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Book Club Monday

I am so happy to share this week’s book club choice, Everything Will Be Ok by Dana Buckmir. It is such a wonderful book written on such an important topic that needs to be discussed more, especially among women. Share it with your daughters, sisters, friends, and everyone actually. I met Dana, a fellow influencer through friends. She is as lovely on the inside as she is on the outside. Her Instagram page is fabulous, danalicious reviews. Check it out when you get a chance. Back to the powerful book, here is the story:

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Grieving the death of her father, Dana decides to take a break from online dating. After a chance encounter with a medium that predicts that she’ll find love again, a message from an intriguing stranger piques her interest.

Erik Becker is the charming, witty, and charismatic stranger who messages her, challenging her to step out of her comfort zone and give love another chance. Dana thinks she’s met her soulmate but soon realizes that the man of her dreams is not who he seems. What initially begins as a whirlwind romance quickly transforms into something that could lead to dire consequences.

The picture-perfect façade begins to unravel and as the mask slips, it reveals the real Erik exposing him as a broken and sadistic monster intent on ruining everything she has created. The relationship escalates into one of physical violence and psychological warfare. Falling victim to a dangerous game of control and manipulation that could cost her everything, Dana must find a way to escape Erik’s abuse before it’s too late. – Amazon.com

To purchase this book (it’s free on Kindle BTW) or for more information on the story or Dana, click HERE.

Also, Dana will be at the Westport Library for a reading of her book with the Domestic Violence Crisis Center on October 12th at 7 pm.


In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and in partnership with the Domestic Violence Crisis Center and the Westport Domestic Violence Task Force, we are welcoming author Dana Buckmir in conversation about her new memoir, Everything Will Be Okay. Dana will be joined in conversation by Ann Rodwell-Lawton, Associate Director of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center.

Erik Becker is the charming, witty, and charismatic stranger who messages Dana, challenging her to step out of her comfort zone and give love another chance. Dana thinks she’s met her soulmate but soon realizes that the man of her dreams is not who he seems. What initially begins as a whirlwind romance quickly transforms into something that could lead to dire consequences.

To register to attend this event IN PERSON at the library, please click here. 

To register to watch this event VIRTUALLY and receive a link from Zoom, please click here

About Dana:

Dana Buckmir is the author of Everything Will Be Okay and Plenty of Laughs: One Woman’s Journey Navigating the Online Dating Waters. She also contributes to a biweekly dating column called, “Oh Dana” which gives advice on relationship topics. Dana believes that storytelling not only entertains but reminds us that we are sharing a collective experience that makes us a little more connected and a little less lonely. This philosophy and her teaching background inspired her to create a workshop and coaching program, “Write your story: From Idea to Publication” where she mentors aspiring authors.

Benefits of Hiring An Event Planner


Having event planners’ services can significantly benefit you. Whether you are planning a wedding or a corporate event, they can help you create a successful event that will leave a lasting impression on your guests. They can also create a timeline to meet your deadlines, ensure professionalism, and provide a checklist for each part of the planning process.

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Professionalism

Organizing events is a career that requires a combination of hard skills and soft skills. Event planners must be creative and knowledgeable about technology and business like Total Events DFW. They must also be able to meet deadlines and manage a budget.

In addition, event planners must be comfortable communicating with clients and vendors. They must be detail-oriented and have good listening skills. In addition, they should be familiar with the latest technology and be able to make quick decisions. They must also be capable of handling crises.

Event planners work for businesses, corporations, and associations. They can specialize in specific events such as conferences, weddings, and fundraisers. So, how much does an event planner cost? They can be self-employed on a project-by-project basis. They can earn $44,000 to $53,000 per year.

An event planner may start in an entry-level position in a related field. They can also move up to a senior event management role. After a few years, they may create their own event-planning business.

Having a checklist

Having a checklist when engaging the services of event planners is a great way to avoid stress at the last minute. While many companies skip over the pre-and post-event phases, planning is essential to ensure a successful outcome.

An event planning checklist is a comprehensive guide to all the tasks needed to ensure a successful event. It breaks down the event into its most essential components and helps you prioritize your homework to get all the necessary details.

The event planning checklist should be customized to the goals of the event. For instance, a significant corporate event may require a high-quality audio system. However, a more minor, family-friendly event might not. Utilizing space planning tools at this point can help you visualize the event’s arrangement and minimize any hiccups.

The event planning checklist also includes a post-event analysis. It can consist of a return on investment report. It helps you measure the results of your event and build upon your success.

