Blogaversary -- Um, I Forgot.

I missed my Blogaversary.

Happy Belated Birthday Bloggy !

Here I am at 1:15am and I realized that I totally overlooked my Blogaversary! 

October 8, 2013 was the two year anniversary of the blog. It feels like I haven't journeyed very far but looking back I see just how far I've come.

I have no clue how I forgot. Well, actually I do,  I've been less focused on the blog and I just forgot all about it. There are just so many ideas and things cluttering up my mind and I feel like I'm going in a zillion different directions.

Weeks here and there have been difficult of 2013. I've felt confused and torn between where to go and what to do in a few aspects of my life. There were times when I just stopped completely but that didn't do anything but make it worse. When I began to confront those feelings, well that's when those clouds began to clear. I decided to open up a bit on here on the blog as well.

Things were still stagnant though but I was trying to get back into the habit of blogging regularly. My two check in posts (here, and here) helped me to get back into the groove of things.

I remember how excited I was for the very first Blogaversary. I can't believe it's been two years ! How amazing is that ? So much has taken place between October 8, 2012 and October 8, 2013. I think it's high time for a bit of reflection just to see how far this blog has come.

Native Love Company Logo

Evolving in Native Love Company -- Many of you know that I began this journey as Simply Care. There came a point that I felt that Simply Care just wasn't "cutting it" anymore and I made the decision to do a complete rebrand. I realized now that I really didn't dedicate a post to introducing it, it was more tweets and facebook posts. If in fact you would like the backstory, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to post it for you. The shift just seemed right and now I feel like with the change everything just seems to work better.

Ebony Entrepreneurs 

Ebony Entrepreneurs -- My latest endeavor into supporting and showcasing black and brown small businesses. You can read more about that here and view our first feature small business here.









Journey To A Small Business -- I have goals that I have sidestepped while getting in my own way. That's ended. Now I'm focused, I choose to be great. I choose to look at the big picture and not let the small details get in the way. I'm probably forgetting some other important things that have taken place since my last Blogaversary and that's fine. It felt good to take a step back though, reflection is key for growth.

Now, watch me work.

Top 3 Viewed Posts ! 
1. Our 100th Post 1,663 views
2. What Is Your Acne Telling You? 1,256 views
3. Can Kinks Get Love Too? 240 views

Top 2 Pinned/Viral Posts !
1. Let's Make A Conditioner
2. What Is Your Acne Telling You?

Top Views From Around the World ! 

United States 10326     Russia 5997

Germany  461           United Kingdom 347

Ukraine  278               France  194

Canada  167               Kenya  81

China  71                   Netherlands  66

136 posts and over 20,000 views. I remember my hype over 1,000. 

I can't say it enough, so I'll just say it over and over again.

Thank you for your support, tweets, comments and likes, you all are amazing.

Ebony Entrepreneur : Rendevous LLC

Welcome to our first feature of Ebony Entrepreneurs !

Today's spotlight is on Rendevous, a company owned by sisters, Gala Copez-Reaves and Kristaun Copez-Minor located in Northeastern Ohio. Two great women with a simple yet amazing idea. 

"Why not take the stress out of date night and inject the element of adventure and surprise?" 

The beauty of Rendezvous is that the owners are in two different spaces in life who had different vantage points. They both realize the importance of keeping the spark alive in a relationship. Whether you are just dating (Kristiaun) or married with 2 young children (Gala), we realize that making your relationship a priority is a must. Keeping romance alive in relationships can be hard work, and Saturday night movies can get boring and expensive. Why not make date night simple, affordable, yet memorable?

Wouldn't it be nice if all the makings for a spectacular date night were shipped directly to you on a regular basis? Everyone loves the thrill of a new adventure, a new place to explore, and a new reason to fall in love. Rendezvous brings that excitement to your doorstep, each and every month.

