MANIC MONDAY Vol. 2

(Sorry, no Week 16 Bump photos to share this time... I'll have to have Justin take them tonight..the weekend just slipped away too quickly...so instead enjoy these adorable little weenie dogs..... Sammy is on the left and Olive on the right~they get serious about their headshots)

MANIC MONDAY ~ feeling refreshed, feeling rushed, feeling appreciative for last week, feeling regretful for things that didn't get done over the weekend, feeling excited for a new week, needing a quick reflection.

 Highlights of last week included:

 ~Being asked to be a speaker at the upcoming NACE (National Association of Catering & Events) Dinner!
~Welcomed aboard my newest clients: Dustin & Christina, looking forward to their upcoming 3/30/13 Wedding
~Scheduled our anatomy ultrasound appointment (when we will find out the sex of the babies) for August 16^th!!
~Attempted to start our baby (babies?) registry and Target and quickly learned how  completely clueless we are about most everything baby related....ummm wow.

 Last week I learned:

~That my belly is now growing like.... for real….and not to be freaked out by all the aches and pains and uncomfortableness (is that a word?) that comes along with that.
~ In order to be a consistent blogger I’ll need to write up the majority of the posts ahead of time (mornings are too frantic)

 New fab finds:
~ I’m the newest member of DSMM (Desert Sky Mothers of Multiples)…except I can’t figure out how to get into the website…. I will attempt this again… I’m already learning as a mommy of twins that my patience needs some work….and I may actually have to start “reading the directions on things”

 Feeling Appreciative:

~For lots of great time with friends last week…phone calls, lunch date, dinner date, and girls night + Chinese take out
~For Miss Kelly Nelson who gave me three bags of super cute maternity clothes
~Little Granny was released for the rehabilitation home that she had spent nearly six weeks at, and has now moved in with mom and dad.  Mom and Dad have transformed part of their home into a swanky set up for her…. here’s hoping she can adjust and allow mom and dad to help take care of her little stubborn self.

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 On the horizon for this week:

~Still in broker mode with the new home, hopefully we can wrap up all the final paper work asap..we’re soooo eager to start home hunting
~Down and car, uggghh… We’ll be carpooling for a few days… not the easiest task considering Justin works in Scottsdale and I’m way over in the East Valley and we work totally different hours…and Justin hates carpooling with me…he freaks out about me making him late all the time. ( I secretly giggle as he storms around the house like a bull in china shop)
~Due to all my aches and pains last week…I sadly did not make it back in the gym, but I’m determined to get moving more this week!!  This whole pregnancy thing is such a trip!
~Starting to put the wheels in motion for the Baby (Babies?) Shower
~It's not too late to enter the 100.00 Giveaway!!! Winner will be chosen this week! Some of my friends/fans have said "but I would feel bad taking your money if I won" Don't be silly, it's marketing dollars baby, you snooze you lose!

 Currently Reading: Still reading YOU, Having a Baby (lots of weird, random drawings)

 Currently Listening to:  A little Chris Isaak this morning…

 Quote I'm Loving: "Start Where You Are.Use What You Can. Do What You Can." ~ Arthur Ashe

 Confession: All the political stuff on facebook lately makes me mad, and gets me all fired up (hormones overload)…I need to stay off the news feed for awhile.


Much Love All!

Celebrating (a Belated) One Year!!!

Did you miss the J.Starr One Year Anniversary Celebration Party??? Don't worry...I missed it too! I guess that's a good sign, business was so busy my first year, I didn't even have time to celebrate! But If I did, I'm sure it would have been a fabulous event ~ complete with trees made of cotton candy and a firework display!


I will always consider my "first" official J.Starr business debut day to be: March 24th, 2011. And today I want to take a moment to stop, breathe, relax, celebrate and appreciate all that has happened.

~That was the night of the Wedding and Event Networking Party that I coordinated the "Flashing Lights" fashion show.

~It was the first night I handed my J.Starr business cards, with my logo and my cell phone number

~It was the first night that my website went live

~It was a time when I felt totally vulnerable ... thinking the most critical thoughts of myself in my head and wondering what people were thinking....

