M O O R E A S E A L

A Life & Travel Update

2013-05-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

1. I am visting home today and tomorrow, so yesterday night my family and I went out for sushi for my middle sister's birthday!
2. THANK YOU to all of my blogger friends and real life friends who have sent cards to my mom while she is going through chemo. She has kept all of them and feels so special knowing even people shoe doesn't know are sending her good, healing thoughts.
3. My mom showing me all of the cards se has been given by her community of friends.
4. My youngest sister shaved her head in solidarity with my mom! Such a sweet gesture. Last night they played with fun wigs :)

1. My middle sister and her sweetie dog Newo. She's a rescue dog and is most likely a lab/rotwieler mix and is the sweetest thing on earth.
2. My sisters and I at sushi. Ignore my wacky weird smile.
3. My dad is trying out some Warby Parker glasses! We decided that he looks coolest in somewhat round tortoise shell glasses. So cute. He will be ordering the pair on the left today!

Max and I have been planning to come down and visit our families and to go to Yosemite for quite a few months now. His family and my family live about 20 mins from each other in the same county. Have I mentioned that we went to the same high school in Northern California and had a lot of similar friends, but we didn't start dating until after college? Cute. Anyway, Max worked at a camp a few years ago in Yosemite and every summer before camp starts up again they have a volunteer work weekend. So we are headed down there tomorrow to help clean up camp and to hang out with old friends.
I am SO glad we had planned this week of travel months ago. I would have never expected in just February that I would have so much on my plate with my business expanding, we just hired our 4th intern 2 days ago! I've ben working extremely hard lately and I am so looking forward to having 3 days in the woods with no cell phone reception or internet connection. It will be a huge refresher after weeks and weeks of really intense work. I basically need no internet and no cell phone reception to get me to stop working because I love my work so much and I'm obsessed with our whole staff of inspiring ladies. I'll be introducing them on the blog soon!
I am so grateful that we were also able to visit our families on this trip. I haven't been home since Christmas and the last time I saw my family was in March when we went to my grandfather's funeral in LA. I hadn't seen my momma since she started chemo, so this has been so special to me so far in just 24 hours of being home. My mom is doing really well. She had to go to the ER a few days ago because she was really shaky and chemo brain had kicked in. But right now she is doing well, is just as chipper as ever, and has a huge smile on her face. She still looks perfectly beautiful even with her hair loss. She has a really classic 40's glamour lady look so a fun head wrap or turban looks completely fitting on her.

Here are my plans for the next week and a half:

May 23, Today: Max & I in Nevada City, CA
May 24, Friday: Drive down to Yosemite, CA
May 25 & 26, Sat/Sun: Yosemite, CA
May 27, Mon: Drive back up to Nevada City, CA
May 28, Tues: Max & I fly back up to Seattle, WA
May 29, Weds: Jenette & I fly down to Long Beach, CA to see my business partner
May 30, Thurs: in Long Beach, CA
May 31, Fri: Jenette & I fly back up to Seattle, WA
June 1, Sat: Photoshoot for the BIG Secret Project!
June 2, Sun: Photoshoot for the BIG Secret Project!

Basically, the week and a half ahead is crazy, crazy, crazy. But also exciting, exciting, exciting. My apologies ahead of time if I am unable to keep up with blog posts for the next 2 weeks but I'll try my best! I'm so excited to tell you more about what I have been working on and how our team has been expanding. Expect some behind the scenes sneak peeks of the photoshoot coming up! And again, if any of you would like to send my mom a card or a care package, mail your cards to:

Moorea's Momma

PO Box 31686

Seattle, WA 98103

Thank you everyone for staying connected while I'm in a crazy busy season of life!

52 Lists // Week 20

2013-05-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

I have so much to do this summer! There are plenty of exciting and fun things happening in the next few months for me, but I'm very introverted and get most of my energy from having quite down time alone. Because of this, I really need to schedule my life including scheduling my alone and quiet time. Creating a list of all of the fun things I have lying ahead of me helps me to remember that just as much as I need fun, I also need down time. I'm a planner, a go getter, and always thinking leaps and bounds ahead of where I am in the moment. So, as lame as it sounds, scheduled down time is key for keeping me sane.

What do you have planned for the summer ahead? Do you feel most at peace when you schedule and plan things out or do you feel most calm when you live impulsively in the moment? I myself get pretty overwhelmed in the summer. I feel like I need to take advantage of every event that is being held in Seattle during the warmer months, I need to go to the beach, I need to get a ton of work done. I have a hard time reeling back and remembering that I need time scheduled in my life where I am not allowed to plan anything! Haha. Do you get overwhelmed when you feel like you have too many great opportunities in fromt of you? I do! So how will you prepare yourself ahead of time to make sure your summer is joyful and peaceful instead of busy busy and a little too filled with exhausting fun?

DOWNLOAD WEEK #20

I'm very very excited about the months ahead and all the fun and exciting work that I'll be involved in. But I'm also trying to have a clear mindset this summer, remembering I can't do it all and I am allowed to chill out when I need to! List your summer goals this week and think about how you can take advantage of the whole summer to balance fun, work, and relaxation. Every element is important in sustaining yourself so don't forget that as the days get longer and warmer! What are you most looking forward to this summer?

As always, feel free to download the PDF list above or write down your list in a journal. If you post about it on Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or Pinterest, then stop back here and link up your list so we can all visit each others lists and gain inspiration & insight from one another.

Use the hashtag: #52lists2013 if you post your list on twitter / instagram / pinterest. And be sure to tag @mooreaseal so I can find your lists!
You're welcome to join in the 52 Lists project at anytime! Visit the 52 Lists page to check out all the lists and jump in wherever you'd like :)

PNW Blogger Spotlight: Missing Lovebirds

2013-05-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

I met an extremely cute little lady this week when I spoke on the Alumni Panel for the art department at my alma mater. Elanor from Missing Lovebirds is a freshman at Seattle Pacific University, the college I went to for undergrad, and she happened to recognize me from all of my adventures around the web. I'm so glad she came up and said hello to me so we could chat a little about blogs and how you can pursue a career on the web through the avenue of blogging. I think her blog is just adorable and I love her style. I honestly have an impossible time of finding other Seattle bloggers, even just Washington bloggers in general. So meeting Elanor sparked a fun idea for me. I thought it would be awesome to start off a new series on my blog focused just on Pacific Northwest Bloggers! And not just any bloggers, but bloggers I am personally really inspired by or who I really vibe with. I know plenty of Portland Bloggers, but not many in Washington so I'll be on the hunt for more bloggers in my area. Are you a Seattle or Washington blogger? Let me know so I can check out your blog!

Elanor, here's a shout out to you. You seem like a rad little lady and I'm sure we will see more of each other in Seattle. Ps, you get bonus points for originally being from Northern California like me :)

Check out Elanor's blog Missing Lovebirds!

Neutral Summer Sandals

2013-05-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9

What I love about these Summer shoes is that they all have a very distinct style but because they are basic in color, they can be worn in so many ways with so many outfits. Which shoes do you gravitate towards the most out of this group? The middle left flats seem like they would be the easiest go to shoe for any occasion, but something about the bottom left shoe really says wow to me. I'm obsessed. You can find all of these pretties on my Luvocracy page.

52 Lists // Week 19: List the Things You Want to Be Known For

2013-05-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

This Spring I have been focusing very intently on how I can expand and improve my business so that it can be sustainable and can go on for many years. Because my brand/business is so deeply attached to me as a person and my own identity, I often have to step back and ask myself more philosophical questions: What do I REALLY want to be know for? Who do I want to be known as? What do I want my brand to be known for? What parts of me as a person are essential to my business and which elements of me are not?

I think these are essential questions that many people ask themselves throughout their lives beyond and within the question of "Who am I?" I've come to know myself very well as I've become more open over the years, and I do my best to represent myself in a way on the web that is true to who I am. But I do hold somethings back because there are elements of my life that are perfectly fine and right to stay private. Just like in everyday life, a person doesn't need to try to constantly express every single element of who they at every second of the day. We are human which innately means that we are complex creatures. And it's ok to share certain aspects of ourselves with the world while holding back other parts of who are feel we are. I believe that who we are as humans is a strange mixture of who/what we WANT to be + who/what we ARE already that is completely NATURAL to our individual selves, some of which we can't get rid of fully. There is good and bad in both, there is ease and hardship in both, and there is the constant option to CHOOSE to be or act a certain way or not.

