Striped Midi Dress and Q + A

Outfit Details:

Striped Midi Dress (sold out, lots of similar options below), Denim Jacket, Studded Cross Sandals, Tassel Bag, Baseball Cap

Today I’m doing something a little different and fun — a Q&A! I did a reader survey at the beginning of the year and you guys had some questions that I’ve never answered on here, plus I asked on instagram a few weeks ago. I thought it would be fun to answer some of them today. And leave another question in the comments if you have one!

Q. What’s your favorite everyday haircare product? 

A. I don’t wash my hair everyday, but my favorite hair product ever is Pureology Hydrate shampoo. It costs a pretty penny, but it’s literally worth every single one of those pennies. I never felt like I had good hair until I started using this shampoo, and now I can go a week between washes without a problem, my hair grows really fast, is really healthy, and looks better than it ever has. Also a little goes a long way so those big, expensive bottles last me 8 or 9 months. I shared more about my hair routine here!

Q. What brought you to California? 

A. My husband’s job! We lived in Utah for six years together after we got married, and we had our two oldest boys there. We got the job when I was eight months pregnant, and moved when Fos (my middle baby) was one month old. I never really understood the hype about California and why everyone loved it and never wanted to move away…but it took about one week of living here to realize what everyone was talking about. We never want to leave!

Q. What would you do with your time if you had a kid-free and no work afternoon? Do you like to read?

A. I do love to read! I’ve gone through periods of my life where I’ve read a lot, and some where I don’t read as much. Currently I read a ton with my boys — we read a few chapters of a book together each night at bedtime (currently reading and loving this one), and we listen to a lot of audiobooks (I blogged about that here). I don’t read much on my own — I mostly listen to General Conference talks when I’m working late at night. If I had a kid and work free afternoon, I’d probably go to the beach and take a nap on the sand 😉

Q. What mascara do you use? Or are your eyelashes even real?

A. Yes, my eyelashes are real! I tried eyelash extensions right before San was born last year and after six weeks of wearing them, almost all of my eyelashes fell out. That doesn’t happen for everyone, but I freaked and instantly bought this serum to grow them back. After about four weeks of using it, my lashes were back to normal, and about four weeks after that they were super long. After twelve weeks, they were so long my husband asked me to stop using it cause they were so crazy, ha! But it turns out you need to keep using the serum to keep the growth, because after about a month of not using it anymore, I lost all the extra growth and they went back to normal. Now I put it on two to three times a week to maintain. I wrote more about it here!

Also, I purchased for the first time here where it was twice the cost, because I was dubious about buying it from an unknown seller. But I took a chance and ordered it cheaper here and it’s exactly the same product. I’ve ordered this cheaper one twice now, and it’s absolutely reputable.

I’ve tried a lot of mascaras, and currently this one is my favorite — it’s under $8!  I use this primer before putting on my mascara, and it makes my lashes full and thick, and stay in place all day!

Q. How do you and your husband meet?

A. I shared the story right here!

Q. How do you rotate your clothing?

A. Honestly, I don’t have a very good system for it, but I do closet sales every so often on instagram to sell some of my gently used items! If you have a good recommendation for a more efficient and user friendly way to sell clothing online, tell me in the comments!

Q. How do you organize your schedule/manage your time as a mom of little kids and a job?

A. This is probably a question that needs to be answered in a full blog post, but the short answer is that I have a babysitter three times a week so I have dedicated work time. Working from home isn’t easy, and that scheduled time is really important so I can focus and get things done. I found my babysitter on care.com and highly recommend it! Also for my daily planning, I write to-do lists, and I use Apple Calendars so all of my reminders, appointments, etc. automatically sync between my laptop and my iPhone and I can get pop up reminders on both devices. I’ll write more about this at some point!

Q. When did you start sewing? How did you learn? Tell me more about The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sewing.

A. I started sewing when I was twelve years old and took lessons for about two years. I learned the basics of using my machine, sewing straight lines, and I made a few fun projects like pajama pants, pillow cases, and skirts. I quit when I went into high school and things got too busy, and I didn’t start sewing again until after my first baby was about a year old. I started with refashions (like this one) and worked really hard to get better. I studied my own clothing, asked my bestie, Leanne, about a thousand questions, and practiced, practiced, practiced until I got better. So I’m not completely self taught, but mostly. Two years ago, Leanne and I created an online sewing course, The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sewing to teach you guys how to sew too! You can check it all out right here.

I have lots more questions from you guys, but I’ll share answers to those another day. Drop a comment in the box below if you have another question you’d like answered! xx