Category: Inspired

Giving Tuesday: You get what you GIVE

December is by far one of my favorite months of the year. For the most part everyone is extra cheerful, houses are brighter, the sweets are endless, and it’s the season of giving!  I LOVE to give ❤️. It warms my heart to give someone a gift you have hand selected that you think they would want and or need. But as I have grown older, I have started to understand a different kind of giving. Today on giving Tuesday I am going to share a couple of go fund me’s / organizations that are near and dear to me:). And if you feel so obliged, please donate to any one of them below. If not, that’s ok too. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hopefully it will inspire you to give back in a way that you feel satisfied. 

Abbey, a sorority sister of mine was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Abbey is a wife and a mom of two sweet little girls. Every dollar counts ❤️   Click HERE to donate to Abbey

I met Amy in my Fit4Mom village. She’s always the one to make everyone else smile. Her youngest son, Avery Just turned 1. He was diagnosed with RMS, Rhabdomyoscarcoma, a rare muscle cancer found in children typically between the ages of 2-6.  Avery is 1% of children diagnosed with this cancer because of its location.  Due to his age, treatment is very difficult.  Click HERE to donate to Avery

One tail at a time!  My friend Stephanie set up this fundraiser and I couldn’t help but share it.  Let’s raise some money for our four legged friends ❤️. Click HERE to donate to One Tail at A Time. 

Every year I host an annual Ornament exchange with my besties. Last year I reached out to a local United Way to adopt a family as I wanted to add a “giving” element to the tradition. Only to learn I was too late. Instead they said they needed cleaning supplies to give to the mothers. So, cleaning supplies is what we raised. We were able to donate 20 buckets of cleaning supplies to local families in need and are planning to majorly surpass this number this year. During a month of over consumption of everything. A few dollars goes a long way to people that really need it. If you would like to donate to the cleaning supply fund. Please Venmo:  Alissa-Tadic

Again, thank you for taking the time to read this post. I know there are SO many organizations and people everyone is donating to.  These just happen to be at the top of my mind. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️, I hope you have the most wonderful holiday season ever!

Xoxo,

Lissa

Family Christmas Traditions

I LOVE traditions, especially when they come to the holidays!  Ever since we had kids, Dusko & I try to continue on with some of the traditions we had and of course some new ones!  But one of my very favorite traditions has and always will be Matching Pajamas!  You guys, we both worked for Old Navy for 10+ years.  You better believe we were wearing Christmas Jammies before it was actually cool!  Even my immediate family has been wearing matching Christmas PJ’s for approximately a decade.  Theres something super sweet about knowing you are going to get comfy, festive pajamas to wear for Christmas Eve!

Maxwell is pretty on board with this tradition, Emme would really rather be wearing Princess anything and clearly didn’t want to be in these pictures!!!

Shop Max & Emme’s PJ’s plus some of the decor HERE.

I think in the coming years, Jimmy(our elf) will likely be bringing the kids their matching Christmas Jammies!  Who knows, but if you don’t already here’s to hoping you start this fun tradition with your sweet families!

XOXO,

Lissa, Max, & Emme

***All links are Affiliate Links which means I may make a small percentage off the purchase of these items.***

The Next Collective

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

-Neale Donald Walschb

What is your Next?!?

Have you ever thought about this?  Do you think about it daily?  I scored my first job before graduating from NIU, it was as a retail Manager. I always knew it wouldn’t be my lifetime career but I was never really sure what I would actually do “next”?  Part of that is because change is SO darn scary. Well I was lucky enough to attend a conference in Chicago recently:  The Next Collective. Mel put it on because she said it was the conference she WANTED to attend but couldn’t find!  The Next Collective was quite frankly the best conference I’ve ever been too. For starters I went alone. I knew absolutely no one walking into the Greenhouse Loft that Friday in May. I was pretty darn proud of myself for going alone. Was I nervous?  Anxious?  Scared?  Maybe a little bit. I didn’t allow myself to think about it much to be honest. I was just excited to be attending. My goal: to not eat lunch alone 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Thanks to some new friends, Samantha and Jenny. I did NOT eat lunch alone. Haha. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy eating alone but part of why you go to conferences is to network, amiright???  

A lot of the days talk was about pivot points. You either have a forced pivot: ie. get fired or let go or a Voluntary pivot: you quit your job, have kids, etc.   the speaker line up was to. Die. For. There couldn’t have been a better panel of women. They ranged from CEO’s to upcoming entrepreneurs!  All speaking about their story!  What got them to their “next!”  Some of them are still transitioning to their next while some are already there. Each and every women told such a great story and made you really able to resonate with them. 

Check out the Speaker/Panelist line up Here!