Sometimes who we want to be becomes natural to us over time like when we fix a bad habit, make the choice to be a better version of ourselves, or when we find healing that opens a new door to being a more truthful person to oneself. I am of the mindset that if you are trying to be a better or healthier someone that you feel you are not yet, that is a healthy step and a wise and honest decision. Accepting and acknowledging who you are in the present and who you want to be in the future can be a great thing if you can do both with a healthy and self loving mindset.
But, sometimes we are known for things that we later regret. And sometimes we become known for something that we never chose to be known for in the first place. We can start to question ourselves and can spiral into untruthful and hurtful head spaces when others try to define us. I think these experiences especially hit us as children and then haunt us as adults making us questions, "Who really am I?" both in the eyes of our individual selves and the eyes of others.

I say, move on from the question of who you ARE to instead focus on who and what YOU want to know yourself as and what legacy do YOU want to leave behind for others. We are human, we are ever changing and that is an incredible element of our uniqueness and beauty, the ability to change both our outer selves and our inner selves. By wanting to be a better, healthier version of yourself you are not being fake. By making the choice to be kind and compassionate to others, you are not being false. You have any moment in your life to make a new decision to be a better you, to be a healthier, more positive, a more honest and inviting you. And you have the choice to make your own changes because YOU want to. You know deep down who and what you want to be known for. And whether people ever see some of those things doesn't really matter. What matters is that YOU seek to be the person you want to be.

DOWNLOAD WEEK #19

What do you want to be known for in your lifetime or just in this moment? Perhaps there are things you want to heal from, so how are you going to take action to do so? You have that choice, and you do have that power. You do. What elements of yourself do you want to be admired for beyond your physical beauty? Every single person, even those of you who feel you have no self esteem right now, has something they know they could be or do if they just have the courage and faith to be or do it. So, how are you going to take the steps to become the person you want to be known as being? Do you want to be known as someone who is loving? Then do it! Take action and share your love with those around you even if you think it will surprise them! Do you want to be known as someone who is passionate? Then reveal what you have a fire for in your heart, share and allow yourself to be vulnerable. You have a blaze that needs to be ignited and only you can make it happen. The power is in your hands and the more that you make a choice to be the person you want to be, the more natural each step will feel. Your life is long so you have time to fully become who you want to be, who you know you are meant to be. Celebrate your journey and pursue each step with vigor and trust in yourself to make change. You have the power, so start your legacy.

As always, feel free to download the PDF list above or write down your list in a journal. If you post about it on Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or Pinterest, then stop back here and link up your list so we can all visit each others lists and gain inspiration & insight from one another.

Use the hashtag: #52lists2013 if you post your list on twitter / instagram / pinterest. And be sure to tag @mooreaseal so I can find your lists!
You're welcome to join in the 52 Lists project at anytime! Visit the 52 Lists page to check out all the lists and jump in wherever you'd like :)

I'm a Speaker at the Texas Style Conference!

2013-05-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to announce that I will be leading a workshop/speaking at the Texas Style Council Conference in August! At first I thought I couldn't probably go because I have a wedding to attend on August 2nd in California. But I decided that it's too great of a chance to meet so many of my online friends to pass up. So I'll be jetting out after the wedding on the 2nd to be there on the 3rd and the 4th! Quite a few of the other ladies who will be leading workshops are some of my favorite people I have met, virtually, so I'm happy I'll get to meet them in person finally after years of chatting back and forth on the web. I'll let you know soon about the topic I will be speaking on :) This is my first time speaking at a conference and I am really excited to share some insider tips on my topic!

This year is turning out to be a whirlwind of a year for me with traveling! I am traveling almost every single month this year and in some months I'll be traveling multiple times to multiples states. Phew! So far I've been back to California a few times, Salt Lake City, UT for the first time, and Dallas, TX for the first time. Actually, those were my first times ever in Utah and Texas and both were for blogger events! Next up this month I'll be headed to my hometown in Northern California to see my family and most especially my momma. Then we're off to Yosemite in California with my sweetheart for a much needed escape to the woods. And lastly, I'll be headed down to Southern California to see my business partner. Yea, this month is crazy because all of that is happening within a 10 day stretch.

May: Northern California + Yosemite + LA.
June: Southern Washington + Oregon
July: San Francisco (See you at Alt Summit!)
August: The Bay Area, CA + Austin, TX (See you at the Texas Style Council!)
September: Nothing yet...
October: North Carolina + Palm Springs, CA (I'll be at the Go Mighty Camp!)
November: Oregon
December: Northern California

I'd love to hear if any of you will be attending the same events as me over the course of this year. It's always so fun getting to meet web-based friends in real life! I constantly have moments where I think, man, this is so weird that I legitimately consider people I have only talked to on the internet as friends. Also, this is really insane that I have built a business solely because of the internet! There are SO many things that are a part of my daily life and my career that wouldn't have even been possible 10 years ago. And obviously, I am so grateful for it all and grateful for you! I hope we can meet-up sometime soon :)

BIG Changes in the Moorea Seal Studio!

2013-05-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

I'm about to reveal one of the clues as to what has been happening behind the scenes with the Moorea Seal brand! Well, I spruced up my studio a few months ago and the bright white walls have been treating me well and keeping me positive and open to new ideas and changes. It's amazing how a fresh new space can spark your creativity and energy. And with the dawning of a new fresh space came the beginning of a new venture in my brand! Below are some photos of my studio of when I used to work in my studio all alone, before things started to change...

Well, now the Moorea Seal team is expanding by quite a few people! I now have a business partner who is based out of LA. And in addition to him, I have an essential new addition to the team: one of my best friends, Jenette! I'll reveal a little more of how she is contributing to the business in the next few weeks. The most exciting thing for me is that she now works side by side with me everyday in the studio. Even just a month ago I wouldn't have ever expected that we would get to work together so soon in our careers. We used to joke and toy with the idea of someday working with each other far into the future after we had pursued our own careers. But because of exciting new ventures that have sprung up, it was incredibly serendipitous that we ended up needing to work together because of our own skill sets. I'm feeling very very lucky these days and like the stars are aligning to make my dreams come true, that and a LOT of hard work :)
Below are some pictures of the new set up of the studio...

In addition to now having a business partner plus another essential member of the team, we also have an incredible intern who started this week. Our intern team will be expanding to 3 or 4 over the next month and just as serendipitously as everything else fell into place with my business partner and Jenette, the most perfect women popped up at exactly the right times to become our interns. We already have our internship positions in place so I am sorry I couldn't reach out to you friends in the blogging world first. Things are happening quickly around here! But in the future I will definitely be opening up more internship positions for anyone to apply to.

I'm SO excited to keep revealing more and more about everything unfurling over the next few months. But for now the big clues are: 1. I'm working on a high end line of jewelry in addition to new products at my current price points. 2. The team has expanded from 1 to 4 quickly and will soon be a team of 6 or 7! I'm feeling energize and incredibly motivated. I hope you're just as excited as I am!

Make sure to sign up for our mailing list where we will be revealing more about the BIG Secret Project over the next few months! SIGN UP HERE.

A Little OCD and Anxiety When Your Mom Get's Cancer

2013-05-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's been 3 months since my mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. It's crazy to think that it has been that long already. She just started chemo over 2 weeks ago and she is doing well so far and keeping a positive attitude, just experiencing the hard bits that we were expecting. I feel like I've finally gotten to calm place of dealing with it in the last few weeks. I guess you could say that my initial way of dealing with the facts at hand were by going a little extreme with my research on health and wellness. But thankfully, during the last 3 months, I have been very aware of how I was trying to cope and tried to remember to humor myself as I got a little OCD about things.
I know myself pretty well. I am my best when I am busy, and the healthiest way I have found for me when I am dealing with deep sadness or depression is to get into action by being productive in someway. I'd rather do that than sulk non-stop. I knew that when my mom told me that she had breast cancer that this would shake me up in a few ways. So I also knew I needed to find some sort of way of coping that would make me feel like I was doing something good with my heartache, even if it was anxiety driven. I think letting myself just experience mourning and worry in the ways I best understood how to was important. And I hope sharing my experiences might help other people who have, are currently, or will go through seeing one of their loved ones being diagnosed with cancer.

