Growing up, I always wanted to be a journalist. I loved shows like Oprah, Inside Edition, and Access Hollywood, and I would pretend to interview guests around the house all the time.
In high school, I got my first chance to work on a newspaper and graduated with my quill and scroll, a National Honor Society for journalists. I moved to Lawrence to attend the University of Kansas and study journalism, but in working two or three jobs and going to school, I quickly found myself at a time deficit and had to take a break.
Three kids and 23 years later, I have a fantastic real estate career, allowing me to creatively market and advertise properties for my clients in multiple states, as I’m licensed in Kansas, Missouri, and California.
In producing Crystal’s Spot Mag, along with the interviews we conduct on Crystal’s Spot Podcast, I also get to fulfill my dream of having the journalistic career that I thought was long past.
While crafting this magazine over the years, doubt, fear, and Imposter Syndrome have crept in. I’ve often chosen to publish others’ work and avoid the criticism I may receive with my own, organic voice. That’s not the case any longer!
I am so excited to share the newly-inspired Crystal’s Spot Mag, where I choose stories that hopefully inspire and educate, as well as include things that just make me happy. I have always admired Oprah and the relationship she creates with her audience. And, through this small publication, I believe I can influence tone, vision, and content, while stepping into making my dream a reality.
I hope you enjoy the inspiring women in this issue. With my newfound self-permission, I’m excited to showcase the new feel and energy of Crystal’s Spot Mag - Celebrating Women in Business!
Crystal Swearingen, Founder | Editorial Director Luxury Lifestyle Limitless
For this issues Real Estate tips I asked Certified Master Inspector Brett Larue to discuss fall maintenance tips for home owners and most common defects in residential home inspections.
In the fall it is very important to make sure your gutters get frequent cleanings all the way until the last leaves fall. Maintaining gutters is a crucial component of proper home maintenance and can even be the difference between a wet and a dry basement!
Another good fall maintenance item is cleaning air conditioning condensers (the outside unit.) Make sure to rinse off all four sides, and even shine a flashlight inside to see if that needs attention too!
Lastly, take a look at your trees and make sure you don’t have any branches over hanging the roof. If you do, it’s probably a good time to contact your favorite tree trimming service to get them taken care of!
What are the three most common problems that arise in a home inspection?
1. Grading, grading, grading! Improper grading is one of the most common defi ciencies found during a home inspection. It is also one of the most crucial things to maintain. Grading should be maintained at a minimum slope of 5° away from the house at all locations, and at least 6 inches in the first 10-feet. The only exception to this is concrete patios in driveways, which must slope at 2°, or 1/4” per foot.
2. Loose toilets. Too often when flooring is replaced in a bathroom, the contrac tor (or homeowner) will not reinstall the toilet properly. Toilets should be securely fastened to their flange so that no movement or “wobble” is present. If a toilet is loose, it needs to be removed and re-set with a new wax ring.
3. Improperly vented bathroom fans. If a house was built prior to the year 2000, it is very likely the bathroom vent fans discharge into the attic. Beginning around that time, building codes changed and contractors began venting them outside. This is due to the amount of moisture present in bathroom air.
What is one thing a home owner can do to preserve the integrity of their home?
If I could recommend just one thing that homeowners can do to maintain the integrity of their home, it would be to be diligent when it comes to maintaining a proper grade and drainage of storm water (gutters). Improper grading and drainage is the cause of so many foundation issues as well as water intrusion issues. Grading and drainage is even important if you don’t have a basement, as excessive water can cause the foundation to heave.
We cannot often prevent that wave, that feeling of dread, worry, insecurity,and fear that sets in when we feel uncertain about our future. Our guts turn,our chest gets heavy, and we want to run and hide or just shut everyone out.We lay awake at night with racing thoughts or relentlessly diving into prob-lem-solving. Anxiety, when present, feels inescapable. It is incredibly commonfor entrepreneurs and business operators to have this experience from time totime with different intensities.
It is functional to some extent. That drive has led so many professionals to seekmore, more flexibility, more positive impact, more freedom, and more incomethrough starting their businesses. Climbing the professional ladder is the same
Photo by Anthony Gonzalez
brain function that can cause us to overthink, ruminate and catastrophize. Ul-timately, our minds try to make sense of the world around us and work to pre-vent discomfort and pain. So, when we don’t have answers to important questions, our survival brain will start writing a narrative that explains why or howsomething may be happening. This is difficult because it is often filtered throughour insecurities, projecting the worst possible outcome.
However common this experience may be, none of us want to feel this way.We can strive to practice mindfulness of thought, which helps observe ourthoughts with less emotional attachment to perceived or anticipated outcomes.Our interpretation of information significantly shapes the emotions we takein. If we can develop a more robust ability to focus on “the facts” and less onwhat these facts may mean, we can reduce our vulnerability to waves of anx-iety. When we have a thought, we can acknowledge it for what it is, a simplethought that has entered our mind. We work not to judge the thought as goodor bad, but rather just something that is present in our mind. This practice canhelp to reduce the emotional reactivity to the perceived meaning of thesethoughts.
