Mission Accomplished...

Hey luvs!

Sorry I was MIA last week but I had to take the week off to get my mind right for the Strive 4 Success youth empowerment workshop Dom and I held in my hometown this past Sunday.

I spent yesterday OVERWHLEMED with emotion by all the positive feedback we received regarding the event. Empowering youth has been a dream of mine since 2007 so to step out on faith, bring my dream to fruition, and receive words like this...

"This has to be one of the coolest things I had the pleasure of being apart of. I shared the stage with my wife as she told her story of underdog to success and provided the people with the ENRICHED principles that made it happen. I was able to provide financial information on how we overcame 100k negative networth to 1 million positive networth, the 3 things that made us millionaires, goal settings, budgeting and how student loans work. The energy was crazy. Can't wait to do it all over again! Thanks for being such a strong motivator @omb_heartbeat ! I'm lucky to have you. Great job today. I learned so much from you on that stage."

"So proud of Sheena Brown. You and your husband did an amazing job today. Looking forward to seeing how your baby (Strive for Success) will grow. Thank you for having your first workshop here in Rochester and for letting me be apart of it. Keep depositing those gems of knowledge and experience into our youth. You never know how it may change a life. #E.N.R.I.C.H.E.D #StriveForSuccess #SmartGoals#MakeYourMoneyWorkForYou"

"Watching my sis Sheena Brown and her husband Dom give their testimony to the youth, as well as tools tips and encouraging words was very moving! It's always nice to here a success story but to witness one is nothing short of amazing! While they made it easy for the youth to relate and follow along and understand the importance of the words they spoke she made me cry because I know it's all facts no fiction...Phenomenal woman that's you sheena and dom your amazing as well — feeling refreshed."

Warmed my heart and had me deep in my feelings lol.  However this past Sunday I learned that walking by Faith and not by Sight is easier said than done when...I woke up in a spirit of doubt and was beyond nervous about the event. I texted my friend Monique and told her I was nervous and her response brought me to the stage. She simply replied... “Go do it for the little Sheena Davidson sitting in that audience” so, I prayed and left my fears in God hands.

As I watched people come through the venue doors the nervousness returned and though I was cordial with everyone I was a little beside myself. After conducting an interview with the local newspaper it was show time. I got on the stage and was overcome with emotions during my first sentence. However, I grabbed my composure and continued to speak. During my speech I knew I was delivering but I couldn’t tell in I was reaching the kids. So the entire time Dom was performing I was thinking about what I could have done better.

Then at the very end of the workshop a young lady and her god sister walked up to me. They proceed to tell me they’d like to speak with me alone. I asked them to wait while I finished my saying goodbye and answering questions and they did. During our conversation I found out the young lady was my “little Sheena Davidson sitting in the audience”. Sixteen years later this young lady is experiencing my entire story and fighting to make it out. She told me as soon as I started sharing my story her eyes begin to water because she knows what I went through.

Can I just tell you that I was BEYOND grateful for her courage to some forward and pull me to the side. Her words touched my soul and, let me know to continue pressing forward. I’m so happy to share that I accomplished my goal of inspiring at least one person in that room to Be E.N.R.I.C.H.E.D. Now I pray that God continues to use me and I can be a BLESSING to this young lady and others like herJ.

Below is the article from the local paper that captures more of what happened during the workshop for those of you that are interested...

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/06/29/workshop-prepares-youths-success/11718137/

Winter ONEderland (Party)

The actual day of the party was far more stressful than I had anticipated even with me getting all my prep done days before hand.  Of course, most of my stress was self-induced because I was determined to ask my guest for minimal help. I honestly wanted to invoke the element of surprise, so I thought it would be best for them to show up as guest and see the space once it was fully transformed into a Winter ONEderland Affair.  I was so serious about this that days before my first guest was scheduled to be at the house my car were loaded with all the party supplies (doing this also helped ensure I didn’t forget anything). With the exception of welcomed help from Tabby and my cousin Meka (the two people that had all the details on how I wanted everything to go) everyone else was excused from set up duties.

It was the perfect plan and the weekend was going flawlessly until...