I cried. Of course I cried, because sometimes when you can't fully understand a situation the water works just come. It took me awhile because I was in combination shock of her diagnosis and expecting the impending passing of my grandfather at the same time. So it did take awhile for everything to hit me, but once my grandfather died and I had done all I could have done to prep for my trip to his funeral and to see my family, it all hit me really hard.
Coping for me found it's way through trying to learn more about my body and my health. I started going to yoga. I went back to my therapist for a few sessions. I decided to do the DNA test 23andme to learn more about my body and health on a genetic level. One week I went on a Netflix binge of watching tons of documentaries and movies about health, vegetarianism, veganism, how food is grown and processed, and more. I switched to using organic/natural deodorants. I impulsively bought 4 books about vegetarianism and about the food industry. Have I read more than 10 pages of each of them? Nope. But I just needed these actions to feel like I had some sort of control or connection to by body when I suddenly felt so disconnected from it.

When my mom was diagnosed, the hardest part for me was that I really see my body in hers. We have almost identical bodies in their bone structure, curves, our allergies and more. We both are, ahem, well endowed with a lot of boobage. And because with my mom's breast cancer it felt like her own body was attacking her, I suddenly felt for the first time that I couldn't trust my body, even though I've felt so in tune with my body the last few years. My anxiety over cancer and how it's like this thing within ourselves that just pops out and attacks us was really overwhelming for awhile. The only way I felt like I could handle the whole experience of trying to process all this was to get a little obsessive compulsive about trying to understand my own body and genetic traits. Now, three months later, I haven't learned that much about my own body and health, but I needed to go through these set actions that I had created as a map in my mind to come to a healthier mind space. And I think that that obsessive way of thinking is something a lot of people can click into with trying to cope with trauma.

Two months after my mom's diagnosis, I got my test results back from the 23andMe DNA test. Thankfully, I have never been freaked out by tests about health or genes and was more just incredibly fascinated and excited to discover things about my health & body that I didn't know before, things that had always been there. But a week before I got my 23andMe test back, my mom found out through the hospital's genetic testing that she is a carrier of the BRCA1 & BRCA2 genes that "belong to a class of genes known as tumor suppressors. Mutation of these genes has been linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer." as stated on the National Cancer Institute's site. Learn more about BRCA1 & BRCA2 on the National Cancer Institute's website. That was when I just really wanted to know if I was a carrier too. I've heard from lots of people that they would never want to know if they are carriers of things like this. But I'm the sort of person that would MUCH rather know so I can at least try to help my body out in whatever way I can and heal my mind from the worrying.
I got my 23andMe test back and it said that I did not have any of the common strains of BRCA1 or BRCA2. There were plenty of other fascinating things I learned about my genetic traits from the test but I'll talk about those another day. The fact that I don't have common strains of BRCA1 & BRCA2 didn't actually relieve me of tons of suppressed anxiety or anything because really, I still could have a less common strain. But just simply getting the test results back gave me a sense of peace, knowing and trusting that I had made effort in my own life to learn about my body in more depth. After excitedly obsessing over my test results for a day or two, all of my anxieties and obsessive feelings faded away.

In addition to sending my mom gifts and telling her I love her and care about her more than I did before she was diagnosed, I had also really needed to process my own relationship with my body in a deeper way. I needed to regain some sense of control, and for me that came in an expansion of knowledge. In all that I do, what brings me the greatest sense of peace is remembering that the more I learn, the more there is to learn. The more I understand, the more mystery there is in the world. And going through the obsessive and anxiety filled motions in February, March, and a little of April did help me get back to a healthier place.

I don't know if you can call coping in itself healthy. But it is something that most of us experience when we are amidst trauma or deep sadness. And hopefully, each of our ways of coping eventually come to an end in a way that puts us on a new healthy path of living and thinking. If you feel like you are just in a state of coping right now, try using a productive attitude and actions to push you along. I can't even express how PRO therapy I am. In the most traumatic times in my life and during the quiet times when past traumas started effecting my day to day in unhealthy ways, therapy was a huge sense of comfort, release and healing for me. You are not pathetic for seeking help and guidance. You are wise and strong for allowing someone outside of your experience to help you on your path. Allow yourself to morn, allow yourself time to cry, time to get a little obsessive like I did. But know there is a way to heal from every painful experience. And you have the right to pursue it.

My mom has her second chemo treatment this week. And she is going to a class about how to feel beautiful while experiencing the physical losses due to chemotherapy. She will get to play with some more of the goodies I sent to her in her chemo care package which she has really been enjoying. I am SO proud of her for her positive attitude and her trust in this all of this. And I KNOW that your thoughts, prayers, and kind words have mean't a LOT to her. One of my blog readers was sweet enough to send me a card to deliver to my momma. It made my mom feel so very special knowing that people all over the world are thinking of her.

So if you would like to send her a card, please feel free to send it to:

Moorea Seal

c/o Momma

PO Box 31686

Seattle, WA 98103

USA

Thank you everyone for your love over the last few months especially. And keep sending your warm and comforting thoughts our way as she keeps going to chemo over the next 3 months. Let's hope that chemo works it magic and gets that cancer into remission asap.

Things I Want to Read & Do Now & Later

2013-05-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

I have had just about no time to read blogs in the last month. It's crazy that after years and years of running my own blog and religiously reading all of my favorite blogs daily, I've come to a point where I just barely have time to read other people's blogs anymore. I wish it were as simple as giving myself a set amount of time every morning to read them but unfortunately I've already done the same with so many work related tasks. I just don't have the time these days to choose between blog scanning or getting important work done, blog scanning or taking precious time to invest in my personal life.
I am trying to at least take a morning every few weeks to browse all of my favorite blogs to collect articles I really want to read when I have the time. And when something really sparks my interest, I do take that sacred time to read it all the way through, soaking up every word. Wouldn't it be amazing if every blog post felt that way?

Here is my current I read it & loved it or I scanned it and I really want to read it later list.

BUSINESS ADVICE & INSPIRATION:
Traveling & Working as a Creative Entrepreneur - by Braid
- since January, I have been and will be traveling at least once a month. This year is crazy!
Things I've Learned: Working for Yourself - Jenny Highsmith
Fear of Doing Wrong = Not Doing it At All - Door 16
50 Blog Post Ideas for Rough Days - The House That Lars Built
Standing Out From the Crowd - Altitude Summit
Artists & Alchemists - Shae Detar
Tips & Tricks for Blogging - Design Crush
On Working from Home - A Beautiful Mess
Editorial Calendars - Altitude Summit

MAKE IT:
DIY Stump Side tables - A Beautiful Mess
DIY Embossing - Emmadime
A Beautiful & Affordable Temporary Back Splash - Door 16
DIY Yoga Mat Bag - Sincerely Kinsey
DIY Wood Coffee Table - Jenny Highsmith
DIY Dry Shampoo - Sincerely Kinsey
DIY Round-Up - SF Girl By Bay
DIY Stamp Artwork - Emmadime
DIY Stone Welcome Mat - Jenny Highsmith
DIY Solid Perfume - Sincerely Kinsey
DIY Floral Happy Birthday Headbands - Oh Happy Day

LET'S GET PERSONAL:
The C Word - Making Nice in the Midwest
Mother's Day Card - The House That Lars Built
Meal Planning - Kyla Roma
Yummy Salad Recipe - Bleubird
Timeline for a Tragedy - Making Nice in the Midwest

52 Lists // Week 18

2013-05-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

I've been in go mode for a few weeks now and lordy did I need a day or two alone this weekend. I am about 95% introvert. Over the years I have become more and more outgoing and I'm good at getting my game face on when I need to, but I do lose just about all my energy when I'm around a lot of people most of the time. A lot of people mistake being Introverted for being shy and nervous. Shyness and being Introverted are actually not related. Being Introverted simply means that you gain your energy from spending more time alone or with just one other person. It doesn't mean you don't like hanging out with people, it just means that your energy is depleted when you are in large groups.

