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When a customer told us that January through March are longgggg months for her because it’s cold, dark early, and she doesn’t get a lot of time outside, we got to thinking and put this post together with some indoor activities you can do with your kids during these long, cold months.
Come visit us in store to shop our children’s section for supplies for your cold weather indoor activities or shop online at shop.willowmarieandco.com.
Ā Ā Ā 
https://willowmarieandco.com/2018/04/27/meet-the-willow-girls/
Hi! Iām Michelle Long, a mom of two beautiful boys ages 2 and 22. The age gap sounds crazy, right? It is a bit crazyā¦ here is my story.
I became a mom at the age of 20 and thought that I had it all figured out. I bought a house, secured a full-time job turned career and had a beautiful blue-eyed baby boy with the sweetest personality.
Although I struggled as a young mom trying to balance it all, I always made ends meet and made things work. I didnāt always know the best thing to do but I always tried to do my best.
My sweet little boy played soccer, loved riding his bike, being outdoors, learning and playing with his friends. He was a silly boy that couldnāt sit still, which lead to so many phone calls home from school…
Before I knew it, my sweet little boy had turned into a teenager who hated rules. I had to make a lot of difficult decisions during this period of my life (and difficult is putting it lightly) to keep him safe and [in my opinion] to save his life.
These hard decisions and rough times seemed to change me as a person. I found myself sleeping less, laughing less, isolating myself, even beating myself up and questioning every parenting decision I ever made.
During this time, I met [my soon to be husband] Pat. Pat saw the struggles I was having as a mom and some challenges I was facing in my career. Around the same time, he was also facing some difficulties. So together we decided to offer a fresh start for all of us by moving to the beach which is what led me to Lewes.
Since I moved to Lewes, great things have happened to me. Iāve been able to live out my dream of working in a creative environment and owning my own business. I spend my days merchandising two of the stores I own as well as refinishing furniture, and I love it!
Meanwhile, life had another blessing in store for me – I became a second chance mommy. Pat and I now have a rambunctious, beautiful and funny little toddler.
Being a new mom at the age of 40 has made me yearn for all of the things I missed out on when I was a young, first time mom. Due to a lack of resources (time & money) the first time around, I couldnāt do some of the fun bonding activities that I now have the opportunity to do.
I became so passionate about motherhood and mother/child bonding experiences that I made the decision to open a 3rd store – a childrenās boutique that also has a space for mommy and me classes. This is what brought me to open Willow Marie & Co., and it has empowered me to share my story.
Iām excited to see this dream unfold and to meet other moms who also want to have the fun bonding experiences with their little ones.
I lost a bit of myself during those hard times but am working on becoming everything I was. Watch out as Shelly gets her groove back and becomes as funny, witty, clear minded and as fun as ever.
Iām a wife and a mom as well as a survivor. After all that Iāve been through, I know that I am strong, hard-working, determined and have the perseverance to make anything work.
If you have any questions, just ask!
Hi. Iām Ashlee Lessner, and here is a little bit about my life.
The most important thing to me in life is my family. I try to live selflessly and to be kind. When I was growing up, it wasnāt exactly a perfect childhoodā¦ Although my parents tried their hardest to give me the best possible life, life sometimes has a way of making itās own rules.
My parents had always struggled financially but when I was 11 years old, my dadās ābig breakā came in the form of a supervisor role at a company on the eastern shore. So just like that everything I knew was about to change. We uprooted our home from the only place Iād ever known in Maryland and made the move to Delaware.
It can be hard to start fresh at any age, but I managed. For the most part, everything seemed perfect – I settled into school, made new friends, and could see that my parents were finally getting ahead in life.
But again things were about to change in the blink of an eyeā¦. it was only two years later, but the economy was in a bad place. My dad ended up being laid off, and life really took a turn. My father struggled to find a job, but always remained positive. During this rough patch, I learned that everyone handles stress differentlyā¦ my mother turned to alcohol to cope and my parents marriage was severely on the rocks. What had started off as a dream come true financial opportunity for my family had turned into our worst nightmareā¦ as a 13 year old girl, the situation made me feel like I had to grow up over nightā¦ things happened that were very hard for me to understandā¦ our electric was shut off, cars repossessed and we almost lost our home to foreclosure.
Despite all of this, my dad became my best friend, and the person I learned everything from. Throughout all of the crazy, rough times, I took note that my dad wouldnāt quit. His perseverance was like none other – life would knock him down but he always got back up. During the recession, my dad was giving up his life for me to survive, and I was willing to do the same.
I gave up my teenage fun and started working a full time job. I walked every dog in our development and babysat every kid on the block just so I could help my dad with whatever bills I could. After a few years of what felt like torture, things finally began to resolve for our family. My parents worked out their marriage and my dad landed a solid job. I graduated high school and started college.
