What's Your Color? {La Clé Jewelry} + GIVEAWAY

outfit 1: shirt: JCrew/jeans: American Eagle/sandals: Ralph Lauren/necklace: c/o La Clé Jewelry

outfit 2: shirt: Lucky Brand/ jeans: American Eagle/boots: Vince Camuto/necklace: c/o La Clé Jewelry

Key necklaces have always been a staple item for me. So when I first heard about La Clé Jewelry I KNEW I had to check them out. I was not disappointed. La Clé Jewelry has such a cool concept and I love everything that they stand for. They also have a powerful woman role model behind it all! Basically La Clé Jewelry uses repurposed vintage keys and gives them a new life helping you look good, feel good, and do good. I love how every key has a story behind it. There are fifteen different colors (and even more glitter ones!) to choose from and every one of them has a different meaning. For example, my teal key means "Good Company & Captivating". As the color fades, it represents how you're absorbing energy from your key words. Once the color is completely gone, send a picture of your naked key to La Clé using #NakedKey with a note about what the color means to you. They will make a donation in your name to a charity of your choice! I love giving back, and being able to while wearing some cute jewelry while doing it is a win all around.

I received the teal dipped key with my monogram and a gold glitter key! The possibilities for your key necklace are endless! You can get any word you want stamped onto your necklace. I thought my monogram added a cute personal touch. And this girl always has to have some glitter, so when I saw that the glitter keys were coming out I HAD to have one. I was surprised with how gorgeous my necklace turned out!  The custom keys are normally $30 but you can add another key of any kind (original, dipped, or glitter) for $5 more! I've gotten so many compliments and people asking where I got my necklace. I plan on buying every color!

Not only does La Clé have some amazing jewelry and apparel, but they also have an amazing owner! Deanna Saracino is the owner of La Clé, a mom, and the President of Standard Vinyl! She's an amazing role model and I had the pleasure of asking her a few questions. She was so nice and inspiring!

1) What inspired you to start La Clé Jewelry?

La Clé Started after a pretty major professional failure. I was working on a startup that I was so passionate about and it just tanked. Bad decisions and surrounding myself with the wrong people led me to a place I didn't want to be. I made the decision to re-focus myself and my energy into things I have always wanted to pursue and create something that focused 100% on the positive things in my life and focus on being able to give back in the process. 

2) How do you match the meanings to the colors? What's your color?
A lot of brainstorming, word searches, opinions of friends and family. I go through a ton of words but narrow them down to key words that not only resonate with me but leave an impact when a person sees it. I think everyone can be a mixture of all the colors on any given day. I gravitate to the white, gold and teal :) 
3) Have you had a #nakedkey yet? Which charity did you make a donation to?
yes we have had a few! :) We've made donations to the Jillian Loyden Foundation, MADD and different various cancer research foundations. I love being able to give back and I am looking for more charities to connect with to spread the word about our #NakedKey Program! It's a great way to raise money for your cause! With the Jillian Loyden Foundation we donated $5 from every purple key to help put an end to domestic violence. It's great being able to give back when you buy anything. Our keys give people a chance to do that. 
4) How long can you expect your key to last before it becomes naked?
Depending on how often you wear it and how well you take care of it. It takes about 8 months to 1 year to really see the wear and tear on your key. 
5) I love your graphic tees! How do you come up with these cute and quirky shirts?
Thanks! I design them and I try to come up with fun things that I'd want to wear :) I love simple graphic tees and tanks. They are fun and send a message and I think people love that! I hope to continue to come up with some cool ones that people will love. The goal is to keep expanding the apparel line. :) 
6) Your website says you also are President of Standard Vinyl! Can you tell us some more on how you balance that and La Clé and being a mom?
Ah yes! Standard Vinyl is the coolest and was really the step that gave me the opportunity to pursue developing La Clé. I am lucky enough to have a BRILLIANT brother, who is also an successful entrepreneur. The timing was right to bring me on board to grow the company to it's full potential. We help musicians and record labels put their music on vinyl. It's amazing being able to follow my passion for music as well as fashion at the same time. I am finally doing what I want to be doing and it's so rewarding. And of course there is nothing better than being a mom. I consider myself a high level multitasker and I thrive on it. I like being busy and getting things done. I'm very organized and manage my time extremely well which is key to being able to doing all 3. 
7) What has been your biggest obstacle in starting and running La Clé?
Doing it all myself! With the other projects I was involved in, I had other people to turn to for advice or feedback. Remembering how to trust my instinct and be decisive was important. I was a bit out of practice always waiting or reporting to others. As much as it is nice having people to bounce ideas off of or rely on. it is much more rewarding to be your own boss and get things done. I like being in charge of my own destiny and I love a challenge. This spring and summer we are looking for interns as we are ready to start expanding. I am hoping to have my first hire in 2016 :) 
8) What advice do you have for girls wanting to start their own businesses?
Don't be afraid to jump. Do what you love and the rest will come. 
9) What can we expect to see in the future for La Clé?
I am so excited for this year to unfold. I have some very cool collaborations in the works with some major brands I love and I am hoping to keep expanding our line to more boutiques and stores, as well as expand our apparel line. We are introducing cards, journals, prints and really focusing on tailoring La Clé to being a well rounded brand that people can get behind. 

See? She's awesome! And her keys are amazing! That's why I'm giving away one La Clé Jewelry key of your choice to a lucky winner! The giveaway will run from today, March 18th, to Sunday, March 22nd. Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Weekend Recap + Giveaway Alert!