I have to constantly remind myself to chill out and allow myself to take time alone, time to refresh and re-group myself. I took 2 entire days to myself alone this weekend and it was AMAZING. I ended up feeling so insanely energized on Sunday night that I just couldn't sleep, that's what time alone does to me! I feel like American culture is pretty Extrovert-centric. We are expected to do it all, and do it all with fervor and a big smile on our face to present to others. We are expected to interact and gain happiness from others beyond gaining quiet peace and happiness from our inner selves first. Man, I wish I was an extrovert sometimes because as I get older, the more and more I find myself in group settings where I need to get my chatter on. I LOVE love love deep conversations and meeting new people, but it does drain my energy to get to the point where I feel most natural in a conversation. Introversion is a funny thing folks, and I've come to love it just as much as I love my alone time :)

DOWNLOAD WEEK #18

How do you gain energy or replenish your energy after it has been depleted? We all do it in such different ways. For some, gaining energy means getting into a bustling environment filled with action and chatter. While for others like me, gaining energy means taking time away from others to center yourself and reboot. It's rare to find a person who is 100% Extrovert or Introvert, but when you are pretty far along one spectrum, your energy boosters are pretty easily defined like how I crave alone time as an Introvert. Do you seen yourself as someone who needs to gain energy by being alone or by being with others? Neither one is better, they're just different ways of re-charging!

As always, feel free to download the PDF list above or write down your list in a journal. If you post about it on Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or Pinterest, then stop back here and link up your list so we can all visit each others lists and gain inspiration & insight from one another.

Use the hashtag: #52lists2013 if you post your list on twitter / instagram / pinterest. And be sure to tag @mooreaseal so I can find your lists!
You're welcome to join in the 52 Lists project at anytime! Visit the 52 Lists page to check out all the lists and jump in wherever you'd like :)

Stunning Ceramics

2013-05-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

I'm in hardcore ceramics love right now. I wish I had time to take a ceramics class but boy is my schedule already way too full! Instead I've created a little collection of my favorite ceramic objects from Etsy on Luvocracy. I'm so fascinated by the different ways that you can play with glazes and textures. The splatter effect on the plate by Julia Paul is so effortlessly stunning. And the gold plated interior of the crackled exterior bowl by Marietta LeMieux is genius. That bowl is the bling-iest most beautiful object I've seen in some time.

Kris Orlowski

2013-05-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Such Great Heights by Independent Clauses
My friend Kris Orlowski has been doing some pretty fantastic things lately. When I was still doing freelance graphic design and Illustration, I had designed 2 of his album covers & layouts and it was a joy working with him. Seeing how much he has done with his music in such a short time is so inspiring. He recently contributed a cover of Such Great Heights to the album Never Give Up. All proceeds from pay-what-you-want donations for the album go to mechanical licenses (so The Postal Service gets paid legally) and to long-term Hurricane Sandy relief via the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Pretty wonderful, right?

Check out more of Kris' music on his website. The kid writes some pretty beautiful songs, I must say!

5 Tips for Making your Basic Photography More Interesting

2013-05-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've had a lot of sweet compliments on how I style my photos for the 52 Lists project. So I thought I'd share some basic tips on how to style your own photos for your lists! You can also use these tips to just spice up your everyday photography for your blog or personal life :)

1. Natural Light is key! Let's be real, photos taken with a flash on even moderately nice cameras like my Canon t1i usually don't look so hot. So if you are taking photos indoors, try and find a spot in your space that has an even blanket of light. I take all of my photos for the 52 lists project about 3 feet from one of the windows in my studio.
I bought this camera for around $1000 including a lens and a few gadgets in 2009 and now it's only around $300. So if you are looking to upgrade from using just a little point and shoot to a better camera but need to stay on a budget, I'd recommend my camera! Right now I'm dreaming of the Canon 5D Mark III. sigh...

2. Experiment with textures. It looks like most of you are printing out your lists onto standard white sheets of paper or are hand writing them on to a piece of paper. As much fun as your font choices may be on the paper itself, the best way to really spice up your photography is my adding textural elements to the environment surrounding your pieces of paper. Using a background that is textured in someway really helps to make the image pop! As you can see above, I've experimented with a wooden backdrop, wrapping paper, snakeskin printed leather and more!

3. Create Layers. Because we are simply photographing a piece of paper, the paper itself on a flat background doesn't have much depth. So, to create more visual stimulation for the viewer and to add some contrast and depth to the photograph, try adding some layers of visual interest to your set up. Experiment with knick knacks you have laying around your house like layers of jewelry, cool fabrics, or small vignette objects like little cups filled with stones, sticks, and flowers.

4. Take Lots of Photos! When I took a photography class in college, I assumed that most digital photographers were just so good that they took one shot and it ended up being perfect as is. That's most often not true. You need to experiment with the camera, and let yourself take photos that you are going to end up not liking in the end. Notice in the options I shot above, the tilt of the paper is a tiny bit different in each image and the zoom in on the paper is slightly different on each image too. I experimented with a few different levels of zoom & tilt so that when I was looking at all the different options together later, I could better decided wich looks cleanest compositionally. Also, the clarity of all of these images did vary a little. So because I took quite a few shots, I was able to pick the image that was both the clearest to read & had the best composition.

5. Edit the Image. I've had a lot of experience playing around and working in Photoshop and I rarely post a photo on my blog that hasn't been cleaned up a little bit in photoshop. As you can see above, I needed to brighten up my chosen image. So I played with the levels, curves, contrast, and a few other things to get it to look the way I wanted it to. If you don't have much experience in Photoshop, you can use Actions to edit your photos. There are a million bazillion actions to best suit your particular photography style preference. I personally prefer photos that look pretty true to life or have a sort of moody rustic feel like the actions designed by VSCO. A few bloggers have their own specific action sets too like Mandi from Making Nice in the Midwest.

52 Lists // Week 17

2013-04-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

This week, I really wanted to reflect on all the people who I have admired and have seen as guides in different ways in my life, and I encourage you to do the same! When we are in difficult spaces or are feeling sorry for ourselves, it can be really hard to remember the ways in which others have supported us and inspired us in the past. When I was in college, I felt like I had had no one to guide me in my childhood expect for my dad. I had experienced a lot of trauma which sort of shadowed over the good things I had experienced during the same years. But as I take the time to look back now, I remember all of the wonderful people along the way who helped shape me to become the woman I am today. Here are all the wonderful people I have admired in my 26 years of life:

My mom - in her joyful spirit amidst fighting breast cancer, and for all the ways she has grown over the last 26 years.
My dad - in his compassion, sensitivity, wisdom, loyalty, and spiritual openness.
My boyfriend - in his thoughtfulness, understanding, trust, willingness and loyal spirit.
My middle sister - in her balance of toughness and softness and all she can accomplish with both. She is a born leader.
My youngest sister - in her pursuit of what she wants and fierce passion. She was made to be powerful.
My great uncle Toby - for being an openly gay man through such incredible changes in society since his birth in the late 1920s.
My grandma - in her incredible faith in her own strength and all she accomplished because of it. She was a girl ahead of her time.
Susie - my RLC (head leader of the RA staff I was on for a year in college.) for being a warm and calming spirit, and guide when I felt lost.
Ms Conte - my 4th grade teacher. for encouraging me to be true to myself and to celebrate it in an environment where it was hard to do so.
Laura Lasworth - my favorite art professor. in her incredible wisdom, patience, understanding, and creative channeling of the depths of her spirit. she felt like family through out my college experience.
Gala Bent - one of my art professor in college. in challenging me when I needed to do better and her ability to see me clearly when I was struggling.
Sierra - one of my high school best friends. I thought I was so mature in high school and didn't understand her choices at the time. And now as an adult I fully see her forethought in all she has accomplished and admire her wholeheartedly. I want to build a home and a family like hers someday.
Julianna & Jenae - my closest friends at the beginning of college. For encouraging the free & magical aspect of myself and for always making me feel accepted.
Katie & Anne - my best friends in college. They taught me how to truly allow myself to have fun and relax after denying myself of a lot of joy in my childhood and teenage years.
Allie & Jenette - my best friends after college. they've always only been supportive and encouraging of me and their love and belief in me has felt more powerful and encouraging on a day to day basis than ever before. I constantly want to repay them for their love towards me.
My cousin Reed - for his incredible toughness and softness. He is my brother. He is a guide, friend, and teacher for me in business and in spirituality.
My cousins Drew& Alyson - for cultivating an incredibly beautiful family full of awesome little individuals.
My friends Jessy & Brenna's moms - they felt like adoptive moms for me growing up and their tenderness towards me was so special. they taught me a lot about patience and grace.
Artise - my adoptive grandmother in my hometown in California until she passes away in 1996. She was a source of comfort when I was still in shock after moving back to the US from England.
My therapist after college - for being insightful and frank while also compassionate.
My next door neighbor in England - for fostering and adopting so many kids & for specifically loving and adopting my childhood best friend. For her tough & loving attitude.
My aunts Nancy & Judy - for their deep devotions to what they love, faith and family and doing so in their own unique ways.
Rosie - for being my sister's & my adoptive auntie while living in England, giving us sweets & tea and always loving us with warmth.
Kristie - for believing and trusting in me as such a young girl of 12, nannying her daughter.
Lori Leaman - for her incredible grace, joy, and light as she succumbed to cancer.
Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen, Oprah & Martha Stewart - for how they have built empires off of their personal brands.
Mr Baxter, Mr Bagget, Mr Cartan - high school teachers. For seeing promise in me as an artist, as a musician, and as a story teller. For pushing me to be my best and inspiring me. They are they reasons I made it through high school.
Sarah & Eric SD - for being my guides during the hardest summer of my life and for teaching me how to be my most radiant and loving self in times of trial.
Jess (Trumpkin) - in her wisdom, patience, solidity, forethought, insight, and constant kindness and joy.
Old people - because they are way more honest and open than a lot of polite but guarded peers!