I would say I am currently in my “Next”, right where I want to be at this moment. My pivot would be considered a forced pivot because I had kids and decided to leave my job as a Store Manager because working weekends when my husband traveled for work all week didn’t seem best for our family. I now have a fashion and lifestyle blog: Twee Blog. Which is what I have ALWAYS wanted to do.  Was this scary?!?  YES!!!!  Mainly because you are really putting yourself out there and social media can be a scary place. Of course it can and is an amazing place most days too!!  This conference was so empowering for me to attend. I left there feeling full. Full of knowing that I’m doing exactly what I want and need right now. Also knowing that it is scary. Life is scary. Doing what we want and know we should be doing is scary.  

Follow @thenextcollective on ig or www.thenextcollective.com to see all the upcoming events.

Thanks Mel for having me join!  I hope to see you ALL at the next event!!!

Cheers!

XOXO,

Lissa

***My ticket to The Next Collective was gifted but all opinions are my own***

Blogger Event

My friend Julia and I threw the cutest little party in the cutest little town at the cutest little restaurant this past Saturday!!!  And now I’m here to tell YOU all about it!

What was the event?!!  In a nutshell, as bloggers you can sometimes feel like you are out on an island alone, learning things on your own, and really wishing you had “your” people to help you through it.  So we decided to start a Tri Cities Blogger Group(The area that we live in) and thought what better way to meet our soon to be new friends than to through an awesome party with awesome swag!  Amiiright?!?!

Who came to the event?!?  I’m going to Link everyone’s instagrams below because you should definitely give them a follow!  Everyone that came has something completely different to offer which made it that much more fun!

Julia:  @theblissfulmomma

Renata:  @renewingmom

Becky & Kat:  @sweatequity101

Laura:  @lauraswansieckman

Krystle: @darlingdwelling

Who Sponsored our event?!?  Truly the best of the best!!!  Also linking their insta!

Restaurant:  The Walrus Room

Workshop:  Renewing Mom

Flower Crowns:  Willrette Flower

Silk Bandanas:  Jori & June

Leather Earrings:  Hide & Heart

Photography:  Wild Indigo Photography

What did we do?!?  Naturally, we wined, dined, chatted, and even did some goal setting with our girl Renata!  Did you know that your To Do List is most likely full of goals?  Which means we set wayyyy too many for ourselves!

Photo Gallery in no particular order:

 

Hope you enjoyed this as much as we did!  Follow the hashtag #tricitiesbloggerbabes to follow all the upcoming fun!

 

XOXO,

Lissa

Shop my full look HERE!

Create & Cultivate: The Conference

Let me just start off by saying this will probably be the most instagram-able blog post you will ever read, no really!  This conference was GORGEOUS!!!  While I was at Create & Cultivate I had a lot of people ask me what it was and or how you can go.  It’s basically a conference for all women entrepreneurs and influencers.  A few years ago I remember Lauren Conrad being a keynote speaker at one of the Create & Cultivate conferences so naturally it sparked my interest and ever since I have wanted to go!  It is a very intimate amount of people, I would say around 500(definitely the smallest I’ve ever been too).  This is what made it extra special, not to mention there were no lines!  The conference was located in Chicago at The House of Vans.  Super cool venue that made the event that much better.

The above picture is the outside of the House of Vans, below is what we walked into!!!

Some of the cutest stages that I ever did see!!!!

Any event that has a balloon drop is definitely where I want to be!!!

So many photo opportunities and vendors giving us ALL the swag!!!  Seriously came home with so much of it.  Shop my entire look from Conference day HERE!

If I am being honest, it was overwhelming at first!!  I didn’t know where to walk to first and or what I wanted to see/do.  Once I realized I had the whole entire day, I was good to go.  haha.

They had a braid bar, see how my hair is up now?!?!?!  And Mary Kay had a brow bar where Luis Casco from Project Runway was doing brows!!!  So MUCH fun!

When you match the RX Bar wall, you obvs take a pic!

If you had a VIP ticket, you got to drink all day at this Ca-UTE bar!

See what I’m saying?!?!?!  Every single time you turned around there was something else prettier than what you just saw!

The Speakers were off the hook, and they really only spoke for 30-45 minutes which was fabulous for keeping you interested!

Some of my favorites of the day are shown below and obviously Whitney Port and Ashley Tisdale!

I also got to meet some of my favorite local influencers which was great!!!

This right here was truly the message of the whole conference:  Collaboration OVER Competition.  We will go farther if we all work together!

It really was A WORK PARTY!!!  You should definitely join in next time!!!  Any other questions, send them my way!  Would love to hear from you!

