I love getting to know all of you in this little space we have together and when I opened up my Instagram stories to your questions recently, I had several that I’ve never answered, so… I’m putting all the answers here in one place to help you get to know a little more about me.
Here goes!
1 – I almost always have background sounds on while I work and absolutely love listening to audiobooks and podcasts at my desk. I’ve been so excited to join the podcast world with the launch of the 30A Mama podcast!
2 – My nickname is James and is usually only used by my oldest friends who’ve known me for ages — pre-marriage and pre-kids, which is one reason I love it.
3 – I love coffee but rarely drink it hot. It has to be really cold outside, though even then I might just bundle up with a frozen or iced coffee.
4 – I love being able to travel with my kids and truly enjoy sharing new experiences with them. My favorite kid trips (so far) have been to New York and The Keys.
5 – I am a total sympathy crier. If I see someone crying, it is only a matter of seconds before my eyes well up and I join the cry party. In fact, my husband will monitor my face as we’re watching a movie or even a sappy commercial just to see the reaction unfold.
6 – I absolutely love being a girl mom. Give me all the pink, all the girly details, at-Home spa nights and plenty of princess unicorn flamingo mermaid birthday parties to throw!
7 – My family lived in Auburn for two years, the only time I lived outside of Florida, and I took two classes on campus while in high school. I was thisssss close to attending Auburn University for college before we moved back here and I followed the family FSU tradition. (My grandmother was one of the first women to attend law school there!)
8 – I am the oldest child of four and feel like I have always been in boss mode as an older sibling.
9 – Both my parents and Hunter’s parents live here, so we always have plenty of babysitting offers and have yet to hire a babysitter – ever. It’s such a blessing and we appreciate them so much!
10 – I actually worked as a Starbucks barista for one summer when there was a Starbucks inside the Watercolor Market, which is now Chan’s Wine World. And a random fun fact: at that time there were four Starbucks on 30A (Rosemary Beach, Watercolor, Grayton) and we supposedly had the most Starbucks per capita. I guess that didn’t last long…
11 – My resume includes being a college professor! Since I have a Masters degree, I was able to teach at the undergraduate level for 2 years and taught both Creative Strategy and Intro to PR.
12 – I used to work for our areas visitor center as the social media marketing coordinator and still feel like I can give a full media tour of our area with so many random facts I picked up along the way.
13 – Before I got married, I used to do wedding make up on the side. It was just a word-of-mouth thing, but I did makeup for about 20 brides and loved it!
14 – I love graphic design and making graphics so much I’ve even taught Emery a few lessons in how to use Illustrator. She made her own Valentine’s Day cards one year!
15 – I have a totally goofy side which not a lot of people know, but I love sharing that with my friends and I have been known to quickly find a hiding spot around the house just to jump out and scare Hunter. Always hilarious!
16 – I absolutely love trivia. When I was in middle school/early high school, I competed on our school’s “Brain Bowl” team and competed against other schools. It was nerd heaven and I’m always down for a trivia night or watching Jeopardy.
17 – I love music and listening to random playlists and usually end up being the DJ on road trips or random get togethers.
18 – I really like to paint and have a collection of colors and brushes on hand when the mood strikes. I painted most of the art in our house!
19 – My hair is naturally curly but I typically wear it straight or wavy. I’m not super adventurous with my hair, but I do have to thank my friend Kristal for introducing me to my first-ever straightener.
20 – I’m great at washing clothes but terrible at folding/ putting them away. Everything is usually found in the clean clothes basket and never makes it to the drawer or closet. Sorry, Hunter!
21 – My enneagram number is a 3 and my personality type is outgoing introvert. I love socializing but when I’m done, I’m done and all I want are PJs and low key time at home.
22 – I took one class of dance as a child so don’t really have a background for it, but absolutely love hip-hop, even though my moves are pretty lame.
23 – I love a good bargain! I’m more likely to invest in designer accessories than clothes, but I also like to find the best deal, so once I have my eye on a piece, I’ll search for coupon codes or sales before purchasing.
24 – My husband and I are total opposites, which makes decision making in our day-to-day life interesting, but I love that about us and can’t imagine being married to someone too similar to me. It would probably be a disaster!
25 – I do not like drama and feel way too old to put up with less-than-genuine friendships at this point in my life. It takes a lot to burst my bubble, but if I’m truly offended, I have a hard time forgiving and forgetting.
26 – I actually enjoy working out, but I am terrible at making time for it and actually showing up for it. I’m focused on making that change this year.
27 – I am a terrible phone talker. I am the worst at calling my family and friends, but I love when they call me to catch up.
28 – My guilty pleasures are watching The Office too many times, Nerds candy and donuts.h
29 – One of my worst habits is procrastination. Sometimes, it’s because I’m lazy, but often it’s because I completely analyze and overanalyze options, planning out so may details in my head before I take any action.
30 – Scratch that, my worst habit might be that I’m nearly always a few minutes behind. Definitely need to work on that!
31 – I’m great at following recipes and know I need to spend more time trying new dishes in the kitchen, but instead I just make the same 7 recipes.
32 – I love sleep! I used to be a night owl and now have trouble staying up past 10 unless I’ve had a late coffee. I could sleep in any chance I get!
33 – I love color! I bounce between brights and pastels, but as much as I appreciate a crisp white setting, I don’t think I could live without my happy hues.
34 – New York is my favorite city to visit and no matter how many times I go, there’s always something new to discover.
35 – The beach and anywhere tropical is my happy place. I’ll never get tired of digging my toes in the sand and soaking in the sun!