DOWNLOAD WEEK #17

This week let's take the time to really contemplate those people who have been there for us in our lives, who we have looked up to, whose lives we want to reflect in our own journeys. Really let yourself reflect on this for awhile. I took about an hour to just think about all the different people in my life who have effected me in powerful ways. I needed a long time to truly delve deep in my memories, and in doing so, I recalled so many people I hadn't thought of in awhile. It's amazing to realize that though you may not think of specific people from the past in your day to day life, their influence on you still resounds in you in the present. Let's celebrate their effects on our lives this week. They deserve some love and honor!

As always, feel free to download the PDF list above or write down your list in a journal. If you post about it on Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or Pinterest, then stop back here and link up your list so we can all visit each others lists and gain inspiration & insight from one another.

Use the hashtag: #52lists2013 if you post your list on twitter / instagram / pinterest. And be sure to tag @mooreaseal so I can find your lists!
You're welcome to join in the 52 Lists project at anytime! Visit the 52 Lists page to check out all the lists and jump in wherever you'd like :)

Vivid Dreams

2013-04-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

I've been having insanely vivid dreams for my entire life. More often than not, I wake up incredibly exhausted every morning from just experiencing my dreams so fully. Being that this morning was one of those exhausting mornings, I though I would share with you my dreams from the last two nights. perhaps if you are really into interpreting dreams you can tell me what my dreams mean!

Last Night:
I was hanging out with my best friend Jenette in this huge mansion condo thing she lived in inside of this city where all the buildings are really really tall and you couldn't see the ground below. We were chatting about business when I noticed there were a bunch of wild animals on her huge outdoor terrace that had a bunch of big trees on it. Her cats and dogs were outside so we needed to get them inside ASAP so the wild zoo animals wouldn't eat them. I called 911 to tell them a lion, a tiger, a shark, an elephant, a mini hippo and a python had escaped the zoo and were hiding 200 stories up from the ground at jenettes terrace porch thing. Finally when the animal control/zoo people came, my boyfriend came to help herd out the animals too. But the animal control/zoo people decided to just leave the shark in the above ground lake that was behind jenettes mansion. Jenette's husband was holding their new 2 year old little girl as we all watched this shark do tricks in the lake. (They don't have a kid in real life.)

After all that was wrapped up, I had to go to work with one of my best high school friends Sierra. We were coaches for high school swim teams and had a major tournament we were going to at an enormous hotel (also a very tall building far above the ground). The pool was probably about 10 blocks long by 5 blocks wide. It was enormous. Someone decided we (the swim coaches) should get tattoos while at the international swim team event. I didn't want one but somehow other people's tattoos got transferred to my forearms. One was a compass on my left arm. And on my right arm was a lame short quote in cursive AND a huge colorful ad for a car company that stretched all the way up my arm. The girl who had decided to get that tattoo realized a bunch of words were spelled wrong after seeing it on our arms and the colors suddenly became really vibrant after looking at it for awhile.

I was so upset that I asked Sierra to take over guiding my swim team in their competition while I went and booked a flight home because I was wo over this whole experience. All of a sudden I woke up in my own bed thinking I had actually woken up from my dream but really I had entered another layer of my dream. I looked at my arms and saw that I still had the tattoos so I was furious. I thought, aw crap so that wasn't a dream, I guess I really did get these damn tattoos. I decided to leave my hotel room (which looked like my bedroom) at the swim team event to go down and yell at the concession stand where I had gotten the magical tattoos. The man at the counter said because it was a mistake that the tattoos got transferred to me and because I was so upset he would give me back a $500 coupon and I could try rubbing off the tattoos. I managed to scrub off most of the tattoos but there was still a faint trace of the giant misspelled car ad on my right arm. I then actually woke up in my own bed and wasn't sure if I was still in a new dimension of my dreams or in real life. I checked my arms to see if the tattoos were still there and they were not. Phew!

Here's what I interpret from my dream:
Jenette is one of my best friends here in Seattle and she is actually becoming a part of the Moorea Seal team as we expand in the coming months, there's a hint at the Big Secret Project! So obviously, I'm around her so much that she is morphing into my dreams! I'm obsessed with her loft space so maybe that channeled into the dream because her mansion was amaaaazing. I love her cats so much, so of course they were in the dream too. I love the zoo and Jenette & I go there together often so maybe that's why there were zoo animals. And Max is so supportive when I'm feeling flustered so maybe that is why he was there to clear out the animals.

I don't know why Sierra and I were swim team coaches because she and I are 0% interested in swimming. But she is one of the most stable and calm people I have ever known in my life. So I like to think that I needed her there in my dream with me as I was getting so upset about my tattoos because she is such a steady friend and can always be relied on. I don't want any tattoos because I am SO picky about design & a long term commitment to a specific aesthetic. So obviously I would be PISSED about ugly permanent tattoos on my body. I'm not usually one to pitch a fit when something goes wrong though, so maybe because I try to remain calm on the outside in real life, my inside is really amped up about things out of my control. I am a bit of a control freak but try my best to not be that way all the time. So there is my own insight.

My dream from the night before:
I dreamt that I was hanging out at a hugh, dark college/spa and a guy I probably never even talked to in high school managed to trick me and steal my cell phone along with rigging all my tech devices to not function. I was really mad because I have a lot of work to do on my Big Secret Project. I finally figured out who did it after 2 days and stormed to his house which I think was a frat house just STUFFED with people and proceeded to rip him apart verbally. But he kept denying that he did it. Then Marilyn Manson showed up to negotiate and finally got the guy to give me my phone back along with fixing my tech devices. Conclusion: thanks Marilyn Manson for you negotiation skills and your surprisingly calming spirit.

Here's what I interpret from my dream:
I'm pretty sure the random guy from high school who showed up in my dream appeared because he randomly popped up in my facebook friends feed the day before and I remember thinking, "Am I even friends with him on facebook? Weird." In real life I feel like I've been really on top of getting everything in order for the Big Secret Project in a timely manner. But I guess the idea of losing all my tech devices right now would be frightening if I think about it. I don't know how in the world Marylin Manson showed up in my dream as I hated his music growing up. But he was super nice, mellow, and helpful in my dream so that's cool.

Overall Conclusion:
I am far more angsty and in your face with people in my dreams than in real life! Maybe it just reveals that internally I am very passionate, strong willed and will fight for something when it deserves justice. But on the outside in every day life I try really hard to be calm, patient, polite, and understanding and do my best to just let things go. Maybe I try TOO hard to be nice in real life and my interior self is feeling pent up? I deeply appreciate the friends in my life, like Jenette, Sierra, and my boyfriend, who I can lean on because I know I'm not a tower of strength and patience all the time and I can trust them with seeing all of me. It's nice to be reminded in my dreams that I am not as hard as stone and need to rely on others more. Perhaps I need to rely more on others so I can let more things go internally. Maybe that will help my crazy dreams!

What is you dream life like?

The Secret Project

2013-04-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

Ad Sale & Giveaway Winner!

2013-04-25T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's almost May! Can you believe it? Where has this year gone already? Well, the good news for me is that I feel the tides of heartache from the first half of this year settling and morphing into a grateful and eager attitude. And I now am feeling incredibly excited for the months ahead. And since I'm in such a great mood, I decided to offer 50% OFF of ALL of my ads on my blog for May! You have until May 1st to grab your ad, so go and get it while there are spots available! Use the code: MAYFLOWERS when purchasing your ad to get 50% off!

