Cheers to a year!

As I write this, I am sipping a glass of champagne. I am so excited to be toasting Ribbons & Wine being a year old! It is so surprising to me how fast a year goes by. What a great year it has been!

Through sharing my experiences on Ribbons & Wine, I have had so much personal growth and found a supportive community. Isn’t growth and insight what we strive for every year?

My greatest accomplishment in launching the site has been having several readers reach out to ask more about finding therapy and achieving a happier, more fulfilling life. That makes my heart so happy.

The mission of Ribbons & Wine continues to be to bring you inspiring, fun, empowering information that you find helpful. We are all just doing our best every day in the life. If we can help each other and make it any better, how wonderful is that!

Starting a public blog was terrifying! I am not an outspoken person. Some might call me quiet, while my closest friends know I’m very chatty. I am not used to putting my life out there for anyone to read. But, thanks to all the encouraging support, it is getting easier. So, get ready for more engaging pieces for the year to come. I have so many important topics to write about. I always have so many ideas swirling in my head, and I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions I have received from others.

I love your outpouring of support! The kind comments and emails, hearing in person how much you enjoyed a post, being read in over nine countries, and having nationwide organizations reach out to me to partner on pieces all make me excited to see where Ribbons & Wine goes in the future. There is so much more to come, and I am excited you are here. Thank you!

Find Your Soul Friend

Everyone should find their soul friend, not soul mate, but soul friend. I am lucky enough to have a number of friends that support and love me. However, my soul-friend believes I have superpowers even when I am not sure of myself. There is no judgment with your soul friend, just unconditional love mixed with calling each other out when we need a dose of reality.

The key is being comfortable enough to be completely raw and vulnerable with each other. It is never a competition. We know we both have our own strengths and weaknesses and push each other to be the best version of ourselves. We openly ask each other to be held accountable. We may say I need help remembering to meditate this week or how to have that tough conversation with a coworker/family member.

Go find your soul friend, and life is so much brighter! Try being a little vulnerable and see how it is accepted and reacted to. If that person doesn’t totally support you, they can still be a good friend, but they are not your soul friend.

I know we are all busy, so how do you make time to find and connect with your soul friend? It does take effort, but well worth it. Here are some ideas.

• Talk to each other on a commute. My soul friend has about an hour commute and will often call me on the way home from work. We text ahead of time to see if this is possible.

• Stay connected by sharing healthy life practices. We encourage each other to meditate, share fitness goals and hold each other accountable, read life improvement books/articles together and discuss them to see how to apply them to our lives.

• We have a ritual once a week to meet at a favorite local café and journal together. We were good about this pre-pandemic and are now getting back to making it a priority. We journal about our gratitude, life goals, and steps to accomplish those goals. We read each other’s journals and have an open, honest conversation. She might see a better path to what I want to accomplish or see things I could improve.

• We do collaborative activities with both of our families. I think it’s essential for your soul friend to be invested and involved with your life. Once you travel together, you really know if you are compatible with being soul friends.

You don’t have to share all the same interests as your soul friend. The purpose isn’t to find someone exactly like you. It’s to find someone that won’t judge you, call you out on your bull shit, and push you to be your best person. So, go find that person that makes your soul feel good and encourages each other to dream big, no limits!

Welcome to R&W

Ribbons & Wine originated from two friends up late one night tying a bunch of ribbons for an upcoming wedding, and yes, of course drinking wine. While we worked and laughed our heads off in pure joy of being together and talking about life, we kept coming back to a shared desire to start a platform that’s inspiring, fun, and provides helpful, empowering information. It hit us at the same time; what we were doing right at that moment truly reflected the journey women go through from childhood to womanhood, and taking on all the world hurls at us, thus the name Ribbons & Wine.

Shortly after this epiphany, the world was hit with a pandemic. Ribbons & Wine took a backseat to home schooling, emotionally supporting our loved ones, and dealing with newfound uncertainty. We might have also binge watched some shows and renovated a house.

As we find ourselves returning to a more “normal” life, I am thrilled that my good friend, Natalie and her business, Parkway Interiors, are busier and more successful than ever. The dream of Ribbons & Wine is certainly still alive. With Natalie supporting me all the way, I am excited to transform Ribbons & Wine into a blog full of helpful, ever-evolving content to share with you. Since I am lucky enough to have a bestie that is also a talented interior designer, Natalie will definitely be popping up in some of my blog posts from time to time. I can’t wait to share some of our COVID house renovations with you, so stay tuned!