A Pinterest Contest!! Pin to Win!

A Shopping Spree to noVae Clothing!!

WIN a $150 Gift Certificate to shop at our Boutique!! Just in Time for Mother's Day!!

Please read below on How to Enter... 

Click on HERE to get started!!

Good Luck & Have FUN! :)

Grad School or No Grad School... that is the Question!

ok, ok... so I just looked at the last time I blogged. 

Sheesh! I hope you all are still around! :) 

Now here comes the part where I give you all these Excuses... -lol  

ok, but they are TRUE Excuses! 

The Business has not stopped growing...  not like I thought it ever would.. but I thought maybe it would slow down a bit for me to catch up on my laundry for once this year! ;)  SO much has happened since Feb. (my last post) I will do my best to sum it up. (this will be a First...) 

For the entire month of February we were living on the edge of ... where are we going to go for Grad School? Where are we going to move to? As the month started to slip away FAST & we slide into March - with only a few rejection e-mails... which by the way he was accepted into one University (can't remember the name though....) via e-mail only to be told 15 mins. later that the e-mail was sent by mistake!! - total happened! Thank Goodness The Hubby doesn't check his e-mails as often as I do... those 15 mins would've lasted exactly 15 minutes for me! For him, they lasted about a min. after reading the acceptance e-mail we immediately opened up the "oops! we sent this to you by mistake!" e-mail.  

So after that funny day, we still had hope! (I had more than he did...)

 I Just KNEW he was going to get accepted somewhere!  

Here was my thinking... Heavenly Father made this possible. He got Tom into school, then after about a year he made Tom go Full time & we started noVae shortly after.... then he gets into this Scholar Program to help him get into Grad School, we move closer to BSU because of this Program & the time he would be away from us.. I prayed for the EXACT house we are living in! - Square footage & Everything - right down to the Renting Price! It seemed that every puzzle piece was being put together in it's rights place so we could see where our next adventure would be!  I told this to Tom several times... the puzzles pieces were just coming together to quickly & it wouldn't make sense to NOT get accepted anywhere. 

 yes, we are goofy people. ;)

God has a Plan for us & we are supposed to go to Grad School.. other wise why would all these wonderful Blessings fallen into place at the right time?!  My Hope was pretty High - even in mid March... but as the end of March started to come to an end... it started to waver...  Then Tom told me he had Fasted & Prayed about Grad school... & if he was going to get in. He had an Amazing & Peaceful feeling come over him & was told He was going to be needed here. - When he started to notice my Hope wavering a little he told me what he had felt & was told.  

I felt that same Peace.  I wasn't upset. I wasn't looking for answers to Why. 

(which kind of surprised me!) 

I was OK with it.  

 Now that the school year is almost over... he is "officially"  the only one in his Scholar Program that he is in... that did not get accepted - anywhere. 

This is another Strong Testimony to me that he must be "truely badly" needed here.

It almost kind of scares me... Why is he needed here? 

Is something going to happen to one of our Family members... ??

I guess only time will tell. Heavenly Father knows best & I trust Him.

So, now the "Plan" is to stay at BSU - yep... 

ONE. MORE. YEAR. (sigh)

I should say that again... ONE. MORE. (LONG) YEAR. -lol  He's going to take a few more Math Classes this Summer & next year. (poor guy NEVER gets a "real" Summer Break) It's been like 5 years since he's had a Summer with NO School... I wonder what that feels like?! 

Because whatever he does it affects Me & the kids. 

The kids are ok with us staying... Our oldest will be going to Jr. High this fall... which frankly scares the crap (yes, I use that word sometimes) out of me. He has AS (Asperger's Syndrome) which is on the Autism Spectrum... he's very High Functioning - but is still about 2 years behind socially. Can you imagine sending a 10 year old boy to a Jr.high that has 7th-9th grade in it? -eek! oh the Stress it brings me. 

Another New thing in my life is another assistant! YAY! We still have Shauna but I felt I needed someone "on hands" to help me with stuff here. So I went through the applications that were sent to when we were looking for our First Assistant Position & found Her! Her name is Becky! Some of you may have already seen e-mails or talked to her over the phone already! She has been a missing piece to this novae Puzzle that just keeps getting bigger every month. -lol (Blessing!) 

Well, it's 2:46am & I better get some sleep... tomorrow is a longer day than today with a photo shoot planned & more Clearance Items to go through! 

We are so Extremely Grateful & Feel Blessed to have the Best Customers in the World! 

- We have A LOT of re-peat Customers! - 

We loVe you!! You keep us going & ME going!! 

Even though some days are extremely hard as I try & juggle being a mom of 4, training new peeps, running a Fast Growing business on top of being a Wife to a Student whom works just as hard as I do. I could not be doing what I'm doing if it weren't for Him (the Hubby & Heavenly Father) & the support he gives me, My kids & the Patience we are all trying to learn, my Family for helping me with stuffing products in product bags, pinning flowers on hats, babysitting, cleaning my house, etc. & for YOU!

This business would NOT be successful if it weren't for YOU!  

