The Comeback...

Hey - where's everyone been? Just kidding, I know, I know, where have I been?

Elise presenting ROKNE at QVC

Well to cut to the chase for the past few years, I was in the throws of running aspects of two businesses. ROKNE Pickleball, where I serve as co-founder and CEO. I equate this all-encompassing experience to the likes of getting my MBA the real-life way. Secondly, I head up the marketing for J Construction, my husband's luxury construction company (which I absolutely love - more on this in future chapters.) I've never admired someone more than I do when I watch my husband at work. Being his marketing cheerleader is one of my great joys.

The short of it is that between these two adventures, I was too inundated to add any more to my plate...until now. 'Tis the meandering road of life, I suppose. You never know where the path will lead.

Getting back into writing, TV/digital hosting and content creation, more specifically beauty/lifestyle content creation, has felt like home. This is a world I love, I understand and have so much fun discussing. Yes, I'm still running the businesses, but with systems and teams in place, it seems as though I have a bit more time to devote to my writing and content creation.

I've debated finishing the love story via this blog but in my heart of hearts, I really want the wedding chapter to come in book form and wrap it all up. What do you think about that?

So, let's get reacquainted, shall we? Here are some high-level updates since we were last in touch: (get ready, it's a lot).

JJ, Milo and Elise on site of a new project

Married - loving it! Best decision of my life. Can you believe we just celebrated 2 years married?! Time really does go by too fast. Don't worry, that's not a spoiler alert for the book.

Canal House - we love the house and in particular, the backyard so much now, that we lovingly refer to it now as resort house. :) The major renovations are complete, but there's still more to do...(isn't there always).

Things we still need to build at Canal/Resort House - there are 3 full build outs needed: 1. Laundry Room 2. Indoor Bar Area 3. Outdoor kitchen, oh and 4. The driveway. Aesthetically, we still need some indoor furniture (we have most), all outdoor furniture, wallpaper, light fixtures, artwork...that's pretty much it. Doesn't seem like a lot, but it is. Here are a couple of photos of our work in progress:

ROKNE - what a ride this has been. After 2 years of preparation, we just launched on QVC.

ROKNE Launch Day at QVC - Elise Ivy and Jayne Brown

What a trip to walk in that building as a vendor. I must say, it feels different on that side. It's hard to explain and pretty nuanced, but definitely different. For the newbies to this blog, I was a host at QVC for 7 years and then left the great state of Pennsylvania for sunny Miami, Florida. (Ironically, it's pouring as I write this...my favorite writing weather).

ROKNE is now in most major retailers online shops (Macys, Dicks Sporting Goods , Target, Academy, etc. You can also find us in-store at Home Goods and Sierra!

Speaking of QVC - a lot has happened here. I filmed an 8 episode show (from Miami) called Active at any Age - whew, it was a ton of work, as I was a crew of 1, but so much fun and quite rewarding. This show allowed me to combine a little bit of everything I love into 8, 15-minute episodes. Health and wellness, beauty, teaching, great product, and encouragement to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle...all the good stuff. I worked hand in hand with the QVC producers to curate products that I love and find helpful in hopes that you would too. 

 You can watch all 8 episodes here.

Elise wearing the Barefoot Dreams Robe

Here are some of my favorite products that I hand-picked and presented during the 8 part series:

I love this robe from Barefoot Dreams. I've been a fan of their products for years, and I've owned their big fluffy robe in the past. The reason I like this one is because it's a super lightweight, stretchy, jersey material that's excellent for summer. No need to sweat in my robe.

Elise wearing the Ultra Cushioned Skechers

Throughout the series I wore 3 pairs of Skechers shoes. 1. Pair was specifically designed for court sports (pickleball, tennis, etc). They are on limited in supply and on a super sale - called the Skechers Viper Pro

The next were a super cute pair of lightweight Skechers Walking Shoes. I love these. They are very flexible, and I end up reaching for them all the time, whether its for running errands or light exercise. I own the white ones, but there are 3 great colors to choose from.

Lastly, I wore a pair of Ultra cushioned Skechers, that are insanely comfortable and I would say a bit more suited towards a fashionable sporty look versus a being a super supportive workout shoe. I actually love wearing these to the office more than the gym. (shown in the photo)

Some other products that I found particularly effective and useful were the Moon Oral Beauty Teeth Whitening System. I've used others in the past and the reason I liked this one is because it seemed less messy to me than others. Not to mention, I saw results right away. Nothing better than flashing your pearly whites with confidence.

Elise using the Theragun Massager

I've been using the Thera Gun Massager for years, so putting this product in the show was a no brainer. Self massage is so important. There are going to be times when we are sore or strain a muscle and we need immediate relief. For years, I found this to be the best and fastest solution.

As I filmed the show I actually found a lot of joy in tracking my heartrate and calories burned. One of the reasons, I haven't worn a fitness tracker full-time in the past is because they were either too big or I was annoyed by having to charge it so often. This Lightweight Fitbit I liked because it's virtually undetectable on my wrist (it's so small and lightweight and beautifully ergonomically designed) and I only had to charge it once a week. It's no frills, yet has everything I wanted as far as tracking is concerned.

