We get asked a lot about Beijos and how it works… “What are you guys, a blog? But do you also do events?” “Do you do weddings?” “Where are you guys located?” “How many of you are there?!” I thought I’d take a second to explain a little bit about us and also a little update on what’s new in our lives…
We started out as an event design and planning company, but we enjoyed styling shoots and felt so inspired in other aspects we decided to start our blog. Now we have an event side and a blog side of the business.
The event side is based in Orange County, with myself and Leah running the show. Leah does the planning and coordinating side of things and I do the design. We do everything from weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, corporate events and kid’s parties. We’ve definitely found our niche with kid’s parties and love to do them! They have been a fun addition to our wedding schedule letting us be creative with different and unique themes.
As far as the blog, it’s spearheaded by myself along with Abby, who lives in the Sacramento area. Together we come up with concepts for posts and execute them individually. Abby is the brains behind most of our food and DIY posts, while I handle most of the bigger tablescape shoots, style posts and home tours. We both love putting our Beijos spin on any subject or holiday that comes our way.
The three of us come together for our fun Beijos getaways a few times a year though, which is always fun! And as you can see below, we are those dorky people who buy matching t-shirts on said trips… No regrets!!!
Now for a little Q&A….
Jacquelyn
What’s new with you and the rest of the Kazas Fam?
Life is busy, hectic and amazing! I can’t believe how fast our boys are growing and changing. Court just turned 4 and Cruz will be 2 in August. They are both so funny and smart, I can’t get enough of them! I still have dreams about adding another, but not sure Nate is on the same page, haha! These boys are wild and crazy and give us a run for our money every single day. Court broke his arm badly a few months ago and I thought it would slow him down a bit, but no, we’re back to our regular wild scheduled program. I’m trying to make time slow down, but since I can’t, I’m just trying to enjoy each day with them while they’re this little. Our next few months will consist of a few camping trips, Disneyland days, a trip to Tahoe, backyard hangs and lots of time at the beach!
Our house is coming along nicely… Each month is a new project. We just did our landscaping and still have a few things to finish on that front. Next we’ll tackle some more indoor projects. Nate has been working hard both at work and on our home. He’s very hands on; he does a lot of amazing work all on his own. Gotta love having a handy hubby! I can’t wait to share more of our house when we are ready, but it’s baby steps right now! To add on to the craziness, Beijos has been keeping my busy as well. Gotta love this time in life; it’s an adventure and I wouldn’t want it any other way!
What is your role for Beijos?
I guess you could say I’m the “Jacq-uelyn” of all trades, haha… Bad joke! About a year ago we made some changes and now of the three of us I am the only one that does both events and the blog. I’m the crazy one you may say, but I also thrive off of being busy and having a lot on my plate. I love working on both and get so much creative satisfaction from it. Not many people know this but when Beijos began we all had other full time jobs. It was hard to balance it all and with Beijos being as busy as it is now I’m able to work from home with my kids which I feel very lucky to do. Although, working from home with kids isn’t as easy as it may seem.
For the event side of our business I work closely with Leah. I handle the design and styling aspect and work with our clients on making their vision come to life. I’ll generally start out with a mood board based on our initial conversation and go from there. After that we’ll find the right florist, rental company, tabletop, and all the other special details to make the event happen. My favorite part of any event is seeing it come together the day of, there’s nothing like having a happy client at the end of the day.
As far as the blog, I manage the schedule and make sure Abby isn’t slacking, haha! Jk, but I do outline a schedule for us to stay organized. We decide what posts we want to do months ahead, but sometimes we get inspired and make last minute additions. I also do most of the larger shoots we have. They are a lot of work, but so gratifying. I love having the freedom to work on anything that inspires me, some nights after a shoot I’m on such a creative high I can’t even sleep! And sometimes when I’m planning a shoot and have so many ideas I can’t sleep either! Which works out for me because I still have Cruz waking me up 3-4 times a night, haha! So basically I’m a Beijos Zombie.
Ultimately, my job for Beijos is fun, difficult at times, but something that I love!
What is the next thing for Beijos that you are working on that you are most excited about?
We have two weddings coming up this Summer that I’m so, so, soooo excited for! Both of the brides have been such a dream to work with and both of the weddings are different and unique. One has a more eclectic vibe and one a clean modern aesthetic. They are both in Northern California so I get to visit my parents, which is always nice. I have a bunch of fun shoots coming up this month that have been keeping me busy as well. Lastly, I’m also working on our next Beijos Getaway and those are always a great time!!
5 random questions….
How many countries have you visited?