Creating a timeline to meet every deadline

Creating a timeline to meet every deadline when engaging the services of event planners is a smart move. By doing so, you’ll ensure that you get it right while avoiding costly mistakes. You’ll also save yourself time and stress.

Planning an event requires having a clear understanding of what you’re doing. For instance, you’ll need to pick a venue and hire vendors. You’ll want to keep in touch with your vendors so they can give you the most up-to-date information. It can take some time, so plan on a buffer.

One of the most challenging parts of planning an event is coordinating multiple people and elements. Having a clear timeline will make this process a whole lot easier. By identifying the most critical tasks and assigning them a due date, you’ll avoid the pitfalls of a last-minute decision. You’ll also be more likely to stick to your budget.

In a nutshell, the timeline is an organizational chart of the steps involved in planning an event. It should include choosing a venue, securing an entertainment or keynote speaker, and determining the budget. For more significant events, this could span a year or more.

Having an integrated platform to plan your events

An integrated platform to plan your events is an excellent way to streamline your process. It can facilitate organizational operations and increase access to the required information. Thanks to this, you may also quickly combine your event management software with other applications. The most excellent integrations will enable you to give your attendees a smooth experience. This cloud-based event management solution offers a robust suite of tools to help you organize and manage tasks, schedule, and collaborate with colleagues. The platform allows you to control the entire event lifecycle, from registration to post-event reporting. It also includes a community of professional event organizers, various resources, and dedicated support. It is quick and easy to learn and use and offers many features.

3 Tips To Make Starting A Retail Store Successful

Image Credit: StockSnap from Pixabay.

Starting a retail store is still an attractive proposition, even with countless online competitors being set up regularly. The trick to this is knowing how to compete, and that all starts before you even open your doors. You’ll need to know how to make starting a retail store successful.

As obvious as that is, it can be difficult to get right. While you’ll naturally put a significant amount of effort into this, sometimes you mightn’t know what to focus on. Using a few retail startup tips could be more than enough to help with this. Three could be more than useful and should have an impact from the start.

How To Make Starting A Retail Store More Successful: 3 Top Tips

1. Get The Basics Right

For any retail store to be successful, it needs to get the basics right. From the best credit card terminals to having a business plan and sales strategy, quite a bit could fall into this. By making sure you get these perfected early, you can make opening your retail store as successful as possible.

Starting on these months before you plan on opening your retail store is recommended. It’ll make sure the opening and subsequent months go as successfully as possible. While that means spending an almost exhaustive amount of time on planning, you’ll reap the rewards when it’s finally open.

Even software plays a large role in this.

2. Get The Right Suppliers

You’ll naturally need suppliers when you’re starting your retail store. You shouldn’t simply settle for the first ones you come across, however. Make sure you find the right suppliers for your business, as they’ll end up offering much better terms and conditions.

That’s especially true over the long term, as you can build up trust and a track record with them. Make sure they’re able to meet your needs as you grow to prevent any problems in the future. By doing your due diligence, you shouldn’t have any supply chain issues as you grow and expand.

3. Think Online

Starting a retail store doesn’t have to mean choosing between brick-and-mortar stores and their online counterparts. It could be worth having somewhat of a hybrid. Having online offerings for your store could be enough to draw in more customers, as well as to cater to existing customers better.

You don’t even need to develop a full eCommerce store to take advantage of this. Even something as simple as an online catalog can be enough to gain some interest and foot traffic. Making your website actually work for you makes sure you’ll find and attract more customers.

How To Make Starting A Retail Store Successful: Wrapping Up

Figuring out how to make starting a retail store successful seems complicated and overwhelming. While there’s naturally some work involved, it shouldn’t be overwhelming. A few simple retail startup tips will more than help with making it easier.

Nailing the basics, getting the right suppliers, and even thinking online can all help more than you’d expect. You’ll see them pay off dividends in the long term, making them worth focusing on.

Learning With Liz Woods

I had been following Liz Woods, the founder of Ryemarkable Moms for a while now. When I heard she was starting classes for moms in midlife I was so excited to hear more. Learning With Liz Woods is an educational community where moms can navigate life’s biggest challenges…together!!!! All of the classes, curated by Liz are led by accomplished, caring women. There are multi-session classes as well as single-session classes and the topics are so interesting ranging from taking care of elderly parents to beginners sewing!! You can view all of the class options and sign up HERE.

About Liz

Liz Woods is the founder of Ryemarkable Moms, a social media community that highlights inspirational stories of moms living in Rye, NY.

