A few weeks ago, I posted a "let's get to know each other!" post with an open Q+A and also an anonymous form. NEVER AGAIN will I do anything anonymous on here! I got some good questions, but yo...people are MEAN when they can hide behind anonymity. Like, nasty mean. No thank you.
I will (obviously) be ignoring most of the bullying comments I got. Here are a few of the questions I got to get things started!
What kind of mascara do you use? I got this question so many times! I'm so excited because I have a really good answer! I use a combo that I discovered on accident (Thanks to my Sephora Play box!). I use It Cosmetics Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara, which I find amazing when it comes to volume, but it's too clumpy to wear alone. So I do a layer of that, and while it's still wet, immediately go over it with a layer of Buxom Lash Mascara. I've tried a lot of mascaras, but those are my favorites!
Why don't you post a lot of pictures of Jack? Actually, the question was phrased: "Are you just hoping people forget you're a mom? You never post pictures of your kid on Instagram." Which is actually not a question, but I'm gonna answer it anyway! I told you people are mean!
As far as Instagram goes, I'm still trying to figure out how much I want to share / not share of Jack. I share a fair amount of pictures of him on my blog for two reasons: 1) If you're following my blog, I feel like you're more invested than just following Instagram. Maybe that's stupid, but it takes more effort to read blog posts than it does to look at pictures! And 2) Here, I can share pictures of Jack and the stories behind them, which just feels more personal and special to me.
I have friends who choose to share zero pictures of their child on social media, and friends who post daily about their children on social media. I have 100% respect for both of those choices and have never felt judgemental towards anyone about how much they choose to share about their child. I fall somewhere in-between. Sometimes it feels right to share pictures of him, and sometimes it feels weird. I just try to go with my gut. That's the best answer I can give you!
What's your favorite part of living in Florida? Hands down, the weather. It's summer a lot of the time, and I'm all about summer. Being close to the beach doesn't hurt, either!
How do you edit your pictures? Lightroom! But I'm not fancy, every single picture I post I use presets.
What do you do for work (it seems like you work from home a lot?) I do work from home! When we moved to Gainesville, my job allowed me to continue working remotely, since most of my work was done from a computer anyway! I work in an assistant role for a church and also do their editing!
How did you decide to get a Shiba-Inu? I had never heard of a Shiba-Inu before we got Gatsby. I did no research on the breed or where I was getting him from. We stumbled upon a pet store, met Gatsby, and I fell in love with him immediately. (Chris also fell in love with him, it just took him a liiiiitle longer). In hindsight, this was not how buying a dog should have gone. I wouldn't buy from a pet store again, knowing what I now know about how they're run. I would also research a breed. But I was young and in love with this tiny little fox, and I have no regrets!
I think that's enough for now! I've got enough to do a few more of these, so if you have any questions, let me know in the comments! Happy Friday! xo
Every April (birthday month!), I kind of start reaccessing things, including my blog. I wonder if it's still relevant, if it's still worth the time I put into it, if I'm writing about things people actually enjoy reading.
Honestly, the answers to these questions don't really matter, because I truly love writing here, so I'm not gonna stop. And while I'm going to keep writing about the things that I love, I would also really like to write about the things you want to read about, or answer questions you might like to see answered here.
So let's get to know each other better! If you've got a question you'd like to see discussed on here, let's hear it! Got a topic you'd like to see written about? Lay it on me.
Drop it in the comments, or, if you're shy, use this form right here. Everything is anonymous so I won't see who says what.
Tell me something about yourself! Also, someone please ask me something so I don't feel stupid for posting this. Okay bye.
1. I am insanely afraid of whales. Not like, "Oh I think whales are scary," but more like I get hot and clammy and anxious even talking about whales. Whenever I'm in the ocean, no matter how shallow the water is, every time my foot touches something (like, you know, the sand) my first thought is honestly always it's a whale and I'm going to die.
I'm very rational.
2. I write a to-do list every single day with every single thing I need to do on it.
3. I hate window shopping. I don't mind going shopping and not finding anything, but I hate shopping without the intention or option of buying things.
4. When I was 22, I woke up one day covered in hives. Then really weird stuff started happening to me (like, my arms would randomly go numb and I would drop whatever I was holding, or my nose would randomly start gushing blood). Turns out, I developed severe allergies to basically everything overnight. To make a long story short, I had to do an extreme version of the elimination diet for about a year and a half, and was able to add most things back in. The allergies that have stuck around that suck the most are pineapple (because it's in every tropical drink ever) and cucumber (because it's in every sushi roll ever).
5. Loyalty is insanely important to me. If we're friends and you're arguing with someone and I know you're wrong, I will still stand beside you and back you up until the cows come home. When we're alone, I'll tell you that you're an idiot, but I'll always have your back.
