Call Me Emily: Jack of all trades, Master of none.

Call Me Emily: Jack of all trades, Master of none. 

You know the dreaded bio blog? The one where you learn about the blogger and decide if continuing to follow their posts is worth your effort. Yes, this is that one post! 

Can I just interject that I want you all to know who I am and what kind of person I am? Also, I would really love for you all to follow me on my Lula Roe journey (hence this blog) knowing who I am as a person. Where I come from in life and where I want to go in life (that will all not be in this one post, if it were you would be reading a novel).

If you haven't already noticed I have a sense of humor and I enjoy to type to my readers the way that I speak. Yes, I am an English Lit major and no that probably doesn't translate very well in to my blog thus far. My hope is that you as the readers get to know what kind of person I am through what I am saying and in a way that I would say it in person. Not some formal mumbo jumbo of a blog that would make you want to run far far away to never return. (Please come back!)  

Photo by: Yager Studios Photography

Lets be real, I am a (not so perfect) mother of 4 children. I have no claim to fame as the greatest mother on earth. I try and I honestly feel like that is what counts as a parent. If you love your kids and try your hardest to teach them to be respectable adults you are accomplishing parenting. Is it easy to parent 1, let alone 4? NO! My kids are all completely different beings, with their own unique personalities. They fight, they yell, they are hormonal, and they are also the most loving creatures I have ever had the greatest experience of mothering. The best lesson I have ever learned in life is that you must learn and grow with your children.  

Similarly, I feel like marriage is the same thing. I was once told that you could be married to someone your entire life and truly never know them. There has never been a more true statement. Every day is a new day that we learn new things about each other. Is my marriage perfect? NO, but I would not change my spouse or trade him for anything. We laugh, we cry (not Anthoney, because "men don't cry"...or do they?), we learn, we fight, we work together, we live together, we parent together, and most of all we love each other no matter what. The overall theme of our relationship is "we" not "I." That is what works for us, not that every relationship must be mapped out the same, this is just what works for us. 

My most recent painting. 

Arts and crafts! Did you just say arts and crafts? Two of my favorite words in the entire world. Yep, I am one of those creative souls that is just naturally crafty. I wish sometimes that I wasn't because then I wouldn't have this need to be creative. Not everything I do is a masterpiece, but it is that feeling that I created something that makes me happy. I see this same capability in my children. They love to participate and be creative. However, I don't quite have the time that I would like to set and let the creative juices flow. 

You may wonder where I fit in the time for friends and time with extended family. It is quite the task, but I do have a handful of some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for. We are those people that could not talk to each other all the time and when we do get together we talk like we never skipped a beat. Those are the people that everyone needs in their life. They are there when I need them and I am here when they need me.  

Basically, in a nutshell this is me and my crazy life. I am a jack of all trades, and definitely a master of none. 

Stay tuned for why I chose LulaRoe in the next post. 

If you want to view my video blog click here.
If you want to follow me on Twitter click here.

Lula love and laughter, 
Emily Eden 

My Lula-Office, Lula-Boutique, MY LULA LOUNGE!

My Lula-Office, Lula-Boutique, MY LULA LOUNGE!

Oh boy! Where to even begin......

I have a good sized home and luckily I have ample space to choose from. I have decided that I am going to set up "shop" in the basement. This was previously the home of the toy room. However, this means I am going to have to minimally remodel. I am not really a person that enjoys the labor aspect of a remodel. Most of what I have to get done is decorating.

None the less, that carpet has got to go! Whoever built my house thought that ugly maroon commercial grade carpet was suitable for the floor covering in the basement. Can you say YUCK! I am thinking that we will pull that ugly hot mess up and stain the concrete floor. I like the look of a stained concrete floor and then I can get some cute fluffy area rugs for the different "areas" of the basement. Don't even get me started on the light blue carpet on the steps to the basement. I am thinking that the best option for that is to do the vintage wood pallet/crate look. I see it in my head.  

And lets just establish that I hate drop ceilings and the ceiling tiles. There is no real appeal to them. They are white with black specks. There is not much I can do about that. BLEH! Unless I want to invest a small fortune in the pretty copper metal looking ones. Not going to happen. What am I gonna do to mask that eye sore? Nothing. I will leave them white and the way that they come. I feel that the floor will be a big investment and will hopefully detract from the ugly ceiling! Focus on the good people! Ha!  