We may have difficulty letting go of thoughts at times. That is understandable.We can take two steps to alleviate this: “Check the Facts” and “Reframe.”Check the facts challenges us to refocus on what we ACTUALLY know about asituation that may create anxiety. Our minds will write stories about our per-ceived failures or rejection without any evidence supporting that thought. Mind-fully focusing on what we know, what we can verify with our five senses, canhelp to work back from the ledge of fear.
Reframing allows us to ask if there is a different, more effective way to inter-pret the situation. The most successful way to change the anxious response is toreexamine and reinterpret the outcomes, motivations, and consequences of a given situation.
And when our bodies are reacting strongly toanxiety, we must first calm our central nervoussystem down before we can alter the way wethink or feel in a situation. In previous articles,we explored deep, mindful breathing exercisesas a constructive way to regulate our bodies.
Physical activity and exercise can help to use upthe stress chemicals flowing through our bodiesand help to reset.
Anxiety is normal, and we all experience it. Andlearning to observe our thoughts without judg-ment can be the most effective way to regain asense of control when it feels lost.
Anthony Gonzalez, LCSW, QS
and your family have the home your
L I C E N S E D I N K S , M O , & C A
"Crystal
absolutely amazing! We were beyond
the knowledge, flexibility, patience, kindness,
ethic while helping us purchase
her agency to each and every
a Realtor that truly works
desires.
are forever grateful!"
~ Shanice Varando-Gaskins
S. thetics Med Spa hosted an end-of-summer boogie night event to raise money for Bert Nash Community Health Center. At this event, through raffle prize packages, the Lawrence community out did themselves with record-setting numbers. photos courtesy of Lashay Photography
I recently sat down with Jen McDonald, one of the founders of Garden Girls TXand a client of Your Brand Amplified®. Jen and her partners, Jill Oliver and Nicole Shah, started the company earlier this year after working for other compa-nies. They realized that not only did they love collaborating, but their specialtywas an area of opportunity for the Houston, Texas market and beyond! In theshort time we’ve worked together on public relations; the YBA team has successfully placed interviews for Jen in publications as diverse as the Washington Post,Martha Stewart Living, Homes and Gardens, Gardening Etc., and many more.
Here is a little more about Jen and the Garden Girls TX brand:
We offer turnkey design and installation of kitchen gardens to residential andcommercial clients in Houston, TX. We also teach our clients how to become successful gardeners by educating them on what to plant each season, train andtrellis their plants, and more. We offer seasonal workshops, a monthly blog andnewsletter, and tips on Facebook and Instagram. I also write a garden columnfor Piney Point Living Magazine and occasionally appear on Houston Life TV tooffer garden tips and tricks.
Gardening can be very intimidating. Anyone can learn to garden if you ap-proach it as a skill to be learned rather than a talent you inherently have or don’thave. I started gardening just a few years ago. During the pandemic, as I homeschooled my kids, I sat beside them, learning everything I could about plantlife cycles, soil composition, and drip irrigation. I became certified in organicvegetable gardening and then realized that I could help those in the same boatthat I was.
My goal as a Garden Girl is to help people realize their dream of becomingsuccessful gardeners by designing a manageable, productive raised bed gardenand teaching them how to maintain it.
We are the fairy godmothers of gardening with a preppy, fun twist. As moms,we are used to multi-tasking and wearing multiple hats. We’ve become highlyefficient at getting things done the first time correctly, and gardening is no exception! The three of us are experienced, knowledgeable gardeners who haveyears of experience and hundreds of garden designs and installations underour belts. We know what grows well in Houston and what doesn’t. We strive to
make gardening an enjoyable experience for every client by designing a gardenbased on their lifestyle and goals. Then we install their dream garden from startto finish, usually in a day or two. Upon completion, we teach our clients how tocare for it—using only the highest quality materials, soil, organic starter plants,and seeds. We save our clients time, backaches, and anxiety. We also providecontinued education along the way, with blog and newsletter tips and special events.
Gardening is a form of therapy. After losing my best friend of 35 years sudden-ly, I found that simply working in the garden~weeding, planting, harvesting,became a safe space for my mind to work out whatever it needed to. There isa deeper connection to the soul when you work in the dirt, a connection to theEarth and a reminder that even in the hardest times, a seed becomes a flower. I am passionate about sharing the unseen benefits of gardening and wish to shareit with schools to start more school gardens and outdoor classrooms. Children, inparticular, need a safe space to find comfort. Nature provides this. The gardenreminds us that even the smallest seed has the potential to become somethingincredible.
