Hello! I am so excited to start this new series throughout the month of August! I thought it would be a great time for y’all to get to know the girl behind the blog a little bit more. Sometimes I feel like all I do is post about clothes and beauty products…which of course I love doing! But still, I thought maybe y’all would want to get to know ME for a second.
This blog series is called Keeping up with Kelly. There will be a new edition every Friday for the month of August, meaning 4 different posts! You can ask me ANY question. Seriously. Nothing is off limits. Every week I will be talking about different topics, so that is something to look forward to!
I was quite happy with all of the questions I got for my first post! So many of y’all are such attentive readers and I have truly loved getting to know you. I have been really connecting with more readers this past month and I hope to keep that up and EXPAND that connection this month. Have you tried my #GlamSquadCommunity Friend challenge yet? If not, read my post about it here and then do it! I would love to see what you and your friends are doing to stay connected and go deeper!
So, without further adieu, here is my first post of Keeping up with Kelly!
1.How do you plan with your Erin Condren Vertical Planner? Tips & Tricks?
I love planning, so I love this question! I have had the vertical planner for a while now, and there are so many different ways you can use it! I’ve used it as more of a “day-timer” before, meaning the first box was for the morning, second box was for afternoon, and third box was for evening plans. This is great if you like to plan more in time slots than overall objectives. Currently, I like to “divide and conquer”. The top box I use as my “to-do” list for the day; things that I would love to check off of my list. The Second box is used for plans set that day. For instance, if I have a work meeting or a personal trainer workout scheduled, I will write that down there. These are things that I HAVE to do. These are my commitments. Then my last box, I reserve for workout plans/goals or nutrition goals.
There is really no set way you have to organize your planner, it is whatever fits best with your lifestyle. When I was in college, I organized it way differently. The first box was for assignments due, the second box was for my to-do list, and the last box was about either practice or my workouts.
I also LOVE planner stickers. These not only are super cute, but the functional ones really help with the planning process. I have some for when I do my laundry, get gas, workout, grade papers, choreograph, go to a football/basketball game, get starbucks… the list goes on. This helps so much AND it is fun to look at. My favorite sticker shops are this one and this one!
2. What are the best things to do/places to go in Dallas?
This is so hard! There are so many fun places to go when you visit Dallas. I love heading over to West Village. There is a ton of shopping and so many great restaurants. This is also an amazing place to take pictures! Heading over to Deep Ellum is super cool too. These two places are worlds different, so if you want to get a good feel of everything Dallas has to offer, check them both out!
Favorite Restaurants:
- The Rustic is super fun! Lots of great dining options and a really fun atmosphere. Also; GREAT for pictures!
- True Food Kitchen: I love healthy restaurants! This place has so many options and everything is healthy. This is a great spot for lunch!
- Flower Child: I have not been able to try this place yet, but it is on my list! Everything here is also healthy and the atmosphere is totally blogger-Esq.
- Meddlesome Moth: I LOVE THIS PLACE. Hands-down, one of my favorite dining places to go to. They have the BEST hummus and their food is prepared very well. The atmosphere is really nice too. They have this cool-vibe going for them. I love this place for date night!
- Cafe Brazil: I love this spot for breakfast! They have their own coffee bar with SO many different flavors of coffee. They are SO good and you just keep going back for more. I also love the food. They have these amazing sweet potatoes that come with eggs… YUM. And of course, the pancakes are amazing.
Shopping:
- Northpark Mall is a great place to start! This mall has everything from Designer to budget friendly. You can spend hours in this place, and they have great restaurants too! It is in a great location as well.
- Galleria Mall: This is more of a budget friendly mall. They have so many stores and even an indoor ice skating rink!
Amusement:
- Dallas Zoo: Who doesn’t love looking at animals!?
- George W. Bush Library: This place is so fun and you can spend hours there looking around! This is right in the heart of Dallas too. A must see!
3. What are your tips to a lifestyle of healthy eating?
Always staying on top of your game with your nutrition is HARD work. Let’s be honest here, I fail all the time. What is most important however, is getting back on track! I always say, failing to plan is planning to fail. Set goals for yourself throughout the week and MEET them. Don’t settle for mediocre.
I also like to plan my meals in advance. I write down what my breakfasts will be, lunches, and try to plan out my dinners too. I try to have a good source of protein for every meal, lots of veggies, and a small amount of carbs and fat. Listen to your body when it comes to your nutrition distribution.
I also use the app MyMacros+ . This is amazing! It really opens your eyes to what you are consuming and putting into your body! You can track your protein, carbs, fats, sodium, calories, and water for the day. If you aren’t already tracking your macros, there are so many free sites online where you can find out what your nutrition goals should be based off of you fitness goals, current weight, and body composition. It is always best to see a certified personal trainer to get the MOST accurate numbers, but the tools online are such a great starting point. Just type in Macro calculator in google and a million tools will pop up!
