Monday, May 16, 2011

A Day in the Life...Chris Nease of Celebrations at Home!

I am so excited to be featuring Chris Nease of Celebrations at Home today! Chris was one of my first blogging friends and we still continue to e-mail back and forth about this and that. She is such a sweetheart and an inspiration to me! I'm sure you wonder, like I do, how she balances it all!

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A Day in the Life of Chris Nease of Celebrations at Home...
I’m very flattered that Christi asked me to share a day in the life with you, however my first response to her was, “but I’m so boring!” Not that my job is boring, in fact quite the opposite. But to look at it hour by hour on any given day can be deceiving since every day is literally something different. I decided to take a “compilation” approach to give you a better idea of what my job entails.
First of all I’d like to explain that I began my blog (way back when) as a supporting role to my party styling business. Since then it has grown so much that I’ve shifted my main focus onto the site while I still do a limited number of client parties. My real passion is growing Celebrations At Home into a go-to site for inspiration for stylish entertaining!

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7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

My mornings begin with coffee and The Today Show, and getting my 2 young kids ready and off to school - typical mom stuff.

9:00 a.m. - Noon

The mornings fly by as I’m on the computer checking emails, reviewing submissions, working on blog posts, and networking on Twitter and Facebook.
A lot of my time in the morning is devoted to email correspondence. Currently I‘m working on my new site design with my designer and can‘t wait for the relaunch!
In addition to emails, I'm reviewing contracts, writing articles for freelance jobs, brainstorming ideas for upcoming photo shoots, talking with a client about her party, and conversing with vendors that I‘m working with. Now that I’m a leader at the Savvy Living community on Blog Frog, I spend a fair amount of time checking in with the forum and spreading the word about the conversations we’re having there.
In between all of this, I’m prop shopping online & researching ideas for projects.

By the time 11:00 or 12:00 rolls around I’m hungry. I don’t really eat breakfast (unless you consider creamer in my coffee, breakfast) so I’m usually hungry for a lean cuisine.

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12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Afternoons are good for me to run errands, do some prop shopping or craft supply shopping, editing photos, and writing. If I have something to craft for a design project, this is when I’ll do it. This week I’ve been consumed with a client’s bar mitzvah that is this Saturday. I’ve been painting, gluing, making banners & bunting, cupcakes in a jar, and more!

At 4:00 it’s time to get the kids from the bus stop and take a short break. By now there’s a whole new batch of emails to sift through and respond to and maybe another blog post to edit. This is no 9-5 job that’s for sure - there are things to do all day every day and I love it! Somehow I manage to sneak in dinner and time with the family before going to bed.

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Aside from some of the basic every day activities listed above, there are also things like photo shoots, occasional meetings, doing regular site maintenance, and creating a tutorial, recipe, or editorial party design for my site. Some days I may be out all day shopping for a project, and some days I may not even get dressed since I work at home. But I’m so thankful and fortunate to be able to do this with a supportive husband and encouraging readers!

Thank you Chris for giving us a peek into your day!


23 comments:

Amanda at Amanda's Parties To Go said...

Chris is amazing and you are right - such a sweet person, too! I love everything she does and always look forward to seeing more of her fabulous stylings!

Piggy Bank Parties said...

LoVe Chris! Always enjoy seeing how other party chicks spend their day!

Laura - Eye Candy Creative Studio said...

she rocks! Such an inspiration to all of us! =)

Frog Prince Paperie said...

Chris is one of my favorites. And love that peek into her prop closet. :)

Chris @ Celebrations At Home said...

Thank you Christi!, and thanks for the sweet comments ladies. I'm so happy to know you all!

Cupcakes and Cutlery said...

YEAH!!!! I love this behind the scene look at my favorite party blogger!! Chris is awesome and I wish we were neighbors. :)

Kim - The TomKat Studio said...

Your day sounds VERY familiar, Chris! Mine is nearly exact. Coffee = breakfast for me, too. :) When I started blogging in December of 2008, you were one of the only party bloggers around. Congratulations on your growth. I think you are absolutely fabulous. XOXO

A Blissful Nest said...

Love you Chris! You are such an inspiration.

Unknown said...

Chris is so incredibly talented & I love her sense of style!

Kori Clark said...

What a great post! Chris was one of the first in the party world to welcome me with open arms (ie follow me back on twitter) and I have grown to adore and admire her more and more over time! I love the inspiration from her site and totally appreciate the countless hours of hard work she does to inspire us all!!

Bird said...

Our days are so similar!! Especially the not getting dressed part! :D

Oh, and that's one tidy, prop storage!!
Way to go on the fab feature party fairy!! may your site and work continue to grow and inspire us all!! Lovely reading you!! :)

XOXO
Bird

Unknown said...

No breakfast!? How ever do you have energy with such a full schedule? That coffee must pack a powerful punch! Glad to hear what works for you, keep up the FAB job you are doing!

Sandra Downie said...

Chris has ALWAYS been a big supporter of me and was one of the first people to welcome me when I first started blogging, and is one of my closest friends. I love her creativity and warm heart! Her crazy days sound like mine...maybe this is why we click :-) Big XO

Save the Date for Cupcakes said...

Love Chris! Love this post too!!!

*My caramel and whip in my coffee is my breakfast;o)

Betty Bake said...

very cool ladies :)

bloggers do tend to have varied days and I also have coffee for breakfast. although I can't compare myslef to Chris - she is a legend

:)

hugs
Betty Bake x

Anonymous said...

I'm always amazed at how much Chris manages to accomplish! She's a huge inspiration to me.

Chris @ Celebrations At Home said...

You guys are all the sweetest people on Earth!! Thanks for making me smile!

Mayra Rivera said...

I started loving Chris the minute I saw her cuban inspired table, love her work! Such a cool post Christi!

jackie fo said...

I love this feature idea....it's so interesting to get a peek into other folks lives! Plus, Chris was the FIRST party blog I came across and is so inspiring. Great post !

Bellenza Wedding Bistro said...

Thanks for featuring Chris. She's always been there with positive comments and encouraging words for her fellow stylists and bloggers!

Enchanted Expectations said...

Well what can I say? I love Celebrations at Home! Chris was my first blogging buddy and I just love her inspiration. Thank you for your perfection to detail and making all of us strive to party to our fullest!

Maddycakes Muse said...

Chris ~ you are amazing and sweeter than pie! You have an amazing blog and your styling is perfection! You have inspired so many of us party girls. You day sounds so familiar except mine starts with a coke and ends with a coke! Take care my friend and I love you too Christie!

Maddycakes Muse said...

oops...Christi...need another Coke!

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