Big Girl Blogger Series: Interview with Carrie from Making Lemonade Blog

Tell all ya friends and neighbors!

Dream of having a full time income with part time hours? Here’s what Carrie from Making Lemonade Blog has to teach us today about running a successful natural lifestyle blog

We are in week 3 of what’s proven so far to be my favorite series I’ve ever done on this blog of mine. It’s so weird for me to say that I’ve so much fallen in love with the business side of blogging. Aka, the stuff nobody ever sees but is crucial to a blog’s success.

I’ve been able to watch (and now work for) some of the best bloggers in the business and Carrie from Making Lemonade Blog is no exception! Let’s get in to her interview, but stay tuned for my favorite projects of hers at the end!

Give me the elevator pitch to your blog!

Sharing simple solutions for busy people so you have less stress and more time, money and space to do what you love.

When did you start your blog and, more importantly, why?

I started blogging way back in 2009 as a way to get outside my four walls. At the time, I was home with my infant daughter who was in a medically fragile state and had no way to connect with others– we couldn’t leave the house for longer than an hour (she was connected to a feeding pump) and couldn’t see many guests as we had to avoid germs. But as a former teacher/ school library media specialist I not only wanted to document her extraordinary journey but also continue to share ideas, serve others and teach. Back in 2009, blogging was a shiny new way to do that! That’s also how I came up with the name Making Lemonade, by turning our tough situation into something beautiful. It transformed into something so much bigger and now Making Lemonade is a true business and brand!

What’s your favorite project/recipe/makeover to date you have done?

Ohhhh that’s a tough one! I have to say that our big move from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and building a new home and lifestyle was the most personally rewarding. Project-wise, we recently turned a tiny deck into a three season porch and we use it almost every day from March-November! I haven’t posted the full reveal but you can see some of the ‘after’ in this outdoor curtains post.

Share one project you were excited about but it turned out to be a disaster.

There’s too many to count! We call this ‘failing forward’. I’ve scrubbed most from my memory, haha!

What’s the best advice you’ve been given about blogging that’s changed the game for you?

There’s two pieces of advice that have changed the game for me. One is to serve others and help solve their problems; basically, instead of writing what I want to write about, write about what people are asking for me to write about. For example, as a former teacher I originally thought I’d write a lot of content about kids and kids’ activities– but my audience was really enjoying the organizational ideas I put out there. My blog took off when I focused more on simple solutions for avoiding overwhelm such as organization, easy recipes, and free printables. Now I love writing content about that and serving in this way! The second piece of advice I picked up is that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’. In this business it’s important to have a tribe and truly love and support other bloggers and small businesses. I’ve found that I rise by lifting others!

Tell me one thing not a lot of people may know about you and/or your blog.

One thing that’s hard to convey in conversation is that my blog is a full-time job and income squeezed into part time hours. I think many people assume it’s a hobby. I’m still not sure how to communicate it, but it really is a career and I’m so very thankful to be earning more than when I was a teacher, and doing so while my kids are at school! Being a work from home mom has its challenges, but I’m incredibly grateful even on the hard days.

Finally, if the internet went away tomorrow and you were forced into another career, what would it be?

Professional organizer or interior designer. I have a lot of requests from friends to come decorate and organize their homes, and would do this in a heartbeat if I had spare time!

And an interview isn’t complete without a super fun lightning round. Let’s go!

1. Coffee or tea? Coffee!! Unless it’s after noon, in which case, herbal tea.
2. Coke or Pepsi? Neither. I’m a sucker for seltzer with lime.
3. Friends or Seinfield? Both! I’m a 90s girl all the way!
4. SUV or minivan? SUV. I have a Toyota Highlander and lurve it sooooo much.
5. Early bird or night owl? Former night owl trying to become the early bird.
6. Indoors or outdoors? Outdoors! I try to go on a walk every day to get some vitamin D.
7. Paper planner or digital? BOTH. I use a digital calendar to make sure my husband and I have all the important dates synched, but nothing feels better than writing everything in my paper planner. And it’s one of the most popular free printables on my blog, too!

Speaking of that planner, it’s seriously one of my favorite things she does every year! It’s different every year but it’s always SO GORGEOUS! Look at this year’s! And if you want to get one of your own, you can (and should!) absolutely do that right here.

Weird fun fact about me, I actually can’t wear earrings for more than a couple hours if they’re not real solid metal because they’ll break my ears out and make them swell so that’s cute and fun, but she shows you how to make these teardrop earrings and they might just be worth the pain for me! SO cute and SO cheap!

The kitchen in my house is honestly my least favorite part of it (right now) and so I appreciate a gorgeous kitchen and boy does she have one! This kitchen of Carrie’s is one to write home about and you gotta go see it to believe it!

Talk to me, goose! What was your one big takeaway from Carrie?