Fresh Joy, a blog

Today is Goddess of Fertility Day, a celebration of Aphrodite, Venus and other gods and goddesses of fertility. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty and procreation; Venus is her Roman equivalent. Historically, people pray and make offerings to them when seeking to create a family. Goddess of Fertility Day celebrates life, fertility and rebirth. It also provides an opportunity to discuss something a bit more melancholy: infertility. My first instinct was to postpone this post given the extraordinary circumstances we're facing. It feels almost arrogant to focus on anything other than COVID-19 and all of the uncertainty and...

A few months after we relocated to Southern California, I took a part-time job working at my gym. While the free membership was a great perk, it wasn’t primarily about the money. I was working from home to build my new business while my husband’s new job required long hours and a ~90+ minute round trip commute. We had met a few people, but had very few friends. I was alone much of the time and it was getting me down. So when I saw the posting for a front desk job at my gym, I decided to give it a...

A lot of people were surprised to hear that my husband, Aaron, began painting soon after we relocated to California. After 14+ years together, I've learned that he really can do it all (though the surprise a cappella Italian opera he belted out for our wedding vows still takes the cake). Aaron's paintings, proudly featured in our Chroma Inspo and Chroma Classic Collections, are made with a fascinating fluid-painting technique called Acrylic Pour. Acrylic paint is layered with a pouring medium and other additives, then poured onto a canvas and manipulated to create various effects. As an art form, it's quite...

You probably didn't notice that I skipped last week's blog post. And those of you subscribed to our weekly newsletter likely didn't notice that I skipped last week's email, too. Your inbox was too full of all the emails you did receive, so why give a second's thought to the ones you didn't? You probably also didn't notice that I only posted on our social media accounts once in the last 12 days. So what?, you're thinking. You missed a few days. Not a big deal. And for the most part, I agree. I had to let a few things slide in order to focus on a...

I woke up this morning another year older (43 if you're wondering). To some, I seem a bit old to be embarking on a creative entrepreneurial path. It's incredibly uncertain. And terrifying. It's full of 7-day work weeks and sleepless nights. As with all small businesses, there's a definite possibility that it fails. That I fail. HARD. So why take the risk??? Because I realized that I'd rather try and fail, than not try at all. To me, my fear symbolizes my willingness to stretch beyond my comfort zone, even if I pull a muscle or two. It reminds me...