On to the walls...They are currently a lovely shade of off white...said every boring plain person everywhere! That means that I have to decide on a paint scheme. This is tough because it is 1900 square feet of open space with zero dividing walls. AND zero windows! I may eventually invest in some new doors for the basement to let some natural light in. If I paint one corner then I have to paint the whole thing! I will be painting for days. And trust me I am not one to mask off a straight line and just paint my little area.

Zones! There are many things happening in the basement. There is the "man cave" area that I promised my husband years ago we would create for him. That is one zone we have to create. Open mouth insert foot...at least that is how I picture it now! Upside, he can hang out with me while I work given the open floorplan and will have a place to not be bored! Then the toys! UGGGG the toys! That area has to be rearranged for the play area for the kiddos. I would love built in shelving for the kids area. The greatest feature of the basement is the kitchenette area. Granted those cabinets are 90's honey oak. Bleh....I am going to probably leave them that way. I learned last summer painting kitchen cabinets is tough and probably not my best achievement. It does have a space for a fridge and I could put a microwave. Yay, fend for yourself nights. What? My kids love fend for yourself nights!

Why so many different zones? Well, I am a family person. The kids could enjoy playing, the hubs could hang in the man cave area, and I could be rocking my Lula business. We would all be enjoying the space together as a family. That idea makes me one happy momma!

However, I am so indecisive when it comes to the design of it all. I have spent many hours surfing Pinterest and Google for home offices. There is a list of things that I know I need to buy to set up shop and all of the other basement zones. I like the idea of repurpose, recycle, reuse, up-style, etc.

Looks like I am off to the yard sales and flea markets to find pieces I could remake. Time to get creative! This may be the perfect time to redo my Grandmothers antique claw foot loveseat. I think it could be a super fun piece for my Lula-lounge.

Wish me luck as I start the remodel in the queue! Its going to be rough, but I know the outcome is going to be so worth it.

Click here to follow my LulaRoe Journey vlog!
Click here to follow me on twitter.

With Lula Love and remodeling,
Emily Eden

The To Do List is LONG!

The To Do List Is LONG!

Overwhelmed is an understatement! There are so many things to get done! How am I ever going to get everything done?Thankfully there is plenty of time in the queue! Whew... oddly waiting is a relief. Never thought I would say that!

You may ask is there really that much to get done. Why, yes. Yes there is!

Let me tell you what I have learned so far.

The first step you take once you are in queue is to set up a LulaRoe email account with the provider of your choice. (I chose Gmail...there are many media outlets that I can connect to Gmail... Like this blog!) This is important to help you communicate with your customers and remove your personal email clutter from your business email.

Now for the fun information or not so fun depending how you look at it. I am going to be primarily online and if your focus is also online like me then there are multiple media outlets that you will need to utilize. However, content is key! Key points to remember:

• If you let any social media account go stale, then it will very likely stay that way. This includes your VIP group, a fan page, etc.
• It is better to use accounts that you can link all together. They may not all communicate with one another unless you tell them to do so. They may not be the same content platforms. However, you will catch on which platforms work the best with others. For instance, Instagram works well to share pictures with Facebook (note: I am not sure if Instagram will share directly to a group page. I must figure this out.). Aside from that, I plan to make them connect just to help me utilize my time more wisely.
• Figure out which platforms you will use the most and focus on those. Once those are grown and well established add some other platforms in to your routine! Don't...I repeat DO NOT overwhelm yourself with to much media outlets to fast. The accounts will suffer.
• It is better to use less social media if your content is more valuable. Example: Nobody wants to follow someone on Twitter that doesn't offer something interesting! The trick for me is going to be figuring out how to keep my followers on any media engaged. [Insert wise words from my sponsor:] "The clothes will keep people interested." Lets just bank on her wise words! They were more than enough to keep me interested.
• Wait until close to time to launch to start adding people to your VIP group on Facebook. I am going to set mine up, but make it private until closer to time. That way I have everything ready. My albums will be established (minus the photographs of the clothes), the information, files, and everything will be complete. I will not switch it to closed from private until I am set to start adding customers. This way I don't have to worry about people leaving when they realize I am so far away from launch. I don't want a stale VIP group!

