Q & A | QUESTIONS YOU WANT TO KNOW | 2021

Hi guys, and welcome back to my channel. If you are new, welcome. My name is Hannah, and I'm a mom with muscle. And in today's video, guys, it's a Q&A. So if this is something you are interested in watching, just keep on watching. But if you haven't already, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe. Make sure to hit that bell button for every time I upload a video. If you aren't already following me on Instagram, I'd love to have you over at mom with muscle. Without further ado, let's get into this video. All right, you guys. So I went to Instagram, and I went to the YouTube community tab here on my channel to see what questions you guys had for me. And you guys had some good ones, not going to lie. So I'm going to go through these as quickly as I can. I honestly hate when I watch Q&As, and they just ramble on and on and on about the topic. So I'm going to try to get through these as quick as possible to answer some of the questions that you guys might have for me. So let's get going. So I'm going to start with the YouTube community questions first. So the first question is, you are known as the mom with muscle. Are you really a bodybuilder? Where did you grow up, and how did you meet your hubby? So starting with the first question, am I a bodybuilder? Yes, I'm a bodybuilder. Prior to Ryder, I was very heavily involved in the fitness competition industry. It was something that I strived for. I had dreams of becoming a professional athlete, of getting my pro card. So I did compete nine times, two times at a national level, and then I also stepped on stage seven months postpartum. So I'm going to be putting pictures here for you guys of what that looked like. Fitness is still a very huge part of my life, as you guys know. I go to the gym as much and as frequently as I can, and it's always going to be a part of me. I don't know if I will ever step on stage again, as it is very demanding. It's very selfish, but I absolutely loved it. Having Ryder and having my kind of postpartum, it was a really good way for me to kick my butt back into gear and get my body back into shape. I was so proud of myself stepping on stage seven months postpartum. It was a very emotional journey for me. So yes, I am a bodybuilder, and no, I don't compete anymore, but fitness and healthy eating and all that will always be a part of my life. Where did I grow up? San Diego, California, born and raised, and I have never left the state. I still live here. My mom's 10 minutes from me. My sister's my next door neighbor. Collin's family, everybody's here. So San Diego, California, born and raised. Where did I meet my hubby? I met Collin in high school. We are high school sweethearts. So we were together nine years prior to engagement, and we've married six years. So yeah, he's my high school sweetheart. We've been together ever since. He's loved my life and my best friend. The next question. Now, I work part-time at Restoration Hardware. When I'm not working at Restoration Hardware, I am a mother to Miss Ryder and soon-to-be baby girl number two, which she does have a name, you guys. Collin and I finally have a name for her, and I can't wait to share it with you. But when I'm not at work, when I'm not watching Ryder, I am doing YouTube when Miss Ryder is taking naps. That's how I balance this. So I do my YouTube when Ryder is taking naps. And I hit the gym when my husband comes home from work. So we have kind of a built-in routine when he gets home from work. He relieves me. I'm able to go to the gym for about an hour, hour and a half. That is my stress release. That is the way that I handle stress. That is the way that I decompress from the day. And he knows that. He's really good about allowing me my space. When I'm not going to the gym, and I'm maybe not feeling it that day, which happens quite frequently, especially being pregnant, I'll hit up HomeGoods. I'll go to Target. I'll just have my hour of being out. And it's very, very helpful, especially for a mom or new mommy. You need that time. So that is kind of my routine. That's how I kind of balance it. And I'm definitely a creature of habit. I love my routine. And it works for us. So that is how I balance everything. Best way to lose baby weight, especially in the tummy area. So this is a very hard question. So when I was postpartum, I did take some things that were to help me kind of tighten that area. Like I said, I did compete postpartum. So I did get a belly band right when I had Ryder as a way to help tighten that area. When you give birth, you lose that connection. And that's why it's having that pelvic floor and doing all those different exercises to help strengthen that tummy. Because when you are pregnant, your abs sit together. And when you have a baby, when you're pregnant, those actually separate. And that's why you lose that core strength. So it's a matter of getting those back together that is the big part. But losing the tummy fat really comes down to diet. It's about 85% your diet over anything. You can do as many crunches as you want. You can do as many cardio sessions as you want on the treadmill or the elliptical. But it really comes down to what you're putting in your mouth. And that's the hardest takeaway that a lot of people don't understand. I think they're like, well I ran four miles or I've been on the treadmill for an hour and a half. But it's like, what you put in your mouth is huge. So just making sure your diet is really, really on point. That is going to make a huge difference, especially in those areas that us women tend to hold different weight. So that's kind of my biggest takeaway for that question. How did you get interested in RH? What was your style back in your younger years and how did it evolve? It's a great question. How did I get interested in RH? Well let me start with what my design style was prior to Restoration Hardware. Now when Connor and I moved into our first home, it was a starter home, and it was full of hand-me-downs. When nothing meant, I had absolutely no idea of what my design style was because really we were just trying to survive. We were young and money was obviously very, very tight for us so I was not spending a ton of money on decor and trying to make my home look beautiful. It was really just kind of getting by every month. And as we established ourselves more and more into our home, you guys are going to, it's like, it's like cringeworthy when I talk about like my old design style. My old house was Z Gallery. I don't know what I was thinking you guys. It was like mirror galore. Like every piece of furniture I had had mirror on it. It was silver, it was sparkle, it was white, it was gray. Back then I was really excited about it. It was something I was