Behind the Scenes with A Piece of Toast (Part II)

Remember last week’s amazing BTS post from Molly? This week, we get to meet her lovely sister Sally, who, like her sister, is totally relatable. When I read through her post, I found myself nodding and saying “Yup, me too” over and over (the slowing down part, anyone?). Keep reading and you’ll see exactly what I mean. And if you didn’t check out A Piece of Toast last week and immediately add it to your list of blogs… then you’re crazy. There, I said it. Take it away, Sally!

First off, thank you thank you thank you to Victoria for asking my sister (and co-blogger) Molly and I to participate in her Behind the Scenes series. The two of us adore Victoria’s blog and look forward to her BTS postings each time they go up. I am beyond flattered to have been asked to do this for her and really enjoyed answering her questions. Enjoy! And please come visit us! Thank you again sweet Victoria.

5 places I want to visit in my lifetime:

Santorini, Greece; Spain; French Polynesia; Napa Valley ; Sweden [editor’s note: come visit! I’ll take you to all the good spots in Napa.]

4 books I want to read in the next year:

I am a total book worm. My friends always come to me when they need a new book to read, and I am kind of obsessed with discussing good books with other people. (Now you know where to come if you’re in need of a good read) That being said, I have a never ending list of books that I want to read. I am constantly learning of new titles from friends and co-workers and my list is always growing. I can’t keep up! I am going to catch up on some good books over the holidays.

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

In five years I want to be happy and content and loved. As long as I have that, everything else will be amazing. Thinking about the future excites me, and I don’t even know exactly how it will look. And I love that. I dream of someday making a house a home. I see myself having a cozy, lived-in place of my very own to come home to. I will still be loving on my little bunnies (aka dogs) and hopefully have added at least one more to our family.

2 goals I’m currently working on:

-Taking better care of myself. I have never taken bad care of myself. But I am making a conscious effort to be the best that I can be. Whether its the food that I eat, washing my face twice a day, regularly taking vitamins, drinking water, exercising, or getting enough sleep each night. I know I am still young and have a lot of life ahead of me, but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t start taking care of myself now. I have a Lululemon shopping sack hanging on the door to my bathroom (not the prettiest decoration) that I can’t bear to take off because I love to walk by and read the little things that it says. “Drink fresh water and as much water as you can.”

-Slowing down. I guess this could go hand in hand with taking better care of myself. I feel like I am always rushing and that I never sit down. Never stop doing something. If I’m sitting, I’m busy doing something or messing with my phone. My life seems so unorganized right now because I am constantly in a hurry and leave little time to think through my day or think through what I need to do. I haven’t picked up a book since Labor Day weekend and used to love reading. I used to mess with my phone at the gym throughout my workout and now I leave it in the locker so that I can focus on my workout. Instead of laying in bed at night checking emails or Facebook, I want to read a chapter or two of a good book. It’s so important to have quiet time like that to think and reflect, and I feel like I have completely lost touch with and forgotten about that importance.

1 thing I’ve been dreaming about is…

Oh gosh…sometimes I think I spend more of my days dreaming than living in reality. Like Molly said, I am a big dreamer and a huge believer in visualization. (Leave it to The Secret). More than anything I dream about where I will be living in the future – my boyfriend and I have made a pact to live abroad together (we’ll be bringing our dogs of course) for a year. I am a huge homebody and have never lived anywhere other than Kansas City and the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so moving abroad would be a huge leap for me, but a good one. I had such an incredible experience when I studied abroad in college and truly felt that it opened me up as a person and opened my eyes to how amazing life can be even away from home.

How did your blog get its name?

Molly and I really went back and forth over what to name our blog. We had a longgg list of options, but I am so happy that we chose the one we did. Originally one of our options was “A Piece of Cake”, which sounds great, but isn’t necessarily us. We’ve never really thought of life that way and didn’t want to come across that way to our readers. Toast is much more laid back, much more real. It’s not every day you have cake. But you can have toast every day!

Who serves as a source of inspiration for you?

Its going to sound cliche, but my mama. Our mom is one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She was the best mother we could have ever asked for and gave us a childhood that I only hope I can recreate for my future children someday. On top of being an angel of a mom to seven children, she also works a full time job, is extremely close and involved with her siblings and parents, and is one of the most genuine and caring people I know.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

I hate to break it to you, but these next two questions are going to be the same answers as Molly. I mean, we are sisters after all. And a lot alike at that. But, financial independence is definitely what I am most proud of. Nothing feels better each month than being able to pay my own, bills, rent, etc., etc with the money that I have worked hard to earn. Finances stress me out more than anything else, and being in control of them makes me extremely proud and relieved at times.

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

My bed. For as long as I can remember the one place where I love to go and just be is my bed. Weekend naps in bed are my best friend and there is nothing better than getting in bed to read a good book or magazine.

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

We first started blogging in November 2011 – a year ago this month! Time has absolutely flown since then and I truly cannot comprehend that it has been a year. More than anything blogging is a creative outlet for me and a way to almost journal my thoughts and likes. I have always been a creative person and the blog has been a great escape from the “real world” where I can really be myself and express myself. Before we started the blog I would see or find something that I liked or wanted to tell someone about and then completely forget about what it was – now I am able to use the blog to log those findings. Not only that but it has opened up a whole new world to other bloggers who continue to inspire me on a daily basis in all aspects of my life. I truly look up to so many bloggers and all that they have accomplished.