Happy Monday, hope you had a great weekend! Running on little to no sleep over here – the perfect way to kick off the week, right? 😉 The other day Meggan and I were talking and decided we should interview each other for a blog post since we’ve never done that before, and it’s been a while since we started our blog/introduced ourselves (you can see a bit more about us here). We will be answering the questions each of us thought up for the other this week – and here are mine. Hope you guys enjoy this! If there is anything else you guys want to know, feel free to ask us! 

Hmm…one of my guilty pleasures is YouTube makeup tutorials (is that embarrassing?) LOL. I love watching them, and can get sucked in so easily. I’m a product junkie, and always trying out new makeup and techniques. My favorite beauty vlogger is Carli Bybel – she has so much personality, and is bomb at doing makeup. If I could splurge on one major life change it would be a ‘glam squad’ – I haaate getting ready, and would love nothing more than to have someone do my hair and makeup daily. Who’s with me? 

2. How did you and Chad meet? 

Chad and I met in Miami. I was on a vacation with one of my best friends, and he was actually living in the hotel we were staying at. We both lived in Chicago at the time, but he was in Miami for work – and had an apartment in the hotel where he stayed during the week. We met at the pool, funny story. There was a group of ‘tween’ girls having a birthday pool party (definitely not an age-appropriate location), and they thought Chad was famous (HA!). They were asking him to sing happy birthday, and my friend and I were just watching this whole scene go down, and couldn’t stop laughing. He escaped the tweens (without singing happy birthday), and somehow we started talking. We talked for 3 hours at the pool and discovered we both lived in Chicago, had mutual friends, and both had dogs named Kingston (fate much?!). We decided to meet up that night with all of our friends, and the rest is history! We had (and continue to have) so much fun together, and he was truly the first person I felt totally myself with. In past relationships, there was always something ‘I needed to work on,’ but with him, everything was easy. Life lesson: never settle! We got engaged a year after we met on a trip to Miami – his proposal was pretty amazing, but that’s another story! 

3. What are your favorite places to eat/shop in NYC? 

There are so many great places to eat and shop in NYC. A few of my favorite places to brunch: Bubby’s Tribeca, Jane, The Fat Radish, and Smorgasburg (in the summer in Brooklyn – best donut of my life), and dinner: ABC Kitchen, Buddakan, One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Catch, Dos Caminos, and Isola Trattoria. There are still so many places I want to try, and this list is forever changing! To shop, I love love love Madison + 5th Ave – basically any and every store you could want (besides Nordstrom!) within walking distance of each other – Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorfs, Schutz, Hermes, Celine, Barneys, Vince, Zara, Diptyque, more, more, and more. I also love shopping in SoHo, but it gets so crowded, and the Upper East Side is just easier for me to navigate (we lived on the UES when we moved to NYC, so it is definitely the area of Manhattan I know the best).

4. What has surprised you the most about being a mom? 

“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things.” Since becoming a mom 2 years ago, I have learned so much. The greatest thing is learning how much love you can truly have for another human being – there is nothing like it! It’s so cliche, but it’s honestly a love you just can’t imagine until you have a child. It’s incredible how one little person can cause so much love, worry, joy, frustration (let’s be honest), and even more love at the end of the day. There are definitely days where I’m counting down the hours until bedtime, but as soon as Sophia is asleep, I sneak into her room to just look at her, and thank God for this precious beauty! I’m so excited (and nervous!) to have two. I’m nervous for Sophia – I hope she will still feel all the love I have for her, since a lot of my time will be occupied by a newborn…any mamas have tips for this? 

5. What was it like growing up in Iowa? 

Amazing! I love the fact that I grew up in Iowa – this is always something people are surprised about (and in NYC almost scoff at), when I tell them I’m originally from Iowa, but honestly, I’m the one laughing on the inside. People who aren’t from Iowa – or who have never been – assume it’s all corn fields and farms. While a lot of it is (if you watch the Bachelor, you know what I’m talking about!), that’s not all there is to Iowa. I was lucky enough to grow up on one of three blue water lakes in the entire world, and the lake was my backyard (this is also where Meggan and I met!). I learned to drive a boat by myself at age 5 (definitely consider it my hidden talent) and got to spend my summers on the lake with friends. Iowa gave me the best friends (who will be my friends for life), a great work ethic (hello! I was mowing the lawn at 10 years old, and always learning from my entrepreneur dad), and a true childhood which was completely focused on family. I feel so fortunate for the childhood I had, thanks to my parents and their hard work. Thanks Mom and Dad – I LOVE YOU! 

Probably my Cartier ‘LOVE bracelet.’ I’ve wanted one as long as I can remember, and Chad surprised me with it this year for my birthday – I was totally shocked. We are definitely planners and savers when it comes to finances, so this was totally unexpected! I love the meaning behind it, and it’s my favorite gift ever – besides my baby girl! 

Thank you! I love love love interior design – probably just as much as fashion. I’ve loved it since I was a little girl. I would paint my room a different color every year (I’m sure my parents were thrilled with my highlighter green phase), and was always rearranging the furniture. As I got older, and moved into my own places, my style was always changing – from rustic, to super modern, to a mix of the two. When Chad and I were first married, and living in an apartment in California, he said it looked like Las Vegas LOL! He let me decorate it exactly as I wanted, and let’s just say I went a little overboard with the bling and white ;). When we bought our home in CA is when I really got to experiment, since we did a few renovations (see our kitchen before and after below). I love experimenting, and just when I think I’ve found ‘my style,’ I see something completely different that I love. My favorite designer is Amber Lewis (Amber Interiors), and a lot of my inspiration comes from her. If we ever move back to California, I would love to have her come do my entire house! A few photos from my past (in California) and current (New York) home. 

kitchen before + after

1. Rosebud Salve (can’t believe I forgot to list this on my skincare routine post – it’s an absolute must for me!)

2. Great concealer (so far, my favorite is by Make Up Forever), but I’m always ready to try a new one for my dark circles – thanks to my French heritage + mom life! Do you have a favorite concealer I need to try? 

3. My curling wand. I don’t wear my hair straight very often – I feel like it just looks like it’s hanging there, so a curling wand is my favorite tool to get beach waves (tutorial coming soon, promise!). I currently use this super affordable Conair version which works great (even on my thick, heavy hair), but I’d love to splurge on a NuMe wand. 

9. First cocktail you’re having once the baby arrives? 

Champagne – it’s a celebration after all! 😉

10. Best advice you’ve gotten from your mom? 

My mom is my best friend, and just learning from her has been great advice she didn’t even have to give. She is so loving, selfless, and always doing things for everyone besides herself. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to be as great as her, but she is certainly the person I look up to most in this world. When Chad and I got married, my family gave me a jewelry box filled with notes of “marriage advice,” which we still have. Hers said,”Keep your first date butterflies alive,” and that is something we try to do. It’s easy to get into the routine of marriage/parenthood, but it is so important to get dressed up (or at least put makeup on lol) and head out for a date night as often as you can (we shoot for once/week). Sometimes I would rather put on my pajamas and lay on the sofa, but once we get out and have conversation outside of our home, I realize how great & important it is. 

One of two options – jeans and a tee (white, gray, or black), OR all black everything. 😉 

12. What’s on your spring wishlist?
UHG – so much! Here are five items currently in my shopping cart:

3. Boyfriend Button Down 

Chrissy Teigen all day! She is stunning, but also seems like such a cool, down-to-earth girl (you need to follow her on Instagram if you aren’t already)! 

Thanks so much for reading, ladies! Have a great day! xx