My life right now.

a sweet baby girl

+ loads & loads of laundry 

+ lots of new product samples 

=

life right now

Onward My Friends.

Friends!!
For the next few days... maybe week or so I will be a little MIA here on the blog. Don't worry I am working SUPER hard trying to finish up the new website, blog and shop. I am currently in a holding pattern while waiting on a billion samples to get back from the printers. I have to make sure everything is just right before I show the world what I have been up to the past few months (*ahem* year.)

I would appreciate your prayers as this process is so hard. There have been moments of discouragement, tears, absolute frustration and questioning about whether or not I should keep moving forward at all. Owning your own business is not for the faint of heart; that is for sure.

However, despite the discouraging moments there is much to be excited about and much to look forward to! I really can't wait for my little website and shop to launch!!!

Get all the inside scoop and even a sneak peek at all the new goods by signing up for my newsletter. The first email will be going out soon!

Subscribe to the Ashlee Proffitt Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/otOcf

Love ya'll and are so grateful for your support!

Weekend Snapshot: August 17-19

Weekend Snapshot
THURSDAY (realllly late, so it counts as the weekend right?!) Spontaneous Ice Cream Run with the kiddos -- they were in their pj's about to fall asleep when we ran in, yelling "ice cream ruuuuun!"

FRIDAY Mommy Worked and little boys played with a new friend | Pizza picnic on the living room floor | Daddy rested & Mommy celebrated a sweet friend's birthday

SATURDAY Birthday Party my boys to celebrate a sweet girl turning 4 | Cookout with friends and family

SUNDAY Church  & baby girl got dedicated (note her sweetness in the photo below!) We love our church so much! (If you live in Tampa, you should join us. :)) | Naps & Lots of rest | Frozen Chocolate Bananas  to celebrate Andrew going to kindergarten on Monday!

What did your weekend look like?!

One Year Later.

All Images by Meg Baisden Photography

One year ago I made a leap. I made a decision that absolutely terrified me.

The decision was to stop playing games; to stop pretending that something was working that, in all actuality, was not.

When it came to my business, I was tired, exhausted, and confused. I had spent far too long making excuses, good and valid excuses, but excuses nonetheless. I had finally come to the realization that unless something drastically changed, my business would forever just be a very stressful and expensive hobby.

The options were to either quit or get help.

I prayed that God would provide an opportunity for me to learn and to grow and to make much of the call He has placed on my life: to make Him famous and to bring Him glory through the gifts and abilities He has given me.

And then, I made the big decision to get help. I made the decision to invest in my business and see what God would do through that decision.

Up until this point I had never invested in my business. I had never taken a single risk. I had never done anything that scared me so much. It was scary because I was saying yes to something and completely unsure of what the result would be.

One year ago I went to The Stationery Academy a burnt out designer in the middle of an identity crisis and unsure if I had it in me to do this whole business thing.

A few days later, I left The Stationery Academy completely overwhelmed and in awe of the extraordinary opportunity that God had just given me.

I met unbelievable women who were talented, wise, and beyond gracious to me. I learned about the importance of building an authentic brand and I was forced to dig deep and question who I really was as a designer and business owner. I was asked to identify my biggest fears and my craziest dreams. I was challenged in ways I never thought possible and encouraged in ways I could have never dreamed.

 And above all, God moved in ways I could have never dreamed or asked for.

These two incredible women, Whitney and Emily led the charge. They are an inspiration to me in ways they will never know. I am so grateful for their expertise, support, and encouragement. In the midst of running a very successful business, being a mommy to two boys and pregnant with a baby girl due any day, Whitney took the time to help me work through some doubts, fears and discouragements I was having last week. Thank you Whitney and Emily for being so incredibly willing to share your knowledge and expertise with me and for being cheerleaders for those of us just starting out!

 

A few weeks before the workshop I still had not reserved a hotel room and I noticed a few of the girls had mentioned in the Facebook group that they were adding a third roomie. I thought to myself, ‘well, four is always better than three…’ so I emailed the girls to see if they would happen to want a fourth roommate. Mind you, I have never met or spoken with these girls in my life. They did not know me and what in the world possessed me to ask if I could room with them is beyond me, but it was a risk that I am forever grateful I took. 

Those three women have become three of my closest friends. One year later we still talk regularly and our video chats make my entire week better. Just this past week, in a state of confusion and fear I wrote them and their response was overwhelmingly encouraging... those three women are an unbelievable gift to me. I truly thank God for them. I laugh when I think about how on the way to The Stationery Academy (it was about a 6 hour drive) I was praying that God would use me to encourage and bless the ladies I would be rooming with, that He would enable me to show true love and grace to them. And yet, they are the ones who I am forever indebted to for their love and grace shown to me. 

