Hi friends and happy Tuesday! On Saturday I turned the big THREE THREE! We had a lazy afternoon after morning errands and then at night we went out with our dearest friends. It was the perfect way to ring in a brand new year that is full of possibilities, opportunities, and lots of love & laughter! I’m a firm believer in creating a space that is open and honest and puts transparency above all else, so I thought it would be fun to write a “33 Things About Me” blog post. I took to the ‘Gram to ask you girls on what questions you may have for me – whether it be work, life, personal, etc. – that you wanted me to answer, and I LOVED receiving so many DM’s. Connecting with you all makes my heart so happy! So without further adieu, let’s get started!
33 THINGS ABOUT ME
- Tony and I started dating March 22, 2008! We got engaged in July of 2015 and were married on December 31, 2016. It’s crazy to think that we’ve been together for over a decade! I was 22.5 and he was 25 when we started dating.
- READER QUESTION: I have one sister, Rachel, and she is 5 years younger than me. We are quite different but of course have our sisterly bond that is unbreakable!
- READER QUESTION: Tony owns his own business, Keep Cool Watches, and in his free time he plays a lot of golf!
- READER QUESTION: I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Child, Youth, and Family Studies and have a Master’s Degree in Public Administration
- I’m born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska and have never lived any place else. When Tony and I were younger, before we had our house, we always talked about moving to Chicago, Kansas City, and even Hawaii, and sometimes I wish we had, even if it was just for a year or two! Now we just try to travel as often as possible.
- Our favorite “international” vacation to take together is to Mazatlan, Mexico. Tony’s parents retired and move there in 2010, so we’ve spent many a’weeks over the years in Maz! If you’ve never visited, I highly recommend. The people are so kind and the city offers some amazing food and festivities! We’ve never not felt safe and we walk throughout the city when we leave the resort.
- READER QUESTION: I’m 50% Lithuanian and part English, Irish, and Native American.
- Before blogging full time, I worked in local city government and then moved into nonprofit doing development aka fundraising and event planning! I quit my FT day job to take Sabby Style full force on June 30, 2016.
- READER QUESTION: I use the free Photoshop Express app to edit all of my iPhone photos. I use the “Spring” filter then adjust the exposure, contrast, warmth, saturation, clarity and luminance. Then before posting, while in the Instagram app, I use the sharpening tool and make any final tweaks!
- Sabby Style was established in 2014 with my first blog post going live on February 27th!
- READER QUESTION: I drive a white 2017 Dodge Durango with 22″ rims and a loud AF sub. I’m a Clatchet – Classy but slightly ratchet haha! *** Please don’t read too much into this, I’m just a girl who loves hip hop & rap music and likes to shake her booty with girlfriends and listen to my music loud!
- READER QUESTION: I make money through my blog and Instagram via three avenues!
– Sponsored Posts & Campaigns: Whether it’s a blog post or an Instagram feature, I partner with brands, businesses, and boutiques in which I am paid for my styling, writing, the professional photography I invest in, and for the exposure they receive from my very awesome loyal readers! I want to express and ensure you know that the collaborations I take part in are always organic; as payment does not buy my opinion! It is a fee for my time and for reaching the audience I’ve grown and fostered relationships with for four+ years, which I am so proud of! By coming back and reading each and every day, you affirm the belief that there is value in what we’re doing here at Sabby Style!
– Commission: I work with rewardStyle, a 3rd party affiliate company, that pairs Influencers (me) with brands and allows me to make commission from sales generated through my Instagram and Blog. A prime example of this relationship is with rewardStyle and their LiketoKnow.it app, which allows you girls to shop my Instagram posts! When I started using LTK on IG, I felt odd and didn’t want to come off as “salesy”, but honest to goodness, I personally use LTK to do all my shopping! And now it’s the easiest and most convenient way for me to share what I’m wearing every day. The “Shop Instagram” page on my blog has ALL of my Instagram looks that you can easily shop and you don’t even need a LTK account.
I love having this feature because there’s no possible way I could blog about every single outfit I wear on Instagram, but I get asked tons of questions about where something is from (which I love, keep the questions and messages coming!), so it’s super convenient to direct gals to that page where they can easily get the information! While this stream of revenue can be very rewarding, it’s not one that I work into my monthly budget or guaranteed income, as I never know how much it will be. If you have any further questions regarding affiliate links or commissions, I would be happy to discuss this further via email!
– Hosting Events/Paid Appearances: These types of events are my favorite and can be quite lucrative, as well! So when the opportunity arrives to attend an in-store event and chat face-to-face with customers about a product I love, I’m all for it! This kind of work isn’t for everyone, especially if you aren’t comfortable with talking to strangers haha but this goes straight back to my Development background, where I would attend 2-3 networking events a week and LOVED meeting new people and building relationships. Which is also funny because now my job is essentially to sit behind a computer and share my life with you via the internet.