My last tip: Reward yourself. Living in a constant restricted diet will NOT workout in the end. I am very mindful of what I put into my body, but I will also let myself have frozen yogurt every once in a while. Treat your body as a temple, like the Bible says. You shouldn’t be stuffing your face with donuts and chips. You may like the taste, but is that going to help your body or be dangerous to your body? Not just composition wise, but health wise as well! Once you change your mindset to one of fueling your body for a healthy life, saying no to “bad foods” will become a lot easier.
4. How do you edit your pictures on Instagram?
I have gone through so many different phases of what I want my instagram feed to look like, but one thing ALWAYS remains; the apps I use. I first start the editing process with the app called Afterlight. It allows you to edit the basics of your photo (brightness, contrast, clarity, etc.). After that, I will go into FaceTune. NO, I don’t mean change the way you look…haha! I just use this for the whitening of the background. And lastly, I then use VSCO. I use the filter HB2 and very rarely use the full amount. This is a matter of preference though!
5. Where do you get your room/decor? Will we get to see a room tour soon?
The fact that y’all like my room is so amazing! Haha! I am constantly feeling like I want to change it or update it! I get a lot of my decor from either Ikea, Homegoods, or Target! A lot of this stuff I have had for ages. Once I am done completely setting up my room (there are still a lot of things that need hanging..), I would love to do a room tour. Stay tuned!
6. How did you and your boyfriend meet?
I LOVE this question. Andrew and I have been dating for over 2 1/2 years now! We met in the most cliche way ever; in class at Baylor. I remember sitting in the history class and seeing this total hottie walk into the room. He was wearing his black, long sleeve “Baylor Golf” dri-fit shirt with a black snapback on backwards and my heart skipped like 10,000 beats. I remember turning to my best friend and just gushing over how attractive this guy was but how he was way out of my league and probably really into himself because he plays sports. HA! After a few months of me staring at him in class (and apparently him staring at me too!), he finally asked me out.
And LADIES! He is definitely the kind of guy we all desire. Not only did HE make the first move, but he was also extremely straight forward. He didn’t beat around the bush. Our first conversation ended with him getting my number and asking if he could take me out on a date sometime. And by “sometime” it was later that week. No games. No questions. CLEAR with his intentions.
7. What would you tell someone who wants to start blogging?
GO FOR IT. And don’t compare yourself along the way. You should never start a blog because you want “fame”, to be an internet “baddie”, or to make money/get free stuff. Blogging is a very hard, challenging, and overwhelming road. I would have quit a long time ago if it wasn’t for MY LOVE for writing and connecting with you guys. There are so many times when I just think, “why am I doing this? Does anyone even care about my blog?!”, but I am always reminded about the purpose behind my blog and my brand. I love to inspire others and connect with people. This is my platform.
Blogging may look easy, but I guarantee if you ask ANY blogger, they will all say there are so many highs and lows. You really have to love what you are doing. Start a blog that is a true representation of YOU. If you like fashion, talk about fashion. If you hate fashion…don’t make your blog about that! It sounds simple, but there are so many people that feel like in order to be a “blogger”, they have to act a certain way, most content that will “get views”, etc. The best way to gain a following is to post about things you love and care about.
8. Best and Worst Job?
This is so hard because I feel like with any job, there will be your highs and lows. My best job so far was probably working as an Assistant Drill Team Director at a high school. It was not a walk in the park by any means, but I truly LOVE getting to inspire my students, give them advice, teach them dance, and be there for them throughout their high school journey. My office door was always open to students who needed advice or just a safe place to sit and not talk and just be. High school can be so tough, so being able to be a role model/mentor to my students was the most rewarding thing ever. I miss them daily.
My worst job? Well…it lasted only like 2 weeks… it was that bad. I was hired under false pretenses! I was told that I would run social media, be working the digital side, photoshoots, all the behind the scenes work, modeling…aka the elements I wanted to learn more about and grow from! In reality, I was working the floor, trying to sell clothes, steam clothes, and being bossed around. Don’t get me wrong, I have worked retail before and LOVED it. But when you go into a job thinking one thing and it ends up being the complete opposite…. yeah no.
And that’s a wrap! This was a LENGTHY post, so if you are still here, THANK YOU! I hope you all enjoyed reading it; I truly loved making this post. I hope you got to know me a little bit better. Stay tuned for next Friday’s edition of Keeping up with Kelly.
In the comments below, ask me any questions you have for next week’s post! Feel free to e-mail me too at theglamorousteacher@gmail.com ! Happy Friday!
