Well I thought it might be time to share all about me with you and give you behind the scenes at Ritzy Gypsy. It may look like all fun and glamour but trust me when I say most days its like crazy lady running around the shop :)
So here it goes....
I am the owner, Cara Little, I live in a small town in south Texas (But I am actually from a small town in South East Texas...we'll get to that later).
I am going to take you along in the journey known as my life. I will share my past experiences as well as share with you all about Ritzy Gypsy, our family owned company. I have quite a few stories to share with you about me and how you can see God's hand along the way in each one. I am excited to get to know each of you better and hopefully help you in some of your life struggles. Or so maybe you can see your life isn't quite so bad LOL!
Our family consists of Lance, Cara, Chance and Chloe. We are a rodeo family with 2 kids who have big dreams of the bright lights of Vegas one day! We work hard to make those dreams reality.
A few highlights...
At 17 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma (cancer). Not exactly what you want to hear with you are a senior in high school, when life is all about fun and exciting future plans, but when it comes you have to deal with it right? RIGHT! But really is there ever really a good time to hear you have cancer? NO WAY!
After a few weeks of testing the treatments began :( First started chemo and then followed radiation. Yes I lost most of my hair which I think was the most terrible part of it all at that age!! I spent my entire senior year of high school sick, sick and more sick from all of this. My only anchor through it all was my faith in God. And trusting that His plan for me was so much greater! No really it was, when no one else understands what your going through and your life seems out of control why not turn to the one who can truly help? That sounds easy to say now, but believe me at the time that was hard! Questions like...why would God allow this, this is not fair, why me? But really is it our job to question God? Ummmm no way! He is God right, He knows everything and His plan is perfect....so we should never question it! NEVER
"TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; IN ALL YOUR WAS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT. " PROVERBS 3:5-6
Just when I thought it was over....Devastating news came at the end of my treatments was that I would never have children.
Unfortunately, I had to accept this as my reality and just hope that one day I would find a man who loved me enough to be ok with adopting. Fast forward 3 years and I found that man ;)
Look ahead another 2 years and after LOTS of gut wrenching prayers and tears, (seriously I'll show you my Bible during that time) my son, Chance was born. Fast forward another 3 and my daughter, Chloe ( you see her alot on our pages...shes the future boss) was born. God sure blessed me and answered my prayers. Goes to show He can do anything! It wasn't easy but they were healthy and happy and that was all that mattered!
I was told I would never live a "normal" life by medical standards. Well, my life is far from normal but medically, I beat the odds. (Of course I did... I serve a BIG God)
In 2013 I decided to make my dream a reality. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My parents, when I was growing up owned a feed store/western store. I grew up there in the back room (literally). Almost everyday I was there. They opened the year after I was born. I cut my teeth there everyone says. I would have to tag along wherever they were going...Dallas Market, feed distributors, etc. I got a front row seat on what it was like to run a successful company. And how hard work ALWAYS pays off! I sort of always knew I would follow in their footsteps.
I went to college for 3 years, I left with 17 hours remaining, I just wasn't made for that and got VERY bored :) After I married my husband, I always had some sort of "little" business. I would make hair bows or sew little girls clothes, make different things I would come up with. Each one was successful in its own way. I have a very creative spirit and Fashion had always been one of my first loves. So I saved a little money and in October of 2013 I opened Ritzy Gypsy. Since then, I have developed my own clothing, jewelry and graphic tee line. And of course Ritzy Gypsy Boots!
Then another round of storms came.....In 2017 I had a tumor on my thyroid. This was a very scary time for me, I'm not going to lie. I had the tumor removed and 2 days later we lost our home in Hurricane Harvey. Yep that all really happened in a span of 3 days!
We had 53" of rain in 3 days. It was a devastating loss and a very scary time. After that we decided not to return. My husband, Lance is in the oilfield so we decided to move with him to south Texas. The move was hard leaving my family and the only life I had ever known ( I went kicking and screaming) but God placed the most amazing people to help me through that and I am very grateful! We have the most perfect ranch house too! I share pictures of that from time to time. I love decorating it! My new obsession has become flea markets...who doesn't love good junk and old treasures!
One last thing....for the past 5 years I have worked with a non-profit called Harvest House. We help girls who are underage victims of human trafficking here in Texas. I do awareness programs all over the state. This is a cause that is very dear to my heart. I have seen first hand how horrific this is.
My life has been full of ups and downs and devastating blows. I am so thankful for my faith and that I have a God who cares about me and who helps me through those times. I am a living breathing example of how you can overcome ANYTHING!
I hope you will join me on this journey. Its fun, crazy and sometimes even sad but I am so happy to share it with you!
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