A New Home. Yippeeee!!!

Check out all the sweet details!

www.ashleeproffitt.com/blog

Feel Pretty Essentials

The past few days months have rendered me somewhat sleep deprived. One of my survival tricks when I'm super tired or just overwhelmed is to get dressed. Simple enough, right? All of you mamas, just said 'yeah, right.' ha. It is important for me (and my attitude and my productivity) to at least feel like I am somewhat put together (and pretty :)).... even if I haven't showered in a few days and my hair is a rats nest.

Here are a few things that are making me smile and feel pretty no matter how crazy the day is:
bright & cheerful nail polish - essie | shiny lip gloss - mac | cute tees - target | super dark skinny jeans - american eagle | white watch - michael kors | cute slip-ons - vans | and Starbuck of course. that makes any day better.

... and just in case you are wondering the new Ashlee Proffitt is launching very soon and I will hopefully be able to get back to normal sleep habits.

It's happening.

I am three weeks behind my self-imposed launch deadline.

Rather than choosing to be frustrated or discouraged I am choosing to be more excited and more energized than ever.

I am grateful because I now have printers lined up for all of my new products.

I am grateful because I have the most amazing best friend ever who has an amazing gift of taking the most amazing photographs, who willingly and graciously and excitingly photographed all of my new products without complaint while children are crawling at our feet or perched on our hips while we are holding props or cameras and we are laughing at how 'if only the world could just see us now.'

I am grateful because I have a husband who has sacrificed his helper for the past few weeks while I go into hiding to finish this last phase of this business launch.

I am grateful for little ones who show grace to a mommy who has fed them either grilled cheese or quesadillas almost every night for quite some time now.

I am grateful that God's timing is far more perfect and planned than my own and I am grateful that I can trust in Him and His plan for me and this business.

A little sneak peek.

Thank you Shay Cochrane Photography for this (and the billion other) amazing photographs.

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.

Weekend Snapshot: July 28-29

Weekend Snapshot
SATURDAY Rest (i.e. p.j.'s ALL day and multiple naps.
SUNDAY Home to Virginia | Flying with 3 little ones all by myself. (short flight but proud nonetheless. Especially when I managed to get all three sleeping at the same time. :) | Meet & Greet Baby Adelee My mom invited anyone and everyone over for a southern style potluck dinner. Yummy does not do it justice... | Cousins playing until wayyy past their bed times. Makes my heart happy.

There is something unbelievable sweet and heart-warming about a photo of your sweet granny's holding your baby girl. Love my granny's.

Heavy heart.

My heart was heavy this morning.

I set out to finish working on my Inspired Paper collection (all kinds of paper goodness complete with beautiful scripture passages.)

And yet, I found myself completely overwhelmed when it came to the specific task at hand this morning. Design a sympathy card. Feel the weight of that task. Design something that's entire purpose is to encourage and comfort a person in pain. How do you effectively do that through paper & ink?

So, in need of inspiration I pulled out two boxes of cards that I have kept for almost 4 years now. When Aaden died, the daily trip to the mailbox was just about all that kept me going some days. From first hand experience, cards, letters, sweet notes of encouragement, and prayers of healing mean so much more than you could ever know.

I read through card after card this morning weeping at such a great loss.

I begged the Lord for encouragement in His Word and He led me to Psalm 55:22, 'Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.'

Thank you Lord for your gracious provision and power that sustains.


And just minutes ago my husband brought to my attention that an amazing couple that we have been praying miracles for are now facing the worst possible result. My heart is aching for them... aching for her. Such a great loss. All the while, we are still praying for a miracle in her body.

While Aaron was reading me the update, my heart was repeating, 'May You be glorified, may You be glorified...' And again I sought the Lord. I begged Him for answers. Such pain is too much to fathom.

He brought me to Psalm 95.


Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.  
 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

A sweet and tender reminder from the Lord that we are to praise Him and trust that 'In His hand' are all things. He is in control. He is faithful. And we praise Him.

...

Our prayers are with the Hurst family. We pray for hearts to be held by a God who knows deeply the pain of a loss so great. We pray for miraculous physical healing for Angie. We pray that you would hold Thomas as he leads his wife and children through such tragedy. We pray for their sweet boys, that You would keep their hearts tender toward You protecting them from fear, anger or bitterness. We pray that friends and family would surround them with comfort, encouragement and willingness to walk through the lifetime of healing to come.

Sneak Peek at Progress.

Slowly but surely.

Progress is taking place.

Very soon I will be revealing a brand new website, blog and shop, complete with new products for your every day, for your celebrations, and for your home.

I cannot wait!

Styled. Sweet Summer.

The Effortless Beauty Style Guide exists to inspire and encourage you to let the beauty on the inside show on the outside. My hope is to show you that it is not difficult (or expensive!) to pull an outfit together and that you are worth a few extra minutes every morning to feel beautiful all day long.

---
A sweet summer look that is perfect for those hot summer days, dressy enough for a party and still casual enough for the mom on the run.

