going live

 couple of months ago I got to help out with the GoLive experience up in Seattle with Promise Tangeman and the GoLiveHQ team.  Being a host and helping the attendees launch their brand new websites was such an amazing couple days and by the time the first day was done, I was dying to be a part of the next GoLive event.  The next one ended up being in LA at Promise's house, and it was the same week as Texas Style Council's CAMP, where I would be speaking, so I decided to make it one long inspirational week, and boy was it!  I'm exhausted after a week of being around so many encouraging, inspiring, go-getter women, but I truly wish I could make weeks like that a regular occurance.  
Last Monday I flew out of Seattle down to LA, got in at about 2 am and sleepily shuffled into my Airbnb cottage to get a few hours of sleep before heading to Promise's house for the first day of work.  Having seen the process before from the perspective of a host, it was nice knowing what to expect.  As attendees started showing up, we all mingled in Promise's kitchen and living room, sipping on mimosas and coffee, and grabbing a bite to eat while chatting with new friends-to-be, anxious to get started working on our new sites!  Laptops started popping up on the tables and we made our way to our seats to rifle through our swag bags, which were full of fun goodies from local artisans, before delving into the hard work of getting our sites live in the next 48 hours.  


 
I decided to host my new photography site on Showit, which was a new software for me, but I found it pretty quick to learn (very similar to using Photoshop and Lightroom) especially with the help of the GoLive ladies, and it was fun and easy to bring everything in my head to life.  I'm such a tunnel-vision worker when it comes to that kind of stuff, I just put my head down and get in the zone, so everyone was calling me a ninja because I was super quiet and just powered through it, haha!
Having done plenty of web design work in the past for both myself and clients, I knew I didn't "need" to do the GoLive Experience.  I was fully capable of downloading the template and tweaking it alone in my own office, but I wanted the community, the feedback, and the support of other creative, inspiring women surrounding me and cheering me on.  I've always been more of a loner, feeling like I can do things myself, but as I get older I'm learning how unbelievably invaluable community is and how important it is to have people in my life, women especially, who I can talk to, share ideas with, and be encouraged by.  Being a host for GoLive in January showed me that it offered exactly that. 
 While some gals were there for some serious design help, I was more there because I want to actively surround myself with people who I admire and seek encouragement and guidance from.  Interestingly, later the same week we talked about this at length at TxSC CAMP, and the concept of "friendtors" (friends who are also mentors), became a focal point of the weekend.  Sitting in a room full of other women who were launching their own new websites and making those connections in person was exactly what I needed.



 



I surprised myself by getting a little emotional near the end.  I'm so used to going it alone and doing everything for myself.  I don't know if Lone Wolf Syndrome is a thing, but if it isn't I'm making it up and I definitely have it.  I feel like I have to do stuff for myself and don't let myself rely on others.  Having a team (and the other attendees) around me who were so for me and excited to see me succeed and wanted to give me as many tools as possible to succeed got me pretty choked up.  In typical lone wolf fashion, I stuffed it in and held it together, but still, the feels were in force.
Going to TxSC right afterwards was the perfect follow-up to the experience with GoLive, but I'll have to do a whole other post (or two) on that.  On a less emo note, Promise's house is basically what my house wants to be when it grows up.  Dan and I have been thinking about getting a bigger house, eventually, and I was so inspired by Promise's space.  So eclectic, so much light, so much open space.  Old craftsman homes here in the PNW have pretty closed floor plans.  One of our big renovation plans is to knock out the wall between our kitchen and living room to make it feel more open and light, but that's a pretty big project.  I loved that Parker, Promise's pup, hung out for the two days.  I missed having Dusty around while I was gone, but Parker let me pet him and get in my dog love times.  He's a fan of the same Ikea pillow that Dusty lays on all the time.  Ikea should make a dog-bed version, I'm thinking.  



Today I've launched the final part of my new site, the matching design on this here blog!  I tend to want a fresh look over here about once a year and it'd been a while since my last design change.  With the new photography website going live, it seemed like the perfect time to freshen things up over here as well.  I made a little celebratory dancing video because why not?  Dancing is always a great way to celebrate, right?  Also: champagne.   Welcome friends!  I'll be working out a few kinks in the next few days, but I've got some giveaways coming down the chutes for even more celebration!  Stay tuned!




Top 6 photos + video  by me, the rest by Kristen Booth Photography + Lapierre Photography

