Hello! This is the second day in which I blather on about myself, answering the questions that you lovelies gamely asked me.
What has been the one experience that has changed your life the most and why? - Sherin
Oh my. I think my post-college Summer in Brazil was a turning point in my life. My time there completely changed the way I viewed life: what I needed to be happy, what I was capable of, the sort of life that I wanted to lead, what constituted a fulfilling and successful life. Prior to my time in Brazil, I'd been working towards a career in a marketing and advertising. I wanted to land big accounts and work in a corner office and have impressive business cards stuffed into my expensive handbag.
I taught for the first time in Brazil and realized that, try as I might to avoid it, teaching was kind of my genetic destiny (five people in my family work in education). Spending time in a developing country also changed my ideas about wealth and success - I realized that I needed good food, inspiring friends and nice weather to be happy. But not heaps of money. And traveling the length of Brazil, on my own, to bum around the rain forest? After that, I knew I was capable of just about anything.
What is fake bacon and where do I get some? - Ms. Constantine
Fake bacon is heaven in a the form of frozen meat-like strips. My heart belongs to Morningstar Farm Breakfast Strips, but I'm sure there are other fake bacons out there. I doubt breakfast strips are available outside of The States, but if you can get your hands on some: watch out. And if you carnivores are nay-saying, consider the fact that these bacon strips are 30 calories a slice!
Which is why I eat them by the boxful.
What are the most important qualities you look for in friends? - A
I prize all of the usual things - sense of humor, intelligence, loyalty, a wardrobe I can pillage. But as I've gotten older, I realize that I like to surround myself with people who inspire me and possess traits that I would like to have. I've got a few incredibly wise, good advice-giving friends, some friends who can get anything they want with charm and wit, and a couple of driven, crazy talented friends. I guess I'm hoping that some of it'll rub off!
What is the first thing you do in the morning? - Magatha May
1) Feed my cat Rasputin who is licking the door in an attempt to wake me up
2) Turn on MPR
3) Drink a protein shake
Riveting, I know.
Where would you most like to travel to next? - Erin W
I'm actually working towards saving up for another world ticket, in a year or so! I'm considering stops in heaps of places ... maybe England, Germany, France, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, India, Nepal, Russia, Mongolia, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Honestly, it depends on where I have friends at the time and what sorts of work I can find. But I am determined to do the Mt. Everest base camp hike and the Tran-Siberian.
If you could be anyone of any age/gender for a day, who would it be and what would you do as them? - Kate's Irrelevant
Good lord that's a hard one! Honestly? I think I'd be Michelle Obama. I could discover what it feels like to possess The Best Arms in The Land, how it feels to be completely in love with one of the most powerful men in the world, what it's like to be a mum and what it's like to be a minority.
During my day as Michelle, I'd probably wear a variety of fantastic things, make out with my husband a lot and hang out with heaps of amazing people.
What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? - Triplux
Can I cop out and make a list? Okay, good.
2. The sunrise over Angor Wat
3. Pretty much the entire south island of New Zealand
How you get inspiration for your blog posts? Do you think of topics in advance and write them down? - Anne In Reno
Honestly, a lot of ideas just come to me through conversations with my girlfriends. A lot of times, I'll be trolling other blogs or reading a magazine and think "Ooooh, I wish someone would write an article on non-traditional adulthood/converted spaces/scars." But eventually it just occurred to me that I could write those articles. I also find inspiration by looking through the quotes section of visualize and we heart it.
Being a Virgo, my posts are usually written several days in advance of when I publish them. Because I'm nerdy like that.
How has writing this blog changed your life? - Erin
What's the best thing that's happened to you as a result of blogging - Corrine
Ummm, it's eaten up a large amount of my free time? I kid! I kid! Well, not really. But I have so much fun putting Yes and Yes together, I'm not fussed.
I would say that blogging has reinforced my love for writing and made the world seem a smaller, more loving place. Stop puking in your mouths. It's true! I've been writing for ages, but it's always been in the form of newspaper articles/press realeases/academic papers, so it's been great to write in my own, strange way and get so much positive feedback. And all you guys? I feel like we're all kindred spirits, spread all over the world.
Again, stop puking in your mouths.
