I couldn’t be more thrilled about today’s ‘A Day in the Life’ feature because not only my guest incredibly beautiful, charming and talented, she’s also my little sister! Jackie has always been a wizard when it comes to anything creative, but when she picked up that camera it was pure magic and she’s been living the dream ever since. She graduated with a degree in Photography last year but has been the proud owner of Jackie Michelle Photography for nearly five years now. Jackie lives with her husband Seth and their sweet dog King in Coronado, California (a.k.a way too far from me) and I so hope you enjoy getting a glimpse into a day in her life.

When my AMAZING sister asked to feature me on her blog, I was honored! I’ve gotten to see all of the hard work, late nights, in between hours and tears that has gone into creating this beautiful platform so it’s awesome seeing it come to life and even more exciting getting to be a teeny part of it! It was actually SO much fun getting to “document” my day. Working from home is interesting! It really forced me to look at my day in 30 minute increments, and allowed me to truly appreciate the blessing it is to do what I do! So, here goes nothing, I hope you enjoy! Thanks again, Jill!

5:40 a.m. – YUP… You read that right… My husband Seth wakes up at a ripe 4:15, and I wake up a little over an hour later. It actually took quite some time to figure out our morning situation, because we both feel like it’s such a special time for us to be together, but we also understand the need to come before the Lord in quiet and without distraction! So, at 5:40 (okay, lets be honest… that’s my first alarm, but I dont REALLY get out of bed until around 5:55), I slide out of bed quite literally, put my big grey fluffy cardigan, and mosey into the office where Seth and I exchange tired snuggles and morning breath kisses. This is also a little 10 minute warning for him to begin finishing up with his quiet time!

6:00 a.m. – Around this time, I’m preparing Seth’s breakfast and lunch. I swear, if food were a love language, it would be his. I typically make him 3 eggs, a protein smoothie and some oatmeal. I set it on the table along with 4 of his “good morning gummies” (2 biotin, 2 multivitamins) and it makes his day.

6:30 a.m. – Seth leaves for work, AND I FINALLY GET TO MAKE MY COFFEE! I don’t know why it’s some sort of mark in the day where I’m allowed to make my coffee, but once he’s out the door, the morning becomes mine. Before I do anything, I typically go and sit in the living room as close to the space heater as possible, snuggle with our pup King, and sip on my cup o’ life slowly, and take in the beauty of a new morning. It’s truly one of my favorite times of day!

7:00 a.m. – This is usually when I light a couple of candles, make some breakfast, and sit down to have my quiet time. Sometimes I put on some worship music and play it through the bluetooth speaker, but sometimes I’m still waking up, and the quiet is refreshing. I’m not a huge breakfast person, so I’ll usually either have a green smoothie or just some scrambled eggs.

7:45 a.m. – Time to brush my teeth, wash my face, and throw on a sweater and some leggings to take little (or massive) Kingford for a walk! Taking him for a walk in the morning is almost a joke. Maybe that’s why I take him so early. So no one sees me! Haha, he is huge, and he basically walks me. It’s usually still quiet in the neighborhood, so it’s the best time before the craziness of the day begins to get some fresh air and to walk to the beach. Seeing the waves crash against the sand never gets old for me. It’s such a blessing to live as close to the water as we do, so I LOVE taking advantage of it.

8:30 a.m. – Once we get back home, it’s time to work! I’ve definitely become a morning person, so I am totally more productive earlier in the day! This is when I do most of my posting, or content creating. From November to about March, it’s the off season for photography. This means lots of styled shoots! I’m typically creating mood boards or reaching out/responding to other photographers about collaborations, or posting about Rodan and Fields! I like to schedule phone conversations throughout the day, so getting started in the morning is key for me! I try to set aside these precious morning hours to dedicate solely to work, knowing that things tend to get a little hectic (sometimes even last minute) throughout the rest of the day!

11:00 a.m. – At this point in the day, I typically start snacking like crazy, and need a little bit of a brain break from staring at my phone or computer for the last few hours. I typically grab some of my favorite Trader Joe’s white cheddar popcorn, or some cucumber and hummus! I’ll either sit in front of the TV and watch some Real Housewives, or scroll on Instagram to “zone out”… but let’s be real. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or Keeping Up With the Kardashians are two shows that you will find me watching at least once a day. Sorry, mom.

12:00 p.m. This is typically when I’m heading out for a shoot! I pack up my camera bag, make sure my battery is all charged, grab a couple of empty memory cards, and stop at Starbucks for an iced coffee before hitting the road! I always pack a couple of snacks (as you might be able to tell, I’m definitely not your 3 meals a day type of gal- I’m a snacker to my core), and jam out to the girliest, most upbeat get-me-in-the-mood-to-shoot jams. Around noon is when I get super sleepy during the day, so blasting some Marren Morris or Camila Cabello (with the help of some caffeine) usually wakes me right up! I’m an extroverted introvert, so although I totally enjoy being bubbly and talking way too much and getting to know the people i come into contact with, I definitely crave that alone time afterwards. It takes energy and effort, and although I absolutely love it, my drive home is typically a calm, sometimes completely quiet “wind down” kind of drive.