I didn’t grow up gardening, although we did have a garden. My father was thefamily’s gardener, and even as a small child, I remember how big and beautifulit was to have giant sunflowers and corn stalks dancing in the breeze. My grandparents were Russian immigrants that came to the United States and, like somany others, found work that required little knowledge of the English language.They worked in apple orchards and had their own productive garden (out of ne-cessity). Gardening should be a skill passed down through generations. When Italk to friends and clients, many remember growing up in similar scenarios. Theyfondly recall their grandparent’s or parents’ gardens, but somehow this skippedover us becoming gardeners. My goal is to bring gardening back! To incorporate it into daily life, not out of necessity, but out of choice. Teaching our childrenwhere our food comes from and how it grows is another example of why I wantto raise awareness of the importance of starting school gardens and adding it tothe school curriculum.
I was first introduced to Anisa Fowler from her publicist Brandi Lynn. She shared her story with me and, when I downloaded “Covered,” which was a Gospel Billboard charting song, I knew I wanted to learn more about her journey. Over the summer, Ms. Fowler was on tour opening for Gospel sensation Pastor Smokie Norful, and she took time out of her schedule to share more about herself with our audience.
Crystal: Can you share with our audience how you got your start in music?
Anisa: I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember and have known all my life that mu sic would play a special role in my life. I became really serious about music when I entered high school and have been pursuing this dream ever since. I’ve sung in various groups and choirs growing up. I released my first single in 2014 called ‘Your Love’. I ran out of funds and almost gave up. But in 2019 a good friend from high school (Joshua Arnoux) called me and said he wanted to sign me as his first artist to his label (RNU Records). Under his leadership, I released ‘You Reign’ in 2020 and the billboard indicator top 30 hit ‘Covered’ in 2021. We then went on to release my EP Anisa The Next Chapter July 15, 2022 and we have been promoting and pushing this music with the highest level of excellence!
Crystal: Did you start singing in church, and who were your role models and singers who inspired you along the way?
Anisa: I started singing in church and I still sing in the church as I lead worship at two churches in New York. I sing about my life and the God who gets me through it. The team of producers I work with bring the flavor and spice. Growing up I listened mostly to Yolanda Adams. Now I listen more to Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Jekalyn Carr and Kierra Sheard-Kelly. One day I hope to sing with all four of them!
Crystal: What have you had to overcome in your journey in the music industry and what lessons have you learned on the way?
Anisa: The music industry is full of opinions from others. If you don’t learn to overcome those and be firm in who you are, you’ll crumble under the pressure of it all. I’ve learned to take what’s helpful and leave what just isn’t in the season I’m in. Everyone is entitled to their opin ion. But I’ve learned I don’t have to subscribe to any of it. There are opinions about your appearance, status, gift, and the list goes on and on. You have to be firm to succeed.
Crystal: What would you like our readers to know about you and your music?
Anisa: Music is my way of testifying. It’s medicine to me and I want that when people listen to it, they get a taste of the medicine as well. I pray over every song and I ask God to use it to heal. I’ve been through trauma in church, trauma in school and trauma in my relationships. The world offers lots of medicine for trauma. But I choose music. This world is so broken. We all need a dose of this Jesus medicine.
Crystal: For our aspiring artist reading, what is a business fundamental that you have learned that you would like to share?
Anisa: Every artist has to spend time figuring out who they are. If you don’t have a grip on your identity, you will be pulled and pushed into every direction and lose yourself. Know who you are. Be sure about it. And unapologetically be YOU!
Then, you must understand that your artistry has a business side to it and take to time to know the business. Make sure to hire people for your team that specialize in the business of it all. You can’t be so in love with what you do that you don’t pay attention to the business side. You’ll be in love and broke!
Crystal: Where can our readers find your music and follow you online?
Anisa: My website is www.AnisaFowler.com. You can follow me on IG and FB @AnisaWorships. My EP “Anisa The Next Chapter” is available everywhere digital music is sold. My motivational YouTube channel is ‘Annie’s Blue Couch’. Stay tuned for my Live Recording coming on October 7, 2022. It’s going to be an EPIC night!
As a National Mortgage Lender, I have a passion for helping people purchase their new home, refinance their current loan or build their dream home. In addition, I am a Certified Military Home Specialist and have the privilege of assisting both service members and veterans through the VA loan process. Whether you are a seasoned or first time homebuyer, I am dedicated to guiding you every step of the way.
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Mud & Lotus is an outdoor soaking tub and sauna tucked away in a private garden in downtown Lawrence, Kansas.
