The Saturday Sit-Down #54: Mudpies and Pearls

So here’s a little behind the scenes for ya: Even though you’re likely reading this on Saturday, I’m currently putting this together at 5:27 a.m. on Friday morning. I might be a little insane, but hear me out. 🙂 I’m sitting here under a heated blanket, sipping coffee, listening to Sadie’s white noise machine nearby, and the house simply feels so peaceful. I love starting the day like this.

People have asked me for tips for how to wake up early, and I always say to give yourself something to look forward to once you get out of bed. For me, it’s sipping a hot cup of coffee, curling up on the couch with , and doing something I enjoy – reading and writing. It also helps that I typically cannot keep my eyes open past 9:30 p.m. I’ve never been a night owl, ever.

Anyyyyyway! Hooray for featuring Amber today, who is the author of the blog Mudpies and Pearls. She and I recently discovered each other, and I’m so glad to have another fabulous blog to add to my “blog roll” of regulars. Meet Amber, a super down to earth, relatable woman who I hope you enjoy getting to know! PS: I think the picture below of her family is so precious. They’re all beautiful together!

Q: Hey Amber! In three sentences or less, tell us a little bit about who you are. 🙂

A: Hi Erica, thanks for having me! I’m Amber and I live outside of Austin in the Texas hill country with my husband and our two little boys. My kitchen is my happy place, cooking can be therapeutic for me (that and writing); I was a huge book nerd up until kids, now that my boys have left the infant stage I am able to pick up a book much more often; I am not “trained” in interior design or decor but that doesn’t stop me from loving it!

Q: When and why did you start your blog, and what is the story behind your title?

A: Mudpies and Pearls was formed out of a desire to create a space to share the experience of motherhood. My college best friend, Carly who now lives in Tennessee, and I became moms within a year or so of each other. During the first few years of motherhood it seemed that we were constantly texting each other about some weird experience that had totally taken us by surprise. We eventually decided to start a blog to share our experiences and stories with other women in hopes that they would be able to avoid thinking “I wish someone would have warned me that this would happen!”.

The name of our blog came from our hope to find a little fancy in the everyday happenings of life.

Q: What are some of your favorite topics to cover on the blog?

A: I love to be encouraged by friends and so a lot of the time what I write is coming from a place of encouragement. Because it’s better to give than to receive, right? Being a mom definitely has it’s difficult days and we could all use words that lift us up.

Last week I started a new weekly post where I share my family’s meal plan, I am so excited about this and based on the reaction last week so are other moms! I have a picky eater in my family and I try to mostly cook without processed foods, those two factors can sometimes make things challenging so when we find something that we all love I want to shout it from the rooftop and share it with the world!

Q: I read in your recent post about why exercising isn’t just good for you, but good for those you love. I really appreciated how you worded it. What role does exercise play in your life? Would you mind explaining why you think exercise is so crucial to our daily lives?

A: I do love to exercise, I actually missed my workout this morning and I’m scheming on how to fit it into my afternoon schedule. It’s my “me time” and it keeps my stress level WAY down. Besides the obvious mental and physical benefits of exercise, I love that my kids see that I am making health and fitness a priority. I want them to know how important it is to stay strong and take care of their bodies.

Q: I know you have two little guys! Tell us about them. 🙂 What do you love about being a mother to boys?

A: Yes! My boys are 3 & 5, they are FULL of energy and both have very strong (and extremely different) personalities. They recently became VERY interested in pets; we already have a Chesapeake Bay retriever and two goldfish. Last weekend the boys convinced us to get chickens, we are in the process of building a chicken coop so be on the lookout for pictures and stories on Mudpies and Pearls -hopefully stories of survival and not the tragic ending of our little farm (we’ve seen foxes in our neighborhood so chances are we’ll be fighting them off). They have also asked for pet worms, pet frogs (absolutely not), and goats. I am pushing for goats myself too, my husband isn’t convinced that we need them yet. He’ll get there eventually (wink, wink!). My boys are about anything that is slimy, muddy, or stinky and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

Q: I know you’re a Beauty Counter Consultant. What lead you on that journey? What are your absolute favorite products?

A: I discovered BeautyCounter a few years ago and was immediately hooked. Between my two pregnancies I had a cancer scare; you can read about it here. Before that experience I was already trying to use as many natural products as possible and my scare just amplified my desire to clean up my products. I was having a hard time finding things that were natural AND performed as well as my old products up until I discovered BeautyCounter.

The first thing that I tried was the Charcoal Cleansing Bar- it cleanses and balances out my skin without drying it out. I also love the No. 3 Balancing Facial Mask (it also contains charcoal), I use this product 1-2 times a week- the mask has caused the pores on my face to drastically shrink! My last skin care fav is the Rejuvenating Radiance Serum, I am in my mid 30s and wrinkles are starting to form (ugh)- this product has not only minimizes wrinkles, it makes my skin baby skin soft. My makeup must have is the Touchup Skin Concealer Pen, without a doubt. It took me months to try this because I am so picky about concealers but I eventually tried it and loved it- it’s not cakey, it blends seamlessly, and it hides blemishes and dark circles SO well.

Q: If you had an entire free day to yourself to spend how you’d like, what would you fill your time with?

A: I would go to my favorite local coffee shop to pick up a latte, and either thrift or go garage saleing (is that even a word?) for old furniture and cookbooks. I love to paint old furniture with Annie Sloan chalk paint, it’s so easy! In regard to the cookbooks, I firmly believe that there is no such thing as too many cookbooks.

Q: Where should new readers start on your blog? 

Growing Pains

Following Through

Grace

Q: Where can we follow you on social media?

Facebook | Instagram

And just for fun…

1. Online or in-person clothes shopping? Online (because, kids).
2. Grocery store once per week or multiple times? Once a week.
3. Big or small dogs? Big for sure.
4. Spring or fall? Spring!

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Thanks so much, Amber!

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