Jesse Coulter

Month 2 of my 6 month NO Shopping Challenge is complete! Check out my latest video for an update of what I've been struggling with, what I've bought, what I've been given and what I've learned so far!

I'm SO excited Spring is here! Warmer days and longer nights to play outside! Everyday when I pick Walt and Whitney up from school, I let them run around in our front yard for an hour or so. I have to keep my eye on Whitney the most because she will eat rocks, dirt, trash and leaves like it's the yummiest dessert she's ever had. She also enjoys discovering ant piles...God help me.

I think it's extremely important to continue learning throughout your life. Whether that is picking up an instrument, crafting, trying out a new workout, learning a new language, or practicing a new skill. Your brain, body and overall life can only benefit from learning. This year I'm intently focusing on spending less $ on material items and more $ on experiences such as learning a new skill.

I often get blogging questions such as; How do you reach out to brands? How many followers do you need to have before you reach out? Do you have a media kit? What's in your pitch?

90% of my partnerships over the years have come from me reaching out. In my latest video I'm sharing what I've learned the past 6 years, and giving my honest opinion of what works and what doesn't work for me.  If you have any specific questions, please comment on the video and I'd be happy to answer them!

I grew up in a home that taught respect, love and care for each other. We were taught to trust our intuition, stand up for ourselves, and never give up.

At my father's memorial we knew the preacher would share memories of our father, but we didn't know the details of the service. He shared scripture from 1 Thessalonians 4, and focused on the following verses, "⁹ Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. ¹⁰ And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, ¹¹ and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

ONE YEAR! My babies are officially a year old! I love them so much I could eat them up. This past year has been filled with MANY smiles and MANY tears.

• The first few months were filled with extreme anxiety, sleepless nights (well I still have those), and trying to figure out how to raise three kiddos. I gave up breastfeeding after a week, spent lots of time in my hometown for extra help and went back to work after 3 months. I am EXTREMELY grateful for my mother and the rest of my family and friends for helping us. Our village was strong and still is.

• When people say, "Oh my goodness, I want twins!". I look at them like they're crazy. I know that sounds mean, but this is NOT easy. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. It has put extreme pressure on every aspect of my life, but it has taught me, changed me, and molded me into a stronger person.

• We had a very simple first birthday party with close family and friends. You'd think I would go all out, but I really didn't have the energy to plan it and I didn't care about going big. No invitations, no balloons, no elaborate decorations. I bought two simple cakes from HEB,  finger foods (meat, cheese, fruit, nuts) and had custom cookies made by ShortBread Baking Co. Not having to cook was a GAME CHANGER! I remember at Turner's first birthday running around like a mad woman trying to prep everything and cook, and I did not want to repeat that. The only thing that took time was making the pom pom garlands and a ONE sign, but making them was so much fun! 

If you didn't know I now have a new tab at the top of my blog titled INSTAGRAM SHOP. There you can see all the outfits I post to Instagram because sometimes those outfits won't make a full blog post. P.S. This scarf is seriously the BEST! It's uber soft, big and comfy, has pom poms on the bottom and is only $24.50. Get it HERE!

This year I've scaled back when it comes to decorating for Christmas. I decided to keep it simple when it came to our mantel and went with a black, white, red and green Scandinavian theme. Check out details about my inspiration and why I kept it simple!

Photo by Brooke Taelor

My mouth dropped when I passed by the Catch Air sign in Round Rock this Summer. Turner and I have been to the Austin/Anderson Mill location and were beyond excited to find out another location was opening up just 5 minutes from our home!

I've never thought of myself as a hat person, and usually feel very awkward when I wear one. Hats are a bold statement and add a lot of personality to an outfit, but I've never found one that suited me until now!

Last week I co-hosted the 8th ATX Blogger Mixer! Every event is unique and special in it's own way. However at every mixer I always meet someone new and learn something (you've got to ask questions). I worked with Shortbread Baking Co. to design these cookies, and my theme was "DREAM BIG". I want every blogger to dream big and know their voice is unique!

A few weeks ago Alex and I traveled to Houston to celebrate my 30th birthday! We were both raised in Texas, but neither of us have spent time in Houston. I've explored every large city in Texas except Houston, which is odd considering it's the 4th largest city in America and largest in Texas. I was suprised the drive was less than 3 hours from Austin, and there are two Bucees along the way..winning! 

To my little ding dongs...that's what I like to call them these days. What a month it's been! Their personalities are hilarious to watch. Whitney is stoic and doesn't crack a smile easily, but when she does it's the sweetest thing. Walt is my goofball and laughs at anything I do.

Life lately:

• STOP the sickness! I don't remember a day I haven't given one of them antibiotics in the past 6 weeks.

• I took a new job and life has been insane! I've doubled my commute, and I have much more work to do during the day. I leave work at 4, get home just in time to pick them up by 5 and it's a $%&# show till about 8pm. However, I love my job!

• Alex and I took a mini-vacation to Houston for my 30th and it was the best! Much needed time away from kiddos, where we could actually talk and eat in peace. My in-laws drove down from Dallas to watch all three!

Onesies: Gap. Moccasins: Freshly Picked.

When Turner was 4 months old I joined State Farm as an auto claim rep. I trained for many months to become a licensed adjuster, and learned a ton about insurance, cars and investigating accidents. My goal was to join the marketing department, and about a year and a half later I did as the Marketing Coordinator on the Customer Strategy Team. Over the years I've met some amazing people, had some insane claim experiences, traveled quite a bit to Bloomington, Illinois (State Farm's headquarters), and learned a lot about myself.

