Hey y’all! So I’m feeling super girl boss-ish this evening, and I wanted to share what’s running through my mind with each of y’all!

So I’ve joined in on the Jenna Kutcher instagram challenge and I am so glad I did. What first I was very nervous to jump on board with has me super feeling confident in who and what I am! You can follow along on my instagram account to see for yourself.

Anyways, today I am sharing more about myself. Those of you who know me as the owner of Southern Jewlz boutique know that there is a crown in the logo. So I wanted to share a little more on what the crown symbolizes to me.

The crown is a symbol of royalty to me. When I look at the SJ crown I think of a powerful female who is beautiful from the inside out. She is confident, yet encouraging and stunning, yet complimentary. When I question or look up more of the official meaning, I am soon to be answered with “power, legitimacy, victory, triumph, honor, and glory, righteousness, and resurrection.” And you know what? I can’t argue with any of those. At first I thought that resurrection was too far off and that I should leave that part out, but that’s actually the part I want to hit on the most.

You see I started my company in college as a side hobby business. I actually didn’t even start it as a company, I was honestly just making my own jewelry until more and more people wanted to buy my creations. Whenever I graduated I then continued and moved into a kiosk in the mall, then my little pink palace outside of town, expanded and skyrocketed in my Harvey road strip center location and am now in an online only office and warehouse. When I started, social media was far less than what it is today. There actually was no instagram then. And all along the way, I utilized social media to help share what my fashion brand stood for as well as the stylings I created and the products I had for sale. But at the beginning there was no where near the “connection” there is now. And with that, I was a young fresh out of college girl who thought she could change and conquer the world. I put my padded college resume on the back burner, and I went on about my way to build my empire. I bet people thought I was crazy, but I didn’t hear them, so I just kept burning bright.

Then as the years past on and the company grew, so did the people I interacted with. From employees, to walk-in customers, brand models and even just the people that would like or comment on the SJ social media. All of this growth was tremendous, but it also allowed for a lot more opinions. And since I was naturally a people pleaser and had my company to service others, I started to listed. But all that I listened to wasn’t always good. (Side note, there was still so much positivity from so many people that were connected with the Southern Jewlz brand that I am still so grateful for, but I’m going to share the next bit on the few negatives that I started to hear and listen to.)

I can remember when people started to “become what they posted on instagram” in other people’s eyes. I vividly remember meeting another retail female (she was a manager of a much larger business than my own) and the first thing she said was “Wow, you’re not what I expected at all. You’re actually much more cool and down to Earth than I expected.” I asked her what she meant and she said, “You’re not just a girly girl that is obsessed with pink and being a princess and fairytales and such”. And you know what? Of course I wasn’t. I WAS that, but I was also so much more! She nor anybody else ever knew the power of her words to me. After that, I started to become worried that people would think I was too much. Like maybe I liked pink too much, or too much sparkle actually wasn’t a good thing all the time, maybe my dress up pictures seemed over the top to some, or the fact that I believe in fairytales, unicorns and thought I was a “queen” was just over the top. I thought I should just tone “being me” down a little.

I remember after Grant proposed to me I was sure to not post a picture of my engagement ring. Even though almost every single girl who gets engaged makes a post with her ring, I felt that if I did it people would assume I was self absorbed, trying to flaunt the most beautiful gift I had ever received, or maybe that I would forget where I came from or how hard I had worked to get to where I was. I didn’t want to seem self absorbed because I know in my heart that I am not. I still wanted to work hard as a female business owner, while also embracing a new phase of life and now today, putting my husband first. I didn’t want people to think I was flaunting, because I still wanted to be helpful and of service to them. And up until today, I still never made an official ring post. Now there have been pictures of my ring posted by others including my friend Emily who helped design the beauty as well as my wedding photographers from the footage of our big day. Of course there have been tons of pictures where I am wearing my ring, but never a ring focused picture was put up by me.

