Rockin' the Headband

Headbands are back and bigger than ever.  They've been making ...well, headway for the last few years with celebrities like Nicole Richie, but I would say in the last twelve months they have exploded.  You don't just have to wear your hair down with them.  Below are some hot new ways to rock the headband.  You can check out some super cool headbands here too!

Celebrity Beauty Buzz

A Crimson Kiss

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Jewelry: Storage Solutions

Having an online boutique that sells jewelry and accessories means several things.
1) I will be wearing more jewelry.

2) I will be buying more jewelry.

3) I will need to find a place to store all my new bling.

I've been scouring blogosphere for some fresh ideas on jewelry storage.  Now I do have a nice jewelry box already, but I usually only store the really expensive stuff in there.  I also find that I forget about things that I can't see so I'll be looking for open storage for all my new gear.  Here's my top finds.

Button Bird Designs

Flights of Whimsy

La Folie Couture by Shara

the doctor's closet

Why is Jewelry so important?

Jewelry is sadly often overlooked when people are picking out what to wear.  It's usually the last thing we put on and not much thought is put in to it if any.  A cross necklace here, pearl earrings there and a couple of gold/silver bracelets- the staples of a jewelry wardrobe.  Now these are great pieces to have and they are after all-staples.  But jewelry has the power to ramp up an outfit or leave it in the dump.  

More than anything, jewelry can convey your personality more than any other piece of your outfit.  So we should definitely be putting more effort into it, right?  Having a few POW pieces of jewelry can be very versatile and ramp up the fun factor of your wardrobe.  Let's take a look at how you can use them.

Running Errands- your basic tee and jeans can be livened up with some large earrings, colorful ring and simple necklace.  It just makes you look much more put together when you actually just got out of bed and haven't been able to shower in two days. (Earrings- Lila Hoops, Ring- Calista Ring, Necklace- Emerson Pendant)  I'll have more signature looks coming up in the weeks to come.

 

Online Shopping for the Anti-Social?

Misconception #1: 
I used to think that people who shopped online must have some sort of problem.  Anti-social, secret hoarders?  I thought there must be some reason they refuse to just leave their house....then I had a kid.  I quickly realized it's much easier to order a bunch of things I need while my kid is asleep or playing than to get her out of the house to pick up one thing.  Now I buy almost everything online, from organic meats, clothes and now jewelry.  I would actually love to do some future posts on different online shopping sites I've found extremely useful, so look forward to that.

Misconception #2:
I used to think that it would be difficult to deal with returns if I ordered online.  WRONG!  I've actually found the opposite to be true.  If I have to make a return at a store, I have to get my kid in the car, track to the store, stand in a long line and then deal with an often rude stores clerk.  If something is incorrect with an online order or didn't fit; I can just email  the company and usually just ship it back in the same box/envelope it came in.  I recently received an incorrect outfit I had ordered for my daughter on Zulily.  I emailed them about it and get this; I was totally refunded, got to keep the outfit, AND got a $10 store credit!  That doesn't happen in-store.  The outfit was uber-cute anyways, it just wasn't what I ordered. 

My conclusion is that on-line shopping is the new way to go.  It is often more convenient and has nothing to do with being a hoarder or anti-social.  You can also usually get really good deals online versus in-store.  Just a few more reasons why my I feel like owning an online boutique was a good choice. You can shop online at my store here.

And one more thing, Christmas is coming up; and I will be buying pretty much all gifts online-no dealing with Christmas crowds for me!

To Pierce Or Not To Pierce

This is the question that has been causing a lot of discussion recently.  At my house, it's all girl, all the time.  My poor husband has to deal with me, our daughter and our female dog all the time and we joke that he will probably be the dad that has four girls.  We've been trying to decide when to get our daughter, Reagan's ears pierced.  I got my ears pierced when I was probably 8 or 9 years old.  I didn't take care of them and they got really infected.  And I remember how bad they hurt.  This is one reason I'm all for doing it now and getting it over with.  

I wanna know what you think about this issue?  What is your experience?  Leave me a comment below and let me know if you love it or hate it.

Also, danke schön to the person from Germany that started reading my blog.  I guess I can say I have an international audience now! 


#kitsylane  #reagansboutique   #workingfromhome  #whentopierceears

One More Thing to Love About Kitsy Lane

Another thing I love about Kitsy Lane and Reagan's Boutique is that every week I get to personally choose 12 items from my store to put on a FLASH SALE.  That means they are even more discounted than usually for one week only.  It just makes you take ownership over your home business.  Okay here's my last plug and I'm done for tonight.  You can check out the flash sale I'm talking about here. 