Going from a start up like Republic Tequila (which was my first job in Austin) to an extremely large corporation was eye opening. I learned that each type of company, small or large, have their pros and cons. It was hard saying goodbye to State Farm as it was a very comfortable and stable job, but I desired to move up and to be honest the competition was extremely tough. I applied and interviewed numerous times over the past year with no luck. Some roles over 700 people applied!

I realized that I had to start looking outside of State Farm. I desperately wanted to use my skill sets more, and began slowly job hunting (which can feel like a full time job at times). I used Indeed, and loved receiving notifications when new roles in my area were posted. I applied and interviewed many times, before one opportunity stood out. I've accepted a position at Big Red, Inc. as the Associate Marketing Manager for XYIENCE, an energy drink owned by Big Red. If you haven't heard of Big Red, well you're probably not from Texas or the south. It's a soda that goes great with tacos and BBQ!


I'll have more of a commute and less flexibility, so this will put a bit more stress on our family but I'm looking forward to the opportunity!

I've fully embraced the front tuck and don't think I'll ever go back! For some reason I feel like it dresses up my casual jeans + tee uniform. If you've followed me for a while you know I'm obsessed with American Eagle's Tomgirl jeans, and I recently found a pair in black! For some reason they don't have this color online, but I would definitely advise you to try on a pair in the store!

Hitting a milestone birthday today...the BIG 30! A couple of years ago I dreaded this birthday, but I can honestly say that I'm perfectly fine with leaving my 20's. I've learned so much about myself over the years, and I'm excited for what's in store for my 30's! In a decade I've studied abroad, graduated with my BBA and MBA, created life long friendships, married, started a blog, moved to Austin, was diagnosed with vaginismus, found a career, bought a house, had THREE children and many things in between. Yep, just like that a decade has gone by.

I thought I would share a few things I've learned about life and myself.

- Family is everything. When I was young I dreamed of living abroad or being a big wig marketing exec in NYC, but after studying abroad I learned real quick how much I missed my family. I missed them so much it hurt, and I never want to be that far away again. So...I will never leave Texas and I hope my extended family never does. Kids, you're going to an in state school...fingers crossed.

- Stand up for yourself. This is something I'm still working on, but I learned the hard way what it feels like when you don't stand up for yourself. I was pretty much bullied at my first job in Austin. Every day was hell, and for some reason I let it happen. I let the person ( a woman) walk all over me. I may be outgoing and LOVE to talk, but I hate confrontation. I've learned that confrontation is going to happen, and you need to be brave and stand up for yourself even when everything inside of you tells you to back down and hide in a corner.


- Jesus has never left me. Over the years I've been very close with the Lord and very distant. He is a constant in my life, and I pray that in my 30's I could draw closer. Alex and I have found a church we like, and we hope to put roots down over the next few years.

- I'm a writer. When I first started blogging and for many years after I never considered myself a good writer. However, over the years I feel like I've been able to tell stories through writing in the same way I would in person. I'm still horrible with grammar, but I enjoy typing out my thoughts and feelings.

- I'm an open book. Being honest and vulnerable is the key to connecting with others. I've been asked hundreds of times in job interviews what my greatest qualities are, and many times I respond with my ability to connect with people. Communicating and relating with others has always been something I've enjoyed, and through my 20's I learned that those are the traits I want to bring to my job, marriage and friendships. You could ask me anything and I would answer it. Money, marriage, faith, motherhood, you name it.


If you read this blog, thank you! Thank you for reading my words, and following me along on life's journey. Cheers to 30!

Happy Birthday to my Turner Jack! The sweet little boy who made me a mom, and has taught me so much about myself these past four years. He is extremely loving, intuitive, full of sass, and quite sensitive just like his mother. He loves playing all sports, but could also curl up on the bed and watch Netflix all day if we let him.

Last Sunday we celebrated his birthday a few days early at Catch Air! This was the first year Turner requested a theme....so a Ninja Turtle party it was. When thinking of places to host the party I knew 1.) I didn't have time to put a lot of effort in to planning 2.) I didn't want to throw a party in my home. I'm way too OCD about a clean home so prepping for a party + hosting + watching twins = a bad combo. Turner and I visited Catch Air a few months ago, and I knew he and his friends would absolutely love it! It was an easy choice when they told me they had a special party coordinator that would help plan, prepare and clean up for the party.

9 Months! This month flew by and the babies didn't change much developmentally.

Life lately:

• I feel like we've had a crazy amount of appointments so I've had to take a lot of time off of work. Thankfully I have a lot saved up. 

• We took a road trip to Dallas last week for a family reunion (Turner side) and the babies were able to meet aunts, uncles, and cousins for the first time. I spent most of the road trip in the 3rd row of our van entertaining or feeding them (definitely not fun).

• Nights seem to have gotten crazier this past month for some reason. Both are super cranky and fussy from the moment I pick them up from school till bedtime. I usually take them for a walk to get at least 30 minutes of peace and quiet!

• We had family photos taken with Laura Morsman Photography, and I just love having photos of all 3 of my kids together! Know though that it was EXTREMELY hot, humid and there were hundreds of mosquitoes in the greenhouse. I was sweating like crazy and we only shot together for 15 minutes! 
  
  

The last time the 5 of us took a photo together the babies were 5lbs each and only a few days old, so I was extremely excited for this Fall shoot with Laura Morsman! Can you believe she got all these great shots in 15 minutes?! That's Laura working here mini session magic for you!

I received lots of compliments on our outfits so I thought I would give you my tips for coordinating family outfits. First off let me say that going from 3 outfits to 5 outfits was a big jump, and I was overwhelmed at first.