Lilly’s Blow Dry & Makeup Bar
I had the great pleasure of stopping by the elegant and warm Lilly’s Blow Dry & Makeup Lounge this May! They’ve just opened up and I highly recommend stopping by! Now, I have to be honest, I don’t usually get my hair blown out. I have that fun challenge of a 1/2 wavy, 1/4 curly and 1/4 straight hair combination. No really…it’s fun. (Not.) But it does usually keep me out of a chair, as I always feel like I can do my own hair like no one else. So I was a little apprehensive as I walked into Lilly’s as I wasn’t sure how it was going to go! But I was immediately put at ease by the beautiful atmosphere, the friendly and down-to-earth women in lounge and the gorgeous ethic and purpose behind the business. Founded by the inspiring and accessible Lauren Haber, the entire lounge pulses with conscious energy that you can feel right when you walk in. As a vegan, I was thrilled to see that they use KEVIN.MURPHY cruelty-free products. And for those that care about chemicals and parabens (very important!), you can rest assured knowing that KEVIN.MURPHY is also completely chemical and paraben-free as well. After learning all of this and booking my appointment, I was happy to learn that Lilly’s uses Freestyle blow dryers that hang from the ceiling, which makes it so easy for the stylist to work with your hair, and frees you up from that awkward “chord in the face” moment. But the best part? The dryers turn off immediately when the stylist lets go of them. Love that! So much more environmentally friendly. Yes please. I had the best experience at Lilly’s that day, and I received a lot of compliments on my hair! It felt like such a luxury to have someone else take care of me while I got to just sit back and relax. I loved it. You can book an appointment for yourself today and try it out! You won’t be sorry! Click here for a complete list of hair services, and makeup services are here! So much fun. Lilly’s Blowdry and Makeup Lounge 400 Ramapo Valley Road Oakland, New Jersey 07436...
Read MoreInterview with Simply Modern Mom
Since I founded Better Way Moms, I have tumbled deeper into the world of Mommy Bloggers and I have been blown away by the women I’ve found. This is a world full of resourceful women, original ideas, and ingenuity. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget the fun. There are a few blogs that really stand out from the crowd, and Tiffany Bird is the founder of one of them. When I came across Simply Modern Mom, I found myself studying the site for a long time. I love the ideas, her writing and I could tell how much fun she was having on the site itself. So, I reached out to Tiffany and found her to be as delightful in person as she is on her blog. Below are some questions I asked her about what motivated her to start the site. But I also wanted to make sure to share her with Better Way Moms. She has some fantastic ideas for moms! Enjoy. Q: What are your kids’ names and how old are they? A: Kaye, 3, and Elle, 1. Q: What is your favorite part about being a mom? A: All of it… except potty training. More specifically, watching them learn. Both of my girls have a strong sense of curiosity. I love that about them. Q: What is your website? A: Simply Modern Mom and I have a quaint online shop called The Gift Box, where every gift comes with a box. I’m in the process of updating my shop though. Simply Modern Mom is a community where modern moms learn from each other. I have segments such as Intriguing Sites, Simply Said (guest posts from other bloggers or followers), Learn From a Pro, Back to Basics Tips, Education Week and Project 52: Date Nights (a project to have a date once a week). Q: How did the idea for your website start? A: Simply Modern Mom began as a place for me to keep track of my craft and home projects. But as time progressed, I realized modern moms, myself included, wanted life simplified. We are busy moms juggling multiple things in our lives. We want things quick and easy. I want to educate mothers by learning together. Improve our lives and our families. So I refocused the site to be “Simple. For the modern mom.” Q: How did you come up with the name Simply...
Read MoreGood Job, Bad Trap
When you have what most people consider a “good” job, it is easy to feel obligated to stay where you are. You may hear things like “The economy is bad, you should be grateful for what you have.” Or “You’re doing such a great job, you’re being so resopnsible.” After all, you have what most people want, right? It may be true that most people settle for a “good” job, but then there are some of us who aren’t satisfied with that. We require work that feeds our passion. Work that has meaning that extends beyond a paycheck. We need work that lends itself to the lifestyle we want instead of a job that forces us into survival mode: just hanging on, tolerating Monday through Friday and spending the weekend detoxifying emotionally and mentally. For all of the other working moms and anyone else whose ambition is nudging you on to make your next best career move, here are a few thoughts on breaking free from the bad trap of a good job: The first way to break free from the trap is to acknowledge that it is just not working. Regardless of how anyone else feels or what anyone else likes, the life you live can only be experienced by you. If you are listening to other people, more than likely folk who are afraid to take their own journey, you are selling yourself short. Isn’t it time you stopped living someone else’s dream and started focusing on yours? Accept that a good job is something you do, not who you are. In most cases a good job requires that you compartmentalize, in some cases becoming two different people. You have the 9-5 full time job person who is really just a shell of who you are. Then you have the after-work and weekend persona where you come alive. I’ve never been good at managing that kind of split. This isn’t about working all the time; it’s about being able to be 100% of you 100% of the time. Realize that making good money does not equal having a great lifestyle. Good jobs, especially good jobs that pay well keep us leashed to a life that is less than what we dream for ourselves. We tolerate assignments, conversations, and mediocrity on a full-time basis and still expect to have enough life left over for living. That’s tough. Money...