Going into college, I always knew I wanted to work with kids so I majored in elementary education. Little did I know that I was about to be educated really quickly on children. I was 18 years old and expecting my first child – Leila Brielle. As a single mother, I decided to take a break from school so I could focus on my biggest priority, my new baby girl.
During this time, I met the love of my life who might also be the biggest pain in my ass – Travor. They arenāt lying when they say that life flashes before your eyes and before I knew it, I was a mom of a two year old, newly engaged, and back in school working on my degree in nursing this time.
Thenā¦ motherhood came knocking at my door again. Travor and I were expecting our second little blessing – Kinsley Willow. It was extremely exciting for us because we are both only children. We knew we would love to be able to see the bond between siblingsā¦ it is really a beautiful thing.
At this point in my life, I was really discovering who I was, but some days I would compare my life to others and beat myself upā¦ I would question my decisions – was I making the right choices? But over time, I began to realize that all of my pain and struggle had ultimately lead to triumph. Because my father had taught me to count my blessings, work hard, and be loyal, and I have always tried to stand by those things. These things that I learned through the hardships are what have brought me to where I am today.
Compared to others, I may not have had it all, but I know I didnāt have it bad. I may have had less of material things but I had so much love in my heart and the journey taught me so much. I learned with joy comes pain, with pain comes motivation and with motivation you can fulfill your dreams.
Over the last few years my family and I have loved and we’ve lost. We’ve struggled and we’ve gained. In the mist of all of that, there was a time when I lost sight of my true self and the things that are important in life and will ultimately make me happy. So, Iāve decided to push forward and reach for my dreams.
My fiancĆ© Travorās cousin Brynn is a girl boss business owner. After talking with her about my goals, she helped pull together four women with the same level of passion to create Willow Marie & Co.
The āWillowā portion of our boutique name came from Travor & Brynnās grandfather – William. Marie was Michelleās grandmother who raised her from the age of four. Some of the most influential people in our lives may no longer be with us physically, but we know they are here spiritually wishing us luck, and reminding us not give up.
I am thrilled to be working with three other women to channel our collective hardships into opening a business that offers a one of a kind experience for all our customers. At Willow Marie, we believe in women empowering each other, and I cannot wait to see how our morals and individual passions bring each of our dreams to lifeā¦
xoxo,
Ashlee
@ashleemarie_xoxo
Girlboss. Badass. Wonder Woman. Hard to Handle. Tough as Nails. Iām known as a lot of things, but Iām simply just me – Brynn Byerlyā¦ a girl building her empire.
From the moment I wake up in the morning, itās as if my feet never touch the ground. My mind is a beautiful, chaotic mess made up of dreams, goals, wisdom, love, and determination that keeps me and everyone around me, on their toes!
From the time I was a little girl, my desire to thrive has always come naturally. I want to be the best. I want to do the best. Occasionally, when I have time, I want to look the best āŗ.
Iāve always felt that life is not worth living unless you are living it as the best version of yourself. Growing up, I was surrounded by an incredible family that loved and encouraged beyond measure. My parents worked their butts off to make a more than comfortable life for my brother and I. They are two of my biggest role models. I watched them relish the happy times and persevere during the hard times. When I was 17, my life changed…
My dad was a casualty of a horrific construction accident, and we werenāt sure if he would survive. By the grace of God, he is alive but he now lives with a traumatic brain injury. Until you have witnessed the after effects first hand, you have no idea how life changing this can be. This experience made me an angry person. I watched my parents struggle. I watched my mom triple her workload to make ends meet. I watched my dad struggle just to live anything remotely close to a normal life in those first few years after his accident.
I like to think that I channeled my anger into something more positive – being a workaholic. After my fatherās accident, I wanted my parents to know they could count on me financially if the situation ever arose. I was young, working a very high stress job, but making good money. While I was in that job, my high school sweetheart [and now husband], Richard encouraged me to pursue other work that would take less of a toll on me. He knew I needed some creativity in my life. He also knew that I longed to be my own boss and live my own dream.
As I began to build my own dream with Richardās encouragement, the other two most important people in my life, my mommom and poppop, were the backbone to the venture that was about to become my greatest blessing – my first business, Salvaged.
Being self-employed themselves for a number of years, they brought their wisdom, guidance, and financial help that allowed me to turn a dream into a reality. In 2012, Richard and I were able to open Salvaged in a cute little barn in Lewes. Shortly thereafter, I was blessed to meet my business partner Michelle.
With our combined forces and the support of our local community, we expanded and grew Salvaged into a local hot spot. A few years after Salvaged opened, I again partnered with my grandparents and opened a new store right next door known as Haute Interiors. We quickly become the localās favorite for trendy, affordable furniture. I felt like my life was together and our businesses were thriving beyond my wildest dreams.
