Happy 1st Day of October! #lifeupdate

Hiiii Daisies! Happy Sunday and also happy late national COFFEE day! If I remember correctly I think my first post on here was on a national coffee day like 2 years ago! I was working the whole day friday so sadly I wasn’t able to go coffee shop hoping ): I hope you drank all the coffee for me!!!

Anyway here’s a hopefully short life update cause I don’t want you to be reading a chapter book. If you seen my Maui trip post then you know I finallllly finished school in March of 2017 and got my business degree. The reason I went into business wasn’t to find a job in the business industry but to reopen my massage business. I wanted to gain more knowledge on running a small business and learn how to market and advertise. I was running my own massage business years ago but ended up moving and closing the business. The town I moved to was sooo small (the biggest store was Wal*Mart and we had 2 stoplights in town) that the only thing to do was go back to school and thankfully they had a college! Last year I had to move back to Spokane WA in order to finish my business degree. When I graduated I got a job at a local spa massaging but I was constantly thinking about reopening my own business.

I started looking for a location for my business that I could afford. I wanted the location to be in the middle of town, free parking, and no parallel parking for my clients. After searching for a few months I signed a lease on August 1st 2017!

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I officially opened the doors to Belladona’s Massage August 14th! The process took some time because I had to get a business city license, add the landlord to my insurance, and get all my social media accounts started. As of right now I am operating as a sole proprietor but hopefully soon I can transfer to an LLC. I found an amazing lady that worked with me to create my logo which ended up exactly how I pictured it!

I’ve been having trouble with getting business cards printed so I’m still working on that. I have my gift certificates available and flyers all printed up! Now I’m trying to figure out what the best marketing platform is for massage services. I’ve reached out to a few company’s the see how much it costs to advertise through them so we’ll see. Decorating the room was pretty fun but also hard because I was going for a certain look so to find everything that I needed took a while. I did do a video tour on my facebook if you want to check it out and follow me 🙂

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Working on my business is a constant struggle and sometimes I wonder if this was my dream or God’s. I’ve been praying for wisdom and for Him to work through me because if this wasn’t His plan for me then I don’t want it. I know the only way to recognize His voice is to be in a relationship with Him so I’ve been working on that. I ended up deleting my personal instagram because I felt that I was letting it control me and I just wasn’t in a good state of mind and neglected my business page. I do have a business instagram page belladonas.massage, if you followed me on there I would appreciate it with all my heart!

I’m still working at the local spa three days a week and absolutely love working there! I’m going on 8 months since I’ve been there and I’ve been staying so busy!

So when I’m not working on my business or at the spa I’m out exploring coffee shops,,, duh lol! I’m trying to get into a connect group at my church that meet once a week but so far I’ve missed the first two because of work. I’m trying to get organized with a planner so I can write in everything I have to do and where I have to go. I’m going to Seattle for a friend’s wedding the third week in October so looking forward to explore Seattle! Add me on my insta at belladonas.massage to follow along on my adventure when I go to Seattle!

Now that I got my life update out the way I can post more content for YOU daisies! I am planning to do a thrifted fall lookbook for you guys in the next few weeks! Love you guys sooo much and comment below what you are looking forward this fall season cause danggg it’s here already! ❤

 

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Coffee Study Time & OOTD

Happpy Friday my lovely Daisies!

Today was one of those days where I knew I had some homework due but didn’t want to stay home to do it. So I decided to go to a different coffee shop then my usual one I go to. Awakenings is closer to my house and I used to go to it literally allllllll the time that all the baristas memorized my name. It’s a super cute coffee shop that is connected to a church and plays christian music all the time which is pretty amazing!

But before going I was in a rut as to what to wear. I wanted something comfy but edgy at the same time. SO I turned to pinterest. One of the trends that kept popping up was fishnet tights! I seen this trend all over tumblr and now it was all over pinterest. Since I knew I had some fishnets somewhere in my closet I decided to give it a try! And what better way to wear “holy” jeans in the winter then with tights underneath to stay warm. Here are some of the pictures that kept popping up on pinterest and what I used for inspiration.

Here is how I styled my fishnet tights for the winter wear! Let me know if you tried this trend already and what you think about it? Me personally I LOVE it!

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Well that’s it for today! I still have one quiz that is due by midnight so I am off to finish that and then clean my room since my parents are coming to visit tomorrow for the weekend! What are your guy’s plans for the weekend? Anything fun?! Love you daisies! ❤

Survived the First Day Back at School After Winter Break!

Good Morning my beautiful Daisies!

I hope everyone had an amazing and unforgettable New Year! I still find it hard to believe it’s 2017 already and school started once again. Something I did in 2016 was procrastinate alot when it came to school. I was always stressed out and turning in homework last minute. I know that if I would have organized my week better I would have been less stressed out and enjoyed my school experience better. So this year I decided to finally organize and get stuff done on time. Being organized is even more motivating since this quarter is my last quarter in school! It’s kind of hard to believe that in 3 months I will have my business degree!