Thank you Amber, Amber and Courtney. You are a blessing to me and I am sure that this 'One Year Later' post would not be happening if it weren’t for you three ladies.

Love you!

And of course, this post would be incomplete without saying a huge Thank You to many of you who helped provide the way for to go to The Stationery Academy. Many of you, my faithful family, friends, and readers supported me when I was at such a crossroads. Thank you for your financial sacrifice and unending support in helping me accomplish something so big.

With that being said, one year later I am so excited to introduce to you a teeny bit of the new Ashlee Proffitt.

This time it’s the REAL Ashlee Proffitt. She is no longer suffering from an identity crisis and she isn’t afraid to dream big. She was in there all along, it just took some work to pull her out.

Over the next few weeks I will be introducing you to my complete new brand (with lots of fun inspiration details), starting with a new website and blog sometime next week. The shop will be full of amazing new products that I cannot wait to share with you. There will be some fun giveaways along the way and I will be hosting a virtual launch party too! (Why not, throw a virtual party?!) 

I hope you are as excited as I am! 

Weekend Snapshot: August 10-12

 

Weekend Snapshot
FRIDAY Swimming with a friend all morning = looong afternoon nap | Pizza picnic on the living room floor + a movie (Aaron & I enjoyed our own movie and the Olympics after all the little ones were in bed.... We are wondering if we should make this a new Friday night tradition :))

SATURDAY Family snuggle time in bed | Bible + great book + coffee while my boys were at the pool = great start to any day | Deep cleaned the house | Work work work on my business (re-launch) and products that will be launching soooo soon! | Breakfast for dinner made by my sweet husband |  Swings and playground

SUNDAY Church | Olive Garden with sweet family | Work work work while the family naps | Drew Learns How to Ride His Bike!!! On a whim Aaron decided to take off his training wheels. Drew got it in just a couple of tries. I guess he was ready! haha | FroYo This family likes any excuse to celebrate. So, in honor of Drew riding his bike we headed out for frozen yogurt (and did a few happy dances at his big success! haha) |  Olympics We stayed up super late watching the Olympics' closing ceremonies. The boys got a big kick out of me singing and dancing to Spice Girls. | More work work work... Soon my friends! Very soon! :)

Almost There!

 I am beyond excited.

And a teeny bit nervous.

My sweet husband would probably say that I am more than a teeny bit more nervous... more like a lot nervous.

Honestly, I am a jumbled mix of emotions. I have danced happy dances this week and shed a tear or two as well. I have both cried and squealed with delight. All in anticipation of my business re-launch and the introduction of my new Inspired, Everyday, and Celebrations collections.

So. Much. Hard. Work.

And I am almost done. So close!

I have a launch date. But details on that to come next week!

Happy 2 Months Adelee

Happy 2 months baby girl!

Your mommy is very happy that you seem to have outgrown your fussiness and instead have turned into quite the smiley and happy little baby.

Love you baby girl. Beyond grateful for you.

Weekend Snapshot: August 3-5

Weekend Snapshot
FRIDAY Played outside all morning, made our own water slide & blew countless bubbles (Adelee joined us in her bouncy seat.) | Pizza picnic on the living room floor + Puss & Boots (Aaron & I enjoyed our own movie and the Olympics after all the little ones were in bed.)
SATURDAY Shopping date for kindergarten supplies with my big boy | Relaxing by the pool with Aaron pretending to be Michael Phelps (sadly not pictured :)) | Set-Up at our church's new location (the YMCA)
SUNDAY Church!!! Our first Sunday in the new space was amazing! So encouraged by all the amazing volunteers who worked so hard to pull of this big transition for our growing church! | Olive Garden lunch date after church with our wonderful elders and their families. | Loooong naps + Olympics + easy dinner = restful Sunday afternoon

What did your weekend look like?!

Hello August! (+ a freebie)

While I cannot believe that it is already August, I am excited about the future. God has allowed me to let go of some responsibilities so that I can more effectively and passionately focus on my sweet husband, my crazy and amazing little ones and this growing business. I truly am excited for what this month holds!

To remind you of God's faithfulness every day this month, here is a pretty little download for your computer desktop and your iphone wallpaper.

Enjoy!

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1680 x 1050

1920 x 1080

1920 x 1200

iphone

{To Download}

Choose the link that fits your computer. Click the link and it will take you directly to the image. Some computers will allow you to right click your mouse and give you the option: "Set as Desktop Background." If not, right click and simply save the image to your computer. Then, change the background in your computer settings.

{To use on iphone/ipad} 
Simply download the photo using links above and email the photo to yourself. Then open the email on your phone/ipad and save the photo to your phone. Then set the photo as wallpaper once you save it.