You know the saying… “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby…”. My story starts a little differently. First came 5 wild years in the windy city where I searched for love and purpose in all the wrong places (hint: love isn’t in Wrigleyville at 2:30am & purpose can’t be found from a lonely cubicle in a towering high rise). Even though I didn’t find what I was searching for, Chicago was my jam. I loved the hustle… the great restaurants… the SHOPPING. I use to shop my heart out. I would walk into stores and the sales associates would welcome me by name and with a hug. I always had the best new accessories and my wardrobe was on point. When I would return home to Cleveland, I could never find a shopping experience quite like the ones I had in Chicago… so when I decided to move home in the summer of 2013 I took a leap (and a career change) and I sought out to open a boutique comparable to the ones I loved.
Little did I know, the decision to move home to Cleveland was the best decision I would ever make. By moving home to start Lovely, my life fell into place… I met the love of my life, Chris, 3 weeks after moving back to Cleveland… all those years searching for love in Chicago and it was back in Cleveland all along. The best part, I was moving home to Cleveland and he was on his way to Cincinnati. We had this small, perfect window to meet and I thank my lucky stars we met when we did.
The last 4 years have been the best… here’s a summary…
- 2013-Moved Home
- 2013-Met Chris
- 2014-Opened Lovely
- 2014-Chris and I got engaged
- 2014-First holiday season at Lovely was a success
- 2015-Chris and I bought a house, got married on NYE and found out we’re having a baby…
- 2016-Hudson was born <3 <3 <3
- 2017-We moved Lovely to a space double the size
- 2017-Babycakes Opened
Those are the highlights, but it was all the details and the learning experiences in the past four years that made it so great… and why life keeps getting even better. I decided to start this blog because after years of young girls interviewing me for their entrepreneur classes, asking me for advice with starting their business and “picking my brain” I discovered there was a real interest in what I’ve been doing and I want to share what I have learned with others.
I will start by telling you, I am no expert… I am still learning how to own two businesses and have a work/life balance but I have learned some important life lessons and if this is a way to help others and share those I hope you find it interesting and beneficial.
Cheers to the crazy life and all the joy it brings!
XO
Kate