2:00 p.m.- This is typically the time of day where I am getting any household “chore” done. Doing the laundry, vacuuming, deep cleaning the bathrooms (my husband is the most type A insanely clean, organized military type person I have ever known, so yes…deep cleaning is an everyday thing), I usually put on some music, light some candles and go at it for the next half hour or so. I love showing Seth love by using HIS love language, which is my absolute DEAD last. Acts of Service. It means the world for him to come home to a clean and good smelling home, so I do my best to maintain that! He is the most gracious man on the planet, so if ever that does not happen, that’s fine… but it does mean that instead of watching a show together during the evening, he is doing the dishes from my breakfast!

2:30 p.m. – Some people think this is hilarious, and some people think it’s crazy, BUT this is the time in my day where I ACTUALLY get ready. I shower, do my makeup, hair, throw on some perfume, some lip gloss, and I think my husband still thinks this is what I look like all day long! Manipulative? Maybe. Genius? I think so! I don’t think looking like a pageant queen every day is necessary, but I do think that it’s important to put a bit of effort into what your hubby comes home to! Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I look like actual death, mustache and all… BUT, on the days where I have time, I love to doll up a bit!

3:00 p.m. Time to start dinner! Seth and I usually workout as soon as he gets home, so I like having dinner ready by the time we’re done. I usually like having a protein and 2 sides of veggies. We haven’t been eating too much meat lately, so we’ll usually have some sort of fish, along with a side of brussels and broccoli, or a salad, or peppers and onions, it just depends! Dinner is usually pretty light, and I try my best to keep it simple too!

4:15 p.m. Seth gets home around 4:15, and we typically head to go workout. We actually just cancelled our gym memberships because we have been running a mile on the beach every evening, and doing some strength training on the sand! It has been life changing! There are some killer sand dunes that were WAY harder to run than I expected, but needless to say, our workouts usually consist of mostly cardio, but we love it!

5:00 p.m. Once we get home, we’re usually starving. We scarf down our dinner, talk about our day, and enjoy each other’s company. This is typically the first time in the day where we both get to just sit with each other and talk to each other in person intentionally, so it’s really special. This is the point in the evening where things finally begin to slow down. It’s definitely a sweet time for the both of us, because we know that the rest of the evening is ours!

6:00 p.m. We shower, brush our teeth so we don’t eat any more dessert for the rest of the night (because we have zero self control otherwise) and we change into our pj’s for the evening. We usually take King around the block a few times just to get outside with each other and to chat a little bit more. Otherwise, this is the point in the evening where Seth asks me a billion times or more “what do you want to do tonight, baby?!” I think he feels this sort of freedom every night with the several hours he has left before he has to do it all over again, so I try to make something sound exciting, even though we both know we’re probably going to be in bed by 8:30! Haha, as long as he thinks we’re living it up!

7:00 p.m. Seth isn’t much of a tv person, and we usually end up talking through most episodes, but my parents have always had a show that they like to watch together to sort of wind down, and since we don’t really watch tv in our room, this is my way of sort of winding down with him. Lately we have been into Arrested Development and we both think it’s hilarious. We just finished Dare Devil, and this HORRID western show that literally got cancelled because it was so bad, but Seth loved it, so thank JESUS for the people who came to their senses and cut the show!

8:00 p.m. You guys are going to think that we’re crazy, but this is usually the time that we’re getting in bed. DONT WORRY! We don’t actually go to sleep yet, but we absolutely love to lay in bed and just hang out, give each other massages, talk, laugh, this is usually our time to just snuggle and research random things and hang out. We read a few pages out of our biblical mystery book, we pray together, and last but not least, we look at houses! We love this. We look at houses that cost anywhere from $200,000 to $10,000,000! It’s just so much fun and we love envisioning our dream home, what we may want in it, where it may be and what it may look like! We pin to our “dream home” board on Pinterest, and dream together.

9:00 p.m. – By this time, Seth is drooling on my arm, completely passed out. I typically scroll on Instagram one last time, and write a couple of notes in my phone for the next day. Working from home during the week can be so interesting. Some days I feel like I need much more down time, and others I feel guilty for not doing more. Overall, I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to work from home and to be upholding 2 fully functioning businesses, a home, a husband, a dog, all while seeking in every area to bring glory to the Lord. It’s an interesting season, but every day I look back on is such a sweet gift.

________________________

This series will forever be a favorite of mine. I find it so interesting that out of 100 female entrepreneurs, no two women will have the same schedule. It blows my mind. I feel incredibly grateful to be able to decide how to frame my days and peeking in to see how others do just that is something I’ll never tire of. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! Thanks again, Jack!