deserve it. STOP! You can be YOU and find a tribe that values YOU, appericates YOU, believes in YOU. If, for any reason you feel the need to be anything other than authentic, recognize that as a red flag and find a different tribe! Love y’all! 😘😘😘

Living on a Prayer

Well, it has been a while since my last update. I’ve been fighting a bad infection that seems to just keep lingering instead of getting better. I’ve also been working nonstop on Sister Tribe Boutique, as well as, normal mom & wife duties. I must admit…it has taken a toll on me, but I am so thankful to have my “sister tribe” behind me.

Last weekend, a holiday weekend at that, they all came to help me organize and tag inventory. The BEST part….I didn’t even have to ask. They knew I was stressed, tired, and possibly about to hit my limit, so they volunteered their time to help a friend in need. I’m so thankful to have such caring, strong, selfless women in my life.

This weekend, they all helped make sure my babies were taken care of, because the infection still has yet to heal. Now, I’m on an even stronger antibiotic that has me physically ill. I’m sure hoping this will knock it out. Thanks, auto-immune!

With all that being said, I’m super excited about our first event this weekend at a local winery. I’m hoping to “show off” my clothing selections and accessories. I’ve worked extremely hard to focus on finding quality merchandise to make women of all shapes & sizes feel comfortable, yet trendy, without having to spend an outrageous amount. I think once people see the selections, in person, they will agree! So, if you happen to be traveling through my little hometown of Plantersville, Texas, Saturday, September 15, stop by Bernhardt winery and see us! It’s a free event with wine-a-ritas, live music, food trucks, and much more! Even my hubby is excited to go (the food trucks sealed the deal for him)! 😘🍷

Insomnia Thoughts

It’s 12:45 a.m., my daughter has her first day of kindergarten tomorrow, and guess what?  I’m wide awake and can’t sleep.  I’ve been dragging butt all day long, because I was so tired, and even resisted the urge to take a nap just so I can sleep tonight.  Thank you Hashimotos, full moon, or a combination of the 2 for having me wide awake!  However, it is the perfect nice, quiet, and relaxing time to jot down some thoughts.

Small towns – they can be a blessing and a curse sometimes.  As I get older, I truly see it as a blessing.  We all have busy lives, and it is very difficult to fit “stuff” in our daily routines, but when someone really needs you, I guarantee you can count on the people that live in Plantersville, Texas and Grimes County, Texas.  I am truly proud of where I come from for many reasons, but when I sit down and reflect, I think the best word to describe our community is support.

It is so nice to see people “give” their time away, just because they WANT to help others.  We need more people like this in the world, and especially in our “tribe”.  Whether it be a friend in need of a favor, so you drop your Friday night plans to come and assist, a member of the community experiencing health problems, a neighbor that recently lost a loved one, or just offering your front porch and a cold beverage with some “girl talk” – the people in my “circle” are truly amazing with the selflessness they will offer.  This is what matters folks.  Establishing relationships, helping those in need, slowing down to enjoy a front porch conversation, offering positive feedback to someone struggling – these are the ways you build your tribe.  Yes, I probably never in my life will gain the title of “millionaire”, but my life is rich in so many other ways.  In fact, after your last breath, are those materialistic things and possessions going to be the ones giving your Eulogy?  Nope – probably not!  Although making enough money to survive is necessary, don’t forget to enjoy the journey and return the favors.

After considering all of this, my challenge, for myself this week, is to slow down and complete a couple acts of kindness for absolutely no reason at all.  Here in Texas, it is HOT and miserable at the moment, so a majority of people are already in a foul mood.  What can we do to change someone’s day?

I challenge everyone to evaluate your current “tribe”.  What are you doing to support them?  This can be as simple as nice, positive feedback, offering an hour of your time to help someone, supporting an individual or cause.   Find what makes you FEEL good.  You will never have enough time in the day to finish all your work or make that “last” business call.  That STUFF can wait!  Don’t be so obsessed with one thing, that you neglect everything else in your life.  I am telling MYSELF this advice, because I tend to have so much “chaos” in my life, I forget about the small things.   Cherish the moments – one day we will miss them.

XOXO Robyn

Just like that, I’m reminded of BLESSINGS!

Isn’t in funny when you are having a bad day, and nothing seems to be going right, then something happens to make you remember how truly blessed you are?!  It honestly puts the fire back in you to say – “I’ve got this!”  Yep…that is exactly what happened to me today!  (If you’re not sure what I am referring to, see my former post from a few hours ago.)

As a former teacher, my students were never students.  They were MY kids.  So, when I get on Facebook today and see this post, I am ecstatic.

I absolutely love that she supports and promotes my new business venture, but that is NOT why I am excited.  A student, that I helped teach, has chosen to pursue a career in education, attending MY alma mater – Sam Houston State University.  I will not take credit for this, but it reminds me that I am strong, dedicated, and accomplished.  Teaching is the HARDEST profession out there.  I believe that with my whole heart.  However, it is the MOST REWARDING profession out there as well.  Seeing a post, like the one above, is a prime example of the WHY!  I am blessed that it’s been 10 years, and I still stay in contact with a lot of my former students.  After she shared this post, I wrote her back to congratulate her, but I also let the cat out of the bag.  LOL  Remember the year I taught you?  Yeah, little did you know you were one of my first set of students, I had no idea what I was doing – winged it just about every day, and literally was living on a prayer that entire year.  Really – y’all probably TAUGHT me more than anything.  Her response?  “I learned a lot from you as a teacher – little did you know.”  So that “Why in the world would you be a teacher” question.  The answer – That’s it people!  The very reason people choose to be a teacher.  No amount of money in the world, would I trade, for that validation!  It reminds me of why I want to help people and have no expectations.  It proves that there IS good in the world, and people remember what you have done for them.  Today, I am thanking a former student for teaching ME a valuable lesson and providing reassurance.  God has a way of always reminding you, if you just look for the signs.  I firmly believe this!