 

 

But it's those moments in life, when you really have to PUSH yourself PAST all the noise in your head and JUST FREAKIN DO IT. Put yourself out there, make yourself vulnerable....that's the only way to really grow sometimes, professionally and personally. I now look back months later and think to myself wow....What would have happened if I didn't do that? Sometimes taking that first step towards your dream is the hardest part, add in some passion and dedication and things just start to happen.

I'm so proud to say that in my first year of busniess J.Starr Stylized Weddings :

~Coordinated the WEN "Flashing Lights" Fashion Show

~Took 2nd Place and was even featured on the news for the NACE Elements Design Competition

~Coordinated First Celebrity Event

~J.Starr Team Coordinated and Provided Floral Design for 7 weddings

~Provided Coordination and Design at the Phoenician for the AZ Weddings Holiday Mixer

~Booked First Destination Wedding

~Booked an Additional 8 Upcoming Weddings for 2012

~Booked an Additional 5 Upcoming Weddings for 2013

AND THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING BABY!

I feel so grateful for all that has happened, I'm shocked, and even more driven to keep business evolving! I truly have so many people to thank for all the support they've shown me...that I wont even begin to list names right now... but I will in a future post. I heart you all so much!!!!

So let's celebrate! I'm feeling excited and generous... How about a giveaway??? Okay, if you WIN you will recieve a 100.00 visa gift card to spend on anything your little heart desires!!! How cool is that??

Here's the requirements to enter and YES anyone can enter!!!

1.) You must be a Fan of the J.Starr Stylized Wedding Business Page (if you aren't already) (LIKE ME BY CLICKING HERE)
2.) You have to leave a comment on the blog post {below} Please leave one of your all time favorite movie lines.

That's All! I'll post the winner (chosen randomly) next week, so stayed tuned Peeps and thanks for playing!!! Have a fab weekend!

Handful of Personal Highlights

Happy Thursday Morning!!!!

I LOVE Thursdays, there's just something productive yet relaxing about them....but this morning I think I'll love just about anything.....because I woke up feeling AMAZING, first time all week (thank you darling babies in my belly ~ mama needed a day of feeling normal).  I've got the Beatles~ Abbey Road cranking...let's see where this blog takes us.

Okay, well for those of you that use to follow my old blog....you know that it was more like a virtual scrapbook where I would post all our photos and happenings...so here's a small sample of that, just a a handful of personal highlights that occurred between January 2012 ~ Mid March 2012.... Some of the photos we captured with our professional camera, others are just candid's... I debated not including the candid's (because I'm such a visual freak)...but then I decided that the memories associated with the photos are more important then my obsession for uniformity.

Dad's Birthday

We celebrated Dad's Birthday at the Brazilian Bull...this crazy restaurant . They give each table this colored little wood cylinder, with one side painted green and the other red... once you flipped on the green side they all just kept coming at you with huge knifes and skewers of endless types of meats... you had to flip to red for them to stop. It was pretty intense. Then we gave dad the usual assortment of odd and random gifts~my dad is super hard to buy for, he never wants or needs anything....he's an easy going guy.

January Fashion Debut

This event requires a TON of energy...thankfully I'm always so fortunate to have great help! Big thank you to my girls Renata (pictured) Germaine, and my hubs for being my support team!!!

Tool Concert

Only for Justin Starr would I pretend to be excited to attend a Tool Concert down in Tucson on a Tuesday night. But he's worth it...and tells me my acting needs some improvement. Though I did appreciate the light show and the one song I kind of knew.

Superbowl at the Parsons

We hung with our friends Tom and Maureen and their crew to watch the Super bowl and play with snakes.... well Justin played with the Snakes. 

Valentine's Day

After recently joining Crossfit and getting into the groove... we kept Valentine's Day super laid back and healthy this year. Complete with a delicious homemade Paelo dinner.

5K at the Phoenix Zoo

Running at 5K at the zoo is an awesome experience...because you don't even realize your running as you can see all the animals waking up as the sun comes up... so beautiful! And it certainly helped that my girl Melissa and her little boy Gregory were there at the end of the race to congratulate me and walk around the zoo. I personally think Melissa and I look pretty cute with no make up on?? Well at least Melissa does :)

Date Night with the Wheelers

Our buds Matt and Dani live crazy hectic lives like us...so on the rare occasion that we can get together, we always have a fun time! It may only be once a year, but that's okay.

