I love ‘Ask Me Anything’ because I really love to think, process, journal, and self-indulge. I’m always very curious about the people I follow so I chose the most personal questions I would want someone to answer.
Do children work a lot on your farm? And how much area do you have?
Here’s the deal – we love having these animals… in the dry months. They’re fun, sweet, make us laugh, popular with the neighbors and the kids will do their chores without much complaining. But from November to March, it’s challenging and less fun. It’s pitch dark both feeding times, so muddy (and mixed with a lot of feces – so much) and no one wants to go out there. So fights start and threats come out of our mouths. This is perfect in the dry months! Brian and the kids don’t mind working and we enjoy their company. We have about 2 1/2 acres and I would say their enclosed yard is 1/2 acre, maybe? Again, they are fun to keep and we enjoy them, but I can’t really recommend them to most people as pets. They don’t return love like our puppies do and pooping is not for the faint of heart. But they make us laugh and it’s good for kids to take care of them. But if you are arguing and in conflict, think about it for a long time. 🙂
How often do you go back to Coos Bay? Fun Fact: Your mom was my 4H leader in school!
No way!! Oh, I love it – clearly it comes from a local. My brother and I moved back to visit my family three summers ago for the first time in over a decade (my family and all of my best friends moved to Portland decades ago, which is how I moved back here). We stayed at Bay Point Landing (a fabulous glamping resort) and hiked the dunes, hiked on the beaches, walked around Shore Acres and of course saw the house we grew up in. The town itself feels like a time capsule (with the best high school ever – thanks Marshfield). That Bay Bridge is still pretty 🙂 I doubt I’ll go back again and again but it’s definitely a wonderful stop for an Oregon road trip.
Where are you in your faith journey?
Thanks for asking 🙂 I haven’t found a new church (still looking, but admittedly being very picky and not trying that hard), but I feel really grounded and connected to the universe/God right now (after a lot of searching). Although I will probably never be involved in traditional organized religion again (grew up Mormon), spirituality and feeling a larger universal connection is definitely a part of my daily life that has helped. me very much. I also recently read Laura Lynn Jackson’s books, symptoms And guided (She’s a professional medium) And it’s really hard not to feel comfortable about mortality when you read these stories of life after death and the interconnectedness of all of us. However, it’s strange to write this so quickly without giving context to the decades or recognizing how messed up the world is right now. Anyway, I’m still drawn to a church in Portland, and if you’re in LA (especially on the east side) Kyle is still the most open and amazing pastor Silverlake Community Church (On Hyperion) It sounds just like a friend. It’s Christian and they explicitly teach Jesus and the Bible (which I enjoy in the right context from the right teacher) but I’ve never felt guilty for not being a “real believer.” He is my absolute favorite spiritual leader – low key, approachable, no bells and whistles, with really relevant stories and zero ‘performative’ speeches (you know what I mean). Brian loves her too and is pretty nostalgic if he says anything 🙂 I wish I had him here. Anyway, I am always open and curious, but feeling spiritually connected right now 🙂 Thanks for asking. xx
How can I decorate my house to look good on Insta when I have little kids?
I hope this makes you feel better, not worse, but you can’t have a gorgeous house with little kids all the time… at least not without becoming a version of yourself you don’t want to be… or hiring a full-time housekeeper, hahaha. That life and home don’t exist, not even for content creators. We either have help or we do a lot of cleanup before photos/videos (or both). I would focus on less decorative items, good storage solutions for everyday toys/kids’ trash and just know it will go through much faster. It helps to have a dedicated “mess room” (also called a family or playroom) and then close the door. A clutter-free home is happy, but sometimes it drives me crazy and I feel like I was ‘putting things away’ for hours and hours a day. Hang in there, mom!
Do you ever get tired of creating?
Ha. Okay real talk. Since we document large renovation projects we naturally have “construction years” and “disclosure years.” The reveal years are full of fun things to do (shopping, styling, photo shoots, and lots of showing and telling on the blog). There is a lot of traffic and a lot of attractions. Right now we are in a construction year (for guest cottages) which is a lot more work behind the scenes, and less easy to document (and not as well received since many people don’t care about the renovation process). So right now I’m trying to figure out what kind of content we can create Too Working on these big projects is very time consuming (behind the scenes). So the answer is “No!, I never get it.” tired Of creating!”. But there are also times, like now, when I’m not sure what to publish on the blog because our projects have taken months to complete, so I’ve been trying to come up with new things to shoot. There have been times in the past where I definitely needed a break from the pressure of constantly creating (but that was more of an existential crisis). But I just don’t feel like that. Right now I’m excited about designing these projects as well as helping the readers. Trying to meet the needs. Background. Since shooting is expensive (and therefore time consuming) we don’t want to create content just for the sake of creating content, there has to be a goal, a point, something useful you can get out of it, but sometimes designing, shooting, styling can seem daunting. Make It is so enjoyable for me that I never get tired of the process.
What is it like for you when someone recognizes you or stops you in the woods?
To be honest, it’s very good. Imagine if people came up to you and genuinely complimented that they like what you do! That’s how it feels and it makes my day every day (especially when they say they’re blog readers, not just IG followers). There are times I look like trash at the grocery store and I wish people didn’t have to see me that way, but I often put my real non-made up face on social media so no one is surprised. Recently, in Mexico, I received recognition almost every day, which surprised and delighted children. It blew her away that people recognized me even though I was in another country (and again, everyone was very nice and we had normal conversations – not weird or awkward at all!). For now, it’s still really affecting them and since they’re tweens, I need them to think I’m cool for as long as possible 🙂 So I love it. It’s always nice to meet readers and thank them in person for their support.
If you had to choose a different city to live in, where would you go?
Hood River, Oregon. It’s fascinating, amazing and there’s so much to do in nature (and I prefer forests + lakes + rivers rather than the ocean). After living in New York and LA for decades, I’m more content surrounded by nature and in a small community with fewer options, less people, less energy, more trees 🙂 I get all that here, outside of Portland, (and we have a cute village that feels like a small town) but Hood River is ridiculously beautiful and yet there is so much to do to be in nature all year round.
What new place do you want to travel to next?
Scandinavia (ooh and Bali). I’ve never been to Finland or Sweden, which feels criminal even after being such a fan of the genre my entire life. I also like that it’s not crowded or hot in the summer (and has a lot of day/night), whereas the rest of Europe can be hot and stuffy. I have done a lot of research and determined a lot of places to stay, restaurants, museums, etc. I just want to make sure it’s the right time to have kids and I wonder if it would be better to wait a few more years. I know this sounds extremely kid-friendly, it’s not, but my philosophy is that these trips are investments that I want to wait until they’re old enough to enjoy the culture, the food, the architecture. Our Ride (ie my ride because I’m the one dying to go). We’re in the last years of the ‘water and animals’ phase of traveling with kids, which is why we go to so many Central American countries for spring break (warm, affordable, friendly, animals, adventure, zip lines, caves, beans/rice, etc.). Next spring break we have two weeks off because it practically turns into a four-day weekend for Easter, so we can finally go to Bali which I’ve also been wanting to experience forever (20 hour flight so no joke – but temples, nature, people, fresh food, colors, waterfalls, animals, and affordable… except that flight!). I think it checks all our boxes and going in the spring avoids the crowds and humidity. But we will see. It’s a long way and quite a commitment.
That’s all for now! Thanks for all the great questions, I love answering them. Maybe we can do some more of these ‘Ask Me Anything’ posts 🙂
beautiful photos by Caitlin Green