This is just a small amount of what I have learned so far. I thought that I would share what I have picked up. I will say that I have started setting up all of my accounts and linking what I can. I am not currently actively trying to get followers/members. That is what I will do when I get closer to onbarding. (With the exception of YouTube and this blog. These are both accounts where I am sharing my journey from start to success!)

Click here  to follow my LulaRoe Journey vlog here on YouTube.

If you have any social media suggestions I would love to hear them! Please leave me a comment with your tips and tricks!

Until next time,

with Lula-Love,

Emily Eden

I Just Submitted My Paperwork on 4/19/16! I am in the Queue!

I JUST SUBMITTED MY PAPERWORK ON 4/19/16!               I am in the Queue! 

Let me give you a quick intro explaining me and my life . I am Emily. I am a mother of 4, I work full time, and I go to college. I live a wonderfully busy life that I wouldn't change for anything in the world. My husband is my rock and together we raise 4 of the sweetest, wildest, and funniest kids that anyone has ever met. 

With that being said lets cut to the chase...LULAROE! 

There are so many things that have jogged through my mind since submitting my paperwork last night. Included in these little running thoughts are worries, concerns, excitement, to do lists, and then ahhh...I finally drifted off to sleep. Today when I woke up it was literally the very first thought in my mind. Throughout the day in any downtime it was all I thought about. 

Haven't you ever just had something in your life occur that preoccupied most every corner of your mind. (Or at least when you had nothing else to think about..) That is LULAROE! Well of course I think about my children, work, home, my schoolwork (semester is almost over..WOOHOO!), and many other normal life thoughts. Now I have added LulaRoe to my list of thoughts!

You may have many questions about why I would add LulaRoe to my already hectic life. To be completely honest, at first I didn't think this would ever work for me. However, there are several reasons that I took the leap. 

First, have you ever fell in love with a piece of clothing so much that you never want to take it off? It may be your old jeans that you have had so long that they conformed to be the perfect fit to your body. This is LulaRoe for me. I received my very first pair of leggings about 4 weeks ago. The minute I got them I was in love. They were soft and comfortable. I looked cute and stylish without sacrificing comfort! The picture to the left is my very first pair of buttery soft leggings and flattering Irma. 

I put that outfit on with my fit kicks. No they didn't match, but the rest of me looked cute! I knew that day that I was in trouble. I was either going to break the bank or I was gonna be in big trouble. (Let me just insert here that my husband loved them too!) 

Second, have you ever talked about something so much that the people around you started to form a little mini cult? That was me! I told everybody about how much I was in love. It was apparent by my hashtag lulaaddict, hashtag thisishowiroe posts on Facebook. Basically without realizing I was creating other LulaRoe addicts around me. 

Third, have you ever just known that something was so right? You just knew that whatever it was that it was meant for you and your life. That is me with LulaRoe. I haven't stopped talking about it in the 4 weeks that I have been a customer. I have talked to everyone about it. 

Aside from my constant talking about it everything has fell perfectly in to place. Let me tell you that I am not a credit card person. The idea of getting a credit card scared me to the core! As I was evaluating how I could pay for this without breaking my savings account a miracle happened. 

Well, okay, not really a miracle. I was discussing financing the start up with my husband. I logged in to the bank account. SAY WHAT?!?! I hadn't made the bank deposit the week before, my husband did. I forgot that I had money coming and BAM!!! There it was! Not the full amount needed. I had other little sums, but when I put them all together I am just shy of having the funds needed to pay for the package that I want. 

At that moment I knew that this was going to all work out! This was right for me. This is right for my life. Then I pondered the situation deeper and I realized that the entire thing is falling together. Not that there won't be speed bumps in my Lula road. I am sure that there will be, but at that moment it all felt right. 

I am excited about starting this new journey with my family and my friends. 

There is a long list of to do's that I have to accomplish before I onboard. I will update weekly with progress, Things that I have learned and things that I am probably completely confused about! 

Thank you for stopping by and reading my exciting news! 

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in becoming a consultant or if you want to try some awesome clothes. 

Until next time,
With Lula-love and excitement,
Emily Eden

P.S. VIP group link to come. I will not add anyone until I have onboarded, but I will give you all the link to join me! I will also have instagram, twitter, and youtube channel coming soon too! Be on the watch for them!