Sammy Dings and Ollie Dollie

Just doing what they do best...being cute lil weenie dogs... Sammy the burrower and Olive the bone addict.

Let's Move the Office...AGAIN

A co-worker snapped this photo as proof that I'm completely nuts, for changing my office for the third time in the past year....I can't sit still~ gotta mix it up!

Sushi Date with Addie & Derrick

Fun times were had on a double date with Miss Adds and Fun Derrick... it started with Sushi, and ended with a few several cocktails.

Tom's Surprise Birthday

Our friend Tom turned the big Four O, this past March. His darling little wifey threw him a surprise St.Patty's Day birthday party!! I sadly wasn't able to attend, but Justin said it was off the hook, complete with some fab Cornbeef & Cabbage!!!

A Gorgeous Wedding at the Royal Palms (Flashback 2011)

Happy Tuesday Readers!!!

I woke up up to another dreadful headache this morning, sad face.  I don't know if it's the pregnancy or the Arizona monsoon humidity, I drank TONS of water yesterday...ugghhh.  Justin brought me an english muffin & peanut butter, milk and some tylenol in bed early this morning.... which seems to have helped a little bit....and now these wiener dogs think it's necessary to bark non stop at the weed whacking going on outside the condo this morning...so I'm currently blasting Al Green to block out the noise... uggghhh.... perhaps a massage is in order this afternoon.  Enough complaining....let's talk about something fancy and fabulous.............

Back to that gorgeous Royal Palms Wedding that I posted about on Saturday.  I had to post some more photos of this stunning day.

I met Donald and Kelly at the Still Life Studios Grand Opening Party back in January of 2011.  They are both super sarcastic, so it took me awhile to "get" them both....but once I did we had tons of fun.  At the time I met them, I was still working for Still Life as their Sales Gal...so we were simply discussing photography...when Don said you seem very knowledgeable about the wedding business, would you consider being our planner?  Umm...YES!  Little did he know at the time, I was in the process of starting up J. Starr! 

So several months later on August 12th, 2011 Donald and Kelly tied the knot!!!  And here are some stunning photos of that lovely (very hot) day!  Thank you again Don and Kelly for trusting me with your most special day!

Vendors for this Wedding Include:

Wedding Coordination: J.Starr Stylized Weddings

Venue: Royal Palms Resort

Photography: Still Life Studios

Florist: Flowers By Jodi

Hair: Lisa Berger

Make Up:  Shawn Geranen 

Linens, Chaircovers, & Overlays: Premier Events
Officiant: Andy Ragone

Harpist: VeeRonna Ragone

Entertainment: SKM Entertainment

Magician: Gene Urban

MANIC MONDAY Vol. 1

(15 Weeks Pregnant, with Twins/in the Middle of a Monsoon Storm)

MANIC MONDAY ~ feeling refreshed, feeling rushed, feeling appreciative for last week, feeling regretful for things that didn't get done over the weekend, feeling excited for a new week, needing a quick reflection.

Highlights of last week included: Eating super spicy hot thai food and watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Justin.

Last week I learned: Not to too watch a David Fincher movie while it's storming outside, to drink tons more water ~ these pregnancy headaches are killer, to take advantage of the this summer slow season and get projects done!!!  I need to remember that my life will NEVER be this slow again.~Not to do the pregnancy pose shown above at 15 weeks (this works much better with a bigger belly) I don't look pregnant I just look weird and thick middled.

New fab finds:  Groupon!  I just bought my first one, I know I'm behind the times.  I bought Ten Videotape to DVD Transfers ( to help cross off # 6 on my 101s)
 Costco ~ Justin signed us up! Everyone keeps telling us that we will need it with the diaper and formula bills we have ahead in our future~but after we got through the mass of people in the parking lot....we couldn't even find formula and the only diapers we found were for kids over 30lbs!  All the giant size food products kind of freaked me out~ I think I need an experienced Costco Shopper to give me a tour, seriously!

