You may have noticed I've been a bit quieter blogging lately - it's actually for a super exciting reason. I've been working late nights behind the scenes for a big launch of a new business! It's been almost a year in the making and I'm so thrilled to finally be able to share all about Little Foodie with you.

Health and wellness has always been something that I have been passionate about, although growing up I didn't really think of it as an "extra" thing. I played year round sports and my parents always cooked healthy meals so it was just part of the way I lived. When I started working, I began noticing how hard it was to find time to exercise and cook healthy meals. I work in the cancer industry and continuously noticed co-workers (and sometimes myself) fall prey to busy schedules and easy cravings. 

When one of my previous colleagues, Dena (also in the biotech space and an amazing entrepreneur), approached me about joining forces to try and combat unhealthy habits from a young age, I was super excited to jump in. After nearly a year of late night email threads, weekend brainstorming coffee dates, and tons and tons of learning about the food industry, we decided the perfect way to start making a difference is by making healthy eating FUN! 

So today, I'm so excited to present to you the first collection of Little Foodie. A collection of onesies and toddler t-shirts featuring adorable, brightly-colored fruit and vegetable characters with a memorable message for healthy eating. Stylish, comfortable and 100% cotton, it's the perfect culmination of all my passions, design, health and family.

Take some time to browse the collection and if you know of a cute boutique in your area that these would be perfect for, please reach out! You can always grab one for your next baby shower gift while you are at it :-p. 

Can't wait to hear what you think and thank you for helping spread the word! 

Jessica

So many of you ask me how I stay organized with my businesses and my full-time job. For those of you who are new to the blog, I work full-time in the cancer diagnostics/care industry as a project manager and enjoy sharing my passion for design here (plus I'm working on a secret project that I'm so excited to launch soon). There are definitely some late nights involved and some early mornings, but honestly, I find that with a few key habits and tools, I can get more productivity out of normal working hours and still enjoy quality time with my husband and friends. 

Thanks to all your DM's on instagram, I've rounded up my top 5 tools and tips to keep me organized, productive and balanced. I love when you guys send me your questions so that I can provide you the most helpful content. 

1. Water
I know you have probably heard this one a million times, but honestly, it makes such a difference. Lately, I really haven't been drinking as much water as I used to and I can feel the difference in my energy as well as just how I feel in my body. Since health and wellness have always been important to me, I normally try to make it a priority in my day and when I do, I have more energy to get more things done. 

2. Exercise
Have you ever heard the saying, "a body in motion stays in motion"? This is one that my husband and I use all the time, but we take the slightly modified version from Tony Robbins, "Motion creates emotion". In other words, if you start moving, it creates the emotion and motivation you need to really accomplish your goals. If you can just squeeze in a 10 or 15 minute walk, that will help get more things off your list in the long run. 

3. 2Do
Now for the lists! I love to-do lists and if I don't write it down, it doesn't get done. When I was younger, I always tried to memorize what I needed to finish (for some reason I thought it was more impressive that way) but inevitably something fell off the list - normally more than one thing. So when I found2Do, an app for my ipad and phone, I was excited to have an electronic version of all my sticky notes floating around my house. I have different lists for projects I'm working on and can easily see tasks for all of them on one list or by project and set due dates and reminders as well as add notes. Even better, I can share my lists! My husband and I have one that we share so that we can help keep each other accountable and productive for our family to-dos.

4. Goodnotes
I use this app on my ipad with my apple pencil to take handwritten notes. Like I said, writing things down is how I remember it so not only do I write down to-dos in my 2Do app, but any notes that I take for bigger meetings I'll add in these notebooks. It's like carrying around 10 notepads for each project but they are all in one easily accessible and searchable spot. This app is also amazing for my designs! I do a lot of space planning and DIY sketches so that I can refer back to them as I work through the projects. 

5. Being on Time - JORD watch
The habit of being on time is something my parents taught me a long time ago and has been one of the most crucial pieces to my productivity. It's amazing what this little act can do it terms of building rapport with colleagues and partners as well as helping you stick to your schedule so that you can achieve more. I normally keep time on my phone, but when I"m in a meeting or at a restaurant with friends, I turn over my phone so that I can avoid being rude and looking at my phone with each notification that comes in. Instead, I try to really be present with whoever I'm with. The problem I ran into however, was that I quite literally lost track of time and ended up setting myself back on so many things. I wanted to find a way where I could effortlessly keep track of the time. I had been looking for watches for a while, but a lot of the metal ones, were really heavy and clunky and an apple watch defeated the purpose of trying to unplug from notifications, so when I found JORD wooden watches, I was really interested in giving them a try. I have to say I am SO impressed with both the minimalist design and quality of their watches (I got the Cassia Series, Ebony and Sable.) Not only did it come in such an awesome box, but the wood makes it really light and easy to wear and it also has such an awesome scent, you can ever so faintly smell the unique wood. I've been way better at keeping track of my day and as a bonus I get tons of compliments on my watch.

At the end of the day, the best way to stay productive and keep yourself organized is to commit to your values and goals that you want to achieve. In order to help you all do that and achieve your dreams, I've partnered with JORD watches to give you 10% off any watch of your choice (or maybe as a gift for that friend who is always late) and one of you will receive $100 off!

To get your discount head over here and enter to win! 

Hope you love your watch as much as me and that these tips help you stay productive this summer too! 

Jessica