faq’s

photos by maria lloyd photograpy

so i reached out the other day to solicit some questions from you guys, and have aggregated those with some of the other ones i consistently get. a few of them were asked so often or require more info, so i’ll be doing a post on them! otherwise, i’ve listed the q & a’s below:

what do you do?
as in, what’s my day job? i work for one of the marketing teams at target as a project manager, focusing primarily on the finances for said marketing team [this marries my accounting/marketing backgrounds perfectly!]. i also do some event planning for the team i am on. both pieces of my role mean that i get to reach across the company and work with some of the smartest, coolest, most inspiring [and stylish!] people out there. my team is part of target’s digital marketing org, so i’m constantly learning new things with the changing media landscape. i have been very lucky and had some really amazing jobs in my relatively short career thus far, but this one is awesome. i really feel like i am able to be an intrapreneur and have ownership of processes and outcomes, something i was really afraid of moving to a large org. [i fully own and acknowledge that this answer got a little long-winded, but i’m passionate, can you tell?!] i’m also a wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, etc., so that’s what i do.

favorite places to shop?
target, obviously. and i’m not just saying that – i feel like target really fits my style and aesthetic and i can find all kinds of great pieces there, specifically the who what wear line. also nordstrom, j.crew, h&m, a little asos, evereve more recently, boden [check it out!!! like the UK version of j.crew], athleta, saks off 5th, nordstrom rack, gap. i thoroughly love a good hunt for solid pieces, so i’m much more of a mall shopper than an online shopper [which is ironic considering i work on the digital side of target’s marketing team].

your commute – how and why do you commute so far everyday?!
a couple of thoughts on this – the first being, it’s all relative. i live a lot further out of the city than most of my coworkers, but since i live so far out [and leave pretty early], i miss most of the traffic. they could easily spend just as long as i do sitting in traffic all day. the second big piece of this is that joey and i always agreed we would live where he taught, as long as it was close enough for me to commute. our thought is that someday we will have kids in sports/activities, and it’ll be on him to run them to/from school for that. we both grew up in a small town, too, so we want to keep that lifestyle, meaning i get the best of both worlds! i work in the city, and live in the country. reasonable cost of living is just a bonus.

who takes your photos?
maria! maria of maria lloyd photography is talented and has a total eye for the shot. i will tell you right now that i feel awkward as all get out while posing for the shots, but she makes me feel so comfortable and like i know what i’m doing, and somehow she is able to work her magic and get fantastic shots! it was total cosmic intervention i found out she was a side-photography genius, as by day she’s a total #girlboss on one of the teams i work with at target. for real, if you’re in minnesota, HIGHLY recommend working with maria.

work/life balance — how do you blog, work, and have a kid?
first of all, i truly believe there is no such thing as work-life balance. to me, it’s really work-life integration. balance indicates a set point, and life just isn’t sitting in one set place. it’s always a series of give-and-take. some days, i need to take off early to bring logan to the doctor, and there are plenty of nights i hop on my computer for a few hours after she’s off to bed. i’m lucky that i have a family and a work community that are understanding and respectful of both, so i can make it work. i wouldn’t be as good of a mom without my job, and i think that being a mom has made me a better employee. they work in conjunction, and i feel fulfilled. on the blog side, i’ve 100% made it clear that my family and my work come first, but writing and putting time into this creative endeavor never seem like work, so i find the time for it. it’s fun for me, so it never feels forced.

favorite stage logan has been in?
all of them!!!! truly, from 3 months on each day gets better and better and cooler and cooler. i can’t even describe it – watching your child learn and grow into little humans with not only physical capabilities, but mental and emotional ones is so fulfilling and delightful. it’s a surprise all the time to see what new skill she is working on mastering, that you weren’t even aware of. being a mom is the coolest gift, and i can’t wait to see what’s next. the love i have for this child makes me understand my purpose — if i do nothing else right in my life, i’ve brought her into the world and by doing so made the world a better place. love you logie!!!

best leggings?
i do consider myself somewhat of a legging connoisseur, but i believe this question deserves it’s own post, so it will get one. i have to say, however, the short answer is anything by athleta. they are substantial, flattering, come in all kinds of great lengths, styles, and prints. i wore mine throughout my pregnancy, and they never stretched out but were able to grow with me. MUCH RECOMMEND. short girls, the 7/8 length is for you – the perfect ankle skimming length, but without being too short or too long. again, this all deserves it’s own post, because i can’t say enough good things about athleta in general.

your hair – how do you care for/do/style your hair?
again, this needs it’s own post. i will say, because i’m asked at least once a week, it is all my hair! no extensions, just really good genes [thanks mom!] it’s also finally starting to grow again – while i didn’t have much for post-partum hair loss, i didn’t get the thick, lustrous hair growth that pregnant women rave about. i do credit my hair growth and health of late to this probiotic and this daily vitamin. i’ll have a new post for those of you interested in my hair soon. [i did recently have a very similar moment to this youtube video, so i’m down a curling iron right now – ha!]

there were a few more that i will loop back around and answer in a different post, but i LOVE getting q’s on instagram or directly here via email/comment! feel free to reach out, and have a great week!