Feeling Appreciative: For my little Granny's health...she's been in a rehabilitation home for over 4 weeks now~ and she's making great progress and should be released this week. And for my super hero husband...who has been spending countless hours preparing paperwork, meeting with our broker, phone calls with our realtor...and doing all the hard work....to put the wheels in motion so we can hopefully purchase a new home in the near future!!! This two bedroom second level condo, just wont cut it with two new babies on the way.  Where will we put the weens machines??? (aka  our weenie dogs)

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On the horizon for this week: Hopefully starting to house hunt, booking a new J.Starr Style Wedding client on Tuesday, catching up on chores and projects, seeing some fab girlfriends this Sunday.  Joining Justin at the gym to get in some workouts. Oh, and an AWESOME GIVEAWAY on my blog this week~ Stay tuned!

Currently Reading: YOU, Having a Baby

Currently Listening to: Aerosmith

Quote I'm Loving: "You can't use up creativity...the more you use, the more you have" ~Maya Angelou

Confession: I make TONS of typos, and to be a consistent blogger, I can't always have someone proof read before posting.  I'm a smart girl..... really, just don't ask me to do math.  Sorry Peeps, Deal with it. xoxo

Peace Kids! Make today FAB!

J.Starr Featured in Arizona Wedding's Magazine

I feel so honored to be featured again this year in the Planner Spotlight section of Arizona Weddings Magazine!! I was thrilled to be included last year, and stoked to be featured again for one of my 2011 Weddings, taking place at the lovely Royal Palms Resort.  A special thank to my Assistant Coordinator on this wedding: Melissa Jonovich.

** Stay tuned for more fabulous photos of this wedding in a future post**

My Heart Goes Out....

So, the blog I was going to post this morning...just doesn't seem appropriate after waking up to the tragic news about the shooting in Aurora Colorado last night.  I'm speechless.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families involved in this tragedy. How horrible....
Just heartbreaking.... 

Gettin It DONE....

Back to that 101 List, again I cannot express how rewarding and fun keeping this list has been!!!   For inspiration on writing your own list, visit my past post.  I share this not to come across as braggy and showie...but to keep myself accountable because the power of goal setting is such a powerful thing! If you don't write them, you can't check them them off~ and when you do check them off...take a second to be proud of your accomplishment!

...Let's see if I can get all caught up in one post.........

# 33. Achieve ideal weight goal prior to getting pregnant

 BAM! This was not an easy one.  It took time, dedication, sweat, and a lot of self pep talks.  At this beginning of this year, I wanted this to be my top priority rather than my 4th ( which I felt like it was all last year). So I joined Crossfit....which was beyond frightening at first, but over time I grew stronger.  For me, I HAVE to work out in the mornings, otherwise I'll spend the entire rest of the day thinking of excuses as to why I'm too busy to workout after work. I also ate approximately 1200 calories a day.  Which isn't easy, especially when you do a lot of socializing and entertaining (which I love to do) but having fun doesn't have to mean eating rich calorie loaded foods. Once I fully committed to this goal, the results came quickly (which is super motivating).  I'm sending out a HUGE thank you to my friend and former co-worker, Michael Dressor, who introduced me to Crossfit and coached me daily...helping me to re-prioritize my way of thinking.  Truth be told I was actually within a 5lb rang of hitting my target weight goal right before I found out I was pregnant...but HEY! A 5lb range is considered maintenance, so I'm crossing this goal off!

Since becoming el prego...I sadly stopped Crossfit.  I was super duper sick my first semester... but, I'm feeling MUCH better now, and I plan on re-starting my workouts this Friday.  (I'll be doing a much lighter, tailor made pregnancy Crossfit workout ~don't worry mom).  That way, I can hopefully only gain the estimated 35 to 40 (with twins) pregnancy pounds... and this will also help motivate me to jump back into the gym after these little twinzies are born.  I'll need to be a strong mama to keep up with two!!!