XOXO,

Lissa

One last thing, there was a happy hour the night before sponsored by WeWerk.  That is truly where we made all the friends and met all the people!!!  Here are a bunch of fun pics from the night!!!!  You can shop my entire look HERE!!!

My Partner in Crime for the Weekend!!!

My Birthday Gift 🎁

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.”  -Frank Lloyd Wright


Today is my birthday, my 37th Birthday. Gosh that sounds really, really, old to my 12 year old self. But to be honest, I don’t feel old at all!  I truly believe you are only as old as you make yourself. Sure, my life has changed SO much in a short time frame. But I love where my life has brought me and am feeling extra blessed this year.

I have a 1 and a 3 year old that are seemingly healthy, a husband that treats me like a queen(most of the time), an amazing family, and extra special friends. Some I have even known for my lifetime!  It’s so hard to put into words how grateful I am every day ❤. I know some people hate birthdays, they hate getting older. But I’m with Frank, Life definitely gets more beautiful all the time. I can’t wait to see where the next year takes me, and now where it takes my kids. 365 days of what can we do today?!?  The world is literally in our hands.

Over the past 365 days, I have been on the receiving end of many pay it forwards. Or maybe just sheer kindness.  Either way, today I want to pay it forward to all of you for following along, whether you have been here for awhile or only a couple days!  Treat yourself to my favorite TREAT!  #starbucks

Please only get one thing so the wealth can be shared!!  All you have to do is screenshot this barcode and show it to any barista!

One last thing, just for fun, drop me a comment below!

Cheers to many more years!

XOXO,
Lissa

Also, are you curious what was in that super cute burlap package?!?!?  I would be too!!!  One of the BEST balms I’ve ever tried!

Click here to see what it is!

Exciting News!

Hope everyone had an awesome MDW!  We spent most of it at my parents lake house so A LOT of fun and sun was had!  Right before the weekend began, I got some really exciting news in regards to my blog.  Before I share what it is, I thought I would start from the beginning.   I started this blog about 2 1/2 years ago.  I always knew I wanted to start a blog and what I truly wanted out of it but just like anything there were some delays, roadblocks, etc.  I love to shop, I love fashion, accessories, home decor, basically I love to SHOP so it doesn’t matter what or where I am at.  I WILL find something!  haha.  In fact, this weekend we hit up the Dollar General and you would have thought we were at Nordstrom!!!  I wish I was kidding, but you wouldn’t believe all the fun, random, junk they had there.

Some of the roadblocks I had with blogging were straight intimidation, fear of failure, truly that I wasn’t(or still am not)thin enough(which btw, I have gotten tons of feedback from people that they love that I am a real person-so thank you:).  When I originally started Twee Blog I had a vision but it just wasn’t coming together.  All of a sudden this past November, something clicked and I told myself I just had to go for it.  Put myself out there and who cares.  Twee Blog seriously is my passion project.  I am by no means saying I am the fashion queen.  haha!  I often seek advice or opinions from friends but I do know that I picture something in my head, put it on, and it usually is what I want or the look I am going for.

Onto what I knew I wanted out of this blog:

I knew I wanted to be an inspiration board, somewhere women(especially moms) can reference for looks they see me wearing.  I absolutely love to mix value with luxury.  I believe a nice handbag is ABSOLUTELY worth the money(and for the record, you can never have too many).

I knew I wanted to be as down to earth and real as possible.  I had a friend once tell me that what she loved about me was that I was always the first one to make fun of myself!  So no one else really had too.  (I am sure they still did and do) but I guess I always felt like that made me real or maybe just self aware but whatever works!

Last, I want to make money.  I mean, who doesn’t?  If you say you don’t you are lying.  If I can do what I am truly passionate about on my time and make some money, then score!  Monetizing a blog is not easy.  To actually make money with a blog, you need to be accepted by affiliate programs(most all of them) and you typically need to have a pretty large following to get brand partnerships.

So, I am sure you are like, what is your exciting news?!?!?!?!?  Dying, right?

I GOT ACCEPTED into an affiliate program!!!!!

YIPPEE!!!!

What does this mean?

This means that almost every link I share I have the opportunity to make up to 20% commission if anyone makes a purchase after they click on that specific link.  Most items are not 20% but I am still pretty geeked out about this!  Back in November when I made the decision to really “go for it”  I didn’t think it would take this long.  Truly it makes me that much more excited and proud of myself!

THANK YOU to all of you that have been supporting me so far on this little journey of mine!  I am loving it and it means the world!

Here is a fun summer look!  It doesn’t get more real than this photo shoot….Both kids were with me!!!  ha!

 

XOXO,

Lissa

So why don’t you blog about it?!!!

