Bath & Body Pop-Up Shop!

Hey everybody,

Seems like I haven’t chatted with you all in a while! My oldest son graduated this month and now that we have finally gotten all the celebrations done, I can focus on my new baby. Well this baby is actually a toddler now but whatever! My new baby is not an actual child, its my bath and body treats.

I love taking recipes from pinterest and tweaking them to make them my own. I have been making things for several years now, but never did I think of selling anything. I usually make them for myself or gifts for others, but never retail. This is a brand new area for me. My dear high school friend said to me “Where is your product line?….the packaging and the label are perfect! I would totally buy it!” I sat back and thought hmmmm. She may be onto something. So I took it to my hubby in a joking manner highlighting my known flakiness when it comes to my long list of hobbies and side hustles. He knows me best. He knows I love people but only in small doses. He knows I will love something and then put it down for a while after I get all the real life experience out of it. Expecting him to not be on board, shockingly he said “ Just do a Pop-Up shop! Make a set amount and when you sell out that’s it!!” Omg! That’s brilliant!! He’s Brilliant!!! And off I went to create my little empire.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I love all my hobbies but this one allows me to rely solely on me. Not someone else’s ideas, budget, judgement, just me. I love that. My friend Ashley said “Kim, let me ask you a serious question. Will you stick with this after the pop-up shop? How do you see this going?” And I thought, let’s just see how this goes and I’ll tell you later. Although my knee jerk reaction was YESSSSS! ABSOLUTELY! I have learned from my other hobbies that you don’t know what you don’t know and its best to just go with the flow. So! That’s the back story. Now own to the fun part!

POP-UP SHOP DETAILS

Launch Date: Monday, June 7th

Time: 12:00 Noon EST

Where: Online - www. thegracioushostess.com - There will be a tab labeled Shop!

Payment: Paypal Only (at the moment). Of course you can message me for cashapp, zelle, etc.

Delivery: There is a shipping charge, but I do offer free local Savannah delivery

PRODUCT DETAILS

The products we’re offering this go round are bath truffles, bath salts, body wash, body butter, soap, shimmer oil, healing butter, and beard balm. I’ve included a few of my favorites below.

Green Tea Body Wash

Strawberry Bubbly Bath Truffle

Berry & Rosewater Soap

Bronze Shimmer Body Oil

Lavender Grapefruit Bath Salts

Oatmeal Honey Soother Soap (Eczema Friendly)

I hope you find something you like and thank you to everyone that has oooohed and ahhhh a photo for me throughout this whole process. You will never know how encouraging you really are! Who knows? If this goes well, maybe we can make it a permanent thing! Here’s Hoping!

Until next time,

-K

Money Tips for the Faux Financial! Featuring Dr. Shawn Stewart

Hello! My name is Kimberly and I’m a faux financial. Well let me just clean this up a little, I’m pretty responsible when it comes to my necessities but when it comes to my fun! I’m terrible, no discipline what so ever! I’m ashamed because I actually have a BBA in Finance. Although I’m responsible in one area, it’s those other areas that keep me from elevating to the next level of financial freedom. So today I’ve solicited one of the MOST responsible people I know to answer a few questions for us. My best friend Dr. Shawn Stewart is amazing at so many things but I’ve found that she’s transcendent in the financial discipline arena so let’s see what she has to say!

What advice would you give a person on where to begin to get finances in order?

I would write down all the debt/bills in my life (mortgage/rent, car payment, credit cards, student loans, cable, cell, gas for my car, childcare, groceries, etc) to determine how much I need to pay out each month. Honestly, I break my bills down into two cycles because I get paid bimonthly. The ones I need to pay first half of the month and the ones I need to pay the second half of the month. Once that is determined, I would then decide how much I want to save. Then, I would determine what I have left and set a weekly budget for spending based on what’s left. I also include my monthly maintenance (hair, nails, etc) in what I need to pay out each month, FYI. I also listen to podcasts and read books/articles about financial literacy. This has really helped me to get my finances in order, but I still have work to do.

What tips would you provide on how to stay disciplined when it comes to spending?

I don’t allow myself to spend outside of my weekly budget unless it is an emergency. I have a checking account, a savings account, and an emergency fund. I keep my emergency fund separate because I don’t want to allow myself to believe it is dispensable. Therefore, I only transfer money from there as necessary. This fund will allow me to take care of things that come up as “emergencies” without having to deduct from my savings account. I put money into this account every pay period (and no it isn’t an astronomical amount, but it adds up) just as I put into my savings every pay period.

Saving !

My biggest rule is to NEVER TAKE MONEY FROM MY SAVINGS. In the past, I would spend as much as I saved which gave me the exact amount at the end of the year that I had at the beginning, talk about feeling defeated, lol! Creating the emergency account allowed me to keep my savings saved! I automatically get the money drafted (each pay period) from my account so I don’t even see it, but the amount I decided on is a reasonable amount. It won’t impact my way of life by not being available for spending. Don’t put away an unreasonable amount that you will need for day to day life; otherwise, you will end up spending what you are allegedly supposed to be saving.

What are some tips you would give your 20 year old self about finances?

I would not have accrued so much debt! Mainly student loans! I had to borrow money to get through college (and trust me, I went for many, many years) but I didn’t have to borrow an excessive amount to live off of. That’s one of my biggest regrets. I also had lots of credit debt in my early 20s. I learned from that experience to only charge what I can pay off in 3 months. If it’s going to take me longer than 3 months to pay it off, I don’t charge it or I save towards the purchase to prevent from charging so much.

What are some suggestions on how to reduce debt?