We got to the venue and they wouldn’t let us begin set up.  Remember they had a ton of rules? Well the amount of time allocated for set up was one of them and they were very strict about it. Like we all should up ready to go at the time I tripled checked the venue would be available and it was a no go for getting in. Are you serious? Three cars filled to the max. Tabby’s car had the kids' chairs, crafts she made, and all the baked goods. Meka’s truck was filled with balloons. And my car had EVERYTHING else.  Yet we couldn’t get in and for a planner like me this made my nerves bad because I had timed everything perfectly. Turns out all the people I had spoken to had it wrong and we only had an hour to set up (grinds teeth and rolls eyes). An hour was just not going to be enough time to get everything in the venue and set up before guest would arrive.  If ever I wanted guest to show up late to something this was one of those times lol. Once they allowed us in we put on my track shoes and immediately begin the race to turn their Preschool pod into Winter ONEderlanad. I went from bringing items through the doors, to moving tables for the proper layout, to my top priority...those darn classroom boards. Until I noticed the first guest not only arrived but was looking for me. Oh no I had to leave and trust the execution of my vision to Meka and Tabby (they were nervous as hell but I knew they had it).

Before

 After

Other Wall Decor

Tables

I was just thankful that the plan was for guest to start the party in the soft playroomJ and diverted the guest attention away from the unfinished reception area by taking them down there. As guest arrived to the playroom I greeted them at the door, and each little guest received a sparkle mini top hat. Thus beginning the fun, from what I could tell every child (and parent) had a BLAST! With a few of my friends having kids that were older then the venues age restriction I had to ensure there was something for the big kids to do. 

While the little ones tumbled in the soft playroom, the big kids swam in the rec center Olympic sized pool...

The Entry

After a ton of fun in the soft playroom, guests headed upstairs in the Winter ONEderland Affair where they were greeted by...delicious food, beautiful decor, and music. As guest turned the corner to enter the reception space they were greeted with one of the décor highlights...Tabby’s paper snowflakes.  With the entry wall covered in them, and the beautiful wire trees (purchased on sale at home Goods) anchors, it was the perfect guest photo op.

The Kiddie Corner

With the Year of 1^st Boards as the center of this table balloon filled back drop this table set up was executed just as I expected. The snowflake and snowman centerpieces lined the center of the table, while each child place was set with a white appetizer plate and their named sippy cup. It was adorable.

The Food

OMG!!! Can you say delicious? With such a hectic weekend I knew I wouldn’t have time to entertain guest, cook, set up the venue etc..., so I had most of  food for the party catered (with the exception of my friend Tonya’s banging tomato soup, my mother in laws awesome meatballs (to die for), and a few other items). When contacting the catering company I described my event and let them know that I was looking for bite sized kid friendly portions. Together we developed the perfect age appropriate menu which they DELIVERED in every sense of the word. I wanted to the food presentation to look a certain way so I pulled out my white platters and to add a little something, something to the table.  Most items we served in individualized portions...Tomato soup shots with cheesy bread, parfait sized pasta salad, mac and cheese balls, etc.  Needless to say the food a huge hit amongst the tiny tots, big kids, and adults.

The Cake & Deserts

Where in the world do I begin with this table? Tabby created a fabulous impromptu banner and back drop for the table. However, one the table the cake from my favorite local baker Misty stole the show.  It was beyond FABULOUS. I sent her a sample photo of the look I wanted but she truly out did herself and made this one her own. With such a beautiful cake on display I was actually surprised that the tiny tots even noticed the other treats on display (Peppermint chocolate covered pretzels, banana snowmen, and mini and full sized cupcakes, and bite sized snowflake cookies), but they did and were delighted to indulge in them .

The Hot Chocolate Bar

I’m sorry but there just had to be something for the parents and since this was a family friendly venue no alcohol was allowed lol. No worries for this momma...I’d make sure my adult guest got to enjoy somethingJ. Trust me I did by adding an adult flare to a childhood treat.  To warm guest up and embrace the brisk air I decided to have a hot chocolate bar was in order. But, any old hot chocolate bar wasn’t going to cut it.  I wanted one parents would enjoy too so, I ordered gourmet marshmallows with Flavors like peach bourbon, s'mores, cookies 'n' cream, and ice cubes (peppermint) for guest to add in their hot cocoa. In addition to the gourmet marshmallows, I also had mini marshmallows. Handmade cozies (by my awesome friend Chelsi) for guest to protect their hands. And the cutest wooden snowflake spoons for stirring.

The Favors

The favor table was filled with goodies for the little guest and adults. Parents got to take home one of my hometown favorites Synfully Sweet candy apples. While the each kid received goodie bag filled with a winter coloring book, snowflake-shaped crayons, and a number one chocolate lollipop (in either pink or purple).  Not to mention each child was able to take their snowman sippy cup home as well.

The Parents

As exhausted as we were Dom and I still showed up looking fly in our custom t-shirts designed by me of course.

