If you know me in real life, you may already know a lot of this, but I bet ya you will learn something new! I have had 2 new friends I've met through Instagram tag me in this challenge. The challenge was to share 10 facts about myself on Instagram. While I was writing up my 10 facts, it turned into 25, which was far too long for an Instagram caption. So, that's where today's post comes from!
1. My husband's name is Parker. He is not very active on social media, but he is the guy behind the scenes allowing me to make my dream of Art Fashion Fun a reality! I can't express in words how grateful I am for him.
2. Parker works for a contracting company that builds hospitals. That is why we move around every couple years. Once he finishes building a hospital, we move somewhere else for him to build another one. I spent my entire life in Alabama until I married Parker, and we moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas. So this moving around thing was a big change for me, but I do believe it has been really good for me and for our marriage. Although we do hope to make it back to Alabama in the near future.
3. Parker and I are way too obsessed with our 2 Miniature Australian Shepherds Bailey (6) and Rosie (3). If you have been following for any length of time, it is likely you have seen pictures of them or heard about them. They have the funniest (but very different) personalities that bring us laughter and joy daily. They are our children, and we love them SO much.
4. I am very close to my family. I have one sister who is 2 years younger than me. My family all still lives in Mobile, Alabama, where I grew up. We try to visit each other as often as possible. I'm still waiting for them to come visit us in Southaven. Come on y'all!
5. Parker's family all lives in Dothan, Alabama, where he grew up. I definitely hit the jackpot in the in laws department. Parker and I know we will end up in Alabama one day, but Dothan and Mobile are around 3 hours apart, so we are always struggling to figure out just where we will end up.
6. I played tennis from the time I was about 3 until I was a senior in high school and got so burned out that I've only played a handful of times since. However, my talented sister was given a full ride to LSU because of her tennis skills. I do believe I will pick it back up again one day.
7. I went to college at the University of Alabama. On the final night of rush, I took 2 hours to choose between 2 of my final 3 sororities. Choosing Tridelt was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I had the best college experience because of the amazing friends I met through this sorority!
8. My education program was called the Multiple Abilities Program aka MAP, which means I graduated with degrees in Elementary and Special Education.
9. I joined Teach for America after college and was placed in Huntsville, Alabama at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School as a first grade teacher. My Huntsville roomies and I grew reallll close thanks to this experience. I am still close with them and some of my teacher friends I made at MLK.
10. I got my Masters in Elementary Education through an online program at the University of West Alabama.
11. Parker and I got married April 25, 2015 and spent the first couple years of our marriage in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I wasn't so sure how I would feel about Arkansas, but we fell in love with Northwest Arkansas. I will never ever be a fan of the Razorbacks, but we did really enjoy our time there.
12. My friend Celie set me up with a job working at a high end boutique in Northwest Arkansas. This job was beyond fabulous, and through it, I met a fabulous friend who now only lives half an hour away from me!
13. After about 9 months of working at the boutique, I emailed the Principal at St. Joseph Catholic School asking if he needed any volunteers to come in and read with kids who needed additional support. He ended up offering me a Title I Reading Specialist job, which I know with certainty will be the best teaching job that I will ever have. I adored the school, staff, students, and job. I learned that being a Reading Specialist and getting to work with grades K-4 was my dream teaching job.
14. We moved to Southaven, Mississippi in March and do not like it as much as we liked Fayetteville. However, we are happy here and really love our weekend trips to Germantown- shopping for me, baseball card store for Parker, and Tazikis for both of us. :)
15. When Parker and I settle down, I cannot wait to start a garden. I want to follow in Gr'Ann and Dede's (my grandparents) footsteps because they are master gardeners. However, I attempted my first box garden in Fayetteville with tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, onion, corn, blueberries, and strawberries, and it's safe to say I have a lot of learning to do. I'm hoping that being able to plant things in the ground one day (when we are not renting) will be helpful.
16. When I started this blog, I almost named it The Bargain Diva because my sister has referred to me as Diva for as long as I can remember and my mom and I are always on the lookout for the best bargains. I am glad I went with Art Fashion Fun. :)
17. I have dreams of becoming confident enough to post on Instagram stories, but I haven't quite grown the courage for that yet. Some of my favorite bloggers are the girls who post Insta Stories frequently because I feel like I know so much more about them, and I love that. I'll get there one day. If you're not already following, click here and follow artfashionfun on Instagram!
18. My favorite place in the world is my parents' condo at Orange Beach. I could never spend enough time there.
19. I love to organize, but I'm not good at purging. I have 5 full closets throughout our house. A longterm dream of mine is to have a master bedroom with a closet that can fit all of my clothes and shoes. Until then, I am thinking about starting up a Poshmark account to try to sell some of my clothes. Do you have any success stories from places where you have sold clothes?
20. Some of my favorite tv shows are Dancing with the Stars, The Voice, The Bachelor, Gilmore Girls, Fixer Upper, and Gossip Girl. I personally don't understand why, but Parker is not a fan of any of these shows. He prefers terrifying, haunted, paranormal shows. Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives is one of the only shows we can both agree on.
21. Creating this blog required me to dig deep for bravery. It's easy to worry about what people will think about you, but I am so thankful I found the guts to do it. The pros outweigh the cons by far! If you are nervous about trying something new, I encourage you to push your nerves to the side and go for it!
22. My favorite OOTD (outfit of the day) includes no makeup, hair in a ponytail, t-shirt, leggings, and tennis shoes. However, I created this blog because I also really love fashion and getting dressed up too! Just not every single day.
23. My favorite places to shop are Anthropologie and Nordstrom. I used to be intimidated by Nordstrom, thinking they only had very expensive designer items. I was extraordinarily wrong. You can actually find much more affordable items at Nordstrom than you can at Anthropologie.
24. My favorite purses are by GiGi New York (like the one below) and Tory Burch, and my favorite shoes are by Jack Rogers (also seen below) and by Tory Burch.
25. I can't thank you enough for following along on this journey! Nothing makes me happier than hearing from you! If you ever have a comment or question, please reach out. It truly makes my day!
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have a wonderful day!