Matters of the heart

As with most of the Chewylou Designs collection, the “heart” shirt is one that has a particularly personal origination for me. Hope, empathy, appreciation, resilience, trust – all are qualities the members of my family learned very early on and have always held dear.

It starts with my sister Nadine, now age 49, who was born with a congenital heart defect – coarctation of the aorta – which threatened her life. She underwent open heart surgery and the tender age of five but thankfully got through it okay.  She was lucky and was only left with a big scar she can now brag about.

Then, in 1990, my sister Michelle gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Sara, who was born with a hole in her heart and thickening of the aortic arch. After open heart surgery, brave little Sara lived for 28 days but was unfortunately taken from us just one day before she was scheduled to go home and join her family.  It was extremely heartbreaking for all of us but our strong family ties helped us get through this, too.

My own pregnancies with my two children were beyond nerve-wracking as we now knew our family was at high risk for congenital heart defects.  I was constantly worried that something would go wrong. Thankfully, I was blessed to have two healthy, happy babies who are now growing up way too fast and are the source of so much inspiration and humor in my life.

However, the “heart” shirt was born when I was volunteering at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and met my friend Amy whose daughter Emma needed open heart surgery a few years ago.  It just hit very close to home for me. But my past experiences and then meeting Emma reminded me that children so often have the biggest hearts of all, untainted by jealousy, disdain or anger. They don’t fear the unknown the way adults do and they’re far more capable of unconditional love.

A pure heart – a childlike heart – is one filled with hope; with empathy for others’ situations; with appreciation for the gift of life, love and family; with resilience to weather the tough times; and maybe most importantly, with trust. It’s the combination of all of these things that makes a heart content.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we’ve decided to bring back the heart design.  Our sales of this shirt will help us support the American Heart Association and its mission to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

If you’re interested in purchasing a heart shirt for yourself or someone you love, click here.

Hope, dream and have faith, my friends!

xo

~ Alyssa

Smile first and win with kindness

Two of the earlier designs in the Chewylou line are “Smile First” and “Kindness Wins” (find both in our sale section right now). While they may not follow the acronym style of most of our tees, they definitely do work to spread positivity and goodwill.

The story behind “Smile First” is pretty damn simple. Just try it next time you encounter someone crabby… be the first to smile and it’ll be infectious.  Wear this little phrase proudly on your shirt and you may even notice you don’t always have to be the one to show off those pearly whites first!

“Kindness Wins” was born from a situation in which Chewylou’s founder, Alyssa, and her family disagreed on how to handle a kid in her son’s school who was a bit of a tyrant. Of course, the men in the family preached the beat-him-up gospel but our sweet and wonderful Alyssa had a different perspective.  She told her son that the little boy who was bullying him obviously had a hole in his heart and was trying to steal joy from others. Instead of continuing the cycle of spreading hatefulness by responding with aggression, she asked her son consider feeling sorry for this kid – he probably had a rough time at home.

She told him that kindness wins, not meanness or hate.

And it turns out, she’s right. If people are acting crabby, sad, jealous and mean, it’s probably an indicator that they’re gloomy on the inside. What that person needs more than anything is kindness in return. Go ahead; try that one on for size, too. Kindness always wins… oh, and it works on adults, too!

So, your assignment for the week is to pick a day and choose to smile first and react only with kindness. You’ll be amazed at what you get in return.

What it means to GIVE

Last spring, while attending a fundraiser for autism hosted by Major League Baseball players’ wives in Scottsdale, I had the pleasure of meeting Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson’s wife, Kim.  She is an absolute doll and we hit it off immediately. In addition to volunteering with Make-A-Wish Foundation and Children’s Healthcare Atlanta, Kim heads up the Hudson Family Foundation, which aims to make a positive and lasting impact in the lives of children who have a genuine need for assistance with regard to a specific physical, emotional or financial circumstance.  She is selfless in the truest sense of the word.

