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A Day In The Life

September 19, 2016

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Frigidaire just released the third and final video we did with them for the kitchen renovation in Pittsburgh. It’s a sweet Day In The Life of the Worrall family kitchen. We shot it on our very last day in Pittsburgh after Chris and I had 2 hours of sleep. AndiAndrea directed and filmed the entire thing and I loved just standing back and watching the kitchen we worked so hard on being used and enjoyed. You can watch the short video below.

To go a long with it, I thought it would be fun to share a little day in the life around here.

4:30am: My alarm clock rings and I double check to make sure this morning’s post went live and roll out of bed to get ready for the gym with my phone’s flashlight as my guide.

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5:00-6:30am: I’ve been meeting my girlfriends at the gym at this time every morning for about a year. It’s ridiculously early, but getting my heart rate up and chatting with these ladies is honestly the best way to start my day.

6:45am: I get home to a quiet and dark home. Charly looks up and gives me one snore before laying back down and closing her eyes for five more hours. I hop in the shower and get ready for the day before anyone wakes up.

7am: Chris’s alarm clock goes off as I’m blow-drying my hair. He wakes Greta up and heads to the kitchen while she gets dressed in the outfit she picked out the night before.

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7:30-8am: We all meet in the kitchen where Chris is making breakfast for everyone. I double check Greta’s homework (and usually find some math sheet with a back side that we forgot to do), pack a lunch for her, and do her hair–her least favorite thing in the world. In the midst of this, our nephew Jordan also comes upstairs and I hear Faye yelling from her crib, “Mom!!!! I’m tired!!!” Which is her way of announcing she’s awake–it’s very relatable. We all sit down for a few minutes and scarf down the sweet potato hash and eggs Chris made and Jordan rushes out the door for work. Chris runs Greta down to school a few blocks away. This is also known as the busiest 30 minutes of our whole day.

8am-9am: After we clean up breakfast and make beds, Faye usually brings me 5 books to read to her or we get out the markers for her to color while I share the day’s post on social media and then get her dressed for the day. Meanwhile, Chris updates our finances and has a business call with someone on the east coast. A few months ago, he left his day job to continue his marketing consulting business he’s had for years. He also is heavily involved in the projects side of the blog every day.

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9am-10:30: Our nanny (who’s also our sweet, newlywed niece), Breanna, comes from 9am-2pm Monday-Friday. She was an elementary ed major and is so amazing with Faye and sneaks in a lot of early education to their play. They’ll usually go play downstairs, or go to the park most of the morning (though mornings here now are getting a bit cold for a morning visit to the park). I settle in at my desk and start editing photos, and answering emails (I usually wake up to about 85 new emails and get anywhere from 200-400 emails a day from readers, brands, clients and other bloggers we’re working with throughout the day). Today’s Thursday, so Chris goes to Yoga at this time which has been great for his back.

10:30am-noon: I always aim to get the next day’s blog post written before lunch, which generally takes me 2-3 hours depending on the length and how many photos it includes. Chris gets home and showers and is busy answering his own emails or on a call and always starts making lunch.

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Noon-1pm: Jordan comes home and he, Breanna, Chris, myself and Faye all sit down together for lunch. It’s usually a Blue Apron meal (<—- that link will get you three free meals on us if you never tried it) and this day it was Hoisin Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry. Then Faye goes down for a nap and Jordan heads back to work 2 miles away.

1pm-2pm: While Faye naps, Breanna usually tidies up the kitchen, runs a few errand for us and heads home for the day. Chris adds an electrical outlet to the island in the kitchen (post coming soon!!!) and I hop on a call with a favorite brand out of Chicago that we have big future plans with.

2:30pm-3:30: Greta gets home from school which is always a highlight of the day. We have an after school snack and check on her homework. She reluctantly cleans up her room and empties the dishwasher and then skips out the door to play with the neighborhood kids. (Or sometimes everyone ends up at our house.)

Chris has to run to Lowe’s (about 30 minutes away) to pick up some supplies for an upcoming project and I paint the socket he installed and photograph it and the photos for the upcoming blog post before Faye wakes up around 3:45. He decides to take her with him since she loves rides in the truck. (If you follow me on snapchat, you know all about Faye and ch-ch-trucks. If you don’t, we’re working diligently to help her fix her “ch” sounds so they no longer sound like “ff”. You can watch the video here if you missed it.)

4pm-5:30: I photograph a corner of the house for this evening’s Instagram photo, answer more email and try to do some online window shopping for a room we’re getting ready to start next month. Jordan gets home and starts showing me his new business cards and telling me about his day.

6pm-7pm: Greta busts through the front door ready for dinner and Chris comes home a few minutes later with a pile of lumber, a happy Faye, and two bags of Thai takeout. I double check that tomorrow’s post is scheduled, send my phone the picture for Instagram from my computer and attempt to shut my computer for the day.

