Someone responded to my reader survey and asked me to do a "day in the life" post, so I'm here today to do just that! My life lately has felt really strange, and while I've been finding my bearings more and more each week, I've found myself over the past few months thinking that it may be time for a change. I might start doing some contract work, or I could once again see myself in a full-time position here in Charlotte--I'm still not sure.

These past two-plus years of blogging for a living have been really amazing, and the flexibility it has provided me in moving from Virginia to Minnesota to North Carolina has been incredible. I was able to plan our wedding with very little stress, I made really long trips back to Virginia whenever I wanted, when Rob traveled for work I could go with him. All of these things seemed like great perks, but it wasn't until my mom had surgery this September that I felt truly grateful to have an unconventional and flexible job--I was able to pick up and leave for two weeks and not really do any blogging while I was taking care of her. I can't say all of that was without consequences--I've seen a drop in my traffic and I haven't been working with sponsors as regularly as I was before this fall, but I would do it all again, exactly the same way.

So things may or may not be changing in the not-so-distant future, but for now, here's what an average day in my life looks like:

7-8 AM My alarm goes off. I try not to check my email or scroll through Instagram before my feet have hit the ground, but I always immediately do both anyway. I let Ender out of his crate and he jumps in bed with us for a few minutes before I take him outside. I make coffee and sometimes Rob and I will either take Ender for a walk or leave him home and go for a run before work, but sometimes we just take it slow and eat breakfast (almost always scrambled eggs) instead.

9-11 AM Hopefully we're out the door. We have one car, so I take Rob to work on my way to barre. After I work out, I usually head home (especially if I have a deadline or haven't published a new post that day yet), but sometimes I'll run errands while I'm out. Every now and then I'll meet a friend for coffee or lunch, or I'll go work at a coffee shop, but in general I get more done when I'm home (also, embarrassingly enough, I miss Ender whenever I'm gone too long).

12-3 PM My afternoon consists of writing posts, responding to emails, eating, hanging out with Ender, and dog-sitting a pup that lives down the hall from us (I usually just take him out a couple times, but a few times a week I bring him over and he and Ender play in the living room for a few hours). Every week I try to post a new recipe, so some afternoons I'll cook and take photos for the blog. I used to plan out my posts well in advance but lately I've been kind of winging it and just going day by day, which is probably why I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately--I do so much better when I plan ahead.

4-5 PM I try to finish up whatever I'm working on and clean up the dishes I've most certainly left in the sink all day. If there's laundry hanging around I'll try to fold that, and if I'm already starving I'll start working on dinner so we can eat as soon as Rob gets home. About once a month I meet up with a photographer to shoot a few What I Wore posts, so I'll gather clothes for those shoots and meet her somewhere in my neighborhood.

6-7 PM Rob and I eat dinner, catch up, watch some TV, and try to go for a run if we didn't already go in the morning. Sometimes we'll take Ender for a walk if I didn't take him after barre, which I usually do. We clean the kitchen and do laundry and watch more shows on Netflix. A few times a week there's a workout class in our building, so sometimes on Mondays I'll go with a friend.

8-11 PM If I haven't finished my blog stuff, I'll head to the computer to work a bit. Usually I just finish up whatever post I'm sharing the next day, or I'll spend some time editing photos or sorting out my editorial calendar. I'm always ready for bed around 9:30 but I never actually go to bed until at least 11. Time can really fly when you're sitting in front of your computer!

And that's that! It's not always a super exciting life, but it's mine and I'm pretty fond of it. I think my laid-back schedule has gotten the best of me over the past six months or so, and I'm looking forward to finding the time to do more things with my day. I know that not everyone loves sponsored content, but I'm always happiest when I'm either busy and working on creative projects for brands, or sharing personal posts; so I'm hoping to get into more of both very soon. Speaking of the latter, I wanted to thank you all for your kind and thoughtful comments and emails on my most recent post about being BRCA2-positive. I keep doing what I'm doing because of this community. So thank you for being there.

If any of you have more questions you'd like me to respond to with a blog post, let me know! I love hearing from you guys.

Photo by Sarah Gatrell for Freckled Italian.

Rob came home for lunch and a run last Tuesday, so I drove him back to the office and had just pulled into the garage to get the mail when my phone rang.

"Is this a good time?" my genetic counselor asked while I balanced the phone on my shoulder and looked into our mailbox. Just junk as usual. 

"Sure," I said, because I always knew in my gut that the test was going to come back positive for a BRCA gene mutation, and I wasn't surprised when she told me that I was right. I didn't think I needed someone there when I got the news, but suddenly I couldn't believe she didn't call just an hour sooner, while Rob was home with me.

I made it back upstairs before breaking into tears. I thought about my mom, home from surgery, wincing through the pain of recovery; and how as I washed her hair for her a few days later I selfishly prayed that I would never be on the other side of a double mastectomy.

But I will be.

Being BRCA2-positive means that I have a lifetime risk of 41%-84% for breast cancer, and up to a 27% risk of ovarian cancer. The hardest thing to remember these past few days is that my test results are not a cancer diagnosis, and that without surgery, there's still a chance I could live my whole life without ever having cancer. 

There are some days where knowing that I have a gene mutation feels so incredibly unfair, but there are more days where I feel blessed in the strangest way. We all have a certain risk of all kinds of illnesses, because we're alive and we're human and things go wrong. This is one that I get to face head on and avoid. It's a gift. 

We haven't made any decisions yet and we don't have to--my genetic counselor was very adamant about making sure we knew that there's no rush. For a couple of days Rob and I stressed ourselves out trying to decide if we should have kids soon or if we should move to a bigger place and when would our loans be paid off and will we need two cars? It was too much. For now I'll start getting an annual MRI to make sure things are fine; and once we've had a few kids, I'll most likely choose to have a double mastectomy and reconstruction.

While I've managed to be pretty matter-of-fact and somewhat logical about this whole thing, the overwhelming truth is that I'm really scared. But I'm also hopeful. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and even with the overwhelm that has been my life lately, I don't think I've ever been more grateful--for my life, my health, my husband. That my mom is doing well. I'm thankful for God, for science and medicine, for options. For the future.

Wishing each of you a happy and healthy beginning to this holiday season.

Last night I decided enough was enough with the whole talk-about-a-capsule-wardrobe thing. I'm going to do it. Looking through these photos made me realize that even when I put together an outfit that isn't leggings and a big sweater, I'm still reusing the same five to ten pieces. I wear this grey tee shirt every single week; and even though I don't always use this skirt, I've worn it countless times, and always with a different top. My wardrobe is already full of some great mix-and-match pieces, so now I'm finally just going to get rid of the rest of it.

I really love clothes, and I enjoy sharing my style here on the blog, but I'm never going to be a style blogger who buys new things all the time. I have been flirting with minimalism for over a year now and the more stuff I get rid of, the happier (and more at peace) I feel. So I'm going to go with that.

Top: Banana Republic | Skirt (similar): J.Crew 

Bag (similar): HOBO | Bracelet (similar): Banana Republic | Shoes: Dolce Vita

I'm going to start with my winter wardrobe and go from there--if any of you have gotten rid of the majority of your clothes and are living with less, I'd love to hear how you did it! I know I want fewer things in my closet but I always have trouble actually getting rid of stuff, even though I never wear it. Wish me luck!

Photos by Andi Perullo for Freckled Italian.