Read MoreEntrepreneurial Endeavors
As a single mom about to start my own business, I didn’t wake up one day and decide I wanted to be the head of a very successful company. But my passion for bread making and a family recipe for homemade yeast rolls turned it into just that. Each step from my kitchen table to the boardroom at Sister Schubert’s helped to prepare me for that next step to success. I put careful thought into how each decision I made would affect my business, my family and me. Here is what I learned along the way: 1. Find the courage to follow your dreams. Many times, our greatest achievements happen when we feel we’re at the lowest point. I always had a passion for baking and cooking, but never took the initial step to make it more than a hobby. I finally decided I wasn’t going to waste another minute. Once I had a plan and a support system, the possibilities were bountiful. 2. Make quality time for your family while juggling a successful business. I often say the next step is the hardest one! When I was starting out, I involved my family as much as I could. Many of my trusted friends and family members (even the littlest ones) were employees. Their enthusiasm and energy kept me motivated and ultimately led to my company’s success. As business got bigger and better, I made sure to always set aside time for family. Once you get too caught up in meetings and negotiations it’s too late to get back the missed memories. 3. Overcome obstacles and learn from your mistakes. Starting a business takes time and dedication. We all make mistakes. Business blunders are bumps in the entrepreneur’s path to success, but what happens when your business gets in the way of dinnertime or the championship soccer game? I have learned to trust more and let go of the reins. I trust my staff to make good business decisions on my behalf, which frees up my time to spend with my husband and children. 4. Stay true to your family and your values. I have learned that those who you love (and those who love you) are your toughest critics and your biggest fans. Listen to them. Auther: Guest post from Patricia...
Read MoreMaking Work “Work” For You
If you work full time, do you realize that more than one-third of your day revolves around work? Consider the time you spend preparing for work, traveling to and from work, and then actually at work. That’s a lot of time. Too much time in my opinion, if it’s all about just a paycheck. Wouldn’t life be a whole lot more meaningful if you could enjoy the work you get paid to do? I know — that sounds like wanting to have your cake and eat it too, right? Well, when it comes to work, I am a firm believer that it is absolutely possible to have your cake and eat it too…as long as you’ve got the right cake! Is the cake you are eating (your job) overdone, short on sugar, or just plain nauseating? If you are trapped in a dead end job, living from paycheck to paycheck, and living without a passion for your day to day grind, you probably don’t want to eat it or have it. In fact, you would be just fine tossing the whole thing in the trash. Before you make any drastic career changes, answer this: Whose cake are you eating? This is the question I had to ask myself, nine months after I started a new position at a global software company. The position came with a raise, a better title, more responsibility and a seemingly better work environment. A pretty sweet cake, right? Well the first bite (mostly frosting) was quite tasty. But as I took one bite after another, it became quite apparent that the cake was, well, half baked: super long hours, an understaffed team, poorly planned projects, and critical decisions that changed on a weekly basis. The realization that this was not the cake I wanted to eat at first evoked a sense of disappointment: Who would I really be without the title, money and position? As I let go and moved pass the feelings of loss, it slowly dawned on me that I could bake my own cake. If you have found yourself in a similar situation I offer you the same challenge: What if you could have and eat a better cake? A cake you created, so you know it’s going to be good. When you bake your own cake, you choose your own ingredients and ultimately the outcome. In other words you take...
Read MoreFirst Steps in Business
So you have this great idea for a business, you make incredible cakes, you are a champion knitter or you can arrange flowers like no one else. You’re ready to start a business, except now what do you do? Well, there are a few steps, no question. I decided to start with those that are the most important to protect your ideas and make the business official. I’ll be adding on to this article as time goes by, but at least you will have a great place to start! Congratulations for even thinking about this and reading up on it. Most people keep their great ideas to themselves, or they allow them to die in the “Huh…that would be fun” idea phase. Start with a business plan. Make sure you know that your business can make you money. It’s wonderful to start up a business just based on your passion, but unless you’re independently wealthy (and if you are, congrats!) you will need your business to make you money. I would suggest that you start by writing your business plan down. I love this business plan software: BizPlan Business Software. After you’ve come to the conclusion that you can start your business and make money, you’ll want to get incorporated. The details of that process can be found here: www.allstatecorporateservices.com. This process can take just a few weeks, or you can pay an extra fee to have the process expedited. If you use a service like this, you can sign up right online, or you can call their number and talk to a representative about which kind of an LLC you should start, and what the pros and cons are of different kinds. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Once you’ve been incorporated, you will receive a package that will include your “Articles of Incorporation,” your tax ID and a few other official documents. The tax ID number will allow you to open up your business bank account. It’s a good idea when you open your account to look at the fees associated with transactions and any minimum balance requirements. Also, ask about a credit card with award points and lines of credit. If you need to get a loan in order to start your business, or you want to bring in investors, the BizPlan software mentioned above will really walk you through what you need to do to...
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