Hello lovely ladies!

Life update time

Went to Nashville with my best friends for DECA state! Had a few major technical difficulties but still placed fifth in my event! Couldn't have asked for a better weekend with my best friends. 

The first day we got to school at 7:45am and left for Nashville. The next five hours on a school bus were not as bad as I was expecting but still... it's five hours on a school bus. As soon as we got there, we explored the Opryland hotel a little (which was amazing). Then we got ready for our events. I wrote a business proposal on opening a franchise in my town. I was supposed to present the proposal, but my PowerPoint crashed on my laptop, iPad, and someone else's laptop... love it. I couldn't go back and fix it so I just dealed with it. Evidently my paper was so good that I still placed 5th out of 25 with a presentation score of 0. Disappointing but I definitely learned a lesson about being prepared.

That night was the DECA t-shirt dance... The highlight of state every year. Our school got a few weird looks, but hey... we know how to get down.

That night we stayed up all night with everyone from our school in our hotel room. I didn't fall asleep until around 4am. The next day we didn't have anything to do until 7pm so we ate at Rainforest Cafe. It was seriously like eating in the rainforest. 

There were elephants and tigers and gorillas and an aquarium. Every 30 or so minutes, there would be a storm and you felt like you were in one sans the rain. I felt like I was eating on the rainforest floor with the stars peeking out from over the trees! I usually hate eating at "touristy" restaurants but this was such an experience, I loved it. Plus the t-shirts are adorbs. That night was our awards banquet so we got to get all dressed up and enjoy a nice dinner. We might have not been as large as the other schools, but we were the best looking bunch there!

Funny story from dinner. There were little Babybel cheeses sitting on the table and I was so excited to eat one. At that point we were starving. So, I take a huge bite and turns out it was butter.. Total Ash move.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to attend the grand awards ceremony. Had a little mixup with the attire. Walking into a convention center full of business casual wearing the formal attire your teacher instructed you to is rough, let me tell you. But after that we hopped back on the bus and came home. I made so many memories on this trip, just like the NYC DECA trip. I'm so thankful to have the amazing group of friends that I do.

After I got home I went and bought my prom dress!!! I can't wait to show y'all. I saw it in the window of a local store Wednesday night before I left on Thursday, but couldn't try it on since the store was already closed! I seriously had to have it. My mom went and looked on Thursday and found out it was my size, it was meant to be obviously. I made her stalk the store until I could come home and try it on. It fit perfectly and I am in LOVE. Now to find a date....

Also I will be hosting a giveaway tomorrow with LaCle Jewelry! Stop back by to check it out!

How was your weekend?

A Mental Break

The last day I went to school was February 12th... Thanks Winter Storm Octavia? My school system was called out for two weeks straight. It felt like everytime the roads would clear up and I would be dreading the next day at school, another five inches would pile on. Plus I was sick (and still am) so I couldn't get anything done anyways. You would think this would give me the extra time to post everyday and catch up on some things, but instead I did the exact opposite. I accomplished absolutely nothing. And ya know what? It felt great.

This is my last semester of high school and I have a fuller plate than ever. Most kids dropped everything requiring effort but I took the hardest course load that I could at this point. I regret it everyday, but there is no going back now. With competition season starting and trying to keep my blog somewhat updated, there is really no time to think. This break could not have come at a better time. I was so close to my breaking point but this break allowed me to chill out and I learned a few things.

||1||
Sometimes you need to be selfish.
I finally figured out my roommate situation for next year, and even though I'm sure I hurt some feelings, I am happy. So story time... I met a girl through Facebook in October that seemed just like me and we decided to room together. She texted me one day saying that another couple of girls wanted to room with us so we had four. I was always kind of iffy about rooming with them because I felt so rushed into it. It was like I didn't have a choice. Who knows their college roommates in October?! Fast forward a few months and my childhood best friend decided she is also going to Bama... #awk. I wanted to room with her so badly but felt locked in with the other girls. Like that's seriously something out of a movie or fate or something! I wasn't really excited about UA anymore and my parents were starting to notice. And if someone dared even asking about my roommates I would snap. I finally texted the other girls and they weren't as upset as I had expected. Maybe they didn't like me either? Either way, we found two other roommates that I get along with so well and a major crisis was averted.

||2||
You can either be jealous and mean or inspired and nice... Choose nice.
Over the past two weeks I have competed in two dance competitions. My studio has done really well at both! In my last post I mentioned that my brother and I's duet did extremely well. Well this brought out the worst in people. Some of my "friends" at the studio just couldn't handle us doing so well and have brought out the claws. I don't know why, but I've made it my goal to not be like that.

||3||
Create your own success.
My blog is MY blog. I don't need (or want) to be exactly like every other blog out there. This is something new to me. I've been so caught up in being like every other "preppy" blog out there that I lost my drive to even blog. I never post because I can never think of anything worthy of posting. I'm different. You know what I like? Makeup. Beauty. I have always been the girl who knows her makeup, and the newest products are typical dinner conversation for my family. I love fashion and looking cute, but outfit posts are not my forte. So don't be surprised if you start seeing more product reviews and less stereotypical posts from me. Nothing drastic, just a subtle change.

So in other words...
Mental breaks prevent mental breakdowns.
Take them, love them.
XOXO
Ash