# 38. Participate in a "run" of some kind

This was super fun and I will totally do more of these in the future!!! And in all honesty, it wasn't that difficult at all.  I'd really like to challenge myself to do a half marathon. I was so sad because originally I signed up to do the Color Run, but came down with an awful cold that week (which resulted in completeing goal # 83)... so when I saw the 5K Run at the Zoo, I signed up right away...and ran it all by myself.  Check my former blog post to read more about my experience. Special thank you to my dear friend Melissa Jonovich and her son Gregory who met up with me at the end to congratulate me and take a fabulous morning walk around the zoo. 

# 95.  Work Out Consecutively for 5 WEEKS in a row, at least 5 times a week

Surprise, suprise this goal went hand in hand with goal # 33.  After the first 2 weeks it got a lot easier and almost dare I say fun.  The timing of my pregnancy was so funny, the week I finished my challenge was the week I found out I was pregnant.  Apparently excercise..does the body good :)

# 77. Go for a bike ride  

     In March (in honor of Mom Starr) the Starr Family hit up Pacific Beach in San Diego, and during this time...some way some how I got everyone on bikes at least long enough to capture this awesome shot. Everytime I look at this photo I get a big smile on my face thinking about how happy my (late) mother-in-law would be to know that we were all together and having a good time.  We cruised down the the board walk all the way from Pacific Beach to the roller coaster at Mission Beach ~ It was so fun! I just love this crew!

# 83. Spend the entire day watching movies

         One day back in January Justin and I both ended up super sick.  So... the best way to recovery was to spend the day watching movies all weekend long ~ and not feel at all guilty about it.

 We watched:

       Horrible Bosses, Dinner for Shumucks, Crazy Stupid Love, Contagion, Hang Over 2, The Source Code, Just Go with It, and 30 Minutes or Less.  I don't really remember much about any of them, as I was so out of it, but it was fun ~ I guess the most fun you can have being sick.  Sammy & Olive appreciated all the extra cuddles.

# 87. Allow Justin to do a fashion photo shoot with me as his model

         While were we in San Diego, our walk on the beach (On our 10 Year Dating Anniversary) turned into a little impromptu fashion photo shoot....it was fun. Having your photo taken is so awkward, even with your husband behind the lense and I was quickly reminded how exhausting it is to model.  Justin photography skills never cease to amaze me.

# 91. Attend a high-end fashion show

    I so enjoyed a hot date out on the town with my girl Kim. We got glammed up and hit the W Scottsdale.  We even ended up in the So Scottsdale Seen Section.  We're so fancy!

# 92. Learn how to apply faux lashes without the help of anyone else.. and wear them out, confidently!

In my opinion every 101 List, should have a few ridiculous goals.  This was one of mine. After watching one of my girlfriends (who shall remain nameless) be a MASTER faux eyelash putter on-er for years... I finally got the hang of it myself!  It's soooo much fun to slap on some super long lashes when you want to get your glam on!!!

# 26. Get pregnant, god willing...

I still can't believe this is REAL. 

# 97. Get pregnant with Baby # 2

(See My Two Precious Lil Punkins?)

CONFESSION: When I wrote my goal list back on June 21st, 2010 there were 3 GOALS that I wrote down that I had true doubts about:

Goal # 15. Convince my Granny to travel back to her home state of Nashville,Tennessee and go with her!

Goal # 48.  Have one of my client's wedding's featured in a magazine.  

Goal # 97. Get pregnant with Baby # 2

I'm ecstatic to share that Goal # 48 and Goal # 97 have been checked off!!! (and I'm still pulling for # 15 to happen too, so long as Granny's health can improve)

 I just can't believe it!!!  I remember when I first posted my 101 List online, my girlfriend: Aimee called me and said...ummm... do realize you have 2 BABIES listed on that goal list, 2 BABIES???? I remember laughing and saying, yeah... here's to wishful thinking..... I have no concept of time, do I???

And little did we know... I'd end up pregnant with TWINS!!!!  That's proof as to why writing down your GOALS are so important~ perhaps your guardian angel reads them too :)

Humor Me a Little Vol.2

Good Morning All! Just another crazy morning in the Starr House..... barking weiner dogs, Justin rushing off to get his Crossfit in, and me realizing I have nothing to wear to work and I must go shopping asap!!!

 Happy Wednesday All, here are few gems I stumbled across recently.....Enjoy!