Let's Chat About A Recent Experience

Hello, there & happy Friday! As I write this, the sun is shining here in Sonoma County & it feels so good to have some sunshine. I never realized how much I love the sun & how important it is to have it in your daily routine. I hope the sun is shining bright in your neck of the wood.

Earlier in the week, I shared an Easter tablescape on Instagram & TikTok. Yes, I have been posting TikTok over there & it is going well. I love it! So if you're over on TikTok, let's hang out there too. Okay, back to the table. So, I created the tablescape & I loved every part of it & styling it. In my eyes, it was perfect. It was all that vintage, cozy & romantic vibe. What we are all use to seeing from CCH. I had taken the normal pictures & videos to create my reels. I was set to post at 4 PM with a group of friends. I have shared with these ladies in the past before & look to them for inspiration. As I was uploading the video to my Instagram & adding the appropriate music, I started feeling overwhelmed & a bit anxious. What was running through my mind? " Is my table good enough? Is it what I want to share today & will my followers, friends & whoever else comes across it love it as much as I do? This is the first time I have ever felt this way. I have never thought twice about my content, style, or anything. This feeling was all new to me & honestly, it was pretty sad & a feeling of failure. The only way I could get out of it was by re-doing my entire table! I only had 30 minutes to create, take pictures, & videos & create the content! Could I do it? Why of course I could, I create all the time & I have a thousand & one tablescapes roaming around my brain! So I got to it. Thankfully, my table was pretty much cleared. I hurried as I didn't want to disappoint my friends now. I knew I wouldn't be able to share precisely at 4 PM, but within the hour, I knew I could. Usually, I gather all my items & look them over, haha, not today! Every item used was placed where it needed to be. It was all about layers, textures, candles & the Peter Rabbit plates. Thankfully I had the wreath I had created earlier in the week above my table, so I didn't need to make any floral arrangements, which can take some time. Once completed, it took longer to download the pictures to my phone to create the reels. What seemed like a lifetime was only 15 minutes. Within those 15 minutes, I sat & thought, why am I feeling this way? I loved my first table! But now I had this other table that I loved just as much. Here comes the feeling behind it all.

A Simple Easter Tablescape

I have linked items to this picture that can be found in my LTK

I shared with you in a previous post that I had entered a tablescape to a magazine contest for tablescapes. I also wasn't selected. I was okay with that, I honestly was & I looked at it as cool! I have an entire content ready to go & share. I have since shared that tablescape & let me tell you! It was well received & loved. But not once did I ever think the tablescape needed to be better. I knew it was. It just wasn't for that magazine & that's okay. But I didn't realize what it had done to my ego. What I was feeling was stage fright as I was about to post my new tablescape! Once I was able to make the connection on why I was feeling that way, I knew I needed to express my feeling to some of my true friends & to the group of ladies I was joining in posting that day. I felt relief & the reassurance that I had no reason to feel that way. My friends told me that I was talented. & That it's okay to validate my feeling but to move on with my head up & continue styling my beautiful tables. I had received so many messages about how beautiful my table was & one message stuck out to me that I haven't shared. My follower said after thanking me for sharing where I had boughten my plates, " love your home/ thanks for sharing your God-given talents!!" Little did she know that I needed that at that very moment. I thanked her graciously. & as I closed our chat, I thanked her by closing my eyes, "thank you, God, for putting her in my path."

I am not writing this for a poor me kinda thing, but more for you. Never doubt your work, never think you're not good enough, or have moments of what if they won't like it! Cause boo, the reality is not everyone will & that's okay. God has given you a talent & has given you all the tools to create & share what you do. He has given you endless possibilities to share what you love. Lastly, one of my dearest friends also told me, "If you love it. Post it if it speaks to you. Post it." & I can say to you I love it! I will be posting the original tablescape on Sunday & it will be on the blog's home page.

So please always be kind to yourself in all that you do! Here at CCH, we will always love & appreciate you, your work & your talents. If you have yet to be featured in one of my newsletters & would like to be & have some content, let's chat! Shoot, even if you have been & would like to again!

I truly appreciate each & every one of you!! Much love

Ali

* If you have not seen my tablescape & would like to, also in the caption are tagged my friends who I shared with, head over to their post & show some CCH love. A Simple Easter Table