Lastly, I forgot how much I love and how convenient the Save the Girls Phone Holder is! Talk about an easy solution to carry all of your necessities in style. Not to mention, I love Tammy and her family who created this brand. They are incredible advocates for women and possess and enviable generosity.

Speaking of QVC, did you know that I'm going on over a year of being the brand ambassador for Beauty Bio skincare? I love this brand, and what's it's done for my skin in my 40's. I get asked on the regular, what do I use, so here are the basics and I am happy to break this down further in a future blog if that's of interest to you.

Elise Ivy and Julia Cearly on-air at QVC

For starters, I don't miss a day of spf. I adore the spf 46 Blendrops from Beauty Bio. They offer protection and prevention and the cherry on top, is that I wear them as my make up as well. There are 3 shades. Perfecting - this I wear first, under my makeup. It gives a filtered finish to my skin and provides a perfect primer for my foundation. I use the Bronzing Blendrops as my bronzer and sun-kissed glow on the highpoints of my face and I use the Illuminizing, champagne pop, as my highlighter. I also like to mix this one into my body spf to give an overall ethereal glow to my skin. These are such winners and I wear them every day. Can you believe your spf can now serve as your makeup!!?

The next product I wear every single day and night is the Zen Bubble. This is a gel cream moisturizer that cools, calms and refreshes the skin while delivering burst of hydration and plumping goodness. I wear this both under my makeup and over my serums at night. There is no better moisturizer for the Summer, that I have found yet. Pair this with the Eyelighter (it's comes as a duo) and you will have have perfectly primed skin with perfectly hydrated, primed and color corrected under eyes AND lids. This combo is it!

The only 2 serums I need: The Daily and the Nightly. This makes my skincare so easy yet so effective. The Daily (AM serum) is a acid free (non irritating) vitamin C that helps with tone and texture and brightness. The nightly (PM serum) is a gently Vitamin A that goes to work over night to combat the signs of aging. I layer zen bubble on top of both of these. Perfection.

And obviously who isn't in love with the viral collagen eye gels and lip plumping serum. This is one of my favorite instant beauty hacks and favorite gift to give.

Another fun gig I had this past Spring, was filming America's Steals and Deals segments.

Elise Ivy and Carolyn Gracie - America's Steal and Deals

I love shooting this because I enjoy any excuse to fly to NYC and do what I love! Not to mention, they have the coolest crew ever!

Last time I shot, I was in the studio right before Carolyn Gracie (who was filming for a different segment). This was such a trip. I loved running into her and right after that I had to order some fun Girl Next Door items from QVC. Have you seen her line - OMG, so cute!! It looks like my favorite planter from her line is sold out, but here's a very similar one!

Elise Ivy presenting IGK Hair products

The last bit of what I've been up to is something I never thought I would do. I am presenting a haircare brand on Tik Tok. Haircare, yes, Tik Tok, well no, I never thought I would get into it. Well, I was wrong, I'm into it! In fact, every Thursday, I present a haircare brand called IGK Hair. I am definitely going to write and entire blog on these products, because they have single handedly changed my hair life. (I can't believe that's my hair in the photo, but it is!) It's really incredible. I've never experienced anything quite like these products before. No matter your hair concern, there is a product that gets the job done. I have so many favorites, but I'll share a few of them here and then I definitely want to share about them in more detail in a future blog. For reference I have fine hair (I have a lot of it now...I didn't used too. I completely fried it while working for QVC, but let me tell you, it's back and it's longer and thicker and shinier than it's ever been in my entire life). Ugh, I'm so grateful I found this brand.

I'll keep this simple: For the easiest hair mask ever (it goes on dry!! no water necessary, ever) I swear by Antisocial. I believe that this product started strengthening my hair after the very first use. I use it every single night without fail.

For detangling and heat protectant, I use the Good Behavior 4 in 1 Prep Spray. This product makes my hair so soft right out of the shower and provides 450 degree heat protection (so important). For major body and max volume I use two products. One for the body of my hair - Body Language, and one to achieve a root lift - Pick me Up. These products are insane. Body language is a hair shaft plumper which uses rice water and Pick Me Up uses micro fibers to provide root lift for 72 hours. I flip my hair over to reactivate it. I just love it!

To hold my style all day while fighting frizz and another heat protectant I use Good Behavior Flexible Hairspray - obsessed. Never found a better hairspray.

There's so many more amazing products to talk about, but I don't want to overwhelm.

I've always been a multitasker and someone who likes to be a bit too busy, but even I had to take a pause from blogging. I had to put my focus elsewhere for a bit and it is what it is. I do feel very grateful, that I am now able to carve out time to reinvigorate my blog.

This first entry back is simply the high-level updates. More to come. In fact, there's so much more to write about and talk about in general, but no need to spill all the beans (get it) in the first blog back...right?

If you're interested in following along my Tik Tok journey please come follow me here: Elise's Tik Tok

I sure would appreciate a follow and a hello!

Before I sign off and promise to starting blogging again on the regular, may I ask - please come say hi to me on social:

Elise's Instagram

Elise's Facebook

Or feel free to shoot me an email.

I would love to hear from you. Please tell me what you're most interested in reading about, and, if you made it this far - thank you. Be on the lookout for my comeback blog post #2 coming soon! xoxo

~Elise

P.S. Wait until I tell you about the dream project JJ and I are working on....here's a hint.

JJ , Elise and Milo