Two years ago, after months of planning, I launched Chloe & Tatum, LLC, an online, luxury girl’s clothing boutique. Though I didn’t necessarily say “I want to own a boutique when I grow up,” I definitely knew I wanted something of my own within the fashion industry. Buying for the boutique and working with developers to get the site up and running was nothing short of amazing. I love to create and make things happen, so the process gave me a high that is hard to describe. I remember announcing on Facebook that I was going to launch the boutique, I did a lot of build up and got people excited about shopping with us.

Fast forward 6 months and it was time for the big day.The first day of my launch, I had an order from South Africa, then Australia, then Canada … It was surreal. Shipping internationally in my first month and also having the amazing support of my friends and family domestically was more than I could have ever dreamed of. The first year was less than glamorous due to all of the work that comes with owning a business, but it taught me so much and was so much fun.

A year into the business, I was promoted at work and while I could balance my family, MBA, boutique and work before, with my new responsibilities, it became incredibly hard and stressful. I pushed through, because I’m not a quitter, but eventually the inevitable happened and I crashed and burned.

I couldn’t give my all to everything that I had going on. My marriage needed me. My children needed me. I needed to do my homework for graduate school. I had work to do at my big girl job (and quite frankly was drowning and on the verge of losing my job because I had too much on my plate). I knew I had to let something go, and that was when I stopped the boutique for the first time. It was an easy choice for me, obviously, my family is my number one priority; my education and the job that pays me are as well. I was yearning to be free of stress.

I thought I would be sad about not working the boutique anymore. I wasn’t. I thought my husband would be disappointed in me. He wasn’t. I thought my friends would think I failed. But it turns out I really don’t care what anyone thinks. I thought I would want to start the boutique again after the break. I was wrong.

Something changed in me, and it wasn’t the fact that I didn’t want to do what it takes to make a business work, it was the fact that I was just going through the motions. I loved having something of my own, but I didn’t know if this business was what I truly wanted. When I was so blessed to get orders but felt frustrated about the stress of having to figure out how I will have time to go to the UPS store to ship it, I knew it was time to reevaluate my situation. I was tired of being so stressed all the time.

At the end of the day, what mattered to me the most was that the knots in my stomach from being so overwhelmed that all I could do was cry every night after work, were gone. My mom has always talked to me about taking on too much and finding balance, and even though I will always be busy and have a lot going on, I have learned that if it doesn’t bring me joy or push me towards a goal, and if it is causing me more stress and pain than happiness, it’s time to let it go.

I took a break for a few months and just focused on the things that I wanted to focus on. I didn’t think about the business. I didn’t try to start anything new. I just took a break. And it was the best decision I could have ever made.

At the beginning of this year (2016), I decided I wanted to start blogging again. I studied journalism in school with a focus on news-editorial writing. I have always been an avid writer and lover of fashion. I had a fashion blog in college and was the Fashion Director for an online magazine in college as well. I LOVED it. It’s something that comes very naturally to me and brings me joy. When I was in college, my dream was to move to New York City and work for a major fashion magazine as a writer. You know, like The Devil Wears Prada, except I’d be the main character. Life happened and that didn’t exactly pan out, but my blog has been an amazing alternative.

I am finally doing what I want to do and feel HAPPY. I still help friends and family every now and then with clothes for their little girls, because after all, I need to do something with all of this Chloe & Tatum inventory (sorry, honey!), but it’s on my terms, which is just the way I like it.

I say all of this to say, do what you LOVE. If what you’re doing today doesn’t bring you the greatest joy or isn’t preparing you to achieve your goals, find a way to get there.

I am a firm believer that you are as happy as you want to be, and that we are in control of said happiness … So why not live the BEST life possible? Take risks. Have fun. Grow. Try new things. But most importantly, find your passion and do what you love to do.

Can I get a amen?

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I love to host. Entertaining guests and throwing a fabulous party are probably two of my greatest joys when it comes to being social. And when someone hosts a great event, it just warms my heart and gives me all the feels! No pressure (wink!) But really, if you are going to invite people out, it has to be special! Why go through all the stress of planning for it not to be amazing, right?

I created the Houston Blogger Brunch in an attempt to create an inclusive community for bloggers and small business owners to connect and fellowship over a fabulous meal. I wanted everyone to leave their insecurities at the door and just celebrate the incredible diversity that exists among all of the bloggers here in Houston. I didn’t really have an agenda or motive outside of genuinely wanting to connect bloggers over a lovely meal and allow us an opportunity network in a safe and fun environment.