The Hudson Family Foundation’s philosophy is that we should be thankful for our many blessings and give back to those in need.  Hey, we at Chewylou feel exactly the same!

After I shared with her the story of Chewylou and how our shirts are meant to inspire kindness and goodwill, she was hooked! She and I collaborated on a shirt for a fundraiser she was organizing for her foundation and came up with the gorgeous GIVE shirt: Generosity, Integrity, Vision and Effort.

Proceeds from the sale of our GIVE shirt go to benefit the Hudson Family Foundation

As with all of our tees, we dug deep to examine what it really means to “give”.  We’re at a time of year when giving is top of mind, it’s too easy to think of it as a task to cross off your to-do list. To truly give – to give of yourself – really does require all of those elements.  Take any one of them away and you’re really just forcing an empty gesture. Stuff is nice but generosity, integrity, vision, effort – that’s what people crave.

So , this holiday season, as you reflect on the people in your life for which you are deeply thankful, think about what gift-giving exemplifies. Be true to the meaning and remember, to GIVE is not always to produce a tangible, material thing.

In what ways are you planning to give of yourself this season?

Melinda Joy is doing a Chewylou Giveaway!

Want a chance to win one of our fab tees?  Check our friend Melinda Joy’s blog. Then visit our shop at www.chewylou.com/shop and go tell Melinda which is your favorite design. Personally, we’re digging our new GIVE shirt for the holiday season (proceeds benefit the Hudson Family Foundation) but we’ll let you decide which you like best.

Here are the contest details (remember, enter through Melinda Joy):

TO WIN: 1 “Give” Shirt & 1 “Believe” Shirt will be given away to one of my readers!

HOW TO ENTER

1) Head over to their site and tell me which shirt is your favorite
2) Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link
3) Follow my blog (blogger/FB)
4) Follow Me on Twitter, and leave a comment with your twitter name
5) Tweet about this giveaway @melindajoy926 (This can be done DAILY)
“Chewy Lou Shirts Giveaway @melindajoy926 here: _____(link)_____”
6) Post my button on your side bar and leave me the link
7) Subscribe to my blog via email/google reader
8) Send this giveaway link to 5 of your friends and let me know you did or post this link as your FB status – honor system

Deadline: December 8th at noon EST

Open to: US & Canada

GOOD LUCK!

2009 Daytime Emmy Awards Official Gifting Lounge

We had sooooo much fun being an official sponsor of the Daytime Emmy Awards gifting suite last fall. Take a look at all our new BFFs… oh, and while you’re there, wanna fan us, too?

Hummingbird Marriann

In the minutes shortly after my Mother passed away at Hospice on a Saturday in the early fall of 2009, after I kissed her for what seemed like a million times, I walked outside to make the “phone call”. You know the one I mean, the one you pray that you’ll never receive, and the one that you beg God that you’ll never have to make.

In one split second, I looked up into the sky searching for a sign that my Mom had made it safely and swiftly to Heaven. In that same moment, I thought to myself, “Alyssa, are you a total moron? What do you think you’re going to see? Her name written in the clouds, her face, the rustling of the wind singing…I’m home!?” Well, I looked anyway, intently, staring like a jerk into the sky…nothing.

Disappointed in myself and slightly at God, I sat down by a fountain and through an ocean of tears; I tried to make out the numbers on my cell phone. As I placed the phone to my ear, I raised my head and a tiny, beautiful hummingbird buzzed beautifully just inches from my face. She hung in mid air for a few seconds and then buzzed off into the heavens. “Thank you, Mama!”, I cried. She’s home, she’s at peace and she continues to bless me every day with her presence. Please read the below information that I researched and if you knew my Mother – or even if you didn’t, you will be comforted by the traits she shared with the Hummingbird.

