Happy weekend! I hope you are all having fun, no matter what you may be up to!

The lovely Kristen from Eating R.D. sent a list of questions, which I am excited to answer and spread the love! Just let me know if you would like to be interviewed in the comments. . . .

1. What is your all-time favorite recipe or type of cuisine that you could have over and over again?

Gee this is TOUGH. I LOVE food. love it.

lemme break it all down:

Favorite food from restaurants: Pasquales garlic twist rolls (I could honestly eat these for the rest of my life. When I go to this restaurant I order a dinner salad and an entire basket of rolls. best. meal. ever., Right, Tiffany? ); Roasted Chicken Romaine from The Stone Oven; sushi at any good, quality sushi joint, chicken nine vegetable soup with the most amazing pita bread ever made at TAZA — (I’ll feature this in the Daily Delish soon)

My favorite recipes: Shrimp risotto (I’ll feature this on make it soon!), Italian Turkey Burgers, Healthy, no-guilt chicken Parmesan (I’ll also feature this recipe soon)

Favorite go-to quick meals: PB and banana waffles; salads of any kind; turkey, hummus, tomato, lettuce and cheese sandwich on a pita and breakfast foods

Favorite Cuisine – Middle Eastern and Italian and BREAKFAST food

2. What is your best advice for shopping for fashionable clothes on a budget?

Use what you have! You have no idea how many outfits you can make with some classic staples from your existing wardrobe. Have a black dress you never wear anymore? Pair it with a new belt and colorful pumps and voila! New outfit.

INVEST in classic pieces. When it’s OK to splurge: perfect fitting black pants, jeans, white button down shirt, black dress, pencil skirt, cardigans

Now that you have high-quality basics, no one will notice if you are wearing a cheaper scarf, belt or tank. Pairing less expensive accessories and accent pieces with quality clothing makes those cheaper accents look just as expensive as the key pieces.

But you don’t have to spend a ton of money on the classics, either. I frequent SAKs outlet, Nordstrom Rack and TJMaxx on a regular basis. You never know what you’ll find. These stores have designer brand names at discount prices. I’ve gotten Armani pants for less that $30. I’ve gotten Marc Jacobs pieces that cost more than the clothes at Khols.

Speaking of Kohls, have you seen Vera Wang’s line? It’s pretty spectacular. Great silhouettes. Big designers have been teaming up with budget-friendly department stores. I’m sure you all know the relationships H&M and Target have with big name designers. You can find some fantastic things.

In the end, buy clothing that fits. Anything looks 10x better when it fits nicely. The most expensive designer jeans will look horribly on someone who buys them 2 sizes too small. Don’t worry about the number on the tag. If they feel great and look good in the mirror, purchase!

3. What does a typical day consist of for you? I think your career in PR/advertising/communications among the many others would be so neat!

Hmmm typical day. Let me give you a brief summary.

5:30 a.m. wake up thinking, “Already?!”
5:31 a.m. wake the Mister up
5:35 a.m. wake the Mister up again
5:40 a.m. peel the Mister out of bed
5:50 a.m. leave for the gym
7:00 a.m. return from the gym
7:15 a.m. shower and get dressed
7:45 a.m. make myself a quick and healthy breakfast of one of the following: eggs in a basket, PB and banana waffle or oatmeal
8:00 a.m. leave for work

Work day: Get in and check email (normally about 35-100 pile up overnight). Prioritize. Normally at some point during the day I am: approving advertisements, coordinating photo shoots, strategizing PR and ad campaigns, approving ad copy, writing press releases, pitching the media, writing case studies, meeting with my client to explain our creative rationale, meeting with media reps to determine which magazines my clients ads should run in, sending ads to said magazines, brainstorming new ideas for my clients, coordinating media and consumer events, eventually traveling to said events (this year it is NYC- twice!, Chicago and San Francisco)

4. What was your favorite photo shoot spot? Or what would be your ideal modeling job?

It’s funny because modeling comes across so much more glamorous than it actually is. Most of my shoots are done in studios, which aren’t too exciting! Shooting outdoors is fun, but it brings a whole new round of complications. For example, one time I had a bathing suit photo shoot on the beach, sounds fun, huh?! Well the ad was due out in June, which means we had to shoot in MARCH (not exactly tropical weather conditions). See what I mean?