I think a lot of times people follow different bloggers on social media, and feel inferior or not good enough, and try to compare their chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 15. I am a firm believer that comparison is the thief of joy, but by bringing bloggers together, new as well as experienced, gives us the opportunity to build and grow this awesome sisterhood. Now granted, there are blogger brunches that already take place in the Houston area, and if you’re lucky enough to be invited, it’s so fun. But what I craved was something that everyone could be a part of. As the new girl town, new to blogging and new to Houston, I want to connect with as many people as I can and not only build my network but support and love on as many sweet faces as I can in the process.

The first Houston Blogger Brunch event completely exceeded my expectations. The turnout was awesome, the food and fashion were amazing, and it was SO lovely to meet so many new faces.

If you’re thinking about hosting an event, whether it be a brunch, party or social gathering, here are my top 5 to-dos to ensure you have the perfect event!

My Top FIVE To-Dos

1. Select your location.

Houston is a BIG city, and I knew that going into creating the Houston Blogger Brunch event, I needed to keep location in mind. Obviously, the more central you can be, the better, but I’m also a firm believer in keeping it simple. Don’t add stress to your life if you don’t have. I live near The Woodlands and selected a location in that area. However, do what works for you! I had to work later in the day after the brunch, so being close by was very important to me.

In addition to selecting what city to have the event in, it is so important to also evaluate how else you can use the space. I wanted a brunch, but I also wanted a fashion presentation where a featured blogger would present the season’s trends with our guests! Our first event was at Nordstrom, we ate brunch at the Bazille and then moved over to the salesfloor where the team set up chairs for us to sit and watch the presentation from Alice Kerley of Lonestar Looking Glass!

2. Create the perfect menu. 

Selecting menu items and ensuring that the quality is up to standard is critical. I kept hearing how amazing the food is at the Bazille and could not wait to have them serve us brunch! I met with the restaurant manager to put together the menu for the event. It was really important for me to have the breakfast essentials (eggs, bacon … you know the drill).

The restaurant totally delivered and exceeded my expectations. The food was outstanding. Since we had a larger group, we decided to serve the meal family style. The staff was exceptional and kept the food coming out to the table! It was perfect. I would definitely recommend, for a seated meal, that you serve food family style. We toyed with the idea of having food set up buffet style, but having guests getting up from the table to get food, didn’t flow well with the goal of having a simple, easy, brunch for the ladies!

3. Invite your tribe.

Inviting your guests out to brunch is one of my favorite things to do! There are SO many different bloggers in the Houston market, and I wanted to open this event up to everyone. In order to do this, I created the Houston Blogger Brunch Instagram page and started connecting with bloggers in the area. I wanted everyone to feel welcome and not feel like they had to have a certain number of followers or page views to be included. EventBrite was a major part of creating the event. It made ticket sales go incredibly smooth. I would highly recommend using some sort of program like this to keep your event organized and your life as stress free as possible.

4. Share away.

Once you have set the date and started inviting your guests, it’s time to share it with everyone you can! I posted about the event in the Houston Fashion Bloggers Facebook page as well as posted on Instagram as frequently as I could about the event. I personally messaged people to invite them and made sure that I was talking up the event every time I met someone new who was in the industry. Obviously, a great turnout is what every event host is hoping for! I originally told the restaurant that we would have about 10-15 guests, but there was such an interest in the Houston Blogger Brunch meet-up that we increased the number to 25. Share. Share. Share! Don’t be afraid to ask people to come out and support you!

5. Amaze.

So you’ve invited everyone you know (and some you don’t) to your event. The menu is set. The sequence of events have played out in your head over and over. You are dreaming of perfection! Now it’s time to amaze your guests. Nordstrom was SO gracious to provide the most precious swag bags for the event, and I wanted to make sure that every detail was looked at. I put together centerpieces, got some cute decor and the restaurant manager put together personalized Houston Blogger Brunch menus/table settings. After all, it’s a blogger event, so cameras will be flashing! I wanted to make sure that there were photo worthy moments at every turn.

The first Houston Blogger Brunch event was so much fun! I am looking forward to the next one and can’t wait to do more collaborations with different Houston blogger communities. Thank so much to everyone who attended. If you’re looking into creating an event for your city or have questions about how I hosted mine, feel free to contact me! I’d love to chat. Check out how cute everyone looked!

Special shout out to Alice for the perfect fashion presentation and Jaclyn for joining us for a panel to answer questions for all the blogger babes in attendance!

Huge thank you to Diamond Oak Photography for shooting this event for the Houston Blogger Brunch! And to the team at Nordstrom for such an awesome venue!