What is your diet and exercise routine?
I am always mixing things up with diet and exercise, mostly because I get bored easily, but also because I see changes and results when I keep my body and metabolism guessing. I try to eat real food, drink a gallon of water every day and limit sweets intake to once-per-week (on my “free” or “reward” day). With exercise, I love to run when I’m training for a race, I’ve done TRX (great ab exercises), weight lifting and am currently following Kayla Itsines’ 12-week Bikini Body Guide (#BBG on Instagram) because it allows me to workout from home when needed.
You can read more about my diet and fitness routines here.
What curling iron do you use?
I use an old school 1” Conair curling iron. I’ve used it for years and it has never failed me. One day I will figure out how to curl my hair with a flat iron.
Interested in hair tutorials? Use the ‘Look Around LMF’ widget in my right sidebar to select the ‘Topics’ tab, then click on ‘Tutorials,’ or view a small variety of hair/makeup tutorials here.
What camera do you use?
I currently work with professional photographers (cited at the bottom of each blog post), but when I take my own photos, I use a Nikon D5100 with a standard 50mm f1.4 lens.
How long have you been blogging?
I started my blog, Little Miss Fearless, in August 2012. Prior to that, I used to take photos of different outfits on my laptop to help me get ready faster in the morning (kind of like Claire’s digital closet on Clueless). Now my outfit catalogue is on the World Wide Web. 😉
What is your lip color?
I will always link to my lipstick in each blog post, but my go-to shades that seem to get noticed the most are MAC “Saint Germain,” “Girl About Town” and “Russian Red.”
What is the story behind Little Miss Fearless?
Before I started my blog, I had been thinking about it for a while. I have always loved the challenge of finding unique pieces of clothing, and unique ways to wear the not-so-unique pieces of clothing, to enhance and convey my unique personality. This is easy to do when you think no one is watching, but I couldn’t get past the discomfort of putting myself in front of a camera and living it all out loud. It was too “model-esque” for me and I’ve never considered a career in modeling. Like ever. When I finally realized I was just afraid, I couldn’t let myself be walked on by my fears. Fear is the one thing that usually holds us back from doing something big with our lives. So I decided to give it a shot and now I’m addicted. Little Miss Fearless is more than just fashion and clothing to me. It’s that reminder to forget what you think other people are thinking of you and to embrace the life you choose for yourself. So here I am, trying to face all my fears and do the things I always thought I couldn’t.
Where do you shop?
My can’t-live-without stores are J.Crew, Anthropologie, Madewell and Nordstrom. I love a lot of other brands as well and they’re all listed to the right in my sidebar under “Amanda’s Favorite Shops.”
Do you blog full time?
I sometimes feel like I blog full time. It is a lot of fun and a lot of work, which fits perfectly with my day-job mentality: work hard; play hard. When I’m not blogging, I’m working full time as a social content strategist at Adobe. I feel so blessed to be able to do both. It is a balancing act, but somehow, I’m making it work.
Do you wear hair extensions?
I used to wear hair extensions and they were clip-ins. My hair stylist ordered them in a platinum blonde and added low-lights like she does to my hair for a custom-color match. I loved them and had the hardest time deciding to cut my hair, but of course, I had to face the fear and take the plunge. And now I’m loving my hair short.
How long have you been married?
My husband and I got married in 2008. The years just keep coming and going, but life is good. I’m a lucky girl.
How tall are you?
I am 5’7,” although, back in my basketball days I always put 5’8” on the roster. Just for the intimidation factor. 😉
Where do you live?
I currently live in Salt Lake City, UT, but have spent time living in Champaign, IL, and Maui, HI. I’m sure you can guess which of these top-tier towns was my favorite.
Who designed your blog?
The incredible duo: Victoria McGinley (design) and Lisa Butler – Elembee (development). They were both amazing to work with and so professional, and I couldn’t be happier with the final product. The design and functionality reflect my personality and brand perfectly.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Oh, everywhere. I’m a night owl, so I’m annoyingly always getting ideas when I’m trying to fall asleep. And then I pull out my bright little screen and take notes whilst trying to not wake dear husband. I get ideas from catalogues, magazines, Pinterest, friends, store windows, kid’s departments, furniture stores (is that weird?) and sometimes from a single article of clothing, like a fabulous pair of shoes. Mostly, I think inspiration comes when you keep an open mind and when you expose yourself to a lot of different ideas, especially the positive kind.
What do you use to edit your photos?
Well, I am an Adobe gal, so I only use the best: Photoshop and Lightroom. 😉
What program do you use for your collages?
Photoshop, naturally. (Think I’ll get a raise for this?)
Do you have any advice for starting a fashion blog?
I could write lines and lines about all I have learned since I started my blog. To keep this succinct, I’ll share with you three key things:
1. Let Go of the Fear. If you’re hesitating for fear of what others will think of you (even your family/friends), let it go and just try it. Maybe you’ll decide you don’t like it after all, and maybe it’ll become your full-time job, but you’ll never know until you try. And if it doesn’t pan out, you’ll still be smarter, wiser and miles ahead of where you are now.
2. Be Resourceful. When you begin blogging, you’re entering into the sometimes-awkward world of self-promotion (at least, if you want to grow your blog). If you’re like me, it takes some getting used to, but it’s not so difficult when you find the right tools to help, and just about everything can be found on Google these days. If you’re at the very beginning and don’t know what platform to choose, look up “What blogging platform is best for fashion blogs?” or simply reach out to someone who has fashion blogging experience. There are tons of free resources out there that can take you a long way on your own if you’re willing to put in the effort. Don’t expect anyone to do it for you and don’t exhaust your resources either (no one likes to be used).
3. Do Not Compare Yourself to Other Bloggers. I received this advice from the darling Rach Parcell (Pink Peonies) when I first started blogging. She told me blogging is not for the faint of heart, and I have also since learned that comparison is the thief. of. joy. We are not meant to all be the same, so we should never fault ourselves for being different from someone else. I hit a point early on with blogging where I felt like I was on a rollercoaster trying to keep myself above the dips, but I’d always fall back into the habit of feeling bad about something I lacked. Such a waste of time. Do what you have to do to keep a positive view of yourself and never let your mind wander through the “what if’s” of comparison. Look for your good qualities, quit following people on Instagram who make you feel like you’re not good enough (even though they probably don’t mean to) and focus all of your energy on building and creating something that comes from your unique perspective on life—because no one else on earth knows what it’s like to be you. Show them what you see!
You can also check out some actionable tips I shared recently with The B Bar (an incredible resource for bloggers!) in the blog post, “Grow//How Did You Grow Your Blog?”.