I even remember coming home to the store to get back to work after we returned from our engagement trip. So many customers would come in wanting to see my ring and I would either leave it at my desk or timidly show it from the side for a brief moment and then would direct them right back to “So what can I help you find?” I did not want to be thought of as boastful girl who would be glad to flash my ring. Even worse, I didn’t want to be thought of as the girl who no longer worked hard or aspired to build her own empire just because I had a beautiful diamond ring on my finger. I even mentioned at a company meeting within just a month or two of our engagement that just because I was newly engaged, my emphasis was still on running and growing my company rather than just being caught up with being engaged and planning a wedding.

Well, if you have not previously seen a picture of my engagement ring (that is now my wedding ring), I have to tell you my favorite part about it. Grant had it designed to where a crown would hold my diamond up. And not just any crown, but THE crown that I have used since the beginning when I got my very first Southern Jewlz logo created. I never told Grant anything more than that I really liked a rectangle radiant cut diamond. I liked the R’s since my name started with an R and I felt like a rectangle diamond looked like a powerful woman type of a diamond to me (you may view it completely differently, and that is A ok!) I also like to think that I can think of some pretty fabulous and out of the ordinary ideas from time to time, but never did I ever think about incorporating THE crown into THE ring. Grant told me that he knew he had to have the crown made to hold up my diamond within just a few months of us dating, as he was over and caught himself staring at a pillow with THE crown on it at my house. He said it was a total light bulb moment. So combined with the help of Emily with Ring Wraps, Grant got to designing and creating the most beautiful and meaningful piece of jewelry and my most beloved worldly object. He even was sure to put some of his Grandmother’s diamonds to create the sides of the engagement ring. I mean I knew all along that Grant was the one, but talk about melt my heart and God show me just one more way that this man was perfect for me. He knocked it out of the ballpark with the design and sweet sentiment of my ring. I hope I can one day create something for him that has so much meaning and sentiment behind it, too!

So where am I going with this on the whole resurrection meaning of the crown? Well I started my business holding on tight with 2 hands to my crown and over time I became too much and too worried with pleasing others to focus sometimes on me, much less my crown. But now, oh baby, let me just say that my Queen’s crown is back on, straightened up top of my head, and I even check the mirror from time to time to make sure it isn’t any bit of crooked. Past the invisible crown on top of my head, I can also look down at my wedding ring and see at anytime that my husband loves who I am, the confidence I embrace and believes I am royalty. For he made an extremely firm and secure crown to hold the diamond up that represents our love and marriage.

When my crown is on, I don’t care what people think about me, assume about me, or negatively say about me. Because I’m thinking confidently like a QUEEN, going in the direction of my dreams, and focus only being and spreading all that is positive. This time around, I’m going to be even more encouraging for YOU to do the same. Because you know what? My crown does embrace resurrection!

For we are ALL too much of something in someone’s eyes. And I choose to unapologetically be who I am. That’s the type of a woman that built and continues to build the Southern Jewlz empire. Holding back, toning down, trying to get other’s approval doesn’t make me happy. And there is just so much that I want to do, see and accomplish in my lifetime. So if you’ve been struggling in any way, I hope that you straighten your crown and think like the QUEEN you are. Because a positive personal mindset can be the primary enabler for us to do great things. But a negative, scared, frightful, worried-about-fitting-in type of a mindset can be the thing that limits us the most. And if you need at least one cheerleader to be on your side to make it a little easier, I hope that I can be that person that encourages and cheers you on. For the world has enough critics, why not spread a little love, encouragement and cheer!?

And without further adue, here is my beautiful wedding ring. I will forever love and be grateful that Grant made sure to have THE crown hold up my diamond on THE ring. By no means is are these pictures meant to be boastful, however I do love and cherish the ring I get to wear on my wedding ring every single day. It represents the sweetest love story I’ve ever known. And if maybe you’re someone who is doubting true love, I pray that you continue to believe and trust that God will provide for you, too! Photos by Luke and Cat – my absolute favorites!

And now you know why the crown is so meaningful and special to me! Think like a QUEEN and don’t be afraid to fail, as failure is just another stepping stone to success!

xo,