Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

Lincoln City Magic Land

I've just spent literally hours sifting through all the photos I took this past weekend on a little trip to the coast with my friends Jen & Julz!

It was amazing weather, an incredible spot to stay, and there were so many memorable, photo-worthy moments. Here are just some of my favorites from the weekend!

We stayed at the Anchor Inn in Lincoln City, which is decked head to toe in vintage collections- it's trippin' the kitsch fantastic in there, such an awesome place to stay!

Hanging out in Jen's room at the inn- that's not quite tea we were sipping out of those cups ;)

Ate dinner (and breakfast the next day, which is included!) in the Tiki Lounge

It's only a few blocks from the beach- we walked down to watch the sunset that night.

We stumbled upon a magical fort that had been built out of driftwood. We claimed it as ours and played there as the sun went down.

I wish I could transplant that fort, and the sound of the wind and ocean along with it, to my backyard to escape to whenever I need to relax- it felt so incredible there. 

We stuck around the Anchor Inn that morning to eat, try out Jen's Clarisonic (I want one!) and say bye-bye to the super nice people who run the place.

And we headed back to the wild beach one last time...

And we walked back to that magical fort, a fog started rolling in...

And then it was time to hit the thrift stores, and say bye to Lincoln City!

My only complaint about the whole trip was that it was too darn short!

Jen and I actually went there to scope this spot out as a potential place to have a Maven Circle retreat in the future! And after spending such a relaxing, inspiring and fantastic weekend with supportive friends there, we agreed, it's the perfect place!

We're taking the flood of ideas we came up with over the weekend and starting to plan already for how to create a magical experience here for a group of creative, passionate women (you wanna come with us?) We're planning for early 2014 so you'll hear lots more about it in the coming year. It's going to be SO MUCH FUN!

It felt so good to getaway, so reviving. It really makes me realize how I need to do it more often to feel balanced and whole.

Have you gotten to take a getaway lately, mini or large? Or planning one? A change of scenery can be so inspiring, don't you think?

The Maven Circle

I'm so excited to introduce a big project that a friend and I have been working on for months, but first, a little background about how we got started with it...

Saying yes over coffee

When a friend of a friend, Jen Neitzel, asked to meet me for coffee one morning last spring to talk about a project idea she had, I had no clue what she was going to ask me about, but I had a good feeling my answer was going to be no.

I was on a recent rampage of trying to trim the fat and focus on what I really wanted to do with my life. I was saying no to every extra thing that came my way, hopping off project trains, cutting scheduled things out of my calendar and referring clients elsewhere. I had reached a point of being so overwhelmed with doing so many things at once that I realized, I either really need to get focused on what I want in my life, right now, or I was going to fail miserably.

But when Jen started talking about this idea she had for a site revolving around creative business people, the resources we could offer them, the community we could create for them, I was thinking, "yes.. yes.. uh huh, I like that, yes... " and by the end of our first meeting I found myself saying "YES, I'M IN!"

I was simultaneously excited and scared shitless about taking on yet another thing, but there was something about Jen's ideas and demeanor that felt so harmonious to my own ideas and where I wanted to go with my life and business, that I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by.

What we had originally envisioned as a business/marketing-oriented site for creative biz owners started to evolve as we began meeting more, getting to know each other and becoming friends.

The more we shared with each other, the more we began seeing parallels in our larger life goals of beating stress, getting organized, managing our time better and finding somesort of work/life balance. We were both dedicated to finding ways that worked for us, both had so many tips, tricks and resources to share with each other that it hit us- THIS is our project. This is what we need to be sharing with people!

And so, The Maven Circle was born!

The Maven Circle is our new space to share resources and practical tools to help creative mavens like you balance your busy lives even better!

Our first offering is a 4-6 week e-course coming in Feburary 2012 called from Busy to Balanced. We'll share our stories and real-world strategies for how we were able to break out of the constant stress cycle and find more balance, more meaning and more happiness in our everyday.

The course is designed to help you identify where you're stressed-out or unfilfilled and take action to make some real, significant changes for the better. It'll help you think differently about your time and to-dos, give you tools to defeat the stress monster when it rears its ugly head and help shift your perspective into a more balanced place. There will be lots of fun and support along the way as we help you discover which methods work best in your own life, and your particular situation.

We'll have lots more info on the course coming soon. To stay in the loop:

• sign up for our inner circle mailing list - we'll be releasing some fun and helpful subscriber-only freebies over the next few months to help keep your motivation revving and perspective shifting!
• Connect with us on facebook and twitter - our pages are a little bare at the moment, but we'll be updating both often with great links, quotes and our thoughts about balance and finding your inner awesome

And starting tomorrow, Jen and I will be writing joint posts on our blogs exploring topics around work/life balance. First up, we're talking about our morning routinues and how they can make a huge beneficial impact on reducing stress.

Sound interesting? Do you have problems with stress and finding a balance in your life?