StartCloseIn 2013 Highlights

StartCloseIn 2013 Highlights

I officially launched this blog and business in July, and it's been an incredible journey so far! I was lucky enough to work with amazing women, like Mad Men-inspired Erika, new grandmother Anna, "tomboy" Andrea, new mom Melissa, my dear friend (who is in her third trimester!) during her pregnancy, the sweet and generous Marian, spunky, hilarious Lynne from Beautifully Made, and new runner Christina, and many, many women via FaceTime and Skype whose pictures I do not have, like Tricia from Little Cottage on the Pond, the grandmother in Florida who rides motorcycles and has the best laugh, the woman with size 5 feet in the midwest who struggles to find shoes that fit, the mother of two who paints incredible furniture, and the other incredible women of all ages, shapes, and sizes from around the country looking to re-discover their sense of style.

I was featured on Style Love, helped friends pack for a women's weekend in NYC, revealed my inner badass,guided you through cleansing your closet, dreamed of pixie cuts for winter celebrations for my best friend's party coming up next month!

Some of my favorite posts were my black & white post, how to wear white after Labor Day with Love Always Hannah, talking about belts, Halloween costumes for women who don't want to be naked, shooting outfits for fall (including layers!) and easy, festive holiday style with the #YouSparkle collaborative, and, on a personal note, our two-year wedding anniversary.

My styling business went from something I've done for years with friends to a legitimate business that's growing and growing every month. I went from telling my husband, "I have one styling appointment every week this month!" to having to sometimes having 4-5 clients per week and booking out now for April. My blog went from my few friends and family reading to thousands per day on great days and a regular stream of hundreds of readers per day. Thank you.

And in my personal life, I became a mom to a second son (our three-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog Cairo is my first baby), our Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, Jaxon, got promoted in my day job, visited family and friends around the country, continued to make our house a home, and realized we were right where we needed to be all along.

Thank you-for reading, for commenting, for sharing with friends, for sending me pictures and text messages telling me how good you feel about yourself. What a great start toward building positive inner voices for us as women we've made! I'm so proud of us. Thank you for sharing in that with me.

-Ella