Hiii! :) I'm Kissa and welcome to our blog. I'm a die hard Friends fan, Apple enthusiast, biz start-up specialist, and wife. By passion and profession I'm a stationery lover, graphic designer, and iPhone & iPad case designer! This blog is our little piece of internet real estate and is about the company that my husband and I own and all the fun things in between. Hope you enjoy!
The Word of the Month for May is “simple.” I really want to simplify my life. Take things out the are negative or unnecessary so that I can make room for positive things.
Hope you enjoy this type of media on here. If you do (or don’t) let me know in the comments!
This month has been an interesting one. A lot of ups and downs, Easter, tax day, warm weather, cold weather. I just feel like it’s been a weird one. With all these highs and lows it has taken a toll on me mentally and physically so looking for a routine and things that pick me up has been really important.
I’ve been really tired lately, I’m thinking it’s just because I can’t mentally relax. I’m always thinking, trying to stay on my toes, and be alert. Needless to say, the bags and dark circles under my eyes are starting to form. I cry as I type this! Yo’ gurl gettin’ old! Luckily I discovered this Botanics All Bright Eye Roll-On 0.5 oz. Changed my world! I use it in the morning and before bed. I really like the feeling of the roll on, it cools and tightens the skin under my eyes.
While we’re talking skincare I started dry brushing a few months ago and really love it! It’s great for exfoliating and leaves my skin feeling nice and smooth. Not only that but it has a lot of benefits. It improves digestion, stimulates your lymphatic system, helps with cellulite and circulation, among other things. Not only that but the brush is only a few dollars! Really inexpensive for all the benefits of dry brushing. I got one that looks similar to this one below. Maybe I’ll write a post on how to dry brush!
When we went to Hawaii last February with Charlie’s family, his parents bought us all Hydroflasks and it changed the way I drink water. I know it sounds really petty but I’ve been eyeing a Hydroflask for a while and they had these really nice ombre designs at The Exchange (the gift shop at the Hale Koa Hotel). Working in a restaurant it’s so important to stay hydrated as you’re walking around for 12+ hours and working in a hot kitchen. We got the 40 oz bottles with the wide mouth straw lid. It keeps our waters cold all day! Love it!
If you follow me on Instagram and watch my Instagram stories you know how much I love to use my planner. This month, I decided to change it up and try to go fully digital using my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. I was really hesitant (stationery nerd over here) but for over a year I’ve been carrying my iPad Pro and my planner with me everywhere. You can’t believe how heavy it is. I told myself that I would do both a paper and digital planner for the month of April but (spoiler alert) I’m really loving the digital planner I created. More on that later but just know that I.Love.My. Digital.Planner. Can’t live without it and probably won’t go back to paper. Though I know I’ll be tempted. What can I say, paper is just my jam. You can’t believe how much guilt I feel about going fully digital lol! Planner Addicts, trust me. If you already have an iPad and Apple Pencil or if you’ve been wanting one go for it! It’s a game changer!
I also have the Smart Cover with the keyboard and I can’t live without that either.
Ok, maybe I’m being a bit over dramatic. Technically you can’t lose something that wasn’t yours in the first place.
I didn’t lose an existing client, I lost a potential client. But oh man, this one hurt. It hurt my ego and it hurt financially. But alas, there’s a silver lining to this story if you just keep reading lol 😝
So what happened was one of my mom’s clients from 20 years ago contacted me because they are planning to sell their home. The same home my mom sold them 20 years ago. This couple had never met me (I was 13 when my mom sold them their house) until our meeting a couple weeks ago. My mom was really good at keeping in touch with her clients, she was a real people person. After years of my mom visiting them every year with cookies and calendars during the holidays, it stopped. The last time they saw her she brought them some cookies and told them about her breast cancer diagnosis. A few years after that my calendars started arriving at their door. Naturally, they called me.
I was so excited! So far real estate has been slow for me this year so I was really looking forward to get the ball rolling again. TBH, it was actually good timing because I had to focus on building out the new restaurant.
When they called me I immediately prepared my listing presentation and doing my research. I met with them, they asked questions about my mom, her story, we reminisced, told me how they met her, they asked about my story, and I asked about their beautiful home. Everything was going great. I told them about my background, my journey as an entrepreneur, and how I’m following in my mom’s footsteps.
Then the other day I got a call, and they seemed to be concerned about the fact that I didn’t do real estate full time. I explained to them that I had a great team of people that help me with not just my other businesses but my real estate business specifically. I have a great broker and mentor as well as a great team at our office. They informed me that they were thinking of interviewing other agents and immediately my heart dropped.
I told them that while I do hope that they choose to work with me I understand their concern. I could lie to them and tell them that I do real estate full time but I wanted to be open and honest with them. I wanted my experience, knowledge, and dedication to be the reason they would entrust me with selling their home. I wanted to be truthful not only to them, but to myself. No, I don’t do real estate full time but I give everything I do 100%. I make time for important things. I put in the hours. I put in the work.
Well, a few days after that I got a message from them saying that while they really liked me and thought I was knowledgeable they decided to go with a full time real estate agent. At first I was really, really discouraged. I felt like a failure. I got really stressed about money. Instantly, all these negative feelings started to take over. But after I allowed myself to feel my disappointment for a moment I started to look at the bright side of this. I was actually really proud of how I handled it.
The truth is I’m a serial entrepreneur which means I own a number of businesses. I used to be ashamed of this, like it was a bad thing. But then I realized what that meant. It meant I was ashamed of my life, my reality, and who I am. The last year has taught me to be proud of myself, my journey, and what I’ve been able to accomplish so far in my life. The people that I want to attract are the ones that have faith in me and believe that I have something of value to offer.
I’m starting to remember that I should stay true to the mission that God has placed in my heart. It isn’t to please people or change who I am to meet their expectations. It’s to serve Him by bringing value to others through grace. and to share my stories to lift people up and give them hope. I’m not upset at my situation or getting turned down by potential clients. Don’t get me wrong, I was. In a way I’m grateful. I’m proud of who I am. It has helped me to realize that I’ve come a long way.
. Changed my world! I use it in the morning and before bed. I really like the feeling of the roll on, it cools and tightens the skin under my eyes.