In other news, it's time to announce the winner of the $250 to 123Prints.com!
The Winner is... Brittany from Itsy Bitty Things! Congrats Brittany! Please email me at moorea{at}moorea-seal.com so I can connect you with the 123Prints.com rep.

How I Became A Jewelry Designer

2013-04-24T00:30:00.000-07:00

(UPDATE: I forgot to link up the printable page download yesterday in the 52 Lists post. That's available now!)

I didn't go to school for jewelry design. In fact, when I was in undergrad for Studio Art, one of the very few art classes I did not take was metal smithing! From printmaking to digital illustration, color theory to sculpture, I did it all and had little interest in metal smithing. For most of my life, I was obsessed with Art History and drawing and never even dreamed of designing anything 3D other than making clothing. So after my Museum curator dreams were foiled, I expected to make a career in the Illustration world after I graduated from college. Though I did spend a few years doing some freelance illustration and graphic design work after graduating, I took some unexpected turns which eventually lead me to jewelry design. Shall I tell you the story?

IN THE BEGINNING

Right at the end of my super senior year, aka my 5th year in college thanks to transferring, one of my former classmates Ian contacted me to see if I would be interested in an artist's assistant position with an amazing sculptor here in Seattle named John Grade. I thought, well shoot, I can't pass this opportunity up especially since it is a coveted positions for Sculpture graduate students! So I interviewed with John and was hired right at the end of my super senior year. Once I started working on some of Johns pieces along side a few other amazing peers who were fellow artists assistants, I just fell in love with 3D art of all kinds. I loved watching the incredibly thoughtful and detailed process that John Grade went through to conceptualize a project and the rigorous planning and calculations that he laid out to help bring pieces to fruition. And eventually, I got the itch to figure out how I could afford to make sculpture on my own on a 22 year olds budget of barely nothing. That's when jewelry and etsy clicked for me.

MY FIRST TRY AT ETSY

I had a friend in college who ran a blog and an etsy shop, selling her illustrations and I knew I wanted to start an etsy shop during the last 2 quarters of college. It just took me awhile to figure out how to focus it. I tried making kitschy hair accessories, looking back I now think they were hideous! I tried making some illustrations to sell in the shop but I think college burnt me out on 2D creativity. Being inspired by sculpture and having a boyfriend at the time who was a wood worker in the beginning of 2009, also wishing I could spend more money on clothing and accessories, I thought that jewelry would be the perfect way to meld my budding sculpture passion with the current means that I had.

So at the beginning of 2009, I opened up my etsy shop and started selling one of a kind wooden jewelry. Here are some examples of my first pieces. I would design a pendant or a pair of earrings, my ex-boyfriend would carve the wooden pieces, then I would piece it all together. For having barely any followers on my quiet and very personal blog at the time and having most of my customers being friends or friends of friends, I did ok selling the wooden jewelry but it was quite slow going. My relationship with my boyfriend at the time ended very quickly just a month after restarting my etsy shop. And honestly, filling a shop with only one of kind pieces that were carved by a boy 2 states away and selling them at affordable prices ended up being barely profitable because it was just a time suck. So in a heart broken state after being dumped 2 weeks before my big senior art show at the end of college, I closed my shop so I could gather myself back together.

That summer in 2009, I let my little shop go quiet. I wasn't sure if I should try to just cater to the super kitsch oriented customer base on Etsy at the time, or if I should try and blaze my own trail. I needed time to really think and focus my dreams and goals as well as build my self confidence back up after college ending on a sour note in my personal life and schooling. So for the rest of 2009, while I worked as an artists assistant and juggled a few nanny jobs, I tried to focus on what careers I truly wanted to explore in my twenties. I decided I needed to focus first on just getting myself to be fully self employed somehow utilizing the skills I already had under my belt from 5 years of college.

CREATING A BASE TO LAUNCH FROM

So In late 2009, I started experimenting with digital illustration and graphic design, customizing my blog design during a time when there weren't that many options for customizing your blog layout and style. I started offering freelance illustrated portraits through my blog, using my blog as a platform for a budding small business. And I eventually started offering blog design services to other bloggers as well. Once I started getting a bit of momentum going on these areas of my small business in early 2010, and after taking an Indie Business course online, I decided ok, let's start up my Etsy shop again and this time it will be all truthfully and fully my style. I went for it.

In the summer of 2010, My first big sellers were my chevron earrings and necklaces and my raw amethyst rings. The chevron trend hadn't really kicked in yet and the raw rocks and stones used in jewelry were not as trendy either at that point, so I was luckily on the forefront of a few trends at once in my shop. A lot of people didn't really get my jewelry at first, but once it started getting noticed by the right people, my shop launched into go mode. It was finally my time to get something rolling! My leather chevron jewelry went crazy all over the web on blogs and a few larger sites and magazines and the big blingy amethyst rings became suddenly a consistent sell out item in my shop. And once my Etsy shop started picking up steam, my blog started getting bigger too. What mattered most though was that once I really found my voice in my jewelry design work and became unafraid of how others might respond to it, thats when things really picked up.

RE-INVESTING IN A BUDDING BUSINESS

By the fall of 2010, I was juggling a budding jewelry etsy shop, part time blog designing with freckled nest, part time freelance illustration and graphic design focusing mostly in portraiture and album design, blogging consistently everyday, AND nannying part time for 3 different families. Life was insane because I needed to make money any way I could and save like crazy. But you can guess that I reached a cracking point by the winter of 2010. With some encouragement and advice from a family I was a live in nanny for at the time, I decided to take the jump and quit my stable day jobs. I needed to just leap with big faith in myself and my online community, trusting that I could survive off of all of my own creative work and elements of my business and brand. So I quit nannying and became a workaholic for jewelry, blog design, illustration, and graphic design.

Over the next two years, I juggled it all relying off of multiple sources of income to survive. I scrimped and saved and managed to never borrow or take out a loan for my business. You can bet there were plenty of days where I cried over the fact that I was eating spaghetti every night for dinner, but I just knew that I needed to put every bit of money that I could back into my business to build it up into something that I could pursue as a career for real. I had no one helping me financially, I had college loans to pay along with all the basic things like rent, food, and gas. And I had to turn down going out with friends constantly not only because I felt like even $4 on a glass of wine was a waste of money but I needed to invest as much time in my day to day life into building up my work and taking any opportunity I had to expand my work.

FOCUSING IN

Thankfully, with Etsy functioning almost like a database of handmade artists and designers, a lot of stores found me through etsy in 2010 and 2011 and wanted to stock my jewelry in their online shops and in their storefronts around the world. So by the winter of 2012, I had a big enough following on my social networks and in my Etsy shop to go full time with just my jewelry, blogging & online curating gigs around the web. It was time to move on from blog design, graphic design and illustration. So here we are in the Spring of 2013! I've built up my Etsy shop and jewelry brand over a few years gaining some wonderful recognition around the web thanks to some incredibly kind friends I have met along the way. I feel stable in what I have created and am finally at a point where I don't feel like I am scrambling to keep things together. I'm really proud of myself that I was willing to make major sacrifices for a couple of years to get to where I wanted to go. And now I am even more excited for the greater goals that have come about because of my journey in jewelry.

SOLIDIFYING MY BRAND

I now have a high end jewelry line currently in the works! I'm hoping to release it in late summer of this year. Just you wait :) Getting to this point in my pursuits of having a jewelry business has been a big collaboration of trusting my own creativity and persistence in times of hardship, investing in and appreciating the relationships that I have developed in such an inspiring community of people within the blogging world and within etsy, and taking time to seek out mentorship, advice, practice, and learning to prepare myself for each step along the way. My background in getting a BA in Art really helped me to understand the basics of jewelry making without specific training. The women of the world of blogging constantly inspired me in their career pursuits which challenged me in my own. And always remembering that in my career journey I am constantly gaining knowledge while being opened up to needing to learn more and more to progress beyond where I have already been has been essential. The more I have progressed and focused in on jewelry, the more I have loved it and sought to gain deeper knowledge.

Life is for learning, and that's how I feel about business too. I was in no way prepared to really pursue a traditional sense of business when I was younger or while I was in college. College was all about concepts, philosophy, creative training, theory, and developing persistence and understanding of how to follow through in developing work. I definitely need all of that a base for launching a creative business. But it was when I was thrown into the real world with plenty of bills to pay and no one else to rely on but myself to survive that I started to see the value of things like math, strategy, detailed planning, creating structure, marketing, and more that come along with pursuing a business of your own. Over the last 3 or 4 years I've gotten schooled by the reality of running a business and I can say for sure that I am a million times over a better leader, designer, and business owner today than I was 4 years ago. The challenges were all worth it.

