Hannah Morrison

Family, faith, fashion, home design, and lifestyle

My Everyday Necklace Layering

Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope you had the best week so far. This last weekend we had our second city-wide Interest Party for Cadence [the church we are starting!] and it was just incredible. We are still reeling in from that! It is still so humbling and mind-blowing to us that strangers would come hear about the vision our family has for the city of Frisco, and then somehow even more wild to us that people would say “I’m in! Let’s do this.” We are just enjoying the journey and grateful beyond measure for this season. We are so lucky and so thankful this is what we get to do for the rest of our lives.

Today, I wanted to share my go-to rose gold layered necklaces that I literally wear every day. They’re simple and sweet both by themselves, but make for a great layer when paired together. The first is a minimal druzy necklace and then the longer is a custom initial necklace with everybody’s letter in my family around my neck. I LOVE IT. Paul surprised me with it for our 7 year anniversary, and it’s just so sweet.

See below for my chain and layering necklaces (my exact druzy is out, but they carry a triangle just like it right now!):

Initials Link: Here

 

5 Tips to Make Your Dreams Happen

Alright, so here’s the deal: You have a dream, but you have zero idea how to make it a reality. Sound familiar? You have a business you want to start or a job role you desire, but it all feels overwhelming to begin. Which steps do I take first? It can feel like so much that you find yourself paralyzed with fear and confusion, and you stay stuck in the comfortable routine you’ve been in because… well, frankly, it sounds easier than the work you need to put in to make a life you love.

STOP. BREATHE. LET’S DO THIS. You get ONE life. You have a specific purpose. Your dreams are God-given. Don’t waste any of it!

6 years ago I began blogging and started sharing my life with intentionality on my Instagram and website. I wanted a space to write and loved the idea of growing an authentic community when I lived in the middle of a city at the time that felt anything but. I was an exhausted newlywed working in the start-up fashion industry in the heart of Dallas, and I was unfulfilled to say the least. I knew the pace I was running couldn’t last forever… so, I started to take my life into my own hands. All these years later and I am truly living a dream and multiple businesses under my belt that came to life because of the blog I said “yes” to over Christmas break. Whatever your dream may be, I want the same for you. I want you living a fulfilled life with purpose. 

Practical first steps to see your dream come to life
  1. Write a why statement for the dream/business/end goal. A sentence that encompasses the hopes, goals, and dreams of whatever your business or self-investment may be. And then – you filter absolutely everything you do and every effort you put into it through that. My why statement has morphed over the years as my life has literally changed before my online community’s eyes. But, my current statement is “Finding joy in life, motherhood, and fashion.” This phrase tells you, the audience, that coming to my page/website will *hopefully* help you find joy, mommy and fashion tips, and a glimpse into my overall lifestyle. Yep, that one sentence tells you ALL of that.
  2. Write a list of the practical things you need to do in order to begin!
    If this is starting a business endeavor, start with the basics:
    -File your business as an LLC or DBA depending on what the nature of what you do is
    -Create a website/hire out somebody to design your website (Your site is something you shouldn’t skimp on. If you can’t do it, hire somebody who can.)
    -Reserve any social handles needed (IG/Pinterest/Facebook)
    – Choose 5 pillars for content branding and be sure ALL content strategy stems from these (i.e. when looking at your grid of 9 on Instagram, every single pillar should be subtly shown in one glimpse. You have 2 seconds to captivate somebody and tell them what you’re about!)
  3. Write a list of 50-100 goals for your business and start crossing them off. This means send as many emails as you possibly can and tell everybody about what you’re doing. Somebody knows somebody who knows somebody. No… really. Email the most seemingly achievable collaborations or business mentors and work your way up. I will never forget meeting with Katey McFarlan in my earliest days and she said “start with brands who are at the same place as you and grow together.” That, of course, is most applicable to blogging, but the concept is all the same. My first big contract was with BareMinerals all simply because I created consistent content and tagged them on my photos as the make-up I was actually using at the time.
  4. Pick your colors and 5 words. What words, emotions, and colors do you want people to think of or feel when they come to your page? Do you want whimsical, clean, minimal, warm and inviting, editorial-like, inspirational? You have to know the feelings and stick to them with everything you post, write, execute!
  5. Stop saying you wanna do it…. and just do it. Not to sound harsh, but it’s the truth. You WILL be your greatest road block. Do what makes you happy and make it come to life. Hire a business mentor if it doesn’t come natural to you. Whatever you gotta do… take practical steps daily to make it happen.

Looking for more? you can hire me to help consult your business plans and vision meetings. Email me hannah@cakemedia.org

Favorite Target Finds for the Home

Can y’all believe we are SO CLOSE to our move in date?! One month and 6 days to be exact… hehe. I cannot wait to get my hands on my home and start truly making this space that I have dreamed of and designed into OURS, once and for all. I have mentioned it throughout the process, but majority of my design inspiration comes from Studio McGee. Crisp, traditional meets modern, and a neutral space that you can build off of. With that said, I have rounded up my favorite items currently available at Target – much of which is from the Threshold x Studio McGee line itself. I hope this helps you find that new piece you’ve been hunting for to make your home exactly what you have been dreaming of *and on a budget!!*

You will catch on that I go neutral on the big stuff and add color with vases, dishes, throws and pillows, and artwork that is easy to exchange when my style changes! Replacing these items is a lot easier to do than replacing tile or a $3k sofa/large piece of furniture.

