sometimes we all get blogger envy. we know this to be true.

*wish i had thought of that post idea.
*wish my pictures were that beautiful.
*wish i could decorate my home that way.
*wish my blog was designed like that.

i could go on and on and on because this is the case when it comes to maegen from the modern tulip. maegan oozes confidence and beauty and grace and and...i adore. i can't help it.

and that's the trouble when you want to be another blogger.

but the good news...is this type of envy is not the thief of joy. maegen's the type of gal who just makes you happy with each of her posts. she's an absolute delight.

enviable? yes.
adorable? yes.
thief of joy? no.
the good news - i did a little q + a with our gal in hopes of sharing all her loveliness with you. enjoy!

KARLI | so maegen...let's not beat around the bush here - i want us to all get to know you better. do you have any hidden talents or party tricks?

MAEGEN | None that I should talk about publicly! Kidding of course! I can sing, but I refuse to let anyone hear me. When I was in high school my church had an "American Idol" competition that I won. Of course they filmed it so it's the only recording of me singing and it's mortifying to me! My hubs even goes as far as begging me to sing for him as his birthday or Christmas present. Isn't that sad? Maybe one day I'll grow a pair and you'll see me failing on The Voice or something. If you do, please vote for me.

KARLI | oh girl. you know i'll vote for you. but i have a better idea. do you want your blog to blow up...like...huge? post that american idol competition video on your blog and then shamelessly share it on all social media platforms. that's blogging gold! i can't believe you're sitting on that! moving on...

what made you fall for that hunk of a man you call yours all yours? any info on your first date? ps. thank you for this interview with your man. i desperately need to do a q + a with my farmer.
MAEGEN | Oh that hunk of mine, isn't he cute? I met him on a blind date (I swore I'd never do that), but his sister begged me assuring me we would hit it off. It turned out to be my fairytale! We met at his nephew's baseball game to keep the environment comfortable for all of us. It ended up being fantastic because not only did Jon and I hit it off immediately with no lack of conversation, but his parents and I hit it off as well. That's what you call an immediate SCORE! I do shyly have to admit the first time he saw me that day I was carrying down a coffee pot to the baseball field. (I like my coffee). And at the time his sister made the comment, "Wouldn't it be funny if you too got married and we mentioned the first time he laid eyes on you, you were carrying a coffee pot to a baseball game?" Guess what story she told in her speech at the wedding? #priceless
KARLI | oh girl. i love that story so so much. it's perfectly romantic! my farmer and i met at the golf course although neither of us are golfers...then i chased him for five years. that's a little less romantic.

so, you’re all knocked up. any big purchases in prep for baby? have you and your guy fought about anything? (my farmer and i endlessly fought about the name for kaye.) what’s surprised you the most?
MAEGEN | Gosh, I'm so pumped about being knocked up! The hubs and I tried for over a year so to say we're over the moon is an understatement! Feel free to keep up with my weekly pregnancy updates :) Since we still don't know the gender (come on October!) we haven't made many purchases, which is killing me! I'm ready to decorate a nursery and shop for baby clothes!

We have bought a crib and a stroller. Both of which I'm super stoked about because they were steals from Craigslist and a yard sale! I hate buying anything full price. So far we have argued over the types of purchases the baby needs. For instance when I bought the stroller I told him and he was excited because I got a deal on an Eddie Bauer stroller. Mind you this is an everyday, zoo, park, practical stroller. Then my sister-in-law offered to give us her jogging stroller since she doesn't need it anymore. First words out of hubs' mouth, "Why on earth do we need two strollers?". Why don't men get it? So instead of telling him why I made him go outside and try to run behind the standard stroller. You know, the one with the double wheels that turn every direction imaginable. Yeah, no need for an explanation after that.

What has surprised me the most is watching hubs turn into a daddy before the baby is here. I know that moms immediately feel like a mother because of all the symptoms taking over our bodies, but Jon has just melted my heart watching him fawn over my pregnancy. He talks to my belly, kisses it every night and is always game for anything the baby is craving. And it gets weird y'all!