The Hummingbird is the messenger of Hope and Jubilation. It has powerful religious and spiritual significance in the western world. It is symbol of resurrection because on cold nights they sleep so deeply, they appear lifeless, but miraculously come back to life again when the sunrise brings warmth. It is believed that the Hummingbird is the creature that opens the heart. They live for beauty, flowers, aromas, delicate tastes, sensuous delights. The fluttering of the wings move in the pattern of an infinity symbol; further solidifying their symbolism of eternity, continuity, and infinity.

Observe a Hummingbird, they are seemingly tireless. Always actively seeking the sweetest nectar, they remind us to seek out the good in life and in others and to see the beauty in each day. As migrators, they’ve been known to fly as far as 2000 miles to reach their destination. This quality reminds us to be persistent in the pursuit of our dreams and to adopt the tenacity of the Hummingbird in our lives.

The Hummingbird teaches us to laugh, enjoy creation, and appreciate the magic of being alive! They awaken us to the beauty of the present moment. Hummingbirds teach us fierce independence and simple courage. They teach us to fight in a way where no one gets hurt. Hummingbirds represent: energy, peace, playfulness, affection, loyalty, vitality, joy, renewal, sincerity and persistence.

There is something inside the soul of all of us that wants to soar through sunbeams and dance midair in delicate flight. Something in us wants to hover at the beautiful moments in our lives, making them freeze in time. There is something in us that wants to fly backwards and savor once more, the beautiful past.

Working it

Denise Richards working it in our BREATHE tee (and making it look easy!):

Gilles Marini is dreamy

Ok, so our Gilles love does run deep but it’s not unfounded. Alyssa first met Gilles when Chewylou landed the opportunity to be a sponsor of the Daytime Emmy Awards Official Gift Lounge. Sparks were flying but shirts were going on. Whatever, we’ll take it. He’s a gorgeous man and makes this shirt look ah-mazing.

 

But, not only is a gorgeous creature, he is a doting dad and that just melts the heart even more.  We were over the moon to discover that, during a recent family outing to the farmer’s market, Gilles was spotted wearing our FAITH tee!

Now go on and get your man one of these and if you squint, maybe you’ll be fooled into thinking he IS Gilles… hey, a gal can dream, can’t she?

 

It began with my EGO

In early 2002, with a three year old son, a one year old daughter and an intense love for yoga, I decided it was time to get my yoga teaching certification. Six months later, I began teaching yoga part time. Shortly after that, I began working with professional athletes who needed to improve flexibility. Soon, I was teaching up to eleven classes a week and formed Athletes Yoga, LLC!

When I teach yoga, I address not only the physical, but the spiritual aspect of the practice. My goal is to inspire each student to do something they already do in a better, healthier, more positive way. Yoga is not only about stretching the body, but nurturing the mind and the soul as well. One of my classes consisted of a fabulous group of women, who soon became like sisters to me. Over the next five years, our journey together was a combination of joys and sorrows. We shared our life experiences with each other: the death of a parent, cancer, divorce, the birth of babies and the challenges of facing middle age! No matter what was going on, each week they faithfully showed up for class. I felt like I owed them more than just a class; I wanted to offer them an “inspirational gem” to take with them after the yoga practice had ended. I thought that I owed them at least that, since they were a constant source of inspiration to me as a teacher. I would bring a reading from Eckhart Tolle, a poem from Marianne Williamson, or a pertinent article from Yoga Journal.

How Chewylou was born

One day, I thought about the qualities in myself that I would like to enhance. I came up with Enthusiasm, Gratitude, Optimism, or the acronym EGO! I told my students that day to write it on their mirrors in lipstick, make it their new mantra — go ahead — and have a big EGO!!

Several students came back the following week saying how they couldn’t stop thinking about it. I decided it would be better if people could wear the words, so I created my first tee shirt! Soon after Chewylou Designs was born!

The Chewylou trademark name comes from our two dogs; Chewbacca aka “Chewy”, our sweet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Lexington aka “Lexi Lou”, our 100 pound chocolate Labrador Retriever. They’re the ones you see smiling at you in our logo!