Anthropologie New Releases

If you haven’t caught on… Anthro Home is basically my style to a T in one spot. I love a neutral space with pops of color. You’ll see me add color in dishes, kitchen accessories, towels, trinkets, and furniture that isn’t a major staple piece [like a bench rather than a sofa]. I find their prices to be surprising more often than not, as I believe majority of their decor and home/kitchen items are fairly achievable price points. Plates and mugs for the season around $20 is not bad in my book when it’s quality and unique!

I rounded up some of the colorful items in my cart right now. With our move-in date in May, I am READY for a bright, colorful, clean space full of inspiration and opportunity. I believe the pieces below say just that.

5 Things I Did for Me

This year has been wild… We all know that. Both the world as a whole and in my personal world behind closed doors, everything as I knew it blew up in my face a year ago [almost to the day] and… Although I didn’t ask for it and it’s been quite painful, it’s also been the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, to be honest. This year, I took back my life in so many areas. I said NOT TODAY, SATAN and started doing things that brought me joy, and I pitched the things/commitments/relationships that didn’t. I Marie Condo-ed my life and it’s been awesome. Painful? Yes, of course. I won’t romanticize the work of pruning. But, the end result sure is lovely.

Below is a list of 5 things I have done for ME that made me feel like ME again. I brought back hobbies and parts of me that have died over the years, either from stress or just phase of life. But, not anymore. I am bringing back the best me, and here is how I did it!

Voice Lessons: YEP! I have been a singer quite literally my entire life. My family loves to tell stories of how I would put shows on without hesitation in the living room and make up songs. I was in the best choirs at my 5A high school, sang at church, sang the National Anthem for games at my school etc. Then, in short, anxiety took over my life after some fairly hurtful and traumatic situations in my young adult life. And with those, my gift became a source of deep anxiety. I didn’t sing for nearly 5 years when I graduated from high school. And though I have been a worship leader the last 5 years of my life, my anxiety and fears have always bubbled under the surface. So, I decided it was time to get me back! I have been taking lessons with a worship pastor who, quite honestly (whether she knows it or not) has been equally a voice coach as she has been a therapist to me. She literally has made me preach the lyrics of my songs to empower me to find my voice again. I have started writing songs again and feeling a freedom in my voice [both my singing and quite literally] that I haven’t felt in ages.

Counseling: I have always encouraged counseling and always will. I truly see counseling as integral to your overall physical and emotional health as healthy eating, working out, and friendships are.  Find somebody you love, respect, and who has a life (private and public) that you honor. I love my counselor so much. And even when I come in feeling GREAT with nothing particularly to talk about, I leave a better person because of my time with her. As a wife, boss, leader of a church, mom, and entrepreneur… I need a healthy space to get poured into spiritually, emotionally, and to speak into my businesses.

Audible Books: I just recently started to do this… and I am such a better person for it hehe. But, no seriously… my husband literally just told me this morning he feels like I am being goofier and more playful lately – Overall less stressed. I chalk it up to having a fiction book going all day and allowing that creative space of my mind to work and floruish. Any time I have dead space to fill and could start scrolling on IG or turn on the television, I have started to do an Audible. I also turn it on while driving or doing my house work. It’s just been so great for my mental health. I feel calmer, my spirit feels at ease, and I even feel more creative in my work from filling my headspace with less social media.

Break Rules – Have Fun: I am a 9 on the Enneagram with a very evenly split wing 1/8. If that sounds like a foreign language to you – basically, I feel a whole lot of feels and can be very commanding about those feelings and equally need a LOT of structure. In seasons of stress, I tend to tap into my wings heavily. I have found as I have gotten older that my spontaneity and love for fun has been overshadowed by a need for structure and rules. SO, I challenged myself to start breaking my rules to give my boys a better version of me. A little less structure (within reason) and a little more space for fun. This has looked like ice cream for dinner, a picnic on the ground of our new house without plates, staying up past bedtime for one extra episode of Knox’s favorite show, snuggling in my bed for cartoons before 10 AM…. I have a lot of rules, which isn’t a bad thing. BUT it has become something I cling to for security when my life feels chaotic. If God is supposed to be my only source of true security, though, I need to break the tie to rules where they need the breaking.

Work Out: I have shared about this on here before, but my Peloton is a daily dose of sanity for me. Hopping on for even a 20 minute ride is so good for my headspace. I am a better mommy, wife, and boss when I take the time to get a quick sweat in. I love my bike and truly think it’s worth every penny spent.

What hobbies or life commitments can you make to bring back YOU. Whether you’re a momma trying to carve out space to feel like you each day or a working lady juggling the office and friendships, we can all commit to doing 5 things for ourself that make us our best self!

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