I’ve been thinking about starting a youtube channel because I do miss having that personal interaction. And that’s also why I love Instagram Stories and doing videos there, because you get to see my real life, not just the IG highlight reel!
Click HERE to read more about my journey and my blogging & IG tips & tricks!
- My favorite kind of coffee is the Flavor of the Day from Scooter’s! Though I hate spending money on coffee, so I make myself a cup of instant coffee every morning and only treat myself to buying fancy coffee once in a while.
- READER QUESTION: My mom owns her business in psychiatric billing and my dad is a graphic design engineer.
- READER QUESTION: We definitely want to have kids and plan/hope to start our family late this Fall/early Winter. We hope to have at least one child and possibly two!
My favorite Summer outfit is always and will be cutoff shorts, wedges, and a kimono! If you’ve been following along on the ‘Gram, then you know I live in this combo all Summer long. In the Spring and Fall, I swap out the shorts and wedges for jeans and booties and can’t say enough good things about kimonos! They are beyond versatile and instantly elevate any outfit.
This gorgeous yellow kimono cardigan will be so perfect as we go from Summer into Fall and I’m obsessed with the statement sleeves and the gorgeous print. Yellow is trending big time and that makes my color-lovin’ heart so happy!
This beautiful kimono can be found at Amelia’s Boutique and is only $40 plus an extra 20% off with code sabbystylejuly20!
- READER QUESTION: I work with a very talented and oh so sweet photographer, Kylee, for most of my blog photos but sometimes Tony is recruited to shoot for me! In fact, he took these outfit pictures!
- I was in a very serious and scary car accident the Summer before my senior year of high school, in which I came face first with a windshield, which is why I have scarring on my forehead. My eyebrows actually never fully grew back, so I have to draw them in every morning, which is why I’m getting them microbladed next month, yay!
- READER QUESTION: I’ve never had botox or anything else done, though I’m seriously considering botox for my forehead and eye creases.
- When Tony and I met, he played professional baseball, so we dated long-distance for our first two years.
- I don’t have one ounce of a sweet tooth but could eat alllllll the salty things all day, err day. Sunflower seeds are my weakness! And marinated mushrooms.
- READER QUESTION: My cocktail of choice when we’re out ‘n about is usually a vodka with soda water & lemon. Fun Fact – did you know that with every bottle of Tito’s Vodka sold, a portion of their profit goes to support animal rescue and adoption. The program is called “Vodka for Dog People”! So naturally that is my vodka of choice haha. I also like domestic beers with V8 or Tomato Juice and love tequila!
- READER QUESTION: Yes, we are still on for our home remodel! We are currently waiting to hear from the city that our plans were approved and then we’ll receive the permits! If all goes well, we will start demolition in August! The goal is to be completely done, moved back in, and furnished/decorated so I can host Christmas Eve this year! Please send prayers 🙂
- READER QUESTION: Franklin Leonard is 12.5, Roger Roy is 9, and Martha Mae (our newest rescue) is 4! We adopted both Roger and Martha and Franklin was an early 21st birthday present from my parents.
- READER QUESTION: Tony is six feet tall and I’m five foot, 2 inches!
- Growing up, I was a complete tomboy! I played basketball, softball, volleyball, and soccer, but my favorite sport was soccer and I played it up until college!
- Bravo! is my fave channel and I love Real Housewives, Below Deck, and Southern Charm! Tony watches all of those shows with me too, haha. But my all-time favorite show EVER is Law & Order SVU. I literally live for the USA marathons!
- READER QUESTION: My favorite type of books to read are psychological thrillers and my favorite author is Gillian Flynn! Sharp Objects was/is actually the book I loved most of hers, so I was excited to see that HBO created a series based on the book. I’ve been watching the show and have enjoyed it thus far. Amy Adams is so talented!
- READER QUESTION: I don’t have a favorite kind of music, per say, but I do listen to country and hip hop/rap (new and old school of both genres) the most often! I also like oldies and rock. My favorite concerts include: Metallica, Heart, Journey, George Strait, Reba McEntire, and N’Sync!
- READER QUESTION: I currently am a member at Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping (FXB) and started my fitness journey with them in January! I have fallen off the fitness train over the last two months, but we are going to Mexico in October and I want to look and feel my very best, so it’s time to get ’bout it ’bout it again! If you’ve been contemplating starting FXB or some kind of kickboxing class but are new to it, take it from me and just do it! I had never kickboxed once in my life before starting FXB and now I’m hooked (pun intended)!
- READER QUESTION: I get my nails done at Aksarben Nails (always!) and do a shellac mani about every 3 weeks!
- READER QUESTION: I use THIS self tanner and swear by it. I prep with the scrub and use a mitt to avoid streaks and orange hands. I’m working on a full blog post covering each product and my process for using it!
- And last but not least, I LOVE MY JOB! I’m seriously so so blessed and thankful for your loyalty and readership! The connections and friendships I’ve formed through this platform is more than I could have ever hoped for. I say this all the time, but I truly do have the very best and most awesome readers and supporters! xoxo
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