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Happy March! I swear whenever I try to “take it slow” I end up cramming a million more things into my schedule. Case in point: we were gonna take it easy for Theo’s birthday but now we’ve guac to make, balloons to buy, pizza to order, and presents to wrap… 🥑🎈🍕🎁
Next year let’s just go to the aquarium and wave at penguins.
Despite the chaos (or because of it??) I’ve rounded up a list of stuff that are making my life easier (or at least more fun) in the first quarter of 2023.
I’ve got three sections here, so a little of something for everybody!
Life Stuff | Business Stuff | Cake Stuff
Life Stuff
In case we haven’t met, I’m an entrepreneur, a mama, a wife, a determined go-getter with neurodivergence, and a creative soul. That doesn’t always mean that I’ve got my shit together, and that’s okay. I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got…. and these 3 things make my life a little bit better.
Greenchef
Meal prep is exhausting and hard and requires so many executive function skills that I’m still working on. We order a Green Chef box every other week to keep decision fatigue at bay, and the recipes come together pretty quickly. Oh, and full disclosure: Ryan does all the cooking anyway lol.
beyond yoga tennis skirts
They’re cute, they’re girly, they’re comfortable as hell, they’re technically skorts (so my mama can’t yell at me for not “sitting like a lady” when I’m sprawled out on the floor playing Duplo with a toddler). I want one in every color. Honestly, I don’t even wear them when I work out, but I know I’d look hella cute doing some sweaty barre3 exercises in this baby 😄
(and like seriously, don’t underestimate the power of feeling really cute and knowing it took .2 seconds to throw a skort + comfy tank top on)
how to do laundry when you’re depressed
(the tedx talk)
I found this video really affirming and validating. Taking care of yourself is hard enough but it’s even harder when you’ve got health challenges— mental or physical. I took a lot of pressure off myself after consuming KC Davis’ content (she has a podcast + wrote a book too!)
Business Stuff
In case I don’t make that clear enough, I am not an organized person.
Don’t think I’m over here pretending like I can keep my house together, my family organized, and my business running smoothly. The truth is that I drop the ball ALL THE TIME. Usually, the first ball I drop is housecleaning. Please do not look at the dust bunnies in the corner lol.
I’ve got clients who depend on me though, so I put a lot of energy and learning time into how to run my business more smoothly, to “Kelsie-proof” things (borrowing a phrase from a fellow small biz owner).
Courses/Group Programs
I’ve been learning from some incredible women lately, who all have a variety of resources from 1:1 work to digital downloads to group programs.
→ Solutions Integrators
Ashley will help you put together client workflow, project management, and task management, and she’ll make it super simple and easy. Ashley is the queen of streamlining and working smarter, not harder. If you’ve ever had the pleasure to be a custom client of mine, you can 1000% thank Ashley for making that process so smooth!
→ Smooth Operations
Carla is an incredibly thorough and also hilarious business coach. She’s got the perfect mix of the NYC fast lane and laidback Cali life, and she has an eerie way of knowing exactly why and how I’m overcomplicating myself 😆
→ Focus Formula
Shawnee’s program for neurodivergent entrepreneurs called to me the second I looked at her sales page. Was she talking directly to me? From the compassionate and gentle ways she nudged you toward motivation and away from procrastination, to the tactical worksheets and skills she teaches, no one has every explained focus & productivity to me the same way Shawnee has.
→ Instagram Growth
Stephanie Kase blows my mind with how well she understands how to use Instagram in an effective way that doesn’t feel like drudgery. Plus, her twin babies are adorable. Anyway. One of my 2023 goals is to get better at marketing, so her IG course is giving me some really actionable ideas to connect with y’all over there!
Podcasts
Does anyone else binge podcasts while they’re kneading fondant or scraping buttercream?!
What I love lately:
→ The Systems + Magic Podcast
Dolly is an absolute delight, and the joyous way she shares about systems and backend business optimization makes me want to do better in my own business! Plus, she’s a Harry Potter nerd, just like me ;),
→ Called to Both
I met Joy at the Elevate conference, and this woman knows her stuff. I looked up her podcast when I got home and found out she focuses on motherhood + entrepreneurship (aka the “Both” in “Called to Both”). This is right up my alley.
→ The Artisan CEO
Another Harry Potter nerd, Abby Grace mainly focuses on working with brand photographers. But, her business-centered approach is totally applicable to all kinds of creative industries, like making cakes + sugar flowers!
→ Consider the Wildflowers
Shanna’s interviews are such a perfect balance of business, numbers, nitty gritty financial ups and downs, and also the real life life stuff (“the real behind the highlight reel”). Her guests always leave me with an insight or two to tuck away, and it’s really affirming to see other business owners talk about their struggles and triumphs in such a vulnerable way.
Cake Stuff
Here we’ll get a little more creative! 🙂
Wafer Paper flowers
Wafer paper flowers are one of those things I get asked about a lot, but I do not feel confident making them. I hope to one day learn more about these delicate, papery flowers, but in the meantime, I want to point you in the direction of some of my favorite teachers to follow:
→ Wafer Paper Academy with Chef Anna
The Cake Decorating Co.
For the coolest cake decorating supplies, I love subscribing to Cake Decorating Co’s email. They’re on top of all the latest trends from the UK, and the coolest products to make life easier. I really need to figure out how to import/wholesale from them because I for sure get fomo from these British Bakers!
Color Theory (YouTube)
Finespun Cakes created this gorgeous youtube video all about Color Theory and applied to Sugar Flowers!
I am in fact, a hoarder when it comes to my color dusts (what if I fall in love with a color then it gets discontinued?!?! I must buy it all!) but really, it all comes down to this color wheel.
Meaning – you can save a ton of money by only buying a few colors in bulk like red, blue, yellow, white, black, brown (and listen I’d definitely buy some hot pink, too i mix a touch of that into everything, lol).
Decorating Dummy Cakes (YouTube)
Have I been decorating dummy cakes wrong this whole time?! Probably.
This video tutorial is the ultimate in working smarter, not harder! My mind was blown after watching this and every time I cover a dummy cake in royal icing, I follow this technique.
And that’s a wrap for today’s round-up! Tell me if you enjoyed this post + got some good info/resources from it! Leave a comment, send me an email, or flag me down at a cake conference, I’m all for sharing things on the internet that are actually helpful. 🎉
And for more of my fav things, I’ve got a whole page of resources + tools that keep my life moving.
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. That means I get a small commission if you purchase through this link. However, I make it a point to only share tools and resources I truly love and use.
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