My Five Year/ Five Second Decision

My Five Year/Five Second Decision

About five years ago I was in my last term at college and engaged to the man that I now call my husband.  I was juggling student teaching, planning a wedding, performing and sorority activities.  I was a music education major that already had a job lined up, but knew that once I had children I wouldn't continue my teaching (insert my dad rolling his eyes and stating "how much money have I spent just for you to be a wife and have a baby"). Now don't get me wrong, I love teaching and have now had three wonderful years of teaching music at a private school, but I just knew that I did not want my child going to a daycare and missing out on those precious moments.  

So anyways, in the midst of registering for my wedding, I started looking into home based business options.  The first one I looked into was The Pampered Chef.  I love their products and actually of all the things I looked in to doing before now, I feel like I could "sell" their products the best.  I like cooking and do find their products to be quality and useful.  But my major problem with them, as with most network marketing business' like them is the "parties."  I just couldn't see myself coming home from a day of teaching 200+ kids and gathering my things to set out and go sell products to a bunch of women (who really don't want to be there) at a party.  Oh, and then working on lesson plans, grading, sleep and getting up and doing it all over again. Umm......No, thanks.

The problem with parties is that most women don't want to actually go to them.  They feel obligated to buy something because it is their friends party, so you end up buying something and you don't look into the company until the next time you're invited to another party.  You also have a minimum amount of sales you have to make, which makes you pushy.  Nobody likes a pushy salesperson.

This was five years ago and between now and then I have looked into a lot of network marketing businesses.  And even signed up for one, very temporarily.  I won't mention their name because I really do like their products and what they stand for.  And I have a friend who has made A LOT of money with them and don't want to discount what she has done.   I just felt like it wasn't a good fit for me and that this particular company had already peaked in my area.

So in these five years of researching network marketing business', marriage, teaching, "retiring from teaching", and having a baby, what took me only five seconds to decide?  It's called Kitsy Lane, a relatively new business that started in July of 2012 and in my opinion is the next step in network marketing businesses.  They sell jewelry and accessories at discounted prices on-line.   I saw an ad on Facebook for working from home.  And I really only clicked on it because I liked the piece of jewelry in the picture.

Why Kitsy Lane gets a Gold Star from me?

1) There are no start-up fees.  Yes, you will eventually want to buy the jewelry and accessories you are selling, but you don't need to do this until you've started making money.  And you get a super discount on it too.

2) There are NO PARTIES!  (insert applause)  You actually don't even have to leave your house.  Everything I have done so far, I have done on my computer with my daughter playing on the floor in front of me.  Everything is online.

3)  They do the hard work for you.  Kitsy Lane deals with all the money and merchandise.  You never see it.  There is no keeping track of sales tax, money, or delivering products to your costumers.  PRAISE THE LORD!  They also have professional emails and blog posts that are sent out to your customers, so you don't have to keep on top of delivering info to past and potential clients.  They do it for you!

4)  It's Sooo Easy!  Literally, they have set everything up for you. You create an online boutique that can be customized to suite your personality.  And they have a checklist of everything you can do to help start your business.  HELLO, IT WORKS WHILE YOU'RE SLEEPING.  Yep, people can shop your boutique 24/7.  This means that while you are playing with your kids, running errands or sleeping, someone could be on your site shopping.  This = you making money. You make between 15%-25% on the different products you offer.

5) It's Fun.  You get to choose up to 216 items in your boutique from over 700+ items in the Kitsy Lane Catalogue.  It's like pretend shopping when you pick out what will be in your store.  What I like best about this is that you don't ever have to worry about trying to sell someone on some random gadget that you don't really use in your personal life.  If you're the one picking what you sell, you'll like what you are selling.  And it makes your business feel like....well, you.  Isn't that how every business should be?


My online boutique is called Reagan's Boutique.  You can check it out here to see what I'm talking about.  It's named after my daughter who has convinced me to work hard every day and prove that mama's can have it all.  I can still make money to help pay the bills and have extra money for fun things to do with her; while still being at home and not missing out on time with her.

You can also email me at reagansboutique@gmail.com to ask me anything about Kitsy Lane and what it offers.  Or any other random questions you might have.  I'm loving this and I want to share my journey with others.  

#KitsyLane  #workfromhome  #reagansboutique  #networkmarketing