Who’s got your back?

First of all I hope everyone had an incredible International Women’s Day, I felt particularly spoiled this year.  Starting with the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.  What a fabulous night!  I was honoured to be amongst carefully selected nominees who were comprised of a group of women whose life’s work has been to change the world for the better!  The winners radiated like beams of light.  All so humble in their acceptance speeches and crediting all of their fellow nominees proudly holding their awards in their trembling hands. We all felt pretty special and proud of the company we were in!

On Friday there was a knock at my studio door and a beautiful young woman handed me a special gift from my friends at Christy’s Gourmet!  A box of their chocolate crunch, delivered right to my door with a card that said “Happy International Women’s Day.”  I felt so special.  This special feeling continued all day long as I had my Mom by my side helping me create and organize my spring collection.  She was so sweet and helpful, following all of the orders from her bossy daughter and even standing patiently to model my new designs because I had to make sure everything draped and fell just right!

Saturday morning I had to be up and ready for my spring collection photo shoot with the amazing Jenn Grachow (JNK Imagery).  Before Jenn arrived Charlotte my darling godchild and owner of Crown & Stipley,  came by the studio with props for my shoot to make it even better. She was excited for me, I was so touched by her enthusiasm and that she drove all the way  from Hamilton out to Burlington on a Saturday morning with these fun belongings of hers, just for me. 

The photo shoot started at about noon, after my makeup was done by Andrea Martin (Andrea Martin Design) who not only perfected the look I was going for but taught me how to apply makeup properly myself!  You need to look up Andrea, she runs workshops and everything, she really knows her stuff!

Jenn captured me in such a fun and playful way.  This girls gets me!  It was our first shoot together and she generously kept saying, “As long as it takes Monica, let’s get it perfect! “   10 hours later we were done and the pictures are gorgeous, even the ones we took at 10:45pm!  It’s amazing what a good photographer will do to get you looking your best in front of the camera.  Jenn knows how to get a girl to strike a pose and really, really, really captures the essence of what you want to convey. I love her work!

This morning I woke up feeling happy but also drained, overwhelmed and a little anxious.  I realized that I needed to take a little “me” time to just relax and actually reflect on a week filled with excitement and some really big accomplishments.

Natasha called me this morning and we chatted on the phone about the upcoming One of A Kind Show, our Spring Launch Party and all of the things we need to accomplish this month.  She was filled with good energy.  The happiness in her voice vibrated through the phone, lifting my spirits immediately.  She reminded me again of how far I have come and how proud I should feel. 

You know, even when we are pushing forward and working towards our goals we can still feel an inner defeat.  My friend Catherine reminded me this week of how important it is to be kind to the little girl inside because sometimes she’s scared of how far she’s being pushed.  Catherine even goes so far as to say that it’s really helpful to talk to her and assure her that everything is going to be okay and really articulate what the positive outcome of any issue she is struggling with will be.

You know who else gives me that advice?  My Mom!

So, as we celebrate the International Women’s Day weekend lets really think about the women who we can be vulnerable with.  The women who make us feel safe and allow us to just be.  I have attracted women into my life who care for me so deeply and love me with their whole heart.  I feel truly grateful for this and I cherish them all.

I also want to put you, my glamjulz tribe, on centre stage for this blog post.  All of you share such beautiful qualities.  It’s magical how you all found me.  You encourage me, you share me with your friends, you open up to me about your own struggles and accomplishments, you really make me feel like a rock star! Thank you so much for finding me and staying with me for this crazy ride! Thanks to you glamjulz is more that just a jewelry company, it’s a community.

Remember this quote today and always, “Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back!”

Thank you so much for having mine!

Monica
XO