If you are interested in starting up your own small creative business, be sure to stay tuned for more stories and advice coming up on my blog over the Spring and Summer. I think the experiences of my last 4 years have chocked me up full of great insight into journeying into business through a difficult road. And I'm excited to share more with you so maybe you can avoid my mistakes and glean from my good moments.

52 Lists // Week 16

2013-04-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

I'm in a season of life where I just don't have much time to relax, so when I choose a book to read I am very very picky. I want something that I feel deeply connected to, whether it is a funny tale or a magical epic story. I think that so much of ourselves can be revealed through what sort of storys we love. I seek out happy tv shows and movies because my spirit is so moved by simple entertainment. With books, I am really drawn to storys that revolve around young characters navigating a new journey ahead of them. I love an air of mystery and magic in a good book whether it be magical realism like Haruki Murakami or Franz Kafka's writings, a philosophical & mystical experience like The Little Prince or The Alchemist, or a mysterious journey of seeking knowledge like The Shadow of the Wind or Snow Falling on Cedars.

I think that there is so much to learn and embrace about yourself through analyzing the type of books you read! I know that I definitely have a passion for constant learning, and with each new thing I learn I feel a deeper sense of the mystery of life and the greater beyond. The types of books that I am drawn to usually have characters who have a similar spirit as me, seeking something greater in their own journeys. And on the lighter side, I love reading a witty goofy story every once and while like anything by David Sedaris or Tina Fey's Bossypants. I'm 80% serious and 20% insanely goofy and my reading track record displays that too. :)

DOWNLOAD WEEK #16

What sorts of stories are your favorite? Take some time this week to write down all of your favorite books, poems and stories. Once you see all of them written down together on a page, think about how they connect. Are they all centered around a love story and does that reflect in your own life? Are you more drawn to fantasy and seek to bring that out in your everyday experiences as well? Perhaps you really love autobiographies, maybe that means you are seeking to live a life that reflect those who inspire you and who have come before you. Really dig deep in your spirit and time time to relate personally to the stories you love. I think you'll find some pretty amazing insight into who you are and what sort of themes echo through your pursuits. Be sure to leave a comment here too letting me know what you discover in your time ruminating and reflecting!

As always, feel free to download the PDF list above or write down your list in a journal. If you post about it on Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or Pinterest, then stop back here and link up your list so we can all visit each others lists and gain inspiration & insight from one another.

Use the hashtag: #52lists2013 if you post your list on twitter / instagram / pinterest. And be sure to tag @mooreaseal so I can find your lists!
You're welcome to join in the 52 Lists project at anytime! Visit the 52 Lists page to check out all the lists and jump in wherever you'd like :)

Neon's in My Normally Neutral Closet

2013-04-22T19:04:00.002-07:00

I was at a conference this weekend and forgot to plan out my 52 Lists project for tomorrow ahead of time so it'll be up tomorrow afternoon, my apologies! So in the meantime, here's a little outfit run down of what I wore at the conference. I decided to step out of my very neutral and normally quiet outfits to go for something bolder while visiting Dallas and here's how it all turned out! What do you think?

I think I'll be adding more bright colors to my wardrobe for the summer! Aren't you proud of me for stepping out of my black, white, and grey comfort zone? I think I just don't like drawing attention to myself when I am out in public so I try to balance my outfits with subtle but stylish elements. None of these outfits are subtle to me and it's honestly kind of intimidating for my normal self. I even wore an almost neon peach lipstick at one point this weekend which was way outside of my norm. But I feel a new wave of confidence in the air and it applies to not only my business but how I want to carry myself, with healthy pride and self expression. What are some ways you are excited to step out of your comfort zone this summer?

Trend Watch: Wild Stripes

2013-04-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15

I've always loved stripes. Last year in Spring I was really digging the neon & stripes trends. And I am happy to see that both trends are catching even greater steam this Spring! Last year I was digging both trends in more subtle ways but this year I'm liking a more obnoxious version of both it seems, being that I bought a neon mint studded leather vest the other day... And yesterday morning I was laying outfits to pack for my trip to Dallas and decided, yes, I DO want to wear a black and white striped top along with black and white striped pants in one outfit. Crazy? Probably. Crazy fun? I think yes. Bring on the stripes!

Neon Dallas

2013-04-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

So I'm headed to Dallas, TX for the weekend for a conference and just dreaming about the sunshine in the South has kicked my brain into a space that it doesn't usually occupy. You know I'm a pretty devoted lover of a neutral color palette. And sure, I flirted with neons in the past but came to the conclusion that they just didn't work with my skin tone. Well... I did a little shopping to prepare myself for brighter, warmer weather in Dallas and something came over me and told me to buy not just one neon piece of clothing, but two. And on top of this, I bought a piece of clothing I normally would NEVER wear. I mean, I like studs on stuff, but usually only on black items in subtle ways. Guys, I ended up getting a freakin' neon mint faux leather VEST with studs all over it. Who am I all of a sudden? I don't know, but it's making me happy.
If you live in Dallas and happen to see a glowing neon person this weekend walking down the street with long brown hair and glasses, it's probably me. Also, I have no plans for Sunday during the day so who wants to hang out? See you soon Dallas!

52 Lists // Week 15

2013-04-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

It sounds funny, but in high school I was a quote elitist. I poo-pooed my nose at quotes like, "Live, Laugh, Love." The quotes I splattered all over my binders were from philosophers or the Dalai Lama or indie musicians. I needed a lot of complexity and heaviness to connect to a quote and I'll admit my angsty high school depression kept me in a place where I couldn't understand the power in something gentle, sweet, and simple. Nowadays, I love collecting quotes that I find inspiring, sweet, funny, powerful, you name it on Pinterest. I think once you've really experienced the fullness of life, the highs and lows, you start to appreciate even the cheesy stuff just as much as the serious stuff. As a child and a teenager, I was honestly very depressed so everything valuable to me felt like it needed to be serious. And I know that other people thought I was cold, distant, aloof, and stubborn. I had plenty of hard things happen when I was little that pushed me into being that closed off and hard edged little person. But ladies & gents, plenty of equally hard things have happened in my life after the age of 18 too! And you know what those hardships have taught me? Well, one, anti depressants and therapy really can do wonders when your chemistry is off and you have things you really need to process. ;) And, two, hard things can really help you see the true beauty in simple sweet, and even cheesy sounding statements!

I'm ready to take some good things from my quote loving teenage self and apply them to the present by splattering uplifting and empowering quotes all over the place as reminders to myself. The hardships in my family lately have definitely left me feeling vulnerable and weak, occasionally knocking me upside the head with self doubt and anxiety. But when I read a quote I love or hear someone I admire say something that really strikes a chord with me, it feels like a firework in a dark space. I'm ready to light up my mind with a million blasts of vibrant light, how about you?

DOWNLOAD WEEK #15

This week, list all of your favorite quotes! I know that some of you may be able to fill up multiple pages with quotes while others might just have a few that they treasure. To get your inspiration going, think of your favorite books or poems, perhaps there is a quote in there that really struck a chord with you. Maybe you are music addict, I bet there are plenty of quotes from songs that really speak to you that you can document in your list! Does your family or your group of friends have something they say all the time that is sweet or memorable? And for those of you who find quotes you love via the web, here is a collection of some of my favorite quotes found via Pinterest. I thought it was interesting to write down all of my favorite quotes from Pinterest to then reflect on what they have in common. For me, quotes about self empowerment in goals, expansion of compassion, not letting fear be my guide, and trusting there is power in gentleness and kindess are my favorite sorts of quotes. What quotes really inspire and encourage you?

As always, feel free to download the PDF list above or write down your list in a journal. If you post about it on Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or Pinterest, then stop back here and link up your list so we can all visit each others lists and gain inspiration & insight from one another.

