Happy Birthday Hunny!!

Today is your 29th birthday. Can you believe how far we have come over the last 10 years. Did you think 11 years ago that we would be married with children... not just 2 or 3 BUT 4? I will admit during our early days I knew that we would wind up married but didn't think that we would be the proud parents of 4. Yes I did know that we would have at least 1 or possibly 2 but 4 never crossed my mind. LOL I want to thank you for giving me the best gifts ever, our 4 wonderful children! Wow here is the one time a year that you get to be actually "older" than me. ;o) I love you babe and here's to many more happy birthdays!!

P.S. Have fun watching the Lakers Vs. Spurs game tonight with your boys but you won't get to wear the new Kobe jersey that I bought. Hahaha!! Mwah ;o)

More on my epiphany...

I know you are thinking, what do you mean more on your epiphany?! There was a part that I forgot to mention in the last post. Plus I totally forgot about the conversation that I had with my hubby's teammate prior to the game. LOL This is how I came to my epiphany which capped off on the rider home.

I was talking to my hubby's teammate and I telling him of my hopes and dreams, how I want to have my clothing line and how I want to have my own shop where women can come and go shopping and get pampered. He was listening attentively and he said that I should pursue which of course I am already doing but he didn't know that until I told him that I already started and he was in amazement. Which made me feel real good about myself to be totally honest with you. He said that I should keep at it and before I know it my dreams will become a reality and that is when it hit me that I should turn Zen Luxe Design Co. into an all natural women's boutique that sells all my designs for clothing, handbags AND home décor. No that doesn't mean that all of that will be available next week or even next month but I plan to incorporate that into Zen Luxe Design Co.

The sky's the limit and we all know how high that is. :o)

I Signed Up for PPP!

Have you ever come across a blog that had those initials before and wondered what it stood for or why it was on the blog? I know I have and thought to myself what in the heck is PPP or PayPerPost.

So, what does PPP stand for? PPP stands for PayPerPost. After seeing the reference to PayPerPost on numerous blogs that I frequently visited and never knew exactly what it was until one day I finally broke down and visited the site. PayPerPost is an exciting site that allows you to blog about different things including web sites, products, and services while earning money for expressing your opinions.

So why did I sign up for PayPerPost? Let's be honest, who couldn't use a little extra cash these days with our economy the way that it is. Not to mention I love to write and blog about different things. Hey this blog plus my indie artisans showcase blog, Haute Innovations, are proof of that. Also I would love for advertisers to get my feedback on what they are selling especially if the need to improve in some area.

If you are anything like me and like to write, I would recommend you check out PayPerPost and get paid to write on your blog!

I Had An Epiphany!!!

Yes, I had a moment of clarity while driving home from my hubby's basketball game last night. His team won by the way. :o) Anyways, it's a little drive from where he plays to our house and while we making the trek on the freeway, my mind got to wandering. I think it may have happened because the full moon illuminated the sky. I began to do my mediation because the kids were watching a "Bee Movie" and I was overstimulated by the game to which I was ready to relax and call it a day. LOL

Anyhow, if you've been reading my blog any length of time then you already know that I'm always going on about how I miss designing and that I need to be able to incorporate it into my life again. If you are new to my blog, fashion design has been a part of my life for the past 7 years but last year I took a break to care for my new baby but now that she is older, it's time to get back to my passion... Fashion! My hubby already gave me the green light but he wound up getting sick and then I got sick. Now that I am healthy I am ready to venture into this thing called fashion/textile design again. :o)

My first I thought was that I would need to come up with a name for my line and start from scratch because I was a freelance custom fashion designer and that's when it hit me in the car on the way home last night, why come up with all new everything when I already have Zen Luxe Design Co. which I haven't really done anything with it. So Zen Luxe Design Co. will be undergoing a restructure and my focus will continue on the "Green" path. While I have loved designing digital illustrations and cards, I'm going to take Zen Luxe Design Co. into a different direction where I will still be able to do my graphic design but it won't be on paper but fabric instead. Yes you read that correctly, I will be doing textile designs but they will be for your home. Zen Luxe Design Co. is now a "green" home decor company. Everything is still in the works but I'm happy that I am finally getting everything together before it's too late. LOL

Stay tuned....

New Updates from Ana Aya & Co.

It's a tug of war when it comes to adding new products to the Ana Aya & Co. line. The products MUST complement each other, be ALL natural and vegan friendly. This is where the problem lies in making lotion. Have you looked at the ingredients in your lotion lately? Did you know that it may contain mineral oil which isn't that great for your skin but I think the most disturbing fact that I found is about the preservatives that are used to keep the lotions in pretty, pristine condition actually contain parabens which are possibly CARCINOGENIC!! This is very scary because while I know it's not like you are "smoking" the lotion, you are basically rubbing into your skin which can't be too good. This isn't an anti-paraben post just a think about what you are putting onto your body.

I have researched high and low for alternatives and luckily came up with a few NON-PARABEN preservative because I strive to keep all Ana Aya & Co. products as NATURAL as possible. With that being said, the new lotion goodies will arrive when very soon!

On a different note, I'm really excited about the body butters. Why am I so excited you ask? Ana Aya & Co. will introduce the NEW whipped body butter line, just in time for the upcoming summer shorts season. They will be available in our Spring/Summer 2008 scents but there will also be two limited edition scents exclusive to our body butter only but you will have to stay tuned for that one.

Also arriving at Ana Aya & Co. is the limited edition "Summer Diva" eyeshadow collection consisting of 10 fun and sassy shades that will be available from May 30th until August 31st! So when the clock chimes 12 midnight PST on September 1st, the collection will be retired.

A lot is in store for you beautiful women in the next couple of weeks, so be sure to check back to see when the new goodies arrive.

New Product Added to Ana Aya & Co.!!!

I have been wanting to add some bath & body products to my line of beauty goodies and I finally started this process by introducing our vegan Brown Sugar Body Scrubs!

I am currently working on adding lotion and body butter too. I hope to add them by the end of the month pending the testing results are OUTSTANDING! So be on the lookout for those new goodies soon :o)

What I've Learned!

I have learned that it's best to not only backup your sites but to download them onto your own computer in case catastrophes happen. If it ever happens all you have to do is upload them on your current web host or if you choose to use a new one, upload it there. I have seen it on various websites before but I never really paid it any mind but I have DEFINITELY learned my lesson.

One good thing that came out of all of this is that I got a new host and with my perseverance, I was able to get both Haute Innovations AND Ana Aya & Co. back up and running within in a week. LOL Oh I guess I forgot to mention that Ana Aya & Co. is back up and instead of a Grand Opening Sale, I'm running a Celebrate Summer Sale! So stop on by and pick up some new beautification goodies and don't forget that there is Free Shipping on ALL Orders within the U.S. and to Canada!