7pm-8pm: Both girls take baths and I scrub and comb their hair and the whole house puts on pjs. Faye’s go on backwards since she has started unzipping her jammies during the night. It’s books, songs, prayers and lights out by 7:30-8pm.

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8pm-10pm: We watch Friends on Netflix and I post a photo on Instagram and answer as many questions as I can on the blog and social media. Chris updates our media kit and sends it to a few inquiring brands and helps me empty out my inbox. I try to head to bed around 9:30 and sometimes Chris and Jordan stay up watching a movie or playing a video game.

This is just one, random, unglamorous Thursday, but I hope it gives you a peek into our lives or maybe a little background of the blog. It’s definitely evolved over the years where I used to spend most of my days working on projects, now there is so much more computer work. But I couldn’t be happier to be doing what I’m doing. It’s fun to have Chris home and see him grow his own business and help on projects when he can.

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What do you think?

  1. Dara says:

    Thanks for sharing! It’s so fun to see how people’s days go. It seems like everyone has a crazy/hectic schedule and I always wonder how everyone else does it!

  2. Oh you are so lucky to have Chris help with the cooking so often (and did I see that right – you guys tag-team the laundry??? Just wow…)

    These days I’m balancing a full-time corporate job, the blog, a full-house renovation AKA a gazillion DIY projects, most of the house chores like cooking and laundry and cleaning… oh, that list goes on and on and on…!

    We used to have a “housekeeper” come twice a week (she was actually our niece, too); she’d cook a meal that would (hopefully) last us two days and do general cleaning, and I absolutely LOVED it. (But I must admit it was extremely strange at first – some people would make not-so-nice comments about us not having children and yet needing a housekeeper (?!), so I definitely related to the conversation in this week’s podcast.

    Now that our niece is back in school and extracurricular activities started back up, it’s a bit difficult to squeeze into her schedule, ha!

    Nice to have a little behind-the-scenes idea to get to know you guys more! Definitely relate to Faye’s way of waking up though… :)

  3. You are a rockstar…that is all I have to say! lol Loved reading this day in the life:).

  4. Sara says:

    Loved this post so much, thanks for sharing! Also I must’ve missed the faye video originally but I just can’t stop laughing. Howww do you keep it together?! She’s adorable.

  5. Diana says:

    I would love to know where the cloth napkins are from and if you like them? I’ve had some before but they never seem to hold their square shape and it drives me nuts ;). Thanks!

  6. Kristen says:

    I love “day in the life” posts! It’s so fun to see how people get through their days. I love that you’re having sit down lunches, such a nice addition to the day!

  7. Jackie says:

    These types of posts are usually pretty eye-roll-worthy to me – full of humble bragging or contrivance. Not yours! I thought this post was really endearing and sweet. :) Although the time you wake up to go to the gym is pretty much absurd to me haha.

  8. Dimara Almeida says:

    Our son had the same mispronunciation issues with t’s and f’s. We found it went away by itself. The few times we did try to work on it, he would just say the world louder…Haha!

  9. athena says:

    who is Jordan! thanks for this post! i love hearing what a day in life is like for bloggers working from home.

  10. Christina says:

    Good lord, you have boundless energy! I’m so jealous! If I had to get up at 4:30 every morning, I’d have to have the same bedtime as my kids :)

    And I feel you about the laundry. When I was single, I’d enjoy spending Sunday evening with my TV and a glass of wine while I did my laundry for the week. It was kind of relaxing and I felt so grown-up and accomplished when I was done. Now that I have kids, though, it’s just a monster task that is NEVER, EVER DONE.

  11. Tanja says:

    Thank you for sharing a day in the life of Chris and Julia! Very exciting news on Chris leaving his “day job” and focusing on his consulting business as well as the projects around the house for the Blog. I can’t believe how the readership of this blog has grown over the last 5+ years. Can you?

  12. Kensley says:

    I love this! You guys are amazing working from home! I’ve been wondering about Chris’ day job and I’m thrilled to hear he’s hitting it harder on his own business! Talk about power couple!

  13. Melissa says:

    Off topic, but I do not see Episode 19 on Stitcher. Its the only method I can use at work. Just wanted to let you know, thanks!

  14. Shanda says:

    Tracy-

    I find it easier to just do a load a day so that it does not pile up too much I toss it in before I start dinner . I always save the folding to do in front of the tv so I get to catch a show as I do the dreaded folding.

  15. Carol says:

    And now I feel doubly bad for rolling over and going back to sleep because it was raining so I couldn’t run. Y’know because there are zero exercises that can be done on rainy days – haha.