Pretty Tank & Shorts // Ruffle Tank - Target | Shorts - Target | Flower Studs - Forever 21 | Bangle - Target | Hand Bag (similar) - Nine West | Sandels - Target

Weekend Snapshot: July 20-22

 Weekend Snapshot // Outreach (as a family) on USF's campus handing out icee pops to students | Busch Gardens (in the sweltering 100 degree heat!) for the afternoon. So MUCH fun! | Ice cream was the cool treat of choice post Busch Gardens (daddy ate Asher's after we realized there was absolutely no waking him (note the head on the car seat.) | Happy 1st Birthday party to our sweet little friend Austin (guitar themed of course. and included the cutest guitar cake ever.) | Church family practicing the new set-up for our (the church's) BIG move to the YMCA in two weeks. (this was done on Sunday evening after a looong morning of set-up and tear-down at our current facility for the Sunday morning service. i.e. We have the most amazing church family ever.)

What did you do this weekend?!
I hope there was lots of fun memories made (even if that included staying in your p.j.s all day. :))

Memory Verse Place Mats.

One of our family goals this summer was to start memorizing Bible verses with the boys. So far it has been a success. Asher points to his head and says in his squeaky little voice 'miiiiiiind.' So cute. I should definitely video that cuteness at some point.

A tip for memorizing Bible verses is to place the verse(s) everywhere, so you cannot help but see it throughout your day. So, I made these little memory verse placemats with our current verse and thought I would share it with you. 

Simply click on the link of your favorite design and save it to your computer. You can then print it on your paper of choice. I just so happen to have a great friend who is letting me borrow her laminator so I made ours kid-proof (so we can actually use them as place mats.) In the coming weeks I will be offering laminated place mats (these designs and more) for sale in my shop.

 Gray & Yellow

 Aqua & Red

 Raspberry & Pink

 

 Blue & Red

Which color palette is your favorite?

Would you purchase these for your home?

Style Guide. Effortless Beauty.

The Weekend Wardrobe feature has been renamed Effortless Beauty Style Guide. 

The new style feature will no longer be solely about the specific looks and styles from my weekend. Instead I will be putting together looks that are effortlessly beautiful for all of you busy ladies who might just need a bit of inspiration and encouragement when it comes to letting the beauty on the inside show on the outside. 

My hope is to show you that it is not difficult (or expensive!) to pull an outfit together and that you are worth a few extra minutes every morning to feel beautiful all day long. 

This is my current go-to outfit. Post-baby bodies can be a bit tricky to dress and still look (i.e. feel like they look) nice. A few suggestions if you are currently sporting a post-baby body:
1. Start working out. :) Exercise is so good for you both physically, mentally and emotionally. Trust me.
2. Invest in a great pair of 'transition' jeans. Not maternity pants. This made a world of difference to me. For me, wearing clothes I wore while pregnant made me still feel like I looked pregnant. Not the look I was going for. I bought a pair of dark wash, straight leg jeans right after Adelee was born that I adore. They provide great structure and the long lines of a dark wash jean is very slimming. 
3. Accessorize.  (Accessories always fit, no matter if those pre-baby clothes are still not looking quite right yet.) 

Simple T-shirt & Jeans // t-shirt - Target | jeans - Target | earrings - Target | bangles - Forever 21 | nail polish - essie | gold sandals (actual from Forever 21) similar - Steve Madden

Green Grass.

 

Art by Daily Love Dose

I am watering my grass. 

I am investing in what God has given me and finding contentment where He has me.

I am prayerfully not wishing or asking for different circumstances.

I am working towards the goals and calling that He has laid on my heart: to serve and love my husband and little ones well, to love others and sacrifice my needs for the well being of others, and to be a good steward of this business He has entrusted in my care.

For the next few weeks and possibly months (i.e. newborns don't really care about your deadlines. ha.) I will be furiously watering my grass and investing in this business with the hopes of launching my new brand, new collections, new shop and even a few surprises very soon. 

I can't wait to show you all that I have in the works!

 

Mommy + Baby Must Haves

baby girl essentials // ruffle onesies - Carters | hot pink flower headband - Lizzapooh | mams baby love pacifiers - Target | Burp Cloth - Guguberry | diaper pouch - Jilly & Joon | baby swaddler - Wild Sprouts | noise machine - amazon | moby wrap - amazon

mommy essentials (so I still feel pretty & creative) // gold earrings - Target | nail polish - essie | gold sandals - Steve Madden | adorable & inspiring notebooks - target (not sold online)

Around Here.

We are adjusting to life as a family of 6 (-1 here on this side of heaven).
Everything takes just a bit more time and planning.

I am trying to figure out how to accomplish even the smallest of tasks each day and have not been super successful up to this point. ha. My husband suggested that I write a blog post about what it looks like to be a working mama. I told him as soon as I figure that out I'll definitely write one. :)

My daily prayer is to be focused and intentional. I feel a bit frazzled so to be either one of those would be a huge answer to prayer.

Below is a snapshot of my life including our July 4th festivities which included spending some amazing time with amazing new friends.  (photos courtesy of Instagram since my camera + computer decided not to work together this morning)

And in case you missed these (a little light reading and lot of photo viewing):
+ Happy 7th Anniversary
+ Welcome Baby Adelee
+ Happy 5th Birthday Andrew
+ Happy Father's Day
+ Adelee is One Month Old
+ Hello July (Free Download!)
+ California Vacation

And currently I am very inspired by this (and another) little notebook I found 

while aimlessly wandering the aisles of Target. 

Love it.

This past Sunday our church ordained and sent out two church planters. It was amazing.

So encouraged by their faithfulness to God, His mission, to their wives and little ones and to the church.

I pretty much spend my days staring at this little face. Love her.