001. What made you want to start writing books & blogs?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Ever since I was six years old, I was furiously scribbling stories into notebooks. My most prized possession was a tape recorder that I would carry with me everywhere (anyone remember that one from the picture below?!). I would spend hours in the backyard speaking stories into that tape recorder, content to be in my own little world narrating stories. Telling stories makes me feel at home in my own skin.

In college, I started writing for the university’s newspaper and ended up becoming an editor. The editors of the paper each had their own column for each issue. This is where I absolutely fell in love with writing, specifically creative nonfiction. I loved giving people hope and encouragement. I loved the process of writing my column every other week. The whole process was an adrenaline rush for me.

My friend Carleigh spoke up one day and said, “You could write so many of these columns. You have so much to say. Maybe you should start a blog.”

This was back when blogging was the thing to do. Everyone was creating a blog. And I was afraid to start one because I didn’t actually want to be a blogger… I wanted to be a writer.

But I told myself, “If this will get me to practice writing more often then I’ll do it. I’ll write essays and my primary goal will be to encourage others.” And that’s where the blog was born.

If you want to be a writer, I can’t encourage you enough to start a blog. It’s an amazing practice. It’s so much fun. It builds a readership. It gets you out of your own head and figuring out your voice.

I can honestly say every element of my career— the things I am so proud to have in my business today— all sprang from the decision to carve out this space on the Internet and keep showing up to it. I’m 11 years into blogging and it’s still my favorite thing out of all the things I’ve created over the years.

002. How’s that capsule wardrobe going for ya?

I’m not a minimalist yet if that’s what you’re asking me. I would still consider myself to be in “phase 1” of my building a capsule wardrobe. Mind you, I don’t know how many phases there are but consider this as phase 1.

At the end of the year, I basically took all my clothes and put them into one massive storage bin. I wasn’t ready to take the plunge of throwing out all my clothes so I decided to build a little clothes purgatory. Lane lugged it out into the garage and that’s where it has sat for the last 3 months. I can confidently say I’ve missed zero articles of clothing. My closet is super minimal as of right now (about 20 pieces) but I still feel like I have a long way to go.

Why did I do this to begin with? I was tired of having so many clothes and not like any of them. It felt like excess. I bought clothes based on feelings and then surprise: didn’t really feel like any of the clothes were really me. They were just an extension of whatever mood I happened to be in when I bought the clothes.

I am working my way towards staple pieces that I love right now (which has proven to be white crop tees, my trusty denim jacket, and black leggings). Clothes I feel confident in. Clothes that will serve me for the long haul.

Let me know if you’d like me to continue giving updates!

003. Thoughts on the Ember Mug?

I promised to give you my review of the Ember mug and I feel about ready now. I’m not kidding when I say this has quickly become my favorite thing. I don’t use regular coffee mugs anymore because I’m so obsessed with the Ember. It was worth every last penny— especially if you’re known to put your coffee in the microwave multiples times throughout the morning. The Ember heats to your perfect temperature and then stays hot throughout the morning. I can’t say enough good things about this gadget. And I’m pretty minimalistic— if I don’t like something, I won’t bother. This little guy is worth the rage for someone who enjoys coffee and tea.

004. Best business expense?

Hands down: FloDesk.

I can’t say enough good things about it.

I struggled for years with MailChimp. It was the go-to email service so I figured I had to make it work somehow. But I paid SO MUCH money for my subscriber lists and I could never make the emails look how I wanted them to look. I felt so deflated any time I had to even think about emails until a friend of mine recommended a different service.

Enter FloDesk.

Instant. Gamechanger. What used to be the most dreaded task on my to-do list is now the task I’m the giddiest about. I love the interface. I love the beautiful templates. I love the workflows. I love how sleek and simple everything is. I love that it’s completely affordable AND you get unlimited subscribers (there’s no price increase when your lists increase— hallelujah!!).

An email list is essential when it comes to creating content (especially if you want to be a writer) so check out FloDesk before looking anywhere else. If you’re thinking about trying it out (and want 50% off your membership), use my link.

005. What am I learning right now?

I’m definitely learning that gratitude compounds. It expands and changes the entire canvas of your life but you have to be diligent about capturing the moments you are grateful for— either writing them down or speaking them out loud.

I’ve started a practice of keeping track of my “please + thank you”s. My please’s are my prayers and my thank you’s are my gratitude. This daily practice— kept in a simple notebook— has been giving me so much joy and peace as of lately. Even if the morning feels rushed or crunched for time, I still take a few minutes to script some prayers for the day. I don’t want to try and do anything apart from the power of God so my first act of the morning is to call on him, thank him, and invite him into the events of my day.

Have a question for a future Editor’s Letter?