It’s Monday here in the studio and I am happily recovering from my birthday last week.  One of the great things about getting older and wiser is that my expectations for my birthday have changed.  In many ways it is just another day.  But as the day goes along, I smile to myself when I remember that this of all days in the year is my day.  

And that means that I get to do whatever I want.  Which all you party animals out there will think is pretty boring.  But that is another great thing about being older and wiser.  I don’t care what anyone else thinks!

The day before the big day my son and his grandmother went shopping at the mall.  I knew it was for me because my son has never shopped for anything but video games in his entire life.  He came into the office an hour later with 2 wrapped gifts-one being my favorite body Shop Body Butter.  I acted surprised, (but really wasn’t as he gets me the same thing every year.) But when I opened the second gift, I really was shocked.  A new ipad.  And he even paid for half of it with his own money. This may not seem like a big deal, but teenaged boys rarely think of nice things that they can do for their mom. And it didn’t end there.  He even took me out to dinner. (I let him choose the restaurant.)

On the day itself two of my best friends took me to lunch at my favorite restaurant in Beverly Hills, Il Pastaio.  I rarely do lunch out during the week so it was really special.  Il Pastaio is the best for people watching and the food is always yummy.

Then there were all the flowers that arrived all through out the day.  From friends, dates and secret admirers.  A girl can never get too many flowers.  There were the gifts I bought for myself.  A lovely new Proenza Schouler bag from Barneys, which will be perfect for my New York trip next week.  A new set of luggage.  How did we all survive before the invention of 4 wheel suitcases?

Dinner was a casual get together with about 15 friends at Café Vida, in Pacific Palisades.  My other best friend organized it and brought party favors. My friend Paul brought cupcakes from Susie Cakes and a great time was had by all.  I was home by 9 pm.

In this age of social media bombardment, we are constantly blasted with images of our favorite designers living picture perfect lives.  From their pristine vacation homes, to their seemingly effortless ability to multi task motherhood and running their own businesses,  they appear to really have it all.

The real world is not like that.  I am all for branding the vision, but every time I look at these pages I just end up feeling depressed.  Not that I don’t have a great life.  I have many things to be grateful for. But my reality just doesn’t look like the glossy, glamorous pictures that I see.

Last week is a good example.  We have a strong presence on a national level and have been lucky enough to sell our jewelry to many people.  For the most part, the response has been great.  Our customers seem to love the affordable, great  designs that we offer.  But last week we bombed.  We had a big sale and the results were less than spectacular.  This doesnt happen very often but  it really affected me. It made me question my taste and my aesthetic.  It made me wonder if America was over me.  All the insecurities that I never want anyone to know about came rushing out,  leaving me in a word, depressed.

So then I start to think about life and what is really important.  I start to really count my blessings.  And I think about who is there when the s**t hits the fan.  Mary is such a friend.  Here she is wearing the Scarlett Earrings.  When  she admired them  I made a mental note and was so excited to give them to her for her birthday.  The fact that she really doesn’t  wear much jewelry made it even more special for me.

My girlfriends, or “posse”, have been there for all the ups and downs of my life, and I have been there for theirs.  A good girlfriend will let you complain about something until they are sick and tired of it, but they won’t tell you because they know that some day the situation is going to be reversed.  A good girlfriend will be excited for you and your new guy but she will be there long after the guy is gone.  A good girlfriend will tell you the truth, but in a way that doesn’t hurt your feelings.  A good girlfriend makes you laugh till you cry, and if you are crying she will make you laugh until everything  suddenly seems  not so bad.

So here is to girlfriends.  I know that I couldn’t live without mine.  I hope you have the same friendships in your life.

This last Friday was such an amazing day at the studio.  We had our first photo shoot with Michael Blank and were lucky enough to work with the beautiful Rebecca Valera.

For me as a designer, nothing is more fulfilling than to see my work on a beautiful woman and to have all my girls running around, laughing, and creating something amazing together.  It was truly a collaboration and I am so lucky to have such a creative team who put the shoot together so quickly and worked so hard. I cannot wait to start sharing some of these images with you.

I am so fortunate to have my own business.  I am a single mother and the whole reason I started Lisa Stewart Jewelry  was so that I could be there for my son.  That was 7 years ago and I cannot believe the journey that we have taken and how far we both have come.  It is exciting and sometimes a little bit scary being the boss but I would not have it any other way.  I have watched my son grow up, but what I didn’t realize is how much I would grow up too.  I take it one day at a time, try to put it all into perspective, remember what it truly important in life and most of all have fun!