ANNOUNCING OUR BABY

I'm still mind blown that this is happening. A part of me thinks that this isn't real and that sonogram photo must be taken off of Google images or something. It can't possibly be OUR baby. But friends it is and we are thrilled to be able to announce that baby Schmidt will be arriving early July! I hoped and prayed that 2017 would look differently than 2016 because friends, 2016 was the hardest of my life. To say I'm thankful not only to having a little one growing inside me, but for a healthy pregnancy so far would be an understatement. Losing a baby last year defeated me. I struggled for a long time and if I'm being honest it still hurts. This week is my original due date for our January baby and though having a July due date to look forward to is wonderful, the thought of what this week was suppose to hold stings. 

After our miscarriage it took my body 2 months to get back to "normal" and with the advice of all our doctors we decided to jump into fertility treatments. Being in the world of treatments is draining. Now, I really want to emphasize that what we went through is truly insignificant compared to what others experience. I count my lucky stars for our team of doctors and nurses who played an amazing role in making us parents, but every day I think of the others still in the wait and those who have recently experienced multiple miscarriages. Annmarie Swift posted on her Instagram account a little about her motherhood journey today and mentioned that although an experience may be shorter than others, hurt is hurt. I couldn't agree more. Our failed months killed me. Going to ultrasound after ultrasound, the shots, the pills, having your life revolve around doctor's orders, and timing everything perfectly is such a roller coaster. This is why I think of others still in the wait everyday. It takes over your life, it changes your marriage, and when it doesn't work you have to hold your head high and start again. 

Chris and I went to the Outer Banks the first weekend in October last year one day after another failed month and I was miserable. I walked down to the beach by myself before we left to come home and cried. I am not super religious, but have held on to God's plan during this time and He has helped me more than anything. I begged Him for October to our month. Begged. I prayed and said that I couldn't do it anymore. My life was being overtaken and I needed October to be it. And weirdly, during the whole month both before and after our IUI treatment mid-October I felt calm and positive. We didn't even time our IUI correctly and I still felt like this was it. And it was. 

So here we are about to enter week 16 and with a due date of July 7th. Counting down the days, y'all. 

A huge thank you to Katie for taking these photos of us that I will treasure forever. And thank you for all f the sweet calls, texts, comments, and emails this week. Each one means so much to me. 

 Here is a video of me telling Chris the evening after I found out. It's terrible quality and too dark, but I love it. The book is Wish by Matthew Cordell.

A NEW BEGINNING BLOG SERIES

Welcome to the second day of this blog post series! This week I'm sharing the top 5 things I'm focusing on this year and today is a good one. 

I've had this One Sweet Day in May brand for awhile now and honestly, I still wholeheartedly love it. It has been a little piece of me since May of 2015 and I know it can only get better from here. After reassessing my brand I've decided to give it a makeover this winter. My clientele is the driving force behind this move and by sprucing up this online space as well as my wedding experience it can only serve my brides and grooms better. That is my number one goal, after all, making sure my brides have a remarkable planning journey that ends in an equally remarkable wedding day. 

 I wanted to give you a little sneak of the pretty and inspiration behind what will be the new One Sweet Day in May. Think softer, more romance, the introduction of neutral colors, and delicate details. I'll be introducing a brand new logo with the help of English Tea Paperie and Sincerely Amy Designs and The rebrand will go along with my studio move to the downstairs of our house (finally!) A sweet little space that will house both Ruffled Lane and One Sweet Day in May and be a little retreat to welcome brides into for design meetings and consultations. 

This rebrand is focusing on collateral and tangible goods as much as it is a new look. I'm thrilled and counting down the minutes till I get my hands on new letterpress business cards and notecards as well as new look books to send over to potential brides. New brides will also be receiving branded welcome packets and a newly streamlined experience. Oh my guys, this is going to a game changer. 

Here's a look into my brand inspiration board. It's going to be amazing. 

The tentative launch date for the new brand is March 1st. Stay tuned for behind the scenes of everything (including the new office!) 

With Love,

Michelle 

A NEW BEGINNING BLOG SERIES.

Friends! Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2017? It is always so mind blowing how fast time flies. I've had some down time the last month or so to focus on what this new year will hold for my little businesses and that time was much needed to gain clarity on what it is I want out of 2017.

What do I want One Sweet Day in May and Ruffled Lane to look like 12 months from right now? 

This is the first post of this week's post series on 2017 and I'm going to start this week with what I'm focusing on this year with Ruffled Lane. And I'm going to be honest with you. Way honest. For starters, I never wrote a post on how this little ribbon company that I love so much came to life. So you know what? I wrote it and it's my very first post over on Ruffled Lane. Enjoy!

Branding by English Tea Paperie 

RL has almost been around for a whole year. And here's the honest part- I didn't quite know what to expect from it. I guess you don't know what to expect with anything when it's brand new, but I didn't know what I was doing. One Sweet Day in May was launched slowly with goals and milestones to hit and with this business I just knew I made really pretty silk ribbons and this idea to start it as a business came to me and I just went with it (after a few nudges from industry pals) Guys, it was and still is huge. So big in fact that RL as a business suffered. By that I mean I didn't put the work in to let it blossom the way it wanted to. I just get between 10-15 orders a week and wrap ribbon on pretty spools and send them all over the country. Pretty great, I know but I had these dreams of adding limited addition colors and new collateral, how to pages on the website, and new fabrics. None of that happened. It's a thriving business, but not a growing one if that makes sense. 

Photo by Courtney Morgan 

So these past few weeks I've sat down and planned out the next year of Ruffled Lane. This business wants so badly to blossom and that's what I am going to let it do this year. My brides will still have yards and yards of silk ribbon on their bouquets, but this year I have a whole calendar filled with limited edition color launches, fun bouquet ribbon pairings, new items, and we'll be bringing on board new fabrics (think chiffon) in your favorite colors too! In February we'll be doing a new photoshoot for the website to give it a fresh and updated look, and completely redoing our packaging to included some fun things! When you place an order over $100 you will receive a free 2 yard sample of a limited edition color! We'll also be involving you to help name our limited edition colors throughout the year (stay tuned!) 

There are also 2 more openings for workshop sponsoring for this calendar year, I am thrilled to be sponsoring the School of Styling in March and The Signature Atelier Workshop in July. I am also looking for 8-10 Ruffled Lane brand representatives. What does this mean? I am wanting to bring people on board in either the wedding industry or a creative field who will be sent ribbon every 8 weeks to use in styling their social media posts and in other aspects of their business. There is a lot more info to share with potential brand representatives so please email me at hello@ruffledlane by January 15th to be considered and to receive all the details on what this entails. 

So when is the fun starting? Well we are officially launching our Winter limited edition colors next Monday January 9th at 10am EST over on Instagram at @ruffledlane and on our Facebook page. 

It's going to be an amazing year for Ruffled Lane friends and I can't wait to get started! This is RL's year to shine. 

Photo by Katelyn James. Planning by Dear Sweetheart Events