I’m still working on this one, lol. I wrote down all of the debt I owe and wrote down a sensible pay off date. I work towards achieving that goal. In the mean time, I don’t add additional debt. I have accepted certain debt (mortgage, car, student loans) but I try really hard not to accrue additional debt. I don’t window shop/internet browse because it will tempt me to splurge/buy things I don’t need but I just want, in turn creating more debt.

Well there you have it! I hope there was something here you can implement to help you on your road to financial freedom. I’m making a promise to myself to get my stuff together!

Until next time,

-K

The Art of Manliness: What Women Appreciate about your Masculinity

Today’s topic is mainly for the gentlemen and our appreciation for the male species. I grew up in a single parent household with my father and watching his razor sharp grooming process really set the bar for my view of what a well put together man looked like. From the moment he’d poke his head in my room to ask if I could iron a pair of pants for him to when his cologne would float down the stairs as me made his exit. Flaws and all, he was and is utter perfection.

So naturally, my husband would be just as polished. My muse for this blog post is indeed my husband George. #boyfriend #babydaddy #boothang. I’m sure he may be a little embarrassed that I put him out there like this and have plundered in his things to create these photos, BUT I also think he secretly likes it. Like most men do. I love his style, he’s extremely versatile and I’ve witnessed his smart dapper looks and his chill weekend vibes. What I appreciate the most about his aura is that he is usually very well coordinated without the “LOOK AT ME” over the top attitude.

While thinking of all the things I love about him, I wondered if other women had the same quirky thoughts that I do. Soooo I asked them! Guys here’s what the women I asked had to say about their appreciation for you.

GROOMING:

• Clean fingernails

• Cologne - You must smell nice

• Self-Care - Be sure to get your health check-ups

• A fresh haircut has an allure all on its own

• Fresh Breath is as must

CHARACTER:

• A gentleman that is kind enough to make us feel loved but knows when to put us in check

• Respectful to all women

• A man with manners is certainly a blessing

FASHION:

This is the fun part! Ladies had a lot to say about this topic. Here are some of the fun quotes!

“…..a long sleeve button up and he rolls the sleeves up to about mid-forearm…”

“Pants that are fitted. Not too tight and not too loose. With a nice belt.” “Color also looks good on men!”

“I love a man in a nice tailored suit, traditional colors…”

“I like a nice super white tee.”

“I love a man who’s switch up game is strong….” “Gotta smell good. Clean cut. That grey in the beard is good, I hate that “black-out” beard ish..”

“Definitely cologne! Nothing overpowering.”

“A nice set of teeth with fresh breath to go with it!”

“Polo blue cologne, John Varvatos cologne. I also think men are too scared to accessorize!”

“It’s not about just smelling good and looking good on the outside…how often do you bathe? Let me see your gums!”

“I love nice shoes on a man!”

So there you have it! We love our guys and hopefully this will encourage you gentlemen to keep doing what you’re doing! Thanks for all the worthy input Donnica, Nygeria, Kayla, Amanda, Lynn, Dianne, Sherron, Alissa, Mayah, Nedra, Catrena and Nina!

Until next time!

-K

Overcoming the "Pressure to Perform"

Happy New Year! I can’t believe its already 2019! The Holidays were lovely, I made gifts, meals, and had a few family activities to celebrate with cheer! My 10 days off to welcome the new year were wonderful!

All of a sudden I realize its January 1st. What are your goals for this year? Where do you think you can use the most work? How can you make your home a sanctuary for your family? How can you make them happy? How do you plan to make your children better people? What do you plan to do to save money? What’s your New Year’s Resolution??? Ughhhh! And just like that, on January 1st, I already felt like a failure for 2019.

This overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and the sneaky feeling of unhappiness flooded my brain. What’s really sad? All those questions came from my own head! I will be the first to admit, I’m really tough on me. Nothing is without criticism or question. I’m such an all or nothing person that my good is often great and my bad is usually a hell of a royal screw up. So today I dedicate this post to the four ways I plan to dig myself out of this dreadful hole.

1-Shut Up!

Stop setting yourself up for failure by sharing every single thing! Once you share a plan, idea, goal you immediately feel some form of accountability if your plans don’t go as planned. The moment someone checks in on those Big Plans you had, you have to give the speech of shame on how you didn’t accomplish what you set out to do. Of course, in our head this is awful, you feel judged, ashamed. To others, they couldn't care less. It’s all in our own head. My husband always says “You know how the fish end up in the fish market? They couldn’t keep their mouth shut!” Who needs that PRESSURE! Quietly take over the world and once you succeed you have a killer “How I did It” story to tell!

2-Write Down your Plans and Revisit Often

For an over sharer like me, this is golden advice. This is where I get to dream! As wild as they may be, I write them down with as much detail as possible then I revisit them often to begin making a step by step action plan, again, using as much detail as possible. This is where I begin to weed out the ridiculously lofty ideas and get back to what is realistically achievable given my timeline, personality, discipline, and effort.

3-Make Realistic Edits

Now that you’ve began your action plans, its perfectly ok to edit as often as necessary. Remember you set the goals so you have the power to change them. Life ebbs and flows so you have got to be flexible with yourself. If something no longer works for you, remove it. If you realized it may take longer to achieve, adjust your timeline! Not willing to sacrifice to the necessary extent? Modify your goal! Its all up to you. If you listened to Step 1, the only person you will have to consult with is you.

4-No Matter What, Keep Going

Regardless of how long a pause you take, pick back up and keep going. Dust off your dreams and get back to work. I have definitely learned that as long as you live, you will NEVER BE Completely SATISFIED! There will always be something you want to fix, do, change, accomplish. I ask that you remember to enjoy the journey and all those wonderful people standing on the sidelines waving as you continue your travels on the road to greatness!

Until Next Time,

-K