Dawwwww

Rendevous is the newest approach to the dating life. Rendevouz provides a packaged monthly date experience, delivered to our clients' doorstep - taking the planning out and adding the surprise to our clients' relationships. A main focus of Rendezvous is to not only provide memorable and engaging experiences for couples, but to also do so while highlighting local area businesses and restaurants.
They want each and every clients to enjoy being a Clevelander, and to participate in the things that make this city unique.

Cleveland at night. Beautiful ! 

Rendevous's monthly subscription service will deliver a certificate for a surprise date for you and your partner to enjoy. From exotic restaurants to trendy exhibits, we will be partnering with local area businesses to provide a uniquely "Cleveland" experience that allows you and your loved one to focus on each other, instead of stressing on where to go and what to do.

Whether you venture to a restaurant that is a hidden gem of Cleveland, or you stay home and create the magic for yourselves, our goal is to provide you with a convenient, unique and affordable dating experience that creates memories that last a lifetime.

Participating in a Rendezvous is simple. Our clients will receive a date idea, and the makings of a date to a different Cleveland establishment every month.  Rendezvous will not offer chain restaurants or establishments as we want our clientele to get the authentic Cleveland experience.  Our clients will present the coupon that is enclosed each month to the establishment-which may be buy one get one free, 50% off, free appetizer, and more.

Rendezvous is pro-small business, and will work to make sure that our services highlight the best of what small businesses in Cleveland have to offer. The dates will drive traffic to small businesses across the area, and the referrals from satisfied customers will keep people coming. This isn't your typical coupon service! We at Rendezvous are and will always be looking for business partners to provide our date experiences.

The mission of Rendezvous is to "bring your rendezvous to your door" each month. We will cater to couples of all ages, stages in life, and stages in their relationship. Whether you are in the "getting to know you" stage, married with kids and too busy to plan, or even empty-nesters looking for something new to try - we will make your dates something to remember and cherish.

Rendezvous will launch with their first package January 1, 2014 ! What a great to make sure you and your love start the new year off on the right foot ! Rendezvous recently completed an IndieGoGo Campaign as well to fund the initial start-up. With the campaign now being over,  the rate that will be available per subscription package will be the $25 per month.

If you are local to the Cleveland area, this could definitely be something you may want to look into. If you happen to be like me and are not local, why not join me in waiting for these two gals to expand to a city near you !

Keep Up With Rendezvous !

Instagram: RendezvousLLC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RendezvousMonthly

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rendezvousllc 

Pinterest: RendezvousLLC

Web: http://www.rendezvousmonthly.com/

What an amazing and innovative idea! I would love to have a date night package mailed to me each month. wouldn't you ? 

Do I have any Cleveland readers ? 

Will you be subscribing to Rendezvous ?

Ebony Entrepreneurs

Happy October curlfriends !

This month I'd like to introduce a series that I have been mulling over for a couple of months now.

I like to begin a series to spotlight small business owner. Supporting Black owned businesses and putting dollars back in our community just makes sense. Embarking on this journey to building my own brand and small business has opened a whole new network for me. I would love to be able to promote and introduce new or maybe not so new businesses.

My goal in this series is to promote healthy competition, a sense of togetherness and a more community-centered mindset of unity. Ultimately, it would be very awesome to have a stronger bond in sisterhood as well. While I want to uplift and promote all small businesses from our fellow Kings and Queens, I can say there will be a strong focus on women owned brown/black businesses.

Girl Power to the max ! (Yes I was a fan of SpiceGirls....Judge me later).

Girl Power ! 

There needs to be more money put back into our communities instead of spending our dollars to enhance the wealth of other communities.

So with all that being said;  please welcome and enjoy Native Love Company's newest Blog Feature Series, Ebony Entrepreneurs !

Designed by me! What do you think ? 

I'm so excited to finally share this with you all ! The very first feature will be going live in two days
So make sure you come visit Friday October 11th to check out the who will be the first feature in our Ebony Entrepreneurs !

What are your thoughts, are you excited for the upcoming features ? 

Is there a company you would like to see featured ?

 Leave a comment telling me everything !