  16. Tracy says:

    Random mom question – when do you do laundry? Maybe your niece does it.. I don’t know. Laundry is just my least favorite chore – I would rather scrub the kitchen floor I think. Folding is the worst!! But I often find it piling up and then I’m trying to wash kids soccer uniforms and work pants the night before everything is needed, which makes is extra stressful and more miserable. I am trying to find a good time of day to do it (does this mystery hour exist?), but my husband and I also work a full time job so my options are: the minute I get home from work (or the grocery store, or someone’s sports practice) or all day Saturday and half of Sunday. Tips?? Help! Anyone??

    • Carol says:

      Laundry is the WORST!! We try to pick a night (or two) and put a load in just before dinner. Then it’s ready to dry after and by the time we are settling in to watch a movie or tv, we just fold as we watch and pause to switch loads. It’s no miracle cure, but to us its better than wasting the weekend on laundry.

      • Katie says:

        We have 4 young kids and my husband I both work. I am always running loads and about 4 nights a week I sit and fold while watching TV. Easy way to not feel guilty for my screen time :-). Have also started sometimes having kids help with a load or two on the weekends with them helping me sort into piles, find matching socks and put shirts on hangers

    • Julia says:

      Laundry is my nemesis. I find it easier for me to just have a laundry day once a week rather than doing some every day because I don’t want to do my last favorite chore every day. Breanna might fold the girls clothes while Faye is napping but for the most part, Chris and I tag team it.

    • Sarah says:

      I have 4 young children and I just started doing one load of laundry every day, which for us is all the dirty clothes. It’s changed things for the better. Since you go to work you could put a load in the washer before you go (I use Shout Color Catchers so everything can go in together), throw it in the dryer when you get home, and fold and put away when you have 15 minutes in the evening. We have one big family closet so I can take the clean basket and fold and put away all right there. You might spend 20 minutes every day, but all the clothes are always clean, and it’s so wonderful! I do towels/sheets/etc. on the weekends when there’s more time. I hope you find something that works for you and your family!

      • Stephanie says:

        I love the idea of a family closet for all of the clothes! Is it a large hall closet or in one of the bedrooms?

    • Tanja says:

      Tracy, can we exchange chores? I love doing laundry and am total type A on my folding style (t-shirts are all the exact same size fore example).

      Not sure if you have the option on your washer to delay the start but I tend to load the washer before I go to bed have it start at 5am, I pop it in the dryer at 6am (hang what needs to be hung), fold in 15 minutes at 7am before I start my day at the office (which is in my house).

    • Victoria says:

      Our washing machine has a delay option and it’s the best. I set it to start at 6 am so I can put it in the dryer when I get up. Second best tip, everyone in the family had a different colored laundry basket. Means I can sort the clothes quickly and they make it to the bedroom. Then if it takes a day or two to get folded and put away is not a huge deal because we still have clean clothes.

    • Katie says:

      We have 4 young kids and my husband I both work. I am always running loads and about 4 nights a week I sit and fold while watching TV. Easy way to not feel guilty for my screen time :-). Have also started sometimes having kids help with a load or two on the weekends with them helping me sort into piles, find matching socks and put shirts on hangers

    • Tracy says:

      OMG!! Mom’s to the rescue!! Lots of tips to consider!! (Including researching a delay feature [we just got a new washer like 2 weeks ago and there are sooo many buttons!! I will be looking into this.]) Seems like everyone does what works for them – and I love how folding while watching TV eases the guilt :D I am the same way!! Thank you everyone!! I am thinking that one or two weekday evenings of hard core washing/drying/folding sessions (with some takeout possibly) may be our key.

    • We have four kids too. When they were all little, the first thing I did was cut down all of their clothing to 5-7 days worth (excluding babies). I cut down to the bare minimum of all the clothing and textiles we needed (This worked for dishes and utensils too!). I kept extra in case someone got sick and we needed more sheets/towels/clothing. The extra stuff stayed in a bin in the closet. Fewer items reduced our laundry pile significantly. I washed less frequently, and there was less to fold. As they got older, I taught them how to fold clothes, and we folded together.

      As soon as my kids hit around 8 years old (not a hard and fast rule), they started doing their own laundry. That reduced the volume even more. Once they started doing their own laundry, I did not ask them to keep a set number of their clothes anymore. It was up to them.

      My kids are now old enough that they all do their own laundry. Folding one load of clothes is on the chore list every day. I still wash and dry a load of towels, personal laundry or workout clothes every day. However, most of it gets folded by the kids or I catch up over the weekend.

      Hope that helps!

  17. I like these personal sneak peak into your daily life ! It make you so real, more like any of us.
    But you’re also very courageous to wake up this early for the gym !
    I wanna try waking up earlier to go run before heading to work. Easier said than done. I find it best when you have someone that is waiting on you, like you and your girls at the gym. Hopefully, when I’ll be getting my dog next spring, it’s him that’ll be waiting on me every morning !!

    Good Monday to you :)

  18. Irene says:

    Thanks for sharing this with us! Hats off to you for getting up so early to go to the gym. And good luck to Chris in his new(ish) venture x

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