I just want to inspire others to exercise their passions and strive for excellence.
My name is Holly Anne and I'm a writer, editor, business owner, avid volunteer, do-it-yourself enthusiast, handyman, animal rights' advocate and hopeless romantic. When I was in high school, I was pretty sure that I wanted to be an actress. When I got to college, I was totally sure that I wanted to be a journalist. Now, I sincerely want to be everything.
I graduated from Hofstra University in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and joined the oh-so-fun workforce a few months later. Excitingly, I was promoted to marketing copywriter from a not-so-fun position as phone marketer for a photography marketing company. When I moved on, I joined a large membership-only branding company as its newsletter editor.
Today, I am my own boss. I own Chores & More, LLC, and get to help people every day establish a sense of control in their lives by helping them with their to-do lists.
I've owned and operated what feels like a million blogs. The first blog was all about relationships and intimacy. Then came the makeup blog. And most recently, I ran Blogging Holly - a lifestyle blog. But ultimately, I knew that I wanted to share my passions for business ownership and the beauty industry, and inspire others to find their passions and chase their dreams.
Today, I am my own boss. I own Chores & More, LLC, and get to help people every day establish a sense of control in their lives by helping them with their to-do lists.
I've owned and operated what feels like a million blogs. The first blog was all about relationships and intimacy. Then came the makeup blog. And most recently, I ran Blogging Holly - a lifestyle blog. But ultimately, I knew that I wanted to share my passions for business ownership and the beauty industry, and inspire others to find their passions and chase their dreams.
My love for makeup and beauty sparked when I was 13 years young; I wouldn't leave the house without my hot-pink eye shadow and super-shiny lip gloss on. As I grew older, I began to learn more and more about makeup, and began to post pictures of my looks to Instagram and Facebook.
While I was in college, I interned at the prestigious and super-fun Time Out New York in its style and shopping department. There, I got a taste of the big, bad city, and I fell in love with everything about it. What I probably loved the most, though, was the fashion and beauty that was truly everywhere. I remember seeing women and men of all ages and sizes strut down Seventh Avenue in gorgeous knee-length coats, effortless stilettos and big, round sunglasses that completely hid their eyes. I thought that I could never look like those beautiful women because of my size, until I discovered so many beautiful plus-size women who blog all things fashion. They are truly so inspirational to me. That's when my love for fashion commenced.
I moved into a pretty crappy apartment with my now-ex in September 2014. It was an absolute mess in there. Then, I discovered Pinterest. I started to take on some pretty stellar projects; I re-did our entire bathroom, painted adorable coffee mugs, put up shelves and stained every piece of wood that I could get my hands on. Thus, my love for all things do-it-yourself piqued.
That same year, I discovered the nonprofit sector. After adopting my beautiful cat, Ebony, from a no-kill shelter, I knew that I belonged in that industry. I formerly volunteered with Heart and Soul Animal Rescue, the Fashion Foundation as its chief of writing and blogger, and the Ian Somerhalder Foundation at its Creatures Division editor. My obsession with helping the world and its inhabitants led me to establishing an Etsy shop that could help give back to our local shelters with my best friend. Though we've gone in a different direction, we have plans to launch a charity in collaboration our with our business. Those plans are for the future and we're so excited for them.
I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome in 2015. PCOS strikes directly at your womanhood, affecting your weight, hair growth, moods and fertility. PCOS had made me gain 50 pounds in the last two years and I am sincerely struggling to shed the weight. My mood swings, though much more under control now, are quite consistent. I need to shave my chin almost every day. It has compromised my immune system. It has allowed depression and anxiety to show their ugly faces. After so long of feeling hopeless, I've decided that I am going to overcome this, no matter how long it takes. I think I want to have babies and I am determined to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
In 2018, I discovered the beautiful world of paper planning. I immediately fell in love with decorative planning and, soon after that, was inspired to show my own spreads on Instagram. My true goal is to help others achieve success, personally & professionally, through paper planning.
In 2019, I took my ambitions a step further and went back to school! I'd always wanted to go to beauty school and study nail specialty. I ran my business during the day and attended class four nights a week for three and a half hours. It was kind of insane, but I powered through the sleepless nights and graduated after six months. I also became a Swarovski Certified Nail Artist! I now work from home as a part-time nail technician. I love pampering people & making their hands beautiful.
I then decided to merge my love for nails (& beauty!) & planning - & that's when Planning & Polish was born! I am on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook & Twitter, & I share all about paper planning, shopping hauls, beauty & nail content, business ownership & a bit of lifestyle!
Today, I live with my amazing boyfriend (and one of my business' biggest investors) in our happy little apartment on Long Island with our goldendoodle Sage & our cat Ebony. I look forward to taking you all along on this journey with me, and I hope that I can, somehow, be of service to you. ♥
xo, H.