Thoughts for Thursday : About Me + Why I Blog

Welcome to another Thoughts for Thursday link-up party with Natalie and I.  We are so thankful for all of you who have been linking up week after week with us and for a few new comers each week.  I'm stealing Natalie's idea from last week and sharing a little bit about me and what brought me to blogging.  So read along with a cup of coffee and grab a button at the end of the post and join the party!  Remember, you can write about anything ;-)

NAME/AGE/LOCATION
I'm Annie, a 29 year old gal living in Pensacola, FL (my hometown).

FAMILY
I got married in April 2012 to my husband Matt.  In June 2013, we had our son Brody.  We also have our first born, Bella.  A four year old, 7 pound, white Maltipoo who is extremely jealous of her brother.



WORK
I stay at home with our son, Brody (almost 14 months).  I worked in the family business for 4 years prior to having Brody. I started in sales then moved as the sales and marketing director at our corporate office in Gulf Breeze, FL.  I attempted to go back to work (at least part-time) after Brody was born, but it didn't work well for either party.  So I am very lucky to spend every day with my little man.

HOBBIES
I love to travel, workout, shop and of course, blog.  That's pretty much all I fit in these days.  I used to love to play golf, but never have time for that anymore.  I love my friends and used to hop on a plane and visit them for any occasions possible; but sadly, it's no longer that easy.  I miss those times.  But I am so thankful for my family and hope to have some weddings to attend in the near future to catch up with old friends (hint hint)!!

FAVORITE FOOD
Pizza and all Mexican

FAVORITE COLOR
Blue (all shades of it) and White
I think it's kind of a problem that 3 rooms in my house right now are blue and white and the fourth one is navy blue, white and green!  I love light blue. It soothes me.

STANDARD COFFEE ORDER
Skinny Vanilla Iced Latte (summer)
Dirty Chai Latte (winter) It's a Chai Latte with a shot of expresso

STANDARD BAR ORDER
Stoli Club Soda with Lime or a glass of Cabernet.  If I'm drinking beer - Michelob Ultra.

PLACES I SHOP
For Me: J Crew, Shopbop, Piperlime
For Brody: Online Auctions (Facebook & Instagram) Shrimp & Grits, Gap
For the Home: Duh (local), Wisteria, Homegoods & Ballard Designs

BEDTIME AND WAKUP TIME
I usually like to be in the bed by 9 and asleep by 10pm.  Wake up time is between 630am and 7am depending on Brody.

BEAUTY PRODUCT I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Bare Minerals Bronzer ( I <3 to be tan)

WHAT I BLOG ABOUT
I blog about family, food, fashion, travel and life in general.  It seems that the last few months I have settled into a weekly schedule on the blog and it seems to help hold me accountable.
Monday: Scenes from our Weekend (Life)
Tuesday: Taste of Tuesday (Food)
Wednesday: Mid Week Muse (Fashion)
Thursday: Thoughts for Thursday (Random thoughts, loves, complaints, celebrity gossip, whatever...)
Friday: Five on Friday (Any random five things from the week that I feel like sharing or my favorite things from the week)

FIRST BLOG I READ
Sometime in 2009 I found my friend Katie's blog through social media I think.  We went to high school together, but were really more acquaintances.  She was 2 grades older than me.  She married right out of high school to her HS sweet heart and moved to the northeast and started the blog to keep in touch with her family down south.  It was called Confessions of a Young Married Couple and now is Marriage Confessions.  She was so wity, honest and hilarious that she kept me coming back and I was interested in her life as a married woman as I had just taken a leap and moved to a new city (Orlando) for my boyfriend (now husband).

HOW DID I START BLOGGING
After college, I lived in Atlanta for two years with some close friends from college.  We had the time of our lives.  We lived for the weekends and after-work cocktails and spent more money than we made on designer clothes and fine dining!  After two years in the city our group of friends slowly starting fleeting one by one and I was no exception.  I moved to Orlando where Matt was and as happy as I was to be with him, I realized I had no other friends in the city.  I missed my girlfriends and learned about blogging as a way to keep in touch.  You can read my first post on an old blog here. 

That {old} blog got pretty neglected as I started becoming busier with work and life got in the way.  Once Matt and I got engaged in 2011, I found myself back reading tons of blogs for wedding inspiration.  Southern Wedding's  being my favorite and it just so happens that I went to high school with Lara Casey, the founder, too! Small world.  After getting married, we were talking babies and starting to build a house and I found myself scouring the blogs learning everything I could about both.  I found so many I loved and found so much inspiration through them all that I finally felt compelled and excited to start Home of Malones.

WHY I BLOG
In the beginning, blogging on Home of Malone's was a way for me to document our journey of building our first home and my pregnancy with Brody.  I am so happy that I have it documented and have already referred back to old posts for so many different things.  Since then, it's become more than just an online journal.  I've seen this blog evolve over the last two years just as I've seen our life evolve.  We've settled as a family in our new home and I've taken to my role as "wife, mother and homemaker."  (Sidenote: My Mom reminded me that when I was in Kindergarten and they went around the room and asked us all what we wanted to be when we grew up, I said "I want to be just like my Mommy. I want to be a housewife." Too funny.)  The truth is though, I really enjoyed working and the adult interaction was so important to me because I love people.  I knew I was going to miss that.  I think I've become more and more involved in this blog since leaving work because I love the community and interaction with all of you and it gives me that sense of accomplishment.  I love learning (even if it's just about shopping or the latest beauty product) and I love sharing what I know or have learned or experienced.  I hope you enjoy what you read because it is real life.  I appreciate all of you for following along and all of the support and feedback that you provide.  It makes my day each and every day :)

I always love reading more about bloggers so feel free to steal this "About Me" idea too!

Grab the button below and link up to Annie and Natalie  on your Thoughts for Thursday post.  

Use #thoughtsforthursdays on Instagram and tag us @homeofmalones and @eastcoastnat.
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