Behind the Scenes with A Piece of Toast (Part 1!)

I don’t know about y’all, but I missed posting a Behind the Scenes last week while I was away. Today, I’m happy to have it back, and not only that, but to be featuring a two-parter! What do I mean exactly? This week we’re learning more about Molly from the lifestyle blog A Piece of Toast. Molly and her sister Sally curate a fantastic blog that features everything from style inspiration, to local recommendations (they’re Dallas gals!), to interiors, and even interesting articles and videos they come across. It’s a fantastic mix and a blog I truly enjoy reading every day — they always surprise me (and I also LOVE seeing their rotating blog headers).

This week, Molly takes the reins of BTS. Check back next week to learn more about her fab counterpart Sally!

Thank you SO much to one of my favorite bloggers, Victoria, for inviting me to participate in her Behind the Scenes blogger series! I look forward to the Wednesday posts on vmac+cheese just for this, so I could not have been more flattered or excited to answer these questions… I hope you all stop by A Piece of Toast sometime for more of my rambles!

5 places I want to visit in my lifetime

Just five? Oh gosh, my wanderlust has been running rampant lately (and watching Pan Am on ABC with my sister hasn’t been helping) but today I would love to visit Bali, Greece, Prauge, Ireland, and Paris.

4 books I want to read in the next year

I used to be such a avid reader in high school and in college but lately I’ve been slacking on books and have seriously neglected my magazine subscriptions, too (sorry ELLE Décor, I have three months of you sitting on my bedside table) – BUT I have been keeping a little list of books that have been recommended by my sister, friends, and fellow bloggers: An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Mauriel Barbery, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.

3 photos that exemplify what I want my life to look like in 5 years

I can only imagine that the next five years will fly by – there are SO many things I hope to accomplish but I definitely hope to: have more stamps in my passport, be filled with happiness and very content and pleased with myself (both personally and professionally), and living in a city surrounded my friends (something I have been desperately missing since I graduated college).

2 goals I’m currently working on (and what I’m doing to get there)

I love my new Canon T3i Rebel camera but I’m still working on honing my photog skills – I’m my own worst critic but I’m slowly but surely improving my goal of being better behind the lens with lots of reading (Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson really is a god send for newbie photographer wannabes like me!) and hope to schedule some class time, too. I really adore cooking but feel like I have been so lazy and un-motivated in my kitchen lately! I’m trying to get my passion back for cooking and baking delicious foods by shopping for seasonal produce and looking to food bloggers and cooks I love to inspire me…

1 thing I’ve been dreaming about is…

I dream a lot… I could kind of be a professional day-dreamer/visualization expert. But something I have been thinking about all the time is what it means to me to live my life so I feel really full – full of love, happiness, passion, and appreciation… Everyday I feel like I readjust my goals, and gain more and more hunger for doing things that will push me to be the best I can possibly be! Wow, I just read that and realized I sound so confident but I know I have SUCH a long way to go – figuring out the meaning and direction of your life kind of takes time, doesn’t it?

How did your blog get its name?

My sister and I always wanted a blog but it took us a while to figure out what type of blog we wanted to have, what we wanted to write about, etc. The one thing we knew is that we never wanted to seem pretentious and always wanted to be transparent to our readers… We thought “A Piece of Cake” sounded like a cute name but realized that kind of insinuated that we lead a charmed life of sorts or that everything came easy to us. So not the case! So, we thought “A Piece of Toast” would make things more real, make us seem more accessible (which we are!), and more day-to-day.

Who serves as a source of inspiration for you?

Wow, hard question. People, especially women, are a constant source of inspiration for me… Lately I’ve been majorly inspired by Rachel Zoe. Although her life is a 180 from mine, she seems like a very real person who literally worked her ass off (and continues to do so) to be where she is. And she seems kind. I always have to remember to be kind. Is that sad? No one likes a successful but mean woman…

What is your proudest achievement to date?

Financial independence! Sounds silly but nothing made me happier than graduating college and being able to stand on my own two feet 100%. I have my parents to thank for that – they made sure my siblings and I understood that making it in the world was up to us.

Where is your favorite place to rest and re-charge?

My bed is my most favorite place. On the weekends I try to spend as much time as possible in it… It’s cream, and white, and fluffy, snuggly, and homey.

When did you first start blogging, and why do you keep doing it?

November 6th, 2010 – almost time for our 1st birthday!!! Aside from it being a virtual inspiration board for all the products, images, people, things I love at any given time, I love that the blog has connected me to so many amazing people – most of them women. Nothing makes me happier than hearing from readers or forming friendships with other bloggers or readers. Here’s a secret: in the beginning I kind of hated blogging. It took forever for me to come up with topics to post on and my writing never had a consistent and creative flow. Slowly but surely (mostly due to kind responses from readers and the encouragement of friends and family) I got used to the routine and one day it all just clicked! And from then on I really loved it. Blogging is something I look forward to doing every day… I’m so thankful that even with a busy work schedule I am always able to carve out time to be creative – it has been the most amazing outlet :)

Thank you again, Victoria!!!
x Molly