You wear our products, you tell your friends! 

We loVe you for that! - "Thank You!"

-hopefully I won't wait so long to blog next time... it was really nice therapy! 

to be continued... 

-xo

Modest Clothing... what is Modest?

Ever since coming back from our Business trip to California. I felt the urge to type about something that I've been struggling with a little bit.

While we were there Shopping & Meeting New Wholesalers/Manufactures each one was very excited to show me (us) what they had to offer. I would say about 85% or more of the items they presented to us was immodest.  I would tell them, I can't sell that on my site... or I'm not sure what they would look like with a cap sleeve tee layered with it.  They would look at me weird (a puzzled look on there face) & ask why would you put a cap sleeve under it?!  These are Selling like crazy!! This is what you want!

I would then explain that we sell Modest Clothing. - Current Fashions with Modest Style!

They would always say... well this modest! - I would then reply, it is to some people... but not necessarily to our Customers.  Then I would tell them, we are looking for Tops that at least have a cap sleeve, (so we don't have to layer all the time), Knee length (or longer) Skirts & Dresses.  They would shake there heads like I was crazy then come back to show me a "smaller" selection of clothing... which most of the time didn't work either.

During the Spring & Summer months it is VERY difficult to find Modest tops that are not sleeveless, or even missing a sleeve or sleeves all together & Knee length Skirts & Dresses or longer. It's like finding a needle in a haystack.  So when we find an item that fits the modest criteria that we are looking for we get sooooo EXCITED!!

Anyways... so after being home for a few weeks... I've been looking at other competitors (I know, I shouldn't) because they shop the same places I do... some "Claim" to sell Modest Clothing (modest clothing boutiques) & I just roll my eyes.

I watch what they sell & judge from from the comments & all the likes they receive from a particular item(s) & just shake my head...because this is what people/Girls like!  They are not Modest clothing items... but yet, they are Liking them.  It made me question for a minute... am I doing this business all wrong?  Should I be dipping into some of these items...??  Because what is immodest for me, may not be for someone else.

 Modest... to us.

Immodest... to us. 

(cute though ... needs to be longer & another sleeve)

I had to talk to The Hubby about this. It was really bothering me. He told me to Pray about it...

just like I had to Pray (several times) about starting noVae when a bunch of well known Modest Clothing businesses where going out of Business.  I needed that reassurance - that what I was doing & the road I was taking with noVae was in deed the correct way - for us.

After Praying... I felt Very Good About the direction I was taking noVae... 

It has always been difficult to find Modest Clothing & I think some of these other Boutiques are teetering the line on what is modest & what is not.

(just like some people may say about us...) 

Modesty is different for everyone.  I respect that.  We are going to try & stay as consistent as possible with the items we find. Not too much layering... to make an item modest... & we will try & find other Fashionable options to make a not quite long enough Skirt/Dress to the length that is comfortable for us & our models. 

I feel so Incredibly blessed to have created noVae & have it grow as much as it has over these past 2 years. 

I know I did not do this on my own.... I have always had help from above - to keep me going & comforting me when I start to question what heck I'm doing. :) 

Thank you so much for the Support! We Seriously have The Best - Loyal Customers!! (just like modbe did!)  You gals keep coming back & Shopping Over & Over & Over again... & now we are seeing some of your Friends too! (they tell us - they heard about us from a friend!)  

Thank You! - Thank You - Thank You!

We can't "THANK YOU" enough! 

-xo 

Stay tuned... 

We are Hoping & Praying that we hear back from several colleges  this month

(or just One - would be nice!)

 that The Hubby applied to for Grad School!  :)

We are Hiring!! Could it be You?

We are looking to hire a photographer or photographers (you & a friend) that can commit to novae Clothing and are able to establish a long-term business relationship with. 

We are looking for local Photographers in the Boise/Treasure Valley Idaho Area for now. 

We are looking for a photographer(s) that has a good eye,

and can produce editorial photos while blending the novae Products in the pictures.

Capturing the uniqueness & beauty of each of our models... knowledge of how

to position them (if needed) to get their best angles while also capturing the

product (in it's Perfect state) at the same time.

Finding & Capturing that Balance between the 2 is key.

On average we would need a photographer who is available to do a photo shoot about

Every 7-10 days

(about 3-4 shoots a month) 

with a pretty flexible schedule to help accommodate the models schedule. 
 

The photographer would be working with 1-3 models at any given time and

shooting 4-6 products in various sizes and colors. 

Photo shoots will be taken in 1 location. 

We would need about 6-10 photos for each product & this may vary from time to time.  Photo shoots should only be a Maximum of 2 hours.  Turnaround time is based on the product(s) and the release dates.  Generally it would be about 2-5 days after the shoot, (not all Products that are done in a photo shoot together are released at the same time) but sometimes on occasion we would need photos of a certain product immediately. In those cases you would be notified! ;) 

We are willing to pay $100 per shoot up to $200 depending on the number 
of products & models. 

Each shoot will vary & the pay will be adjusted accordingly.

We are flexible, so if you & a friend , as mentioned in the beginning, want to Share this Commitment we would be more than willing to look into that.