Use the hashtag: #52lists2013 if you post your list on twitter / instagram / pinterest. And be sure to tag @mooreaseal so I can find your lists!
You're welcome to join in the 52 Lists project at anytime! Visit the 52 Lists page to check out all the lists and jump in wherever you'd like :)

A Chemo Care Package

2013-04-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

If you have been reading my blog for the past few months, you probably know that it's been a hard one for my family. My grandfather passed away about a month ago, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer around the same time, and now my poor dad is going through ordeals with his fourth kidney stone, this one causing an infection and almost causing kidney failure. When it rains it storms, right? The hardest part for me is that I am the only person in my entire extended family that lives outside of California, it just makes the most sense for me to be here in Washington at this point in my own life. But for my family, I do wish I was there right now.

When I posted about my mom's breast cancer about a month ago, I mentioned that the doctors thought they could just do a lumpectomy and then just do radiation. I was grateful that at first they thought she wouldn't have to do chemo. But when they did the lumpectomy, they didn't remove enough around the tumor during surgery the first time so they had to go in and do surgery a second time. And on top of that, they found more tumors behind the first one. So in total she has had 3 surgeries in the same spot so far. Her lymph nodes are fine, thank God, and it appears the cancer has not spread anywhere else. My mom has chosen to just do a lumpectomy and not full mastectomies, and either way she does have to do chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy now.

So I decided, since I can't be with her physically as she starts chemo this week, I can at least send her a big box of goodies to help her out during her treatment. And I figured that I would share this list with you all as we never know when one of our loved ones will have to endure this same process. If you or someone you know have been through chemo and have some great tips and tricks on how to feel as best as you can during the process, please let me know so I can share your ideas on my blog. All of our insight combined equals a lot of comfort for each person going through this. Now I myself have not had cancer, but this compilation of goodies to put in a care package has been gathered through a lot of reading and research of different people's experiences with breast cancer treatment through chemo.

1. Biotene Dry Mouth Oral Rinse - I've read that your mouth can get really dry while going through chemo. The dry mouth oral rinse helps to get your saliva production going to combat dry mouth. If the peppermint flavor is too powerful, dilute it a little with water.
2. Biotene Dry Mouth Toothpaste - Biotene toothpaste also helps combat dry mouth & mouth sores which are common for chemo patients. I read one woman's story about her process of chemo and she said that brushing her teeth 3-4 times a day really helped her saliva production and prevented mouth sores.
3. A Soft Toothbrush - as your body will be more sensitive during chemo, it's best to use a soft toothbrush.
4. Any sort of moisturizing body wash - if you decided to shave your head or experience losing your hair, theres no need to use shampoo. Moisturizing body wash may feel soothing on an itchy scalp.
5. Lavender Baby Oil - applying lavender baby oil on a tender scalp after a warm shower helps to moisturize and keep the skin soft, plus the lavender scent is calming and comforting.
6. Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion - lotion is key when someone is experiencing a lot of dryness during chemo. I read a few articles where women said they liked Jergens ultra healing lotion the best. I say for anyone buying lotion, also avoid buying lotions that contain alcohol which dries out the skin after the lotion has settled.
7. Natural Sun screen at least 30 SPF - I know staying out the sun in the summer will be impossibly hard for my sunbathing momma. So I bought her a 45 SPF sunscreen for when her skin gets extra sensitive to the sun during chemo.
8. Tea Tree Oil & Peroxide - Some people experience a lot of pain, dryness, and cracking in their nails during chemo. I read a few articles that said that dipping your nails in peroxide every night to clean them, drying them off, and then rubbing on a dot of tea tree oil on each nail helped to sooth and restore them.
9. Aquaphor & Aloe Infused socks - Some people get neuropathy pain in their feet during chemo treatment. And I know my mom loves having her feet pampered anyway, so using Aquaphor (non-petroleum) to slather all over her feet every night will feel really good along with aloe infused socks while she sleeps.
10. Acid Reducers - Chemo can effect how food tastes & smells along with how your mouth reacts to flavorful foods and how your tummy handles a lot of food. Antacids can help! Eating small portions, avoiding acidic foods & eating more bland food can also help to keep food in your tum.
11. Herbal Tea - herbal tea along with simple foods like jasmine rice are calming on the stomach.
12. Alcohol Free hand Sanitizer - during chemo, your immune system is much more vulnerable than usual so it's good to keep some hand sanitizer nearby at home or in your purse.
13. Sinus Cleanser - using some kind of sinus cleanser is also a great way to keep your immune system running smoothly, clearing your sinus passage way daily or whenever feels best for you. I myself use a neti pot.
14. An Herbal Comfort Eye Pac - Your eyes can get dry and tired during chemo, so taking some time to rest with a soothing herbal comfort eye pac over your eyes can be a calming and comforting experience.
15. Eyebrow Make-up & Stencils - I myself have really pale eyebrows so I use an eyebrow powder to fill in my eyebrows. Some people lose their eyebrow hair during chemo, so using a soft eyebrow powder plus an eyebrow stencil to fill in the eyebrows is a great option. Since skin can sometimes pale during chemo, try using a slightly lighter shade than your natural hair color for your eyebrow powder so as not to overwhelm your face.
16. Head wraps - Since my mom will be going through chemo in the summer, I bought her a few lightweight scarf & turban options for her head if she does lose her hair. I'm betting wigs will be too itchy during the Northern California heat. My mom has such a classic 1940s/50s beauty so I know she will totally be able to pull of a classic chic turban look during her everyday life during the summer. There are a lot of great head wrap, scarf, and turban options on Etsy for women going through chemo! Here are a few I love: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5
17. Fun Jewelry! - Hey girl, if your read to rock a glamorous head turban or a colorful head wrap, layer on some fun jewelry! I think some big dangly earrings or a statement making necklace look especially fun and joyful when paired with a head wrap. Just because your going through chemo and experiencing all of the hardship along with it, it doesn't mean you can't get fancy when you want to :) I'm going to make my mom so bold, blinging jewelry for her to wear this summer so she can remember, she is a babe no matter what. I might be inspired to create some fun jewelry just to celebrate all you ladies out there who have powered through chemo. I admire you!

My momma is starting chemotherapy this Wednesday so if you can be sending her thoughts of healing, peace, health, and strength during that time, we would so appreciate it. She will be doing chemo every two weeks on Wednesdays for the next 4 months (from April 15 - Aug). So if you are an avid sender of good thoughts or person who prays, mark her sessions on your calendar to send her waves of love, comfort, and healing. I thankfully have two trips already planned for the end of May and July where I can add a few days to my trips to visit my mom and family. And in the time between, I have full faith in my sister Alexandra who is ready to take on a new level of responsibility within my family. I am so proud of her. Please be sending her thoughts of power & strength, grace, calmness, support and feelings of joy in her new independent free choice of taking on new responsibility while my mom is going through Chemo. Send happiness and love to my Dad and youngest sister Bella, that they only feel comfort, support and calmness during this time too.

I feel so very lucky knowing that so many people are rallying around my mom right now. I know she will be graceful and joy filled even during such a hard Spring & Summer. I'm praying with all my might that the depth of feeling we will all experience will only make us better people and closer as a family. Thank you for your support & good thoughts! And do let me know if you have any great ideas to make this process at least a little more joyful for my momma and our family! I so appreciate your words of advice. :)

UPDATE: I have had a few people ask me if they could send me something for my mom. You are SO SWEET to ask, you guys! Thank you so much. You can send anything to the address below and I will get it to my mom. Please leave a note in the package saying it's for my momma! (Please make sure any of the goods are paraben free. All others will be donated.)

Moorea Seal

PO Box 31686

Seattle, WA 98103

Giveaway! $250 to 123 Print!

2013-04-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

Would you like to win $250 to use on printed goods for your small business, your Etsy shop, your wedding, baby shower, you name it? Well today is your lucky day! 123Print.com is offering my readers the chance to win $250 in office supplies from their site! This is a pretty fantastic deal, especially for those of you who are just starting up your business. If someone had gifted me $250 worth of office supplies when I was just starting out my business, I think I would have died with happiness. One winner will have the opportunity to work with a representative from 123Print to customize their personal office supplies! You can either choose from their pre-designed products like their business cards, or you can design your own!

Here is how to enter:
ENTRY #1: Let me know what you would use the $250 for in the comments below.
ENTRY #2: Follow Moorea-Seal.com with bloglovin' and leave a second comment here letting me know.
ENTRY #3: Follow Moorea Seal on Pinterest and leave a third comment here letting me know.

Good luck! The giveaway runs from April 13th, 2013 - Midnight on April 20th, 2013. Winner will be chosen at random and announced within the next week on the blog. Winner will not be able to exchange the gift amount for cash.