My favorite shoots are when I get to shoot with the Mister! Did you know he’s a model, too? We’ve done a bunch of greeting cards together, as well as an ad for French Vanilla vodka, and a few others I can’t think of at the moment. Nothing beats getting paid to make out with the boy you love

My favorite acting job was the movie House Arrest. it’s terrible, by the way. I only had a few lines and get this — they got cut! I was also a stand-in for the lead girl. That means that I came into the shot to get the lighting and angles set up and then the REAL actress came in to shoot the scene. But it was so much fun! I got the star treatment, made some great $ and I got to meet Jamie Lee Curtiss and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

My other acting jobs: Commercials – Sea World, Blue Cross Blue Shield Hospital, McDonalds, Hardees, Stand (Anti-tobacco), Kronheims furniture, Subway, Ohio Lotto; Film – House Arrest and a few independent films you’ve probably never heard of.

5. What is the best way to find balance for you among your busy schedule?
PRIORITIZING and getting it done.

I’m a do-er. I get stuff done. I power through, eyes on the prize. I don’t waste time complaining. (I don’t handle whiners well). I’ve found that just getting started is half the battle. Yes, those who know me know that I procrastinate (what can I say, I work best under pressure ). But at the end of the day, I get it done.

I also trick myself into thinking I’m not busy. I give a lot of credit to my parents for this personality trait.

Growing up, I was extremely busy. I modeled a few days a week, having to get pulled out of school every now and then. I danced competitively, starred in many of my high school musicals, was a member of show choir, earned my black belt in karate, cantored at my church and still went to school and got good grades. I’m not saying this to brag. because to me, it really wasn’t a big deal. My parents never acted like it was a big deal. it’s just the way it was. For awhile I thought everyone was doing the same thing. To hear that someone sat home on a school night baffled me. It just wasn’t the norm. I think this mind-set has carried through to my adult life and I guess I thrive when I’m the most busy.

Prioritizing is huge for me. I ALWAYS choose the Mister and my family over anything. Because without them, who am I? You are the company you keep. If I have a lot of work to do, I still make time to check in with him, talk about our day and have ‘us’ time. It makes getting the ‘other stuff’ done easier.

The Mister will always be my number one priority. He keeps me sane, keeps me smiling, puts up with me, knows me better than I know myself and instead of trying to change my idiosyncrasies and flaws, he loves me more because of them. I love you, honey

Also — remember to breathe and appreciate the little things — sometimes they are what get you through the day!

If you would like to be interviewed:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” If a few people want interviews, I will randomly pick 2.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with my link and answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

I also received a question from Sophia:

I have a different question: where did you get a degree in communications? what made you choose this field? how do you like it so far?

I went to a small, private liberal arts school near Columbus, OH (for privacy reasons, I’d prefer not to mention the exact school )

I was actually originally accepted into the vocal music program and received a scholarship. The first day of classes I knew I was in the wrong place. Music theory? piano? opera workshops? NO THANKS. I love singing. It was such a huge part of my life, but it was something I enjoyed and suddenly it wasn’t feeling like that anymore. I quit my majr the first day. (Let’s just say I nearly gave my mom a heart attack when I called her bawling and explaining my situation).

I had always been interested in the field of communications — PR, advertising, comm. theory, journalism, writing, speech and relationship studies were so intriguing! I switched my majors and LOVED my classes from the get-go. I was sold. I would be a ‘communicator.’

But what is that exactly?

Well the nice thing about the field is that there are countless opportunities! It’s such a broad topic and have so many real-world applications.

I love the field. LOVE IT. 

I knew right away that I wanted to start out as a PR/advertising practitioner. I love the daily functions of my job and areas of interest I get to explore. Writing, strategizing, coordinating events, creative planning and innovation make up the bulk of my day-to-day work. Because I knew I was committed to the field, I wanted to get my Master’s degree.

I graduated with my Masters in December 2008 and am now looking forward to one day receiving my PhD.

When I was in both undergrad and grad school, I had the privilege of having a few professors who had a profound impact on me. I was so impressed with their infectious passion for the field and they motivated me to soak up everything I could. They made class interesting and engaging. They helped me realize how much I loved the field.

I want to be that person to someone else.

Which is why I want to get my PhD. I can’t wait to teach college students and share my experiences and passion for this industry I have grown to love. 

I like that every day in my job is different. I like that I am challenged to come up with new innovative solutions for my clients. And I like knowing that I don’t know where the road in this field will take me. As long as I’m a communications practitioner, I’ll be happy

Which leads me to my next point…

NO JUICY questions this week! ;(

While I love answering your other, personal questions, I’d really like to dive into some deeper issues. Like I said, feel free to email or contact me anonymously. You guys must be such great communicators that you don’t have any issues! LUCKY!

Anyway, if you think of a communications issue, please let me know. Remember, you can send any type of question to me throughout the week and I’ll address them next week on ‘Solve it’ Saturday!