I'm very excited to have the awesome babes from Yonder blog on here today! Julie and Megon definitely know how to keep it real, creative and rad. I've been reading their blog for quite awhile now and after emailing back and forth with them, I love them even more. Their blog covers both of their lives, DIY, becoming a new mom and having fur children. What more could you want? I asked them if I could do a little interview with them so you guys could get to know them better. Megon is also offering a $25 store credit to her awesome shop Benefit Jewels Vintage!
So give their awesome interview a read, get entered to win something pretty and pop over to their blog and give them a follow! I highly recommend their series Baby Talk and Make Your Own.
How did you two meet and how long have you been friends?
M :: Um, I know we met about a million years ago while I was living in St. Louis. Julie will tell you the exact date, she's the time keeper. As far as how, I can't recall how long we knew each other, or at least knew of each other, before I started a zine called "What's Up, Bra?" and asked other girls to contribute, Julie being one of them. I feel like this is the newlywed game. I hope our responses are the same when we hold us our little cards and we win the trip to Maui. We are competing for a trip to Maui, right?
J :: We met at a meeting that Megon was having at her house in south St. Louis. I believe it was around 2002? She was trying to get a group of girls together to make a zine about the hardcore punk scene in St. Louis. I went and became one of four girls involved in the zine. To this day I have no idea how I fooled everyone into thinking I had any knowledge of punk music or the "scene." I was such a nerd and really just loved being around such powerful and amazing women. After that Megon and I lived together in a tiny apartment in St. Louis, we moved together to Austin and we also lived in Boston together.
Summertime is upon us, do you two have any big plans or trips you're setting out on?
M :: We are going to be here most of the summer. My parents are coming to visit in June from Arkansas and Julie will be coming up in September. Most of our energy (and money) will be committed to some home renovations and landscaping the 10" x 6" space we call our back yard. I am also looking forward to endless picnics in the park and hopefully some baby/mommy swimming.
J :: Yes!! And I cannot wait! My boyfriend, Justin, and I are going to California and we're driving up the coastal highway to Oregon. I've always wanted to take this drive and I'm so happy we're going to do it together! We are stopping along the way in small coastal towns and I've made sure that every hotel we stay at is a small, kitschy place. Our main goal is to relax this year...it's been an emotional year so far for both of us...and I'm hoping we can unwind a bit.
At the end of summer I'm going to see Megon for about a week, and again...I'm so excited! This will be my first time meeting Elliot (I'm only a little nervous about it) and I'm hoping that Megon and i get some good quality girl time in. I've only been to Montreal once so it will be nice to go and see some more new places.
How do you two feel your blog has evolved?
M :: Wow. Like, a lot! Obviously, my contributions have been off and on during my pregnancy/babydom because I am terrible at time management. But, I think, and I hope this doesn't sound too lame, that it has distilled the essence of us. I know Julie and I are "dabblers" to use her term. We do a lot of things; crafts, cooking, thrifting, etc. It's nice to have a space that has helped us refine what makes us "us." A space to create our aesthetic and help us grow personally and professionally and meet awesome people. *Wink wink.
I also want to say here how proud I am of Julie for keeping everything going when I slack off or forget what day of the week it is. Also, coming up with ideas and pushing me when I want to sit on my butt. All those butt kickings will be returned in spades, Julie!
J :: Well for starters...it looks a hell of a lot better than it did in the beginning. We are, by no means, graphic designers and a lot of the blogs that come out these days are so "pro" looking. I love ours because it's a labor of love. Yeah, it might not be as sleek as some others, but everything we have on our blog we did ourselves. And, in most cases, we learned how to do it ourselves right before doing it!
This blog has allowed us to meet so many wonderful people and I never thought that would happen! We kind of just started it as a way to keep in touch. I will admit, it was hard carrying most of the load while Megon was pregnant, but now she's making up for it and I couldn't be happier to have her back. I love the little updates I get on her life. It really makes me feel more connected with her despite the distance.
Megon, since becoming a mom, what do you feel has changed most about you?
My boobs! But, seriously folks...EVERYTHING. I have always had a motherly streak but it has usually been most demonstrated by holding drunk peoples hair back when they puke. Now, I have a little creature that is part of me (and part of the love of my life) that I have to take care of and feed and clothe and worry about. It's like having a super high maintenance cat that you can't leave alone for a minute or it will fall off the window sill and choke on your goldfish.
Needless to say, there are also some pretty harsh physical changes that took place that I could have lived without. I remember asking Alex through out my whole pregnancy if I was getting stretch marks on my baby bump. "No" he said, always no. After giving birth, once I could see the underside of my tummy again it was covered in stretchmarks. I asked Alex "I thought you said I didn't have any stretch marks?!" and he said "Oh, THOSE are stretchmarks?" Like, yeah babe, what have you been looking for this whole time?!
Julie, what is your favorite thing about being a fur baby mama?
It's a win win situation! I get to stare at (to me) two of the cutest faces in existence, and in return I get loved! (I also get to clean up cat hair, meowed at when the food bowl isn't full, scratched when they don't want to be held, etc, etc, but that's another story).
Favorite beverage?
M :: There are so many beverages to choose from! This is too hard. How about a top 5? Nope, not enough, top 5 seasonally.
Spring/Summer
1. I guess I should say water.
2. Orange Juice
3. Lemonade (may be #2, depending on the day)
4. Good, strong Ginger Beer (Maine Root is the best)
5. Kombucha, preferably ginger
Fall/Winter
1. Ginger tea (I like ginger, OKAY?!?!)
2. Hot apple cider
3. Ice Cider (which is a strong wine made from apples that have frozen naturally on the tree)
4. Red Wine
5. Apple/Grape Juice
Elliot's favorite is milk.
J :: I'm gonna do a top two.
1. water
2. gingerade Kombucha
My Little Ponies or Barbies?
J :: Both. My little sister and I had so many Barbies it was insane. I remember one year for Christmas my mom and dad got us everything Barbie. We had an RV, clothes, a cheap version of the dream house. It was crazy. After that Christmas I quickly got sick of them and stopped playing with them. I don't think I have any Barbies anymore. I might, however, still have a My Little Pony somewhere around here.
HOW TO ENTER
Mandatory Entry - Follow Megon and Julie's awesome blog here and leave us a comment telling us how you followed!
EXTRA ENTRIES
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// Please be sure to leave your email address so that I can get a hold of you if you should win! This giveaway will end on Wednesday, June 6 and a winner will be chosen at random with random.org. Winner will be announced on Thursday June 7! This giveaway is only open to U.S. and Canadian readers! //