6. When I started college, I was an elementary education major. I thought I wanted to be a teacher. Actually, I'm not even sure that's true...I think I just had to pick something and that sounded like something I'd be good at, so I picked it. I made it all the way to my student-teaching (horrid experience) before I realized I didn't want to spend every day doing this. I called my dad sobbing junior year and he calmly told me there was nothing stopping me from changing my mind, not even the thousands of dollars he'd paid for all those education classes and certifications. I hung up and marched right to the registrar's office and changed my major to English.
7. My first memory is of being in my parent's wedding. I don't remember the actual wedding part, but I remember someone putting stick-on-earrings on me before pictures, and I remember playing with my Angelina ballerina set before the wedding with my cousin.
8. I am an extremely laid back mom, which I did not see coming. Jack has never had a bedtime, I don't restrict screentime, and I let him eat anything. We're both happy, so I think it's working. The only thing I'm uptight about is who I'll leave him alone with...that's a very short list.
9. I'm a Plexus lover. My friend started selling it awhile back, and I have a rule that if a good friend starts their own business/starts selling something, I'll buy from them at least once, because we should support each other! But plot twist, it seriously worked for me and I'm seriously obsessed with it.
10. I passionately hated coconut until I was 17. Then I accidentally ordered pasta that had coconut in the sauce and now me and coconut are 8 years into our passionate love affair.
Tell me something I don't know about you!
Last week, my blog reached 6,000 followers on Bloglovin'. I'm not sure why it was that little milestone that gave me all the feelings, but it did. The fact that 6,000 of you are interested enough in what I write that you care to subscribe to it blows me away. I want to say thank you for that. 6,000 thank yous. I do not take for granted that you spend your time reading what I write, and I appreciate it so, so much.
Since you've all come along at different times, I thought I'd reintroduce myself so we could get to know each other a little bit better.
So hi, I'm Chelsea.
I grew up in Tennessee, but when I was fourteen my parents moved to Florida to start a church. They had this notion that since I was only fourteen, I had to move with them, and naturally I hated it. (pro tip: making someone move from where they've always lived their freshman year of high school is probably the worst timing). But, I got to spend my teenage years going to the beach every weekend, if not every day, and quickly learned that I was always meant to be a Florida girl.
Speaking of Florida, that's where I met Chris. He was a lifeguard and I would make up reasons to go to whatever beach he was working at so I could see him. We fell in love during the summer when I was seventeen and it's been him ever since. I think that having a summer romance by the beach is an experience that everyone should get to have.
We got married when I was 20 (I KNOW, so young) and moved to Orlando so he could go to medical school. Med school is insanely hard, but we had four insanely fun years in Orlando.
In May of 2015, I woke up one day feeling weird (that's a lie, I woke up to my boobs looking big(ger) for the first time in my life), so I took a pregnancy test eleven pregnancy tests even though there was no possible way I was actually pregnant...but lo and behold, I was. And on January 14, 2016, Jack joined our family. He is the sweetest little guy and everything I never knew I desperately wanted in life.
In March, through an insane (and torturous) process known as "the match," we found out we were moving to Gainesville, meaning I get to stay a Florida girl and Jack gets to grow up as a little Florida babe. I was more excited over that news than I can tell you.
So now we all live in our first real house in Gainesville: Me, Chris, Jack, and Gatsby (our dog who we think is actually low-key a fox). Chris is now a Doctor and is in surgery residency now so he can be a surgeon. Residency is so hard, but life is still good.
I drink way too much coffee, reading is my favorite hobby, and I'd spend every day by the pool if I could.
I love writing. I always have. I think that words change things. They move us to action. They reach places deep inside of us we didn't know needed to be reached. I wrote poems in elementary school, journaled through high school, majored in English (yeah, I'm still looking for a way to use that degree, too. Let's not talk about it.), and will write in some shape or form for the rest of my life. Because I just love words.
And I love this blog. I view every single post like a little coffee date with friends. Sometimes it's deep, serious coffee dates where I share my heart on important things. Sometimes it's a fun coffee date where I tell you about my favorite cheap sunglasses (affiliate link, disclosure here). Sometimes it's book talk, sometimes it's life updates, and sometimes it's just me trying to inspire you in some way. I hope that when you visit this little corner of the internet, you feel inspired.
Now, if you want to take this relationship to the next level (Dinner? A movie?) we can also be friends on instagram and twitter. If not, we'll just keep having coffee here.
I think that life is, at the root, good. That it is worth celebrating. That even through the hard days we should try to see the good and focus on that, because life is just too short to be consumed by the bad. I'm an optimist to my core, and I try to use that to create a little hub of encouragement and inspiration here. Of sunshine.
I think that life is so good, it's worth writing about. Thanks for joining me here in my little hub of sunshine.
Now, do me a favor and tell me about yourself!