Today I wanted to share with you guys how I started my first day back to school and work after a 3 week winter break. Going to bed early is something new to me since I am used to going to bed close to 3am! I went to bed early on Monday knowing that I had to be up at 6am. Since I ended up going to bed super early I woke up yesterday pretty early around 4am! I felt nice and refreshed! I had time to make some coffee and eat breakfast and actually do my makeup, compared to last year, I would wake up 2 minutes before I had to be out the door and not eat till 4pm sometimes.

I left the house at 7am since I had to buy a parking pass and I knew that it being the first day back there would be a huuuuge line! I was right I ended up waiting in line for a good 20 minutes! It was 2 degrees outside at 7am and let me tell you I was glad I wore a thick turtleneck sweater underneath my coat! I bought a red bull drink the day before knowing that I would need the extra boost on my first day back!

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I had to be at the college at 8am since I am a work study student and had work till 10:15 and then had a 2 hour class right after at 10:30 till 12:30pm. I have been working at the college library as a work study student for about a year and a half now and I LOVE IT! I love meeting new people at the college since I am mostly at the circulation desk checking books or laptops out and shelving once in a while. When I clocked into work at 8 am I spend the next 2 hours of my shift shelving books, since we were on break for the past 3 weeks, there were a lot of books that were returned on the last day of class. After shelving I had a little time before class started to water our plants at the library.

I am taking 3 classes this quarter. I am taking Fundamentals of Advertising, Social Media Marketing, and Micro Economics. For Fundamentals of Advertising our teacher said for our final project we are going to choose a small business and design a advertising campaign for their company. I am nervous but excited at the same time because I know this will come in handy when I will be working on opening my business in the next 6 months.

After the 2 hour class I meet up with my cousin at Panda Express for some lunch and then we headed to our favorite coffee shop, Vessel Coffee, I talked about it here if you are interested.

 

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After enjoying our coffee’s we popped into an antique store next door and browsed around. We found some ooooooold books! They were sooo cool! I wish I owned ALL of them!

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I ended the day by going to the gym and doing 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill and did a few weight machines that focused on quads, hamstrings, and glutes. I woke up today really sore! Loving the feeling of finally being back at the gym.

I am sorry if this post was loong but I wanted to get in how I totally changed my routine from last year and feeling more confident in everything! With my schedule being more organized I am hoping to keep on blogging into this new year! 2017 is going to be spectacular I can feel it! Hope you lovelies will have an incredible Wednesday today and I am off to get ready for work! Love you guys sooo much! ❤

Life Update and Winter OOTD

HI my beautiful and amazing daisies!

It’s been forever since I posted on here and let me tell you, the more closer I was getting to finals and winter break the more homework and projects I needed to turn in. I was stressing out every day worrying about school and homework and feeling down that I haven’t been able to post in a while and I missed all you guys so much! This is my third year in college and I have NEVER had a more stressful, hardest, and longest quarter then then the one I just finished.  Yes I am ALL done with this quarter! FINALLY! The only plans I have for the next three weeks is to read by the fire and drink coffee all day long, well maybe go snowboarding once or twice! I am a grandma when it comes to snow and cold!

Today was my first official day of winter break and it snowed like crazy! I did a little shopping with my sister since our refrigerator has been empty for a little bit. At first driving in the snow was reallly stressful but the more we drove the more comfortable I got and kind of even enjoyed it. We then grabbed coffee at a new location that opened up next to where I live called Wake Up Call. I’ve been there before but since it was 30 minutes away I never went there! Now I got a punch card and everything! It’s suuuper cute!

After grabbing coffee we spent the rest of the day exploring at least 4 different vintage/antique  shops! They had such cute stuff! We found cute little plastic succulent plants in mugs and they were adorable! Sadly they were $15 for each cup! I want to do a DIY maybe in the spring for them cause I can’t find them right now in the winter. I was finally able to pull out my winter coat that I got from my parents for Christmas 2 years ago from Shein.com. I am literally obsessed with it! Here is my outfit that I wore today to officially welcome Winter!

I hope you guys enjoyed my little life update and OOTD post! I will be having 3 weeks off for winter break so if you guys want to see any posts let me know and I will be happy to do them! Thank you for always being there for me daisies! ❤

Chasing Sunsets During Fall

I know I know it’s been forever since I posted, but school finally started and with all the homework and work, I gotta learn how to balance everything! It’s not easy let me tell you that! I had my first accounting test today and this girl don’t  do numbers! I asked my boss if I could not come in to work today so I could have time to study some more before I take it. I am so glad I did! I went in to take the test so confident! I knew EVERY SINGLE question on the test! :0 Shocked? Yes I was too! Now I know some basics about income statements, balance sheets, and statement of retained earnings! (WHO AM I?)

Anyways, yesterday I had a chance to hang out with my cousin, since he was visiting, so we decided to go exploring downtown(ish) area. I was hoping to be able to wear tall boots and a cardigan but sadly it’s still in the 80’s here. Someone needs to notify the weather that it’s not summer anymore! I want to wear sweaters and beanies and boots EVERYDAY (no joke)!

Our first stop was Indaba Coffee. I had a free birthday drink I needed to use up so it was a perfect start to our adventure.