What made you start blogging? What ispires you to keep it up? - R and Brittany
I've always been a bit frustrated by women's media - I feel like we're constantly being pigeon holed into ridiculous mutually exclusive catagories:
Fancy Ladies Who Get Brazilians and Buy Expensive Purses or
Hippie Vegetarians Who Travel and Want to Save the World or
Career Women Who Want the Corner Office or
Girls Who Are Happy Working in Coffee Shops and Playing Video Games
And I'm a little bit of all those things! And so are most of the women I know! So why do so many magazines (and a lot of blogs) seem to be aimed exclusively at one group of women? I surely don't know. Because I'm equally interested in seeing the world, saving the world, wearing cute outfits and throwing good parties. And surely I'm not the only one, right?
I also wanted an opportunity to yammer on about living life on your own terms. For me, that's meant traveling heaps, putting off marriage and babies and taking a job I love that pays two dollars. But your terms could be adopting the baby you've always wanted sans dude! Or taking the dream job in NYC inspite of your family's misgivings! Or getting a PhD in something obscure and amazing! I guess I've wanted Yes and Yes to be about saying yes to the things that make you happy, whatever those things may be.
Thanks so much for all the questions, lovlies. Yes and Yes loves you!
3. Pretty much the entire south island of New Zealand
How you get inspiration for your blog posts? Do you think of topics in advance and write them down? - Anne In Reno
Honestly, a lot of ideas just come to me through conversations with my girlfriends. A lot of times, I'll be trolling other blogs or reading a magazine and think "Ooooh, I wish someone would write an article on non-traditional adulthood/converted spaces/scars." But eventually it just occurred to me that I could write those articles. I also find inspiration by looking through the quotes section of visualize and we heart it.
Being a Virgo, my posts are usually written several days in advance of when I publish them. Because I'm nerdy like that.
How has writing this blog changed your life? - Erin
What's the best thing that's happened to you as a result of blogging - Corrine
Ummm, it's eaten up a large amount of my free time? I kid! I kid! Well, not really. But I have so much fun putting Yes and Yes together, I'm not fussed.
I would say that blogging has reinforced my love for writing and made the world seem a smaller, more loving place. Stop puking in your mouths. It's true! I've been writing for ages, but it's always been in the form of newspaper articles/press realeases/academic papers, so it's been great to write in my own, strange way and get so much positive feedback. And all you guys? I feel like we're all kindred spirits, spread all over the world.
Again, stop puking in your mouths.
What made you start blogging? What ispires you to keep it up? - R and Brittany
I've always been a bit frustrated by women's media - I feel like we're constantly being pigeon holed into ridiculous mutually exclusive catagories:
Fancy Ladies Who Get Brazilians and Buy Expensive Purses or
Hippie Vegetarians Who Travel and Want to Save the World or
Career Women Who Want the Corner Office or
Girls Who Are Happy Working in Coffee Shops and Playing Video Games
And I'm a little bit of all those things! And so are most of the women I know! So why do so many magazines (and a lot of blogs) seem to be aimed exclusively at one group of women? I surely don't know. Because I'm equally interested in seeing the world, saving the world, wearing cute outfits and throwing good parties. And surely I'm not the only one, right?
I also wanted an opportunity to yammer on about living life on your own terms. For me, that's meant traveling heaps, putting off marriage and babies and taking a job I love that pays two dollars. But your terms could be adopting the baby you've always wanted sans dude! Or taking the dream job in NYC inspite of your family's misgivings! Or getting a PhD in something obscure and amazing! I guess I've wanted Yes and Yes to be about saying yes to the things that make you happy, whatever those things may be.
Thanks so much for all the questions, lovlies. Yes and Yes loves you!
this is just about the sweetest thing i ever did read. you tearjerker!!
ReplyDeletethat was good reading. thanks for sharing and if you ever need a couch to crash on in Ireland on your travels look me up.
ReplyDeleteYou, my friend, are inspirational. I mean, you are so good at being a human, it's amazing.
ReplyDeleteI second you on fake bacon—AND, Morningstar Farms sausage patties are my absolute favorite, way better than any real sausage patty I've ever had. In college, I used to make them in the toaster oven, put one on a slice of toast, cover it in cheese, then eat. Breakfast of champions.
