sponsor feature: alyssa of oh hey, hooray!

I'm so excited to introduce to you Alyssa of Oh Hey, Hooray! She and her husband, Jason, are following their dreams in Colorado roasting coffee and selling vintage pretties. Be sure to check out her Etsy Shop as well as her husband's coffee shop to get all the latest!

Tell me a little bit about yourself

Questions like these are always a little difficult for me for two reasons. First, I am an over-sharer. I am a big picture type of person so when I am sharing things, I just naturally include enough detail to get the whole picture. Second, I analyze quite a bit and overthink questions. (Can you see what I am talking about?) I had lived my whole life in Texas until my husband and I moved to Denver, CO, last year. Despite my upbringing and many years in the Lone Star State, people constantly think that I am from the north. I apparently have a really strange accent. Maybe due to my dislike for most country music or my love of accents (specifically those heard in Europe). Somehow along the way, I developed strange inflections. I'd like to think it is charming, others like to compare me to The Nanny (one outspoken non traditional college student in my college speech class...to be exact). Jason and I live on the top floor of a beautiful cottage home with curved ceilings and endless whimsy. We specifically relocated so that Jason could start a coffee roasting company (Commonwealth Coffee) and I could enjoy 4 actual seasons.

Why Did You Start Your Own Blog / Business?

I grew up as the daughter of an entrepreneur. As a daddy's-girl, I would sit with him and talk about his ideas, business, and my ideas. At the age of 6, I turned my Mimi's living room into a shoe store where I sold her shoes back to her for 10 cents/shoe. Implementing potentially profitable ideas was natural to me. After Jason and I got married, I stopped my full time job in order to pursue Counseling in graduate school. I began my Etsy shop shortly after (this also being a natural fit: I love finding treasures and thanks to my Mimi, I have a love for vintage fashions). The blog came along the start of this year. As silly as it sounds, we were living in the basement of my sister-in-law's home and I was having sun withdraws working down there all day. I wanted a creative and exciting reason to explore and take photos. It had been something I wanted to do anyway in order to share our adventures with people back in Texas, but the impetus was definitely the need to expand out of my "basement-slumps."

If you could pass on a piece of advice what would it be?

There are too many lessons I have learned or am learning that I would gladly share (authenticity, pride, joy). However, one that my mom instilled in me as a child and that has rung true in my blogging and shop is: Don't quit. The words are so simple, but the action takes amazing courage. I have wanted to quit because: things weren't selling, others were better, I wasn't meeting the standard I had for myself, things moved too slow and I didn't think I could do it anymore. I would spend weeks/months in a mental state of moping over how things were instead of focusing that energy on pushing/changing/pursuing my dream even harder. Deciding to pursue your dreams takes amazing courage, but the process of continuing even when things get difficult is where your character shines. Quitting is easy, but it can become a detriment to trying new things. Remember why you pursued your dreams in the first place and attack those desires to give up with the exact same passion.

Anything else you would like to say?

Every life is full of adventures and amazing stories. Always make it a priority to experience the excitement in your own life and be present to the people surrounding you.

Giveaway

Alyssa is kind enough to offer one lucky reader 40% off any purchase in her Etsy shop as well as a bag of whole bean coffee that Jason roasts from Commonwealth Coffee. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and one winner will be chosen at random using Rafflecopter within the week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for sponsoring with me, Alyssa, and for sharing a little bit of your story with us :)