We will have at least 1 if not 2 photo shoots that will need to be done before the end of the month. February & March will be Super busy months as we start to

Release even more Spring Items!  

If you’re interested in becoming a part of the noVae Clothing Family & share your talent with our Customers whom are all over the World please email us at

admin {at} novaeclothing {dot} com

Please type in the Subject line: noVae Photographer Opp.

We ask that you include, in just a few short paragraphs a little bit about yourself and why you think you’d be a great fit for noVae! 

Please also include your contact information

(name, number where you can be reached, city you live in) 

Plus a link to your photography website.

If you & a Friend want to do this together 

 You can send separate e-mails mentioning one another or send one together.

The LAST DAY to Apply for this Photography Opportunity is:

Wednesday January 16^th, 2013 at the end of the day (midnight)

We hope to have it narrowed down & have a decision made by the following week sometime.

“Thank You!”  

In advance for your Time & Sharing your Talent with us!

We know this is going to be very difficult to choose.

Good Luck!

Please feel free to Pass the Word along…. We think this is a Wonderful Opportunity & feel Blessed that our Business has come to this Point of Growth.

2013 - One Little Word

First off.... 

Happy New Year!!

I know this year is going to be Bigger & Better... 

(which frankly kind of scares me...)

Over the last few years some friends of mine had always chosen "A Word" to Help them - Inspire them - through the NEW Year... like a Resolution ----> to the Word.  The Word had meaning to them... 

The First time I had ever heard of this "Choose a Word" for the new year was the Year I met Melody Ross.

You can read about the post I read from her HERE.  We used to live in the same town 1.5yrs ago before we moved closer to Boise State University.  We lived in this town for 6 yrs. & I had the Pleasure of getting to know the Ross Family for a few years before we moved.  

I was intrigued by this whole "one word thing"... I've never been one to really "Do" Resolutions... I don't know why, just haven't. I've never been one to really Set "Goals" for my self either... 

'till noVae Clothing was created. 

I have found that for me... I have to write things down.... even my "to do lists".... it makes me accountable for what I need to get done & it also 

REMINDS ME.  

Who knew that once you hit 30 something not only does your metabolism do weird things... but so does your memory! -lol  :)

For the First time in my life I'm going to do this "One Little Word" thing.  

2013 has so much to offer & I want to stay Focused enough to reach it's full potential. 

The Word I have Chosen is: 

 

As I pondered over the last few weeks of what Word I was going to choose... 

I wanted it to be a word that I struggle with or need to improve on. 

Don't get me wrong... I'm still a work a holic & moving Forward isn't hard... most of the time. lol

I pondered about what this word would mean to me in this year & How it will keep me 

STRONG 

when I need it most. 

With Grad. School {hopefully} coming up this Summer for us... means a move. 

A move to a New State... 

New house to live in

New Schools for the kids

New Everything! 

Even though we have "Prepared" our Children that when the Hubby Graduates this Spring

(gosh that is FUN to say... "This" Spring... not next... not in Years... "This"!)

It's still kind of scary... 

but I know I'm going to need to to remind myself to just Keep 

Moving FORWARD & be STRONG & push through these 

New Trials that Will come our way.

I've never Ran a Business before... so Everything to some extent is so New to me.

noVae Clothing  had HUGE growth this last year (*Blessing!) & we're only 2 years young.... 

I can Only imagine what kind of Growth we "Could" go through this Year - 2013!

It's Exciting Yet scary... These are just a few Very hard Trails that I know I'm 

going to have to face & just tell myself to Keep Moving Forward...

even when Times get tough. 

I have to...

keep going

never stand still

push forward

never give up

press on

 Sometimes I think it's easy to just Stand still... & not move forward....

But then Depression takes over along with other thoughts about yourself

& whatever situation - trial you are dealing with. 

Sometimes.... I wish it was easy as Pushing a button...

 

I often think back to when Tom first started going back to school Years ago (P/T) in the evenings... & also

worked 2 jobs -1 Full time & the other P/T.  

I know it was hard for him... because it was hard for me too. 

I remember asking him one day How he did it...? because frankly... I wasn't.

He told me he just knew it was something he HAD to DO.  

He was doing it for Us, for the Family, for Me, For Him.

He had Faith & was Moving Forward.

I didn't.

I didn't have Faith (well... much of it) 

& Moving Forward was Really Hard for me.

I know I have grown & my Faith has become Stronger because of the Choices that we made for him 

to go back to School & for the Trails that we have & still will continue to endure.

But I know as I continue to Move FORWARD my Faith will also become Stronger & I 

know I will be able to get through these tough Trials that lie ahead for us this Year - 20thirteen!

I'm typing this all out now... 

as a Reminder for me to come back & read & re-read throughout this year 

so I don't Forget... because after all... I will still be 30 something +1 more year! 

Please Join me & Several others in Finding 

"One little Word"

to Help you.... Inspire you... & Others around you in this New Year! 

Please feel free to leave a comment below Sharing your Word so it's

"Written Down" ;)

xo