That was great! Though disappointing to hear that my searches for fake bacon have been futile for a reason.
ReplyDeleteO and just so you know, if you do decide to come back to New Zealand you have a friend in Wellington. :]
Magatha-May - Don't think I won't take you up on that *because I totally wil*!
ReplyDeleteErin - (blush) you charmer! Are you a vegetarian, too?
Ms. Constantine - I love Wellington so hard! If the exchange rate was better, I'd move back in an instant. But it's hard to pay off American school loans on the New Zealand dollar :/
I love fake bacon! And I would totally agree on all 3 of the most beautiful things, I tend to "accidentally" stay places too long when I love them... both Greece and NZ I was like "what? It's been a month?!?" ;)
ReplyDeletei didn't puke in my mouth at all but i did feel a little misty :)
ReplyDeletemy husband calls the morningstar strips "fakon" and never fails to marvel at its play-doh like appearance before being cooked. my favorite way to eat them is to get them nice and crispy, toast some bread, scramble some eggs, and stack them all together with some cheese for a pretty tasty breakfast sandwich!
"And I'm a little bit of all those things! And so are most of the women I know! So why do so many magazines (and a lot of blogs) seem to be aimed exclusively at one group of women? I surely don't know. Because I'm equally interested in seeing the world, saving the world, wearing cute outfits and throwing good parties. And surely I'm not the only one, right?"
ReplyDeleteright there with you hun. i feel like i have trouble articulating that over on TL, you seem to be able to seamlessly blend your interests... mines a wee bit jerky but workin on it. there is a lot to be said about the whole dont-need-to-fit-into-one-box thing. we are multi-faceted & fabulous for it.
Thank you for answering all these questions. Its great to get to know you a bit better.
ReplyDeleteYour answers are inspirational.
wow! i really loved this q&a!! best one i've ever read. you are so inspirational!! i love your interest in travel and your humour. you are awesome girl. keep it up!
ReplyDeleteinteresting stuff!
ReplyDeleteYour cat is called Rasputin? I love it :)
ReplyDeleteAnd your list of countries to visit next is very close to mine, so chances are good for a random meeting sometime!
You're such a cutie Sarah. I think you should do some sort of ode to cheese post soon tho x
ReplyDeleteI'm jsut discovered your blog recently and I'm so glad I did. I'm in the process of reading through your archives. They're fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you did this. I feel like I know even more about you, and you always come off as so sweet and sincere. You're the kind of person I don't really know that I would want to go shopping and have coffee with.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more about the female media. Being a bit of everything and expressing that is something that I love about your blog.
ReplyDeleteAmazing photographs, by the way!
amen to that last one!
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love this statement Sarah: "I'm equally interested in seeing the world, saving the world, wearing cute outfits and throwing good parties. And surely I'm not the only one, right?"
ReplyDeleteSo very true, and I thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and writings with us so frequently to remind all us similar women we're not alone!
That's so nice to know that you have been to Brazil. I miss my country very much sometimes and I agree with you - over there is easier to realize that life is not about money, because you are able to help people in need and see that this counts more than a big title in a big company. Teaching runs in my family too, I am a teacher myself (even if I don't teach right now). Thank you very much for sharing your life with us and for inspiring me everyday with your wonderful posts! :)
ReplyDeleteThis may be a little late but i just saw the link to your site on little chief honeybee and thought I'd take a peek.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is definitely getting a spot on my top sites page. I'm in business school still half heartedly pining for a corner office while dreaming about traveling and changing peoples lives. I spent 2 months in Ecuador and my whole perspective changed - volunteering abroad is my passion.
Thank you for brightening my day with your fun posts!
Hey, I know I don't comment very often but I do enjoy reading your blog and have read a fair few of your posts - they are always insightful and informative. I see a lot of myself in you too now having read this interview. I've been resisting teaching for some time (working in marketing!) but like you, having come from a whole family of teachers, I am beginning to feel the pull and it does compliment the desire to travel and have time to write... It is really good to find someone who has gone through the same motions -like having the desire for money but then realising it is not really the desire for money - it is just wanting it to fuel other ventures but this can still be achieved without selling your soul to the office environment. I'd been feeling rather confused and alone but reading this has reassured and inspired me...thank you! xxx
ReplyDelete