Liz has consulted with hundreds of local businesses on ways to improve their social media strategies, and she is the Social Media Director for the Rye Chamber of Commerce.

Liz has lived in Rye for nine years, is the mom of four kids, and has a cat named Cuddles.

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Life Hacks Moms Can Use to Look After Their Newborns Better

Having a baby is hard work, and there is a lot to consider when you are looking to make the most of this as much as possible. Trying to understand some of the best and most effective ways of helping you to achieve this is so important. There are a lot of ideas that will help you when it comes to making the right choices here, and getting the best out of being a new parent. 

There is plenty that you need to keep in mind when you are looking to get this process sorted as much as possible, and there are plenty of ideas that will help you when you are looking at how you can make this better as much as possible. This is something that can help to improve your life as much as possible, and there are so many ideas that play a part in helping you to achieve this process as much as possible, and there are loads of ideas that will help you here. 

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Look After Yourself

Try to make sure you come up with some of the best ways of taking care of yourself, and this is something that plays a massive role in helping you to be a better parent. This is something that you are going to need to keep in mind when it comes to improving and enhancing your life, as well as being a better mother. It is important to come up with great ways of improving how you look after yourself, because self-care is such an invaluable part of the journey toward successful parenting. It is important to think about some of the best ways of being able to take care of yourself better as a new mother. 

Form a Support Bubble

Forming a support bubble is one of the best things you can do when it comes to improving your life as a new mother, and this is something that you need to focus on as much as possible. It is important to focus on some of the best ways of being able to get better support and guidance as a new mom, and this is why forming support bubbles can play a huge role in helping you make the most of this. Try to understand some of the best ways of being able to achieve this, and there are so many ideas that can help you to work on forming a support bubble with other new mothers, and this is something that plays a huge part in this process.

Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes

You must not be afraid to make mistakes as a new parent, and this is something that you need to try to make the most of as much as possible. There are so many examples of things that you need to try to get right when you are trying to excel as a new parent, and it is important to ensure that you try to learn from your mistakes where possible. You need to try to come up with some of the best ideas that are going to allow you to make the most of this. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes when you are a new parent, as you can learn from your mistakes and take them to new levels. 

Learn By Doing 

Being able to learn by doing is one of the best things that you need to make sure you get right as much as possible. This is something that you need to make the most of when you are trying to make the most of this, and learning by doing is vital. You have to focus on some of the best ideas that you’re going to need to work on when trying to improve your role as a parent, and this is something that plays a huge part in how you evolve and learn. The best way of learning how to do things that you need to do as a parent is to simply do them, and figure it out. This is one of the best approaches to take as a new mom if you want to look after your life better.

Focus on the Essentials First

There are a lot of ideas that play a role in helping you to improve your parenting skills, and being able to ace the essential elements of parenting is one of the best places to begin. This is something you need to try to make the most of as much as possible, and there are a lot of ideas that play a role in helping you to get this right as much as possible. Checking out articles like How Should A Diaper Fit: The Complete Guide For Parents can really help you to master some of these basics as much as possible. Try to understand some of the best ways of being able to focus on the essential elements of raising a newborn, and this is something you need to think about the best ways of doing this

Get the Right Stroller

Being able to make positive decisions as a modern mother is really important, and one of the best ways of being able to achieve this is to make sure you get the right stroller. You need to have something that your baby is going to spend a lot of time in, so it needs to be safe and secure as much as possible, and this is something that you need to try to make the most of. Try to find some of the best options for choosing the perfect stroller that can help you make the right choices to help look after your baby, and make your role as a mother better. 

Making sure you come up with some of the best ideas that are going to help you look after your newborn better and more effectively is so important, and there are plenty of ideas you can use that will help you here. By focusing on the essentials, as well as ensuring that you are in the best possible position to be raising a child, you give yourself a better chance to do this right. Try to think about some of the best ideas that play a part in helping you when it comes to looking after your newborns more effectively, and try to make sure you use this to your advantage as much as possible.

Have You Tried An At Home Hair Stylist

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During the pandemic, I met Kim Kasoff, a professional moble hair stylist. She previously worked in many high profile salons in Weschester and decided to go on her own and bring her services to her clients in the comfort of their own homes. Her services are incredible and she is extremely professional. She will come to your home and provide all of the same services that you would receive in your salon, hair cut, blow outs, color, etc. Kim makes herself available most days and will travel throughout Westchester county. I cannot tell you how life changing it has been to have the convenience of having Kim come to my house on a regular basis for all of my hair needs for the past couple of years. For more information or to book an appointment, contact Kim HERE.

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