Reserve an hour for yourself and/or your friends. Book online at mud-lotus.com or Call 785-371-1141
First, I want to applaud you for making it to the cool, cozy, and colorful fall season. Summer felt long and almost like she overstayed her welcome, but we learned a lot! Going forward into these cooler months, we will have a more re laxed vibe. I’m feeling freedom is the message this next few months. If it sounds fun, do it; if it sounds exciting, do it; if it sounds like a new experience, say yes! We’re over making choices out of safety and control. This warm golden energy about to flow this Autumn is taking us to new heights. For those of you interested in challenging your old beliefs, you’re right on track. Keep pushing forward even though this is way out of your comfort zone. The reward will be epic! I’ve never been so excited about fall before! I feel lots of abundance and prosperity without a lot of effort. So sit back, grab a glass of wine and watch the universe show us how rewarding it is to let things go. Enjoy the fresh fall air and appreciate the view along the way. We all have enjoyable times ahead of us. It’s time to take it all in and be grateful along the way.
Happy fall y’all! Best Wishes, The Southern Psychic Angie CampbellThe last couple of years have been extraordinary, to say the least. Our world and community shut down and nobody expected how the months that followed would change everything we once considered normal. Amidst the chaos, one local business found themselves flourishing as a result of the pandemic. Ruff House, a woman owned and ran brand of stationery and lifestyle goods that encapsulates both Ruff House Print Shop (the creative arm) and Ruff House Paperie (the retail arm), took the time to rebrand and grow despite the unnavigated roads of the pandemic. Their doors opened back up two months after shuttering and they came out the other side thriving, not just surviving.
Jill Shephard, the lady boss behind Ruff House, turned her “someday” dream into a reality in 2009. She bought an antique letterpress manufactured in 1915, quit her day job as a designer and opened Ruff House Print Shop. Five years later, she stepped up her solopreneur game from out of her basement print shop and into gorgeous downtown Lawrence when she opened up her stationery boutique store: Ruff House Paperie.
Today, there are fifteen women who make up the Ruff House team. They spend their days creating products, fulfilling orders, and chatting up local customers. “Each product we create expresses our love of adventure, the outdoors, community, and positivity,” says Jill.
Their best-selling line of gifts and stationery features hand-operated letterpress printed artwork created by them and has appeared in over 3,000 independent boutiques around the world, as well as select national retailers like Anthropologie and Paper Source. In addition to office stationery such as journals, planners, greeting cards and pencils, they also create home goods such as notepads, meal planners, recipe books, key chains and enamel pins. You truly never know what you will find within the walls of 729 Massachusetts Street (or online!).
“The first moments of the pandemic were full of stress and worry. Am I going to lose the business I have poured more than a decade of hard work into? What will happen to my staff? How will I pay my bills? As we closed our doors and business came to a halt, I spent the next two months rebranding and working hard to make sure I came out on the other side better than before. We restructured, splitting my wholesale busi ness and my boutique business into two brands. We built two brand new e-commerce websites to support both brands, and then went full-steam ahead with both until we were able to open back up. It has been a wild ride since then. We went from 4 employees to 15. We took our wholesale accounts from 500 to over 3000. We expanded our local footprint by shifting the Print Shop into a warehouse to handle the manufac turing and fulfillment demands. All while continuing to navigate supply chain shortages; demanding creative solutions for material sourcing; increases in supply cost and operating costs, delays from vendors, and work er shortages. I am immensely grateful to still be standing after the last two years and even more thankful to be thriving.”
“Being ‘the boss’ is the most stressful part of owning a business for me. When I began, I just wanted to make pretty paper things and sell enough to pay my bills. Then I got too busy to do it alone and went “Hey, do you want to come help make pretty paper things with me?” And I really feel like that’s how we ended up here today! We are definitely a big family who has figured it all out together. I love that something I creat ed is now providing a space for 14 other women to grow, thrive, and create friendships together.”
“The products we make are inspired substantially by current trends and personal experiences, shaped by our community in a small and wonderful town. We love to create things that are positive, and inspired by the outdoors! As to what motivates my creations, I am motivated every day to provide a good example of determination to my daughters. It is important for me that they see the direct result of hard work, when you ‘stick with it’ through the challenges of entrepreneurship. As much as I want my little ones to learn from my example, my staff benefits from it directly, because it is no longer just me and this thing I am doing. We are now a big family, who all rely on the success of Ruff House to support our lives. Sheer grit and a daily mantra of ‘keep going’ has gotten me, and us, to where we are now.”
“Always be a student. Absorb any and all information you can about your industry, business and marketing. Outside of that, my best advice is to stay flexible, be optimistic and realize that business is hard. No matter who you are and what industry you are in - it’s going to be hard. Be willing to consider all of the opportunities that come your way and not be too rigid with what you imagine your business to be some day. I never would have dreamed 13 years ago that this would be where I am sitting now.”
Lawrence Lady Boss Project was built to connect and net work lady bosses in both Lawrence and the surrounding communities. Once a quarter we bring you Networking Night Out events featuring local businesses both big and small. Find us on Facebook at Lawrence Lady Boss Project for more information.