That's all folks...

Memory Lane: Winter ONEderland (Outfit)

Of all the post in this series this is by far the one I’m most excited to share. Not only do I love talking about my little diva fashions, but for the most part all her outfits turned out just as I expected. Yes I said all her outfitsJ.  Turned out she needed an outfit for the cake smash session, party, and her actual birthday. As I told you in my previous post we had a lot going on in one weekend, and of course being that she’s only a toddler I wanted to have several outfits in case things got messy with one or two of them along the way.  I didn’t want to waste my time fighting stains during a hectic weekend. When I’d much rather take that pressure off in that area and simply allow her to be free to enjoy herself, so momma had options on deck.

Cake Smash

Once I knew the theme for of the party I immediately emailed Baby O’s photographer Alana Marie Imagery (she is a beast, like serious I’m never disappointed with her work.) to book the cake smash session. I had already dropped the hint that I wanted to do one over the summer at our family 6 month photo shoot, but I needed to email her so she’d know I was serious, reserve our date, and start brainstorming on how the set would look. Emailing Alana got me super excited and directly after, I stayed up really late one sleepless night scouring one of my favorite sites for handmade items...Etsy.  When I first started my Etsy search I wasn’t quite sure what type of look I was going for, but very soon into it I found the perfect look via a site called lilabbehandmade. This site had the cutest little tutu sets I’d ever seen and trust having a daughter I had seen a ton lol. But, these were different and could be customized so no two were the sameJ. Talk about exclusive, It was perfect. After looking through all the designs the shop offered, and reading through some of their reviews, I immediately messaged them with a laundry list of questions.  Much to my surprise the owner Wendy responded promptly and we spent the rest of that night ironing out the details.  I felt so comfortable with her work and responses I wanted to see Baby O’s outfit right then and there lol. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen as this shop was very high and demand and me placing my order in November only meant that I was guaranteed to receive it just a few days before the big photo shoot. Naturally the wait time had me nervous but I checked my nerves at the door because as I stated above...momma had options. When I received this outfit the week of Baby O’s photo session it was totally worth every dime I spent and all the anxiety had. Wendy had out done herself and I honestly couldn’t believe that she created such a masterpiece from just these few details...

Colors

Design 

 Final product photos

Party Outfit

Sometime after I had placed my order with Wendy for the cake smash look my friend Mariah launched her new online boutique Mariah’s Closet. Among the looks her designed was the most adorable little skater skirt she created for another toddler. I fell in love and just knew Baby O had to have it, so I texted her instantly to work out the details. We decided that an all-white leather skirt with purple accents on the bow was the way to go and I couldn’t have been happier with the decision.

However, I was a bit concerned when it came to the shirt selection.  Not only did I not know exactly what shirt I’d get to compliment the skirt, but I also had to ensure I selected the perfect white. I couldn’t have my little diva in all white attire that didn’t match, but not having seen the material before and how was I supposed to if my white would work.  In any case I knew I wanted to go with an oneies in order to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions and found the PERFECT one at H&M.  Well almost perfect. It was everything I was looking for but the bow tie color was off...grrrr. 

Being the innovative momma I am decide to switch it up and find some purple bows and buttons to replace the existing ones.  As always my dear friend Tabby helped me out by gifting me some left over bows she had made for her daughter. I excitedly took them, my new purple buttons, and the shirt to the cleaners and requested a shirt up grade lol. The final product was everything I’d hope it would be :)

With most of her party look complete the only thing left for me to worry about was her shoes. I’m a firm believer that the shoes you wear makes your outfit so I had to make sure hers were awesome. Unfortunately, for me she has some tiny little feet so most cute little girl shoes don’t come in her size, and I was left with only one option...tennis shoes. How in the world I was going to make this preppy look work with a pair of tennis shoes was a mystery until a friend randomly tagged me in a Instagram boutique that customize chuck Taylors.  The designs were awesome so I thought it was the perfect route to go until I seen their prices. There was just no way I was going to pay over $150 for a pair of kid shoes. So I decided to make defining her shoes another labor of love for the party and DIY them (tutorial coming soon). After a few failed test runs I figured out the perfect formula and got it right.

Inspiration

Test

Final

With Baby O’s cake smash outfit and her planned attire for the party complete she was all set. Although, due to the material of her custom skater skirt it was a bit heavier than expected. So to ensure she had the best time playing at her party she had a little outfit change half way through her Winter ONEderlamd affair. Which, all her guest seemed to love and made my heart smile because she got some good use out of all her looks. 

First Look

Second Look