Feature Friday: Lovely Blonde Closet's Amaris Arcus
I have had the pleasure of becoming email friends with Amaris from The Lovely Blonde Closet. She has always been a style crush mommy of mine, and to find out how down to earth she is, is just icing on the cake. With that, I wanted to share with you a few questions I know I was dying to ask her as Im sure you all are as well. Be sure to check this beauty of a Mom out on her instagram account, filled with fun pictures of her and her gorgeous little girl Addilyn.
- Your blog is full of great style and fashion advice for both you and your little girl. What prompted you to start the blog?
First of all, thanks so much for your sweet words, they mean so much to me! I actually had debated starting my blog for years. It was just something I had always been interested in but just had not gotten around to actually following through with and doing. When I became pregnant with Addi, I kind if had this moment where I was thinking, “it’s now or never”. I had waited so long, and filled my head with excuses as to why I shouldn’t or couldn’t start a blog, but the more I thought about it, I really wanted to have one for a creative outlet. I have so many passions like fashion and decorating and I wanted to share and inspire others with the beauty of every day life. I felt as though it was the perfect time to start it, before becoming a mama, and to also share my pregnancy style with other expecting mamas. I decided to dive in and launch it this past January, and have fallen deeply in love with blogging! I enjoy sharing my style and love of clothes and shopping with others, something I have been passionate about since I was a little girl. As I was stepping in to my role as a mother, I knew I could also use it as a way of sharing mom tips, experiences and overall connecting with other bloggers and moms as well!
- How would you describe yourself?
I am a 25 year old wife and new mama. I love all things fashion, beauty, baby and decor. I have my blog to document all of these things I love. I am a pretty laid-back person, who at the end of the day loves being in comfy sweats on my couch with my hubby and babe watching shows and eating popcorn. I enjoy the simple things in life!
- How has Having A little girl changed your style?
Having a little girl has changed my style in a few different ways. As any new mom will know, you have way less time for yourself, and with that factor, some days getting all dolled up and dressed to the nines isn’t in the cards. So since having Addi, I feel I have been more laid back in what I wear. I still am who I am, and shop for the clothes that I love, but I feel I am really good at pulling off that laid back, casual look more than ever before! If any of you follow my blog you will have also noticed the one piece wonder that is constantly making an appearance - the jumpsuit and romper trend that is hot and heavy this summer has been a mama lifesaver for me. To be comfortable and to look cute with barely any effort is any mama’s dream. I can honestly say I still dress how I would’ve dressed prior to having Addi, but I just am almost more comfortable with myself and okay with not always looking 100% which I appreciate so much. I think I have become more confident as a woman, and with who I am since having her, which makes my style more “me” than ever before.
- You have grown so big in the few months of starting your blog, how do you stay grounded and true to yourself?
Well it has been a whirlwind, but I feel as though the key to my blog growing has been that I am myself. I think what I am doing comes from an honest space of just following my passion. My husband, Joel, is someone who definitely keeps me grounded, he jokes sometimes at how many photos we need to take to get a good shot or how Addi is “famous and she doesn’t even know it” - we don’t take this all too seriously! He is supportive, but he also makes me not sweat the small stuff. He also reminds me that some moments are just for us, and to just be in those moments and I truly love and respect that.At the end of the day, I am a mom and wife above anything else, and most days that means I am in comfy sweats, a plain tee with spit up stains and a topknot - which is who I really am. A lot of my photos show Addi and I lounging around and just doing what we do every day - and I think my followers appreciate that I don’t try to pretend I have this glam life and that motherhood is just easy peasy - but nonetheless I try to enjoy each moment and day with my little girl and hubby (when he’s not working)
- As a mom to a little girl, what is the most important value you want to instil into her?
This question honestly had me really thinking. It is something Joel and I discussed so much before she was born. It is such a big and scary job knowing you are raising a person and that so much of who they become is a direct result of you as parents. I would have to say two key ones would be kindness and compassion. I want her to always be kind to others, and to always give the benefit of the doubt because everyone has a story. I think that embracing others instead of judging them makes this world a much better place to live in. Another huge one is confidence. With so much pressure these days to look a certain way, and be a certain weight and to have all the nicest things, I can only hope that Addi will just love herself for who she is and be confident in herself. I personally feel that since having Addi I have only just learned to fully embrace myself for who I am and not let others dictate how I feel about myself. My wish is that Addi will learn to live that way much sooner than I did, because there is no better feeling!
- Do you have any ways to stay connected to your husband now that Addi is here?
This is a hard question! Only because for my husbands job, we pick up and move for four months out of the year - and for these four months, he works insanely long days (sometimes 11-12 hours). He is only home in the mornings, he leaves by 1130am, and is usually home between 1030-1130pm. You can imagine that doesn’t leave us much time for each other or us as a family! With that being said, we also get the luxury of him not working or having an intense schedule for 8 months of the year and that’s where we get to spend a lot of time together.
So as timing worked out, we had Addi literally when he had already left for the summer and then a week after she was born I moved to Edmonton (from Calgary). What makes it work for us, is the little things. We spend our little time we have in the mornings just either hanging around our apartment and relaxing as a little family. We love to bath Addi, go for a walk, grab a Starbucks or just do simple errands that we don’t get to do often because of his work schedule. At the end of the night, he comes home and he and I eat a late dinner together (no phones allowed) and we always watch an episode of a show we are into (we love Netflix). This is usually our only “us time” because Addi is usually sleeping (sometimes she stays up late to see her daddy). At the end of the day, because we don’t have many hours to spend together during the summer and because our families are not here with us to babysit, most of our time is spent as the three of us. So we have resorted to her just coming along for our outings and dates.
We have always believed that when we would start a family, our babe would fit into our life/schedule and we would still make time for us whether our babe has to tag along or not! So we often still make late night dates work, or we enjoy our Sundays (his only day off) and we literally pack a million things into one day. But all in all we just try to spend at least some time every day together with no phones, no TV etc where we chat and catch up and mostly swoon over Addi.
- What are your favorite Brands and places to shop for yourself?
My absolute favorite store that carries a variety of brands is Anthropologie. I honestly just adore the eclectic style and uniqueness of all of their pieces. I cannot go into that store without buying something, and I am so addicted that I am usually browsing online every few days - my hubby makes fun of me! I also love Zara, Forever21, and H&M. All those stores have great priced items, and I usually like to mix and match. One thing I love about stores like Forever21 is that the clothing is so cheaply priced that you can buy a ton for your money, especially trendy items that may not be so “in” in the long wrong, that way you’re not investing in pieces that won’t last per say. I love to mix and match in my closet and typically mostly invest in bags and unique pieces, so they last the longest and can be worn with so much.
- for Addilyn?
- do you have any mom advice for new moms out there?
My mom advice that I would share with any new mom would be to enjoy each moment. Addi is 3.5 months already and it has felt as though time has flown by. I feel I have thoroughly let myself enjoy this time with Addi because I do know and realize how quick it goes. Don’t put pressure on yourself and just relax. I know at times being a new mom can be stressful and overwhelming, but in those moments, realize that they will pass, and that cranky, screaming baby who may not let you put them down, will eventually be a toddler, and then in the blink of an eye a teenager! I just have found that the more I let myself relax and not sweat the small stuff, the more Addi has become a very calm, laid-back baby too. I feel as though your baby can be a reflection of you and your energy you give off. So I would say to just enjoy this time, don’t wish it away because you are having a bad day, but instead hold your little while you still can and go with the flow.
Check out more fun interviews coming soonKatie Rose xo