  • IMG_7423

The idea of becoming a blogger has always seemed so appealing to me as I’m already always on Instagram, I love fashion and trends, and I’m a shopaholic. I took a stab at it about a year ago and quite honestly got pretty bored with it very quickly. Lack of content being a major factor. It occurred to me recently that the reason I got bored is that I was fighting what was right in front of me-Motherhood. I LOVE being a mom but didn’t think that Instagram loved me being a mom. The cold hard truth-I am a mom and it is my life, so what do I care what Instagram thinks? Surviving life one day at a time is hard enough with 2 kids under 2, you might as well look and feel great while doing it. Seriously there are days when I’m not sure I’ll make it out alive until my husband gets home in 30 mins, and there are days that simply fly by. My blog, TWEE is here for all moms to feel inspired to look and feel great everyday. I’m here to help you reinvent your momiform one pair of leggings at a time!

XOXO-
Lissa

May we raise them ❤️

We all love our moms, or at least I hope we do. So in honor of International Woman’s Day, I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that I would choose to write about my mom and how she has inspired me to be the person I am today.

I could write a million stories about my mom and the things she has done for me personally, however this comment I am about to share with you struck a chord. Last Friday I was at a gathering where I saw some women I hadn’t seen in years. My mom wasn’t in attendance, but she somehow got brought up. Perhaps for her keen sense of fashion or her vacation she was leaving for the next day. I’m not really sure. I was too busy talking to hear the whole story!!! Haha. At any rate, one of the women who had previously worked with my mom said to another woman, “have you met Alissa’s mom? She is one of the most selfless and giving people I have ever met. Both of her parents are, they are awesome.” I mean I know I have always thought my mom is amazing but when you hear someone say it that is merely an aquaintance at this point of life, you feel pretty darn honored to be her daughter. Just as an example, my mom once covered a leave at the grade school in the small town I’m from. The woman had breast cancer(I believe), a 4 month old, and needed to take time off to get her chemo treatments. At the end of the leave, my mom donated her entire paycheck for the time she covered her classroom to the woman. I don’t care how much money you have or don’t have in this world, it takes a pretty special person to donate their time and money to anyone. This is just one example that came to mind when I decided to write about my mom. To be honest, the school asked to interview her regarding her donation and she politely declined. It wasn’t about her, it wasn’t about giving the money, it was about the woman getting better and having the financials to pay for all of her medical care.

So today when I saw this quote everyone was posting, “here’s to strong women, may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.” I felt inspired, inspired to share this story about my mom. She sure did raise my 2 brothers and I, and if I turn out to be half of the mother she is I will consider it a SUCCESS!

Dress Up

“Playing dress up begins at age 5 and never truly ends!” -Kate Spade

I heard this quote recently, of course I’ve heard it before but it hit home a little more with me this time. I’ve always liked this quote but quite honestly I don’t really like to play dress up! Ironic? I think in this rushed world we live in, “playing dress up” simply takes too much time. Or maybe it’s that I always think I need something brand spanking new. Maybe a little of both. At any rate, I left my full time job recently to be a SAHM(stay at home mom), the most under-rated Job in the world. I can say this because I’ve now seen both sides, maybe even judged a time or two. I mean this is a safe zone, right???? In between feedings, 67 diaper changes a day, nap time, play time, work outs, Instagram, and everything else, I’ve found myself with a little more down time….just a smudge. I’m sure it’s because my commute to work is a lot shorter!!! I’m saving like 10 hours of my life per week. My mom came over the other day, God bless my mother for many reasons but the woman CANNOT sit down!!! So my one window of opportunity where Max was sleeping and I could possibly relax turned into a “lets go through your closet” session. All of a sudden she’s trying everything on and this quote pops in my head! I’m thinking, she actually loves to dress up still, it almost felt like we were kids again playing dress up. Finding outfits for potential events and swapping items out. So naturally I join in. I’ve had serious FOMO(fear of missing out) my whole life. My poor little 8 month old has it now. Lol yup-he really does! It was SO much FUN though!!! I paired outfits together that I wouldn’t even have tried on, ever, they would have possibly been dust collectors in my new “walk-in” closet. I quote the walk-in because it’s hardly a walk-in and simply not big enough!!! I think it’s kind of comparable to the saying the more you make, the more you spend? The bigger the closet, the less room??? Right?? I have never been one to set out my clothes the night before(only exception-first day of school every year). I just wake up, think about what’s in my closet, and let my mood decipher what I’ll wear on any given day. This trusty method has worked so far! But I’m thinking this new game of dress up is a game changer! Maybe even a wallet saver?!?! Probably not. Ha! At any rate, I’m ready for this Midwestern weather to change to Spring for good so I can shine bright in this new found wardrobe of mine???

Prime Wardrobe

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