My name is Elise. I live in San Diego, California with my husband Paul and our two young daughters, Ellerie and Piper.
When I started this blog in December 2005, I was a single girl in the middle of her junior year of college at USC. I was a business major and surrounded by a gaggle of great girlfriends. Today, my business major has come in handy and my girlfriends still surround me. Only now it's through email and sadly, we don't still live in a big sorority house.
After I graduated college I followed my heart to the east coast and moved in with my then boyfriend, Paul. It was the best decision I ever made. We lived together for a year and a half and then, in our kitchen, while wearing pjs and making dinner, Paul asked me to marry him.
We were married in April 2010. I would not change one thing about our wedding day. You can read all about how I DIYed it up here.
Amidst the falling in love, deciding to make a lasting commitment bits and cross-country military moves (Paul is a doctor in the US Navy) I kept blogging. And kept crafting. Soon my blog and my shop became a business that allowed me to forsake all other day jobs (and there were a lot before I found the right fit) and just do this (you can read my 15 part small business story here).
In June 2013, Paul and I welcomed Ellerie to our family and my heart burst and my life flipped upside down (in the hardest and the very best ways.) I currently split my time between being a full-time mama (to two special girls! Piper joined our family in November 2015) and a full-time business owner and I am grateful for the chance to do both. My biggest business project right now is called GET TO WORK BOOK, a day planner + goal setting journal and tools that help you get to work.
I wrote a book about goal-setting called Big Dreams, Daily Joys that was published in October 2019. You can pick it up everywhere books are sold. And be sure to check out the journal as well.
Before I had the chance to write a book, I wrote a lot right here. I am no longer posting daily (you can read more about this decision here) but I do hope you browse the archives. 9.75 years of blogging = many, many posts.
If you want to keep up with my more frequent posting, please subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Instagram @elisejoy.
With so much love, elise
p.s. got a question? check here.
