Your Lifestyle Questions: Answered

Happy Monday, everyone!

Remember when I posted an open form to ask me anything? Well I’m finally here to answer your questions! Getting around to posting the answers has taken me much longer than I anticipated. There were two main groups of questions — life and dog. Today I’m conquering your lifestyle questions and later this week I’ll have the dog questions answered.

Let’s do this!

1. When are you leaving the island?

More on this coming soon! I have a whole post coming with all the details as to what’s been going on in our lives, where we’re going, when we’re going, etc! Stay tuned 🙂

2. Do you think you’ll have kids? Do you WANT kids?

Growing up, I didn’t want kids at all. As I’ve gotten older, I’m starting to warm up to the idea more and more. Dane and I are very realistic with one another when it comes to our expectations about the future and the type of life we want to have and be able to give to any children we may have. We like the idea of having kids, but we aren’t in any rush. For right now we are really enjoying life with each other and two dogs 🙂

3. Where in central PA did you grow up?

I grew up in a small town just outside Harrisburg where my parents still live and my in-laws aren’t far. Growing up, I didn’t enjoy small town life, but as I look back there’s no place I would have rather been. There’s a lot to be said about beautiful central Pennsylvania!

4. What are your best tips for growing your blog and audience?

Everyone always says engage! And yes, that’s a great tip, but for me that’s a tired answer. I agree that it definitely helps to comment on other blogs, reach out to brands/people on Twitter, tag people in posts, etc. Yes, all of that is a great way to get yourself out there, but for me, I saw my largest amount of growth when I got serious about content and branding. I wanted to make sure my brand was consistent, I was posting content my audience was wanting to read (I did this by tracking which posts got the most traffic) and seeking out partnerships that only matched what my blog and brand represented. It’s really easy to get sidetracked in the world of blogging!

5. You talk a lot about loving dessert, but you’re also gluten free. Are these always gluten free or do you sometimes risk the discomfort and eat gluten?
This is such a good question! Anytime I’m eating a baked good I made, it’s gluten free and that’s just a byproduct of only having GF supplies in my house. When I’m out, I try to steer toward desserts I know are GF or that I’ve had before that didn’t make me sick. Dane is also really good about eating the parts I can’t (crust on cheesecake/pies, etc), so sharing dessert is usually the route we take. When it comes to my one true love, donuts, I can’t resist and I’ll have one. It usually results in an immediate trip to the bathroom (sorry is that TMI?). Thankfully there are a couple delicious gluten free bakeries on Oahu that I love and frequent. Beet Box Cafe is my favorite, but there is also Cake Works, Breadbox and Peace Cafe for when I need my sweets fix. 

And that sums up all the “lifestyle” type questions. If you missed the chance to ask something you’re dying to know – feel free to leave it in the comments!