I was content and felt happy and proud to be a part of a local community where we could partner and encourage each other during an unstable economy, but in 2015, my life took another turn which sent me into a downward spiral that I was in no way prepared forā¦ My poppop, the backbone of our family, our business, and one of my best friends, was taken from us by the ugly disease we know as cancer. He went into the hospital for one thing and never made it out. In one week, he was goneā¦ and my anger was back.
I stayed incredibly angry and sad for a long time. I began losing my passion, my drive, and ultimately, myself. Grief is a hard feeling to adjust to. I didnāt go into work for a long time because it made me sad to go to one of the last places I saw my poppop happy. With the encouragement of my business partner Michelle, I realized the only way to get back into the groove of things was to do the one thing I was avoiding – head back to the very last place I saw him.
The day I went back to work, I vowed to myself to always do what he would have wanted. Whatever decisions I have to face or choices I have to make, I think what he would tell me to do. He was the hardest working man I know, the most loyal, the most honest, and my favorite human being in this entire world.
Now I not only work hard because I want to be the best version of myself but also because I want to be the best version of myself for him. I know he is watching me…
Fast forward a few years and in addition to Salvaged and Haute Interiors, I am now a co-owner of HOUSE by Salvaged located in Berlin, MD, which has been another fantastic opportunity to be involved with a small, local community that has a passion for supporting their small businesses.
As a girl boss always striving to reach that next level, I made the decision to be a partner in our newest venture, Willow Marie & Co. The four of us are all strong, hardworking, determined women, and are a force to be reckoned with.
We have all struggled, all for different reasons, and are looking to become the women we once were. I like to think my poppop played a hand in this. His name is William and thus inspired the āWillowā in our name. He guided me in this direction because he knew I needed to heal and these were the women I needed to do it with. They will help me, I will help them, and along the way we hope to help and connect with the other women in our community.
Whatever your reason is, Willow Marie & Co. can be your place. Iām looking forward to growing and connecting with other women, while giving them a place to feel happy, feel pretty, feel loved, and most importantly, feel empowered.
xoxo,
Brynn
Wait so… the mom who always wears yoga pants is now part owner of an on trend clothing boutique? That’s right friends… I’m done having children and ready to feel human again.
Prior to my decade of wearing predominantly yoga pants, I used to absolutely love fashion. I’m told that this infatuation basically started in utero. I’ve heard so. many. times. that I entered the world with a strong opinion on a multitude of things, one of them being fashion, and as soon as I was able to, I wanted to dress myself.
As I matured, I learned that many people looked negatively upon my love of fashion, makeup, etc. This left me with the impression that being a “girly girl” was equated with being shallow. Never the less, by the time I was old enough for boys to tell me I was “pretty” or looked nice, their positive attention fueled my passion for fashion despite the nay sayers.
Before these adolescent boys came along, I really struggled to find confidence in myself. I had become so accustomed to hearing criticism much of my life that when I received compliments on my looks, it engrained in me that what I looked like on the outside was a way that I could feel loved and accepted.
Meanwhile…
On the inside, I was totally absorbing all of the external criticism regarding my [quote unquote] vanity. My adolescent self wrote an inner narrative that said because I focused on what I looked like, this in turn meant that I was shallow and selfish…
Focusing on my external appearance carried me as far as I could go until I was ready to see a therapist and really do the work necessary to overcome some past traumas and to finally find confidence in ME. Therapy has changed my life in ways I could never have imagined. I highly recommend it to literally everyone I meet. While I do certainly still struggle with that critical inner voice like so many other women I’ve met, I have come a long, long way.
I now know that you can be a woman of substance AND style. You can be strong and cute. You can like all the girly things and still play in the mud with your kids. You can have things in your past that were traumatic or hard to understand but you don’t have to let it define you. You may never forget them, but you can choose to let these experiences shape you for better or for worse.
The most important thing that I learned in my healing journey is that literally NO ONE gets to tell you who you are. So allow me to introduce myself…
I am Kelly – a married 35 year old mom to 3 crazy, wonderful kids. My name means warrior, and I was born with a fighter spirit. After almost a decade of therapy, I’ve learned to channel that inner warrior into positive things.
One of the things that I love to focus my energy on is lifting other women up. So when the opportunity to be a part of Willow Marie & Co. came up, I didn’t think twice about it. I was all in from the start and now I get to work alongside 3 other strong women on the daily.
But don’t worry, just because our boutique has an abundant selection of carefully curated boho chic apparel, I’m not retiring my signature no makeup, yoga pants and messy bun look all together… entrepreneurship requires a TON of sleeves up, down and dirty hard work so of course we have also made sure to stock the perfect graphic T’s to pair with yoga pants for those days š
“Strong roots produce beautiful leaves.”
My husband David & I do our best to provide our little “leaves” with strong roots š To follow our journey, feel free to find me on Instagram @lovekellyclaire.
xoxo,
Kelly