GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // 01.29.18

Gratitudes
I have been working slowly on inversions in yoga for probably 2 years. Initially, in my Bikram practiced they weren’t introduced unless youw ent to the advanced sequence. Coming back to teacher training has fueled my soul to start getting upside down. After most classes I try to flip myself pu on my forearms and have my toes tap the back wall for stability, my core panics trying to stack and balance. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve tried and little by little I get better. I took a class yesterday at the studio and kicked up for the first time in a class. The first time ever, I had the confidence in my body to kick up, find the wall with my toes and balance. I did this without the fear of crashing down, hurting myself or even the person next to me. I’m hoping that by my birthday in March I’ll be rocking this pose with grace and control. So a big win this week!

I met a few girls for an early dinner on Saturday. I haven’t had a regular Saturday in what felt like forever. I woke up, took a yoga class, showered, came home, painted my nails and I had time. Extra time to putz around the house before my dinner date. We met at a new upscale sports bar in Gainesville called Rockwood. The champagne was terrible – but what can you actually expect from a sports bar (also I didn’t order it) but my southern fried chicken sliders were amazing! It’s a great place for a burger or sandwich and a beer – steer clear of their “American” champagne.

I had two additional wine dates with industry friends! I met Julie with Beaumont House Design at Stone Tower Winery for a quick tasting and we shared a bottle of the 2018 Rose. It was incredible! I love a nice dry rose and this also had hints of watermelon! I also met up with Stephanie Messick, a local photographer and gal pal – we were finally able to catch up post season. She’s getting married in June so it was fun listening to her plans and snuggling with her pup Ollie!

I snagged 3 more OPI nail polishes from TJMaxx this week. These polishes hit all of the feels this week. I’m wearing Seven Wonders of OPI, a grayed-out purple hue perfect for winter. In The Cable Car Pool Lane, came home with me too! A deep burgundy with purple tones! I’ve been crushing on neutrals the past few months too and I got Coconuts Over OPI. This polish is a creamy taupe that reminds me of the perfectly toasted marshmallow!

Breakthroughs
The highs and lows of business are like riding through a mountain range. You’re cruisin’ along trying to make it to your next pit stop, but the road gets longer and the mountain tops get higher. The higher the mountain tops the farther back down you have to go to get to level ground. Maybe that is something I don’t talk about much on this platform, because I suck at vulnerability. So I wanted to share what the last 10 days have looked like for me:

I was asked by a local + popular publication to work for free to cover an upcoming event for them.

I was asked by another local publication to supply them with cover artwork for their upcoming special edition for weddings.

I got a super flattering email from a European based publication to use a film image I shot in Paris for an upcoming article.

Guys, I responded to these inquiries quickly and with excitement. I was riding high last week, feeling like I was kicking ass going in to 2019. That my hard work and networking was actually paying off. Do you know what happened.

One by one these exciting opportunities disappeared. Accomplishments that I celebrated behind the scenes.

Publication #1 responded with a “found another photographer,” which typically means another photographer offered more hours for free. Disappointing.

Publication #2 ended up throwing together a last minute styled shoot before considering my curated gallery, after they requested it. So my images weren’t in the running for the cover anymore. Disappointing again.

Publication #3 had to move in a different direction with their article and my image got cut. Mega disappointing.

Business ownership is hard. I don’t write this for y’all to be like “But, Krysta your work is so good.” (You can tell me that if you want though.) I share this because these things happen all of the time. These exciting opportunities that we pour our hearts into and celebrate silently and to have them sometimes disappear.

All this to say, the next time your friend – who is a small business owner – shares a small victory, help them celebrate it! Share it on Facebook or Instagram, like it, comment, whatever you can do. You don’t know how many opportunities + good fortune wavered to get them to this tiny victory.

On a positive note, I was able to make a really solid connection with two of the publications. I’m hoping my work will appear in them soon!

As always, thanks for reading! xoxo.