I could easily say that knowing what is “fashionable” or “beautifully designed” has never been my forte. Oh I love to create. I love to throw things together with fun and color and life, but I cannot promise that any of it properly “goes together” or meets any kind of design standard. So in the process of readying the design for our Girls Nights, I pass all my wild ideas over to Beth, our event designer from Joyful Day and she makes beauty out of them.
This month was no different.
We’re hosting a self-defense/self-empowerment GNO with a HeartStories twist called, “Staying Alive GNO”. Heidi, of First Defense Solutions, is going to teach us practical ways to keep ourselves and others safe. She’s also teaching us life skills that will empower us to make quicker and better decisions. All of that, wrapped up in a girls night out, needed a super fun and sassy theme, which is how we landed on the 70’s and Staying Alive.
Immediately, I wrote copy about go-go boots and disco balls.
As the planning unfolded, Beth sent me several different “mood board” images to begin to set the theme for the design. The image I loved most was an old red car, stuffed to overflowing with flowers. (Apparently I’m a Woodstock baby to the core.) So we began planning all the design around this very hippy 70’s theme. . . ordering flower headbands, sunflowers, peace signs and John Lennon glasses. Then last week we realized that we’d been promoting the event with a very streamlined disco ball image. Oops, totally my bad. I like a lot of different things! Leave it to Beth to find a way to tie it all together. We decided I’d head to the store, with my inspo picture in hand, to find a bright floral themed fabric that would be the magic thread.
Seemed easy enough, right?
Oh, it was stressful. My phone only had 12% battery left and Beth was with her family at a wedding out of town. I. . . me. . . Crystal . . . was there buying the fabric that was supposed to tie the whole theme together. I carried my little picture through EVERY row of that fabric store. The closest floral print I could find was way closer to Farmer Jane’s sunflowers than Woodstock and disco. I collected a hodgepodge of bright tie-dyed fabrics, random floral prints, and anything else I thought might pass for 70’s. I sent Beth pictures, but neither of us were enthused.
Until, I saw it.
The watercolored paint-spill looking fabric that felt all sorts of 70’s to me. It was colorful, yet muted and somehow, in my mind, it could pass for both Woodstock and Disco. But I second guessed myself. I kept thinking that my ONE job was to go find a floral print fabric and I was coming up short. I was veering way off the path. But I kept feeling like this might actually be the one, so got up the courage to throw my little disco balls on top of it and send Beth this pic. 
I sent it with three other options, so she could easily just choose one that was closer to what she asked me to get. And I sat there waiting for her reply.
And I waited . . .
I was getting nervous. My phone was dying and I was nervous to make the call on my own. I was leaning toward the tie-dye because I thought that would be the best fit with the theme. There was literally 2% battery life left in my phone when her text came through.
“I love the marbled one! That’s so cool!”
YES! I was relieved, of course. But I walked away with a lesson about worrying less about pleasing others and trusting my instincts more. I may not have a trained eye for event design, but I know what feels right for our ladies when I see it. I do. Everything came together so beautifully for this event that I’m going to trust that a little more next time a design choice lands in my lap.
In what area of your life do you feel like less than an expert?
Hiring the experts to support you is certainly a great option! But when the ball drops in your lap and it’s time to make the call, trust that intuition. It’s not just random. It comes from more than just your gut. It’s a combination of your experiences, your preferences and your knowledge. Trust yourself to make the right choice.
You’re wiser than you think you are.
to more love,
Crystal