KARLI | maybe that's the approach i should have taken with my farmer...instead i purchased first and tried to explain my actions after. foolish of me.

on topic of baby - what’s been the most surprising? does anything annoy you? are you a cryer like me? any fears?

MAEGEN | I think what has surprised me the most is the side effects of pregnancy happening so early. It was like a switch flipped over night. Suddenly I was always exhausted, always hungry and always emotional. Oh the emotions. I've cried over the dumbest things like dog hair on my sheets, or a small stain in my new rug that I still managed to get out. I guess it was the fact that I thought it devalued my rug? I swear hubs knows to just walk away when he sees my eyes fill up with tears because I don't want to be consoled. I know I'm being dumb, but I just can't help it! Read all my pregnancy hills and valleys here.

KARLI | oh girl. been there done that. the CRAZIEST part is after the baby is out and you realize your hormones are finally returning to quasi-normal levels. it's glorious. you start to remember the person you were before baby. get excited about that. :)

tell us all more about the boutique you run.

 MAEGEN | Oh my boutique... I have really slacked in this area lately. It's our second business and she has been put on the back burner due to a high demand with our other business. I hope to get started again late this year with adding new items because I absolutely love owning a boutique and shipping out sweet packages! My favorite item right now would have to be this emerald beauty and I think it's such a great color for Fall!
KARLI | oh yes. love love that piece! although i have zero clue how i would pull that off on the farm. but what i could pull off is this sweet, delicate love necklace. i adore. 
so...i've said it once, i'll say it again...your blog is the best. it’s beautiful, classy, great pictures, excellent writing - can you give us all your #1 tip for successful blogging? like…is there anything that works really well for you that you try to consistently repeat in each post? 

MAEGEN | Oh my goodness you are so sweet! I would say a game changer for me was learning to speak -err- write in my own voice! I'm a sarcastic/humorous person by nature (hence why I love Karli) so when I allowed that voice to come through my blog and I started writing the way I speak in real life, things flipped! My readers engaged more and I enjoyed writing because I wasn't trying to be someone I wasn't. I did share some other tricks of the trade not too long ago for those who are interested. 

KARLI | brilliant. and thanks for the shout out. i'm glad you think we'd be friends. that was what you were saying, right? or did i just get creepy?

do you have any projects that have been pinned to pinterest that have boosted your traffic? i’d love if you shared it with my readers! 

MAEGEN | Okay so I'm really lame and I hardly do any DIY because I'd rather buy it and make my life that much easier. BUT when I do DIY, I go all out. I made this dining room table for my husband before he was my husband. Basically because he had nowhere to sit and eat in his house at the time and I just knew we were going to be married one day so I made the table for him (the way I liked it) as a Christmas present secretly knowing it would be mine someday :) I absolutely love it and we always get tons of compliments on it from guests. Here is the tutorial I followed so you can make your own fancy-schmancy farm table. 
KARLI | girl...you have got to be kidding me?! you made this beauty? i'm inspired.  

anything exciting on the horizon you want to spill? (besides baby of course.) but like…if September FARM readers were to follow your blog, what can they look forward to, besides all your darling preg updates? 

MAEGEN | I'm going to be revamping rooms in our home soon due to baby's arrival in March. I'll make sure to share before and after photos for everything. Which means there will be nursery updates, guest room updates since we will have family staying with us and house updates that we will be accomplished all before Baby Mills comes and takes over our lives in the best way possible :)

KARLI | i love it. love it so much and i can't wait to read along and steal all your great home update ideas. 

thank you so so much for being on September FARM today. 

and i'm sure September FARM readers will be especially jazzed to know you're sharing a 10% discount off an entire order at your boutique! all you have to do is use the code SEPTEMBERFARM. go have a look!

also, if you're not feeling shopping at this moment (we can't be friends) don't be afraid to pop over to all of maegen's other areas on the internets and some of her favorite posts. it's worth it.

BLOG | SHOP | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

reasons to never see an earlybird movie
announcement that i'm preggers

and what kind of blogger would i be if didn't take this opportunity to promote myself! if you're interested in being on September FARM...just like maegen...check out my sponsor opportunities on my advertise page. questions? e-mail me.