solid gold

hew!  These past few days have been a crazy whirlwind!  I'm now in Texas about an hour outside of Austin sitting in a cabin at camp with a bunch of crazy awesome ladies preparing for the next few days of Texas Style Council's final event, an amazing conference/retreat!  Right now it's just speakers and sponsors here prepping for tomorrow when the rest of the attendees get in.  I hopped on a plan in LA last night at midnight, flew for two and a half hours to Austin and arrived at 5am, waited at the airport for a few hours and then got picked up and got to camp where I promptly took a huge nap!  After my nap I took a shower and man oh man, it gave me life.  I felt like I washed an entire airport off my body.  So fresh and so clean clean.  I can't wait for tomorrow and for the first keynote speech by Jenny of The Bloggess!  I can't believe how many rad ladies I'll have spent time around this week, it's a little ridiculous.  And inspiring.
I'm super excited that this event is so casual and focused on connecting with each other through stories.  It's what brought me to blogging in the first place and it's felt like, over the years, things have strayed a bit from that, and even I haven't been immune to "going corporate" if you will.  Blogging sort of took us all on a ride, but now feels like a time when we're all like, "Hey, I can do blogging however I want!  I don't have to work with sponsors if I don't want, or aspire to have it be my full time job.  I don't have to post the same DIY projects that everyone else is doing, I can do blogging MY way."  It can be super easy to get swept up in it all and, I mean, it's all a part of the story, but I'm really looking forward to making blogging work for me, rather than feeling like I'm stuck in a grind working for my blog.  The latter can start to feel soul sucking and uninspiring, but I'm so optimistic about the blog and blogging in general this year, which is the first time I've felt that way in quite a while.  


 

top(similar) + jeans/courtesy of modcloth :: boots + jacket(similar)/thrifted necklace/francesca's collection :: photos by Kristen Booth Photography

It's alive!!

hings still look the same around here for now, but my brand new photography website is LIVE, y'all!  Woohoo!  I'm super excited to finally have a website that I truly love and I can't wait for the new blog design to launch tomorrow!  This space has needed a refresh for a while. 
For now, please head over and check out the new website, and play around!

adventures in joshua tree

'm sitting in SeaTac airport right now, headed back down to California for the GoLive workshop, and I realized that I never posted these photos from my last adventure to California!  Dan's parents live right next to Joshua Tree National Park and his mom is actually a park ranger (so cool!).  His parents are super outdoorsy so when we were there for Christmas we spent a couple days exploring the park and climbing around on all the incredible rock formations.  I hurt my foot last year and had to stop climbing so I was super out of practice, but it was really fun!  Dan and I really want to head back to Joshua Tree again sometime this year to really climb around more, there are SO many unbelievable routes and a lot of it is bouldering, which we both prefer.  Rock climbing outdoors on real rock is such a different animal, a lot scarier in some ways, but I really enjoy both types of climbing.   Well, I have to hop on a plane to LA now, but you can stay tuned with the hashtag #LizIsGoingLive to follow along, and I'll be sharing exclusives for my VIP members so sign up for that here!

remixology no. 5

've been wanting to do a new remixology post for a while now, and with my new site launching next week I was inspired to create 8 outfits based on my new color scheme!  In thinking about my new design I wanted something that felt really comfortable and something I knew I wouldn't get tired of.  I realized that the colors I've picked for my home were the perfect inspiration!  I've loved creating my living space to feel inspiring, bright, and fun, and it just made sense to reflect that in my online home as well.  If you get my special updates in your inbox you'll be getting some peeks of the new look this week (plus access to a super secret launch before anyone else!).  My calendar this next two weeks looks like absolute madness, but I'm so excited about everything! Oh!  And speaking of new stuff, I'm retiring my e-courses  so they'll be taken down tomorrow, so if you want any of them today's the last day!

Okay, moving on to outfits!  Remixology posts are always a really fun challenge.  For those not familiar with my remixology series, I take 8 pieces and remix them into 8 outfits.  This time I've partnered with Lulu's who sponsored 4 items, and then I pulled 4 items already in my closet (plus a few accessories).  I'm really loving graphic looks more and more these days and had a lot of fun playing around with patterns and graphic designs in this set of outfits.  Black and white prints are kind of my jam right now.  

8 clothing items:
B+W skirt + dress + grey peplum top + white jeans / courtesy of Lulu's

black jacket(similar) + chartreuse top/thrifted shorts(similar) + striped top(similar)/courtesy of Modcloth

Accessories:
black shoes(similar)/thrifted :: orange + teal shoes/courtesy of Modcloth :: tights/H&M
necklaces/Francesca's collection


 

B+W skirt/courtesy of Lulu's :: black jacket(similar)  striped top(similar) + shoes/courtesy of Modcloth :: necklace/francesca's collection

 

 white jeans /courtesy of Lulu's :: black jacket(similar) + top + shoes/thrifted necklace/francesca's collection

 
 dress / courtesy of Lulu's :: shoes/courtesy of modcloth necklace/francesca's collection

 

B+W skirt/courtesy of Lulu's :: top/thrifted  shoes/courtesy of Modcloth :: necklace/francesca's collection
 
grey peplum top / courtesy of Lulu's :: shoes/thrifted  tights/h&m :: necklace/francesca's collection :: shorts(similar)/courtesy of Modcloth

 
 dress / courtesy of Lulu's :: black jacket(similar) + top + shoes/thrifted necklace/francesca's collection

 

B+W skirt + grey peplum top/ courtesy of Lulu's :: shoes/thrifted necklace/courtesy of francesca's collection
 
white jeans / courtesy of Lulu's :: striped top(similar)/courtesy of Modcloth necklace/francesca's collection :: shoes/thrifted