5 Things That Made a Difference to Piper

Today I'm happy to feature Piper of One Sydney Road, in the series 5 Things That Made a Difference. Piper is an entrepreneur who, late last year, opened a beautiful homewares and lifestyle goods online shop. I first discovered Piper's blog through Makeunder My Life. She was featured as the Dream Reporter, where she shared her weekly updates of her entrepreneurial journey. I found her posts to be so relatable and inspiring and it's been incredible to see how she's made her dreams a reality. Read on to find out what five things have positively influenced her life:

1. My hubby He’s by far my #1!!He’s my biggest cheerleader and a true optimist - he's the glass half-full to my sometimes glass half-empty thinking! He provides such unwavering support for all my dreams (even the far-fetched ones!) and is always there to make me laugh.

2. Dancing This has been a huge inspiration for me.It has influenced my life in so many ways and been a part of my life for so long, it’s hard to write it all down! I’ve been dancing since I was little…my dream growing up was to dance professionally, even star on Broadway (too bad I can’t sing in tune!!)I've been lucky enough to coach and teach some great dance teams and dance students which gave me the opportunity to stretch myself, gain confidence in being creative and work with people who have given me loads of inspiration!Teaching & choreographing also made me realize that there’s more than one way of achieving your dream!Think outside the box – there are always ways to do what you love!

3. My mom No matter what, she was always there encouraging me and saying I could do anything I wanted to do.She was a single mom with no college degree but she never let that stop her! She always amazed me with what she was able to accomplish and showed me that persistence & hard work can pay off! Sadly, I lost her to cancer a few years back and not a day goes by that I don't miss talking to her. But, I can still hear her telling me "you can do anything!!"

4. Blogging I can’t believe how much blogging has changed my life in such a short time.Not only has it provided me with a creative outlet, but I’m even more AMAZED by the wonderful people I’ve met through blogging.They are the most inspiring, supportive, creative people and all these friends/mentors/readers really gave me the support that I needed to start my own biz!I could honestly spend all day scrolling through blogs and just getting inspired by all the creativity out there!

5. Starting my own store / Visiting Australia These kind of go hand in hand for me.Visiting Australia was such a life changing experience – traveling to another country opened up my eyes and got the creative juices flowing!So it’s no surprise that this trip was also when I decided 100% to take the leap and finally do what I had spent years dreaming of – opening my own boutique.Starting my business has been exciting, terrifying, challenging, inspiring and the best thing I could have ever done!

5 Things That Made a Difference to Jami

This week's blogger participating in the series 5 Things That Made a Difference is Jamie of Imagine.  Jami is a fabulous emerging interior designer with her own design business.  Jami and I are both from the LA area so I've had the pleasure of meeting her in person. It's funny because when we first met we kind felt like on some level we knew each other from reading each other's blogs so it was so easy to form and instant friendship :-) I'm sure many of you have experienced that when meeting fellow bloggers offline who you have a shared interest with.

Read on to find out what five things have positively influlenced Jami's life:

1. Heading West. Leaving the frozen tundra (a.k.a Minnesota) where I was born and raised and moving to Southern California 6 years ago. The California sunshine has done me good. I always knew ever since I was a young girl that I was born in the wrong state and that it was only a matter of time that I'd go in search of the heat and sunshine.

2. Building my own interior design company. I didn't necessarily think that I was going to be a designer when I grew up, but I always knew that I was not going to be cut out for the regular 9-5 career. I'm thankful everyday that I can wake up and say that I love what I do (and get paid for it!).

3. Going back to school. I received my Bachelor's degree in Sociology a "few" years back, continued to bar tend after spending a good chunk of change on that Bachelor's degree that I never ended making good use of and decided after moving to California it was time again to hit the books...or drafting table! Design school and earning my Interior Design degree has completely transformed my life and the way I see design. I would never, ever have had the courage or support (teachers, mentors, and fellow students) to start my own design company if I didn't have the comfort of knowing that I was formally trained and educated in design.

4. Blogging. This is a huge one. Blogging has tremendously changed my life. Not only have I met some of my best friends and like-minded individuals through the blogging world, it has been THE best creative outlet for me. I could honestly spend hours creating blog posts, scrolling through my blog roll and pinning pictures all. day. long.!!

5. Yoga. This is my release. Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. I've been practicing yoga 7 years and I honestly can't imagine not going one week without a session. I have learned that it is important for me to "turn off" and let the breathing take over.