Today is my 25th Birthday! I asked for questions that you would want to see answered in a Q&A post. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed questions! I couldn’t answer every single question, so I picked some of the most popular ones. They’re split into three categories: personal, planning, and blogging:
PERSONAL
Q: What do you like & dislike about living in Austin?
So I actually live on the North border of Austin. With any city traffic will always be horrible but I feel like Austin has the worse traffic. You don’t want to go anywhere are 8 AM or 5 PM because you will not get there in town. & again like any major city, with any major event and Austin has A LOT of them you avoid downtown or at least driving downtown. Other than that, I love everything about Austin. I love that there is so many things to do & amazing places to eat!
Q: What are your favorite places to eat and favorite things to do in Austin?
There are SO many great places to eat and do in Austin & there’s always something new opening up or happening! I did receive this question a LOT so I will do a Austin Travel Guide soon! My favourite places to shop & ear are at The Domain & Domain NORTHSIDE. My favourite brewery is actually a smaller brewery outside of Austin in Georgetown & its called Rentsch Brewery.
Q: How did you meet your boyfriend and how long have you been together?
Sam and I met when I first moved to Austin & I don’t remember a time where he wasn’t my boy friend. We used to work together so we kept everything quiet, but we’ve been “official” for almost 3 years.
Q: What is your favorite thing about your boyfriend?
This is actually really tough because I want to say his personality, but I know that’s really broad. My mom always says that we “go really well together” & I think that’s the best way to describe our relationship. We balance each other out, we both like our space, we’re not controlling over the other, we’ll call each other out on thing, & we’re open and honest with each other. He’s always had the ability to make me feel better. Whenever I was stressed or having a rough day at work, he could just walk in & I’d instantly feel better & its still that way almost three years later. He’s my biggest supporter & he’s always there for whatever decision I make. For example, when I told him I wanted to start blogging he was fully supportive, he’s okay with the living room turning into a glittery pumpkin patch (he HATES glitter), the Christmas Tree going up the first week of November, & turning the office lights off to get natural lighting when I’m taking a picture of my planner. He even tells his customers about my blog! That’s what always makes this question so hard because theres just so many different things!
Q: Is it different living with a boy? Any advice?
Honestly, living with a boy isn’t bad! I lived with my best friend and her husband for a little over a year then by myself for four years prior to living with Sam. I love scary movies & crime shows, so now I feel safer at night living with him! Hahah. We share an office so he’ll be playing Fortnite while Im working on homework & we just do our thing. We’ll decide on dinner we gets off work & we go grocery shopping once a week. Before we moved in together we discussed how we would pay bills & do things and then when we got Mera we discussed that as well. If one of us is doing laundry then the other will put in the other’s clothes, he 6’8″ so he does everything that involves reaching, he’s better at sweeping so he does that as well. I mainly cook & organize. We split cleaning and taking Mera out. I think only advice that we both tell literally everyone is to make sure theres two bathrooms when moving in together!
Q: Where is somewhere you would love to travel to?
England, Italy, & Greece. I would love to see all of Europe, but for sure those three!
Q: What do you want to do after you graduate?
I used to always want to be a reporter or a writer. But the more I learned about business and after working four years in the telecommunications industry, the more I love both! I was actually interviewing for a pilot program position (that ended up not starting) at a company where I would work with small businesses, travel, managing social media strategies, and working with their operational tools like phones, tablets, & computers. That is EVERYTHING I want do in a job & everything that I have loved in my previous jobs. I love having this blog because I can I write and report as well as work with social media and businesses!
Q: What’s the story behind your blog?
I consistently read and looked at all of these different lifestyle blogs and one night I decided to start my own. I grew up in a town where trying to have more and do better is pretty much frowned upon. Regardless, I have always loved designers, planning, writing, & working to accomplish my goals. & when I created this blog I wanted to create this as an outlet to share the things I love & to inspire others who love the same things.
Q: What is your advice for staring a blog?
I think a lot of people think that it’s an easy way to make money & get free things. Blogging is a LOT of hard work & growing your blog is even harder. There is so much thought, hours, planning, and work that goes into blogging that a lot of people don’t realize. The more that my blog grows the more time & work I need to put in. The best advice I can give for starting a blog is to have a passion for it.
Q: Are you going to do blogging full time?
I’m seriously amazed at how much this blog continues to grow. Blogging is just like owning and running a small business & I love everything about it. At first I thought I would just keep this as more of a hobby but the more I get into it, get all the feedback and response that I’ve been getting then the more I actually consider doing this full time! But I am a LONG way from that.
Q: What are some tips for new bloggers?
From what I’ve learned so far: It’s very tempting to work all the time especially when your first starting & growing because you want to do everything & blogging is already VERY time consuming. I can start working on a post at 6PM & the next thing I know its midnight! Don’t overload yourself, plan posts out, take clear photos, & have fun with it!
Q: How do you edit your Instagram photos?
I edit all of my Instagram photos with VSCO. I mixed different filters to make my own “recipe” as they call it or preset that you can see here. If you look on Pinterest they have so many presets!
Q: What camera do you use?
I have a Nikon D3400.
Q: How do you plan and organize your Instagram posts? Do you still use your Deluxe Monthly?
I try to plan my posts at the beginning of the month or a day or two before the new month. I used to use Erin Condren’s Deluxe Monthly Planner to plan out dates & posts. Now that I am a full time student I have just been using my LifePlanner for personal & blogging. I use the monthly view to plan out blog posts and mark dates, sales, & holidays to help create blog post ideas! I TRY to take and edit photos all at once so I have my Instagram posts planned out in advance.
Q: How do you make money blogging?
You make money blogging with affiliate links, sponsored posts, & advertising. There are so many programs and so many ways monetize your blog. Advertising and Sponsored posts are pretty straightforward. Affiliate links can pay a blogger per click or (by the most common way) through small commission only if the item is purchased.
Q: How much of your stuff on your blog do you actually purchase? Do you get a lot of free stuff?
I have done a few collaborations but I have purchased everything else on my blog! I will always disclose if I collaborate with a company.
Q: Have you turned down any collaborations? Should new bloggers?
I have turned down quite a few collaborations. I didn’t start this blog to advertise. I’m only sharing content that I like and will only collaborate with companies that I love and share products that I buy or would buy. I think it’s important whether you’re a new blogger or a mainstream blogger to be honest and only promote companies and products you like. It’s okay to turn down collaborations, just be professional!
Q: What is your favorite part about blogging?
My absolute favorite part about blogging is the impact that it has made. I LOVE the feedback I receive and I love hearing from everyone who reads my blog. When I hear that this blog has helped people with school & work or at home it makes everything worth it & makes me SO happy! Thank you to every single reader for following my blog!
