How do you do? This title has some things to unpack, but let me start off by introducing myself… 

Hi. I’m Laura. Girl mom of two, wife of one. Recovering morning newsie, speaker of threats (to my children… sometimes my husband), Pure Barre instructor, clean-ish eater, heavy coffee drinker, social media enthusiast, organizer, crafter, lover of good deals and DIY, avid true crime media consumer, part-time newsie, full-time activities director of the house of Wilfon. 

Let’s lay it all out here, this is not the life I dreamed of. Yes. Harsh. Ungrateful? True. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my life (now). I’m glad it worked out this way. 5+ years ago if you would have told me where I would be today I would have burst into tears. Not the good kind. Let’s backup. 

March 27, 2015 Tulsa, Oklahoma. Living the dream co-anchoring a morning news show for the ABC affiliate where I also got to co-host a show called “Good Day Tulsa” and I loved almost every sleep deprived minute. Worked with some incredible and talented humans and we were blessed with some very loyal, mostly kind viewers. On that day, the incredible man I now call my husband asked me to marry him. 6 months later we shut down the main drag in Tulsa (with the creative genius of Farthing Events) and got hitched.

A month before that, Justin took a job in Kansas City, 4 hours up the road. Long story short, after about 8 months of playing #LongDistanceNewlyWeds I packed up my life in Tulsa while 3 months pregnant and moved to KC without a job but with a new mortgage, and a lot of confidence. 

That confidence followed me to interviews at all 4 local stations to be a weekend morning anchor. At the end of the day, a 30 something year old pregnant lady isn’t a desirable candidate for many positions, let alone an on-air one. I freelanced 3-5 days a week at one of the local stations for the remainder of my pregnancy. The vast majority of the people I worked with were outstanding, both professionally and personally. Then… a couple of weeks before my due date my (female) boss told me, “When the baby is born you should find a job somewhere else.” Totally legal, (freelancer) yet totally not cool. 

So I stayed home. This was not the plan. It was not my dream to become a homemaker or stay at home mom. Originally I had planned to get back to freelancing 6 weeks postpartum. That was not my journey. Sure, tons of anxiety. Even some super dark moments. Not postpartum depression, maybe some baby blues mixed with “my life has changed forever because my career came to a break slamming hault” mood. When does this unpaid maternity leave end? Will I ever get to rejoin a career I loved so much? WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS CRYING BABY? WHERE ARE ALL THE ADULTS TO TALK TO? WHO AM I WITHOUT MY JOB??? All that aside, I got to be a fulltime mom and I loved it (when fear wasn’t taking over.) River (my first born) and I hung out with our wonderful neighbors, we took lots of walks around our hood and Target, we went to “Mommy Baby Yoga” and met other wonderful mamas, I did some freelance work, and eventually landed a media relations gig at a fantastic company with equally fantastic people. Of course, 3 months later, Justin got an interview, then a job offer at one of the best stations in the country located in Atlanta, GA. We sold the house, packed it all up again and headed South.

And here we are. After some minor harassment and ingenuity, I get to freelance at an awesome station in Atlanta where I LOVE what I do and the people I’m lucky enough to work alongside. You can also find me teaching Pure Barre at a local studio. I started taking classes there to make friends and get some “me” time. And wouldn’t you know, when I got pregnant with our second daughter (Ramsey) neither job told me to find something else to do when I was done with my leave. I heart ATL. 

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Even with the two (awesome) part time jobs, and two (typically awesome) full time kids, there’s plenty of downtime to get crafty, work in the garden, cook a healthy meal or two, plan a birthday bash, shop for a good deal, and everything in between. After I put the girls down, I typically watch something embarrassing or super dark, pour a glass of wine and do something fun like laundry… scroll instagram… buy stuff on Amazon… or MAKE SOMETHING. That’s where this blog comes into play. Where is it headed? What will I post? Will there be videos? I’m asking myself the same things. We will see where it goes. Would love to hear what you would like to see! 

Buckle up, friends. Coffee, Chaos, and Wine at Bedtime. I have (somewhat) big things planned for this accidental journey. 

Yes, I said this is not the life I dreamed of having. Luckily, God keeps showing me He has even bigger plans than I ever dared to dream. 

Incredibly cheesy. I plan to keep that to a minimum. CHEERS!