A lot actually, I’m lucky because my parents instilled the travel bug in me at an early age… Sadly I haven’t done as much traveling these past few years with my little guys! But let’s see, I’ve visited Portugal (a lot), France, Italy, England, Ireland, Monaco, Germany, Greece and Mexico… I think that’s it…
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?
I make myself avocado toast almost every single day, so most days it will be that. But lately I’ve been doing a kale salad too… And then usually whatever is left over from my kid’s lunch that they don’t eat, haha
If you could travel anywhere with your husband – no kids – where would you go?
Oh my goodness, this has been the subject of conversation a lot lately. We are overdue for a trip!!! We probably won’t be able to go anywhere far anytime soon but I’d love to do Spain, it’s somewhere we both haven’t been!
What’s your favorite ice cram flavor?
Mint chip hands down, always has been!
What is one thing you own that you should probably get rid of already?
I think I still have some old soccer shorts and socks from high school, haha! Something that I never use, ever! But can’t seem to part with!
Abby
What’s new with you and the rest of the Guidos?
A LOT going on in the Guido casa these days. The kids are keeping us busy with sports and oh man, homework these days… I think I need to go back to school. ha! We have been doing a lot of work on our new house, making some fun new additions to it. I also have been caring for our friends baby that has brittle bone disease (a rare disease that makes his bones extremely fragile) so he keeps me busy while the kids are at school. A house full of chaos but wouldn’t have any other way! Getting excited for summer coming up, planning some fun adventures for us while the kids are out of school.
What is your role for Beijos?
My role for Beijos…. besides being the token blonde beijos girl that no one in southern California knows about. Ha! Jk, I like to call myself the Beijos Martha Stewart. I work on the food, drinks, and DIY blog features. Plus a few others sprinkled in there. Someone has got to come up with pretty cocktails for you to sip on, right? It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it
What is the next thing for Beijos that you are working on that you are most excited about?
I’m designing and styling a wedding in Maui this month and so excited to see all the pretty come together!
5 random questions….
How many countries have you visited?
How many countries have you visited? Sadly, only one. Mexico but a couple times, so does that count as more then one? Ha!
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?
I love to do sunflower bread, yummy chicken salad I make with sprouts and radishes! Yummy! Sometimes I get crazy and add avocado.
If you could travel anywhere with your husband – no kids – where would you go?
Oh gosh, the grocery store!! Jk. My husband and I have been dying to go to Greece. Especially to Elafonissi beach, it has the most stunning pink sand!
What’s your favorite ice cram flavor?
I’m not a ice cream lover, but what I’m obsessed with are the mochi balls at Whole Foods! I love the guava and passion fruit ones!
What is one thing you own that you should probably get rid of already?
Oh gosh, honestly I don’t think anything. I’m constantly cleaning things out so I don’t really have anything right now that I would get rid of.
Leah
What’s new with you and the rest of the Carrigers?
Well we are still chugging along over here, and feel very lucky to be, although we are still in survival mode over with the two young ones. Lol, Isla is potty training and we all know how lovely that is. Henry just learned how to climb out of his crib at 20 months, so that’s great too. Edie is becoming a perfect little lady rounding out her first year of kindergarten with a lot of academic accolades and activities. Wow, she puts the B in busy!! It makes me so proud but sad to see her grow so fast at the same time. I love this time and going through life again at all of their ages. Reminds me to slow down and realize the precious time I’m in right now. Damon and I are approaching our awesome 40’s and we are excited for them, haha yeah right, we are getting old but embracing it well. We are excited to take some time out for ourselves this year and next!!
What is your role for Beijos?
I’m am the official customer relations/planner/coordinator for all of our events. I love to build relationships with our clients and my bread and butter is all about the interpersonal.
What is the next thing for Beijos that you are working on that you are most excited about?
Well there are so many things!!! The near future is all about feeding Beijos, watching it grow more. We are so happy with where it’s gone and where it’s headed. I don’t really want to give away big reveals but I’ll tell you we are focusing on PARTY, and making it easier and prettier for you to celebrate all those great times in life!!
5 random questions….
How many countries have you visited?
7 – Mexico, Holland, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, France, and Jamaica mon!
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?
Chicken Salad of some sort
If you could travel anywhere with your husband – no kids – where would you go?
I’m thinking Thailand right now.
What’s your favorite ice cram flavor?
Good old fashioned Strawberry
What is one thing you own that you should probably get rid of already?
Omg so much, we keep stuff for way too long. Right now I’m gonna day my old ass desk top Mac!
And there you have it! That’s how we run this show and a little bit of what’s new with us!! If you have any questions on how Beijos works, ask them below and we will do our best to answer you!
xx
Jacquelyn