After getting some caffeine into our bodies we spent the rest of the day trying to catch the sunset. Sunsets are seriously my aesthetic! They are so breathtaking! So if I have time to sit down and enjoy it, that’s exactly what I do!

I bought the sweater at Macy’s and absolutely in love with how comfy and lightweight it is! The dress is thrifted but originally from Forever21. I got the lovely forest green fedora hat at Target and the booties are also from Macy’s! Thank you lovelies for reading ❤

Lets Talk Business

I once remember reading somewhere, “The biggest mistake a small business can make is to think like a small business.” Would you agree with that quote? Is our mistake in growing successful is in the way we think? Are we scared of failure? I think this is true in my case. I am self-employed as a massage therapist and had my own little business and was happy with how things were going but then I ended up moving and now I am back and scared to start because what if I fail? What if this time instead of succeeding I will mess up?

Wednesday I had an amazing opportunity to attend a free seminar hosted by Robert Haase. His story is remarkable! In 2008 he lost his business, house and was diagnosed with cancer. In 2013 his cancer was back and had to get half of his tongue cut off. The doctors used some of forearm skin to reconstruct the other half of his tongue. Now he is a motivational speaker, got his business back and has become successful once again . Read more of his story. Robert hosted a seminar called, “Secrets to Growing your Massage Business.”

I was so happy to be able to attend this seminar. I learned so much! And most of the stuff was all common sense but just stuff you never think about. This was exactly what I needed to get my butt back in gear. As of couple days ago I’ve been looking for some office space I could rent. So far no luck, but I am not giving up. This is my dream so why was I procrastinating? I just want to remind everyone, including myself, that it’s NEVER too late to start! I am looking forward to the future and excited to see where I will be in 5 years from now.

My “Business attire”

If you have any questions business related leave me a comment below or any advice for someone that is just starting their business I would love to hear some feedback! ❤

 

 

Coffee Adventures & OOTD <3

If you were to ask me what I love doing during my free time I would say exploring new coffee shops! Before I moved last month, I lived in a small town that had only 3 coffee shops, and all 3 used the same coffee beans which I disliked. So you can imagine my happiness when I moved and there were coffee shops EVERYWHERE!

My cousin was visiting me this week and what better to do then go coffee shop exploring with him. I heard about Vessel Coffee Roasters last month from my sister and been wanting to go check it out. The coffee shop gave me a Portland hipster vibe. Lets talk about how big the sitting area is! One reason that keeps  me from doing homework at coffee shops is that most coffee places are small. I LOVED the spacious area! It’s going to be perfect for those days when I need to do homework and can get coffee here and wont have to worry about finding a spot to sit.

This is just one side of the coffee shop!

My handsome cousin ❤

I am wearing the softest and most comfortable shirt ever! I got it at Marshall’s last week in Portland and I’m in love with it! My jeans and boots are thrifted. The boots say that they are originally from Forever21 and I got my fedora style hat from Target.

My favorite season is Fall so I am so excited to style more fall pieces! Leave me a comment on what’s your favorite Fall essential pieces to wear ❤

Now I know why they call it Pig Out!

There was food everywhere I turned! I could do a 360 and I would see food vendors all around. Now I know where Pig Out in the Park gets its name lol. This year I had the pleasure of trying deep fried spinach and mushroom lasagna. I never even heard of such a thing!

I guess they could have called it Deep Fried Feast too because there was deep fried Oreo’s, Twinkies, Snickers, Milky way, and deep fried macaroni and cheese. I am sure I missed more deep fried food vendors. There was also bacon wrapped hot dogs and chocolate and white chocolate dipped cheese cake. Can you say YUMMM?!

If you are in the PNW area stop by Spokane, WA and get some fooooood! It’s going on till the 5th of September.

Exploring Downtown

I ended up going to the big(er) city for the day to go shopping with two of my cousins since my town doesn’t have a mall or anything close to it. After an hr drive we were at our destination! We spent our time mostly downtown exploring the city. The city is so beautiful, especially in the fall.

Downtown Spokane, WA

And of course it wouldn’t have been a great day if we wouldn’t have had coffee. We decided to try a new coffee shop, I have been wanting to check out Indaba for a month now! It was so delicious!, I had a caramel latte, my usual of course. One of these days I need to expand my coffee selection and try something crazy!

My cousin, Sergi. You can find him on Instagram @SIR_G__

Since were on a roll on trying new places, we decided to try Steelhead Bar & Grille, which happened to be next door to Indaba Coffee. We made it just in time for happy hour and ordered bleu cheese fries and smoked steelhead artichoke dip. The food was to die for! The fries were perfect with just the right amount of cheese! The smoked steelhead artichoke dip was served hot with a touch of jalapeno and french bread an tortilla chips. The customer service surprised me. It was packed in there, literally people were waiting to get seats and our waiter was always checking up on us and refilling our drinks. The service was really good, I am defiantly planning to go back soon!

My cousin, Sergi and I. You can find him on Instagram @SIR_G__

Overall it was such a fun trip! I got a chance to get away from my little town and go shopping and explore new places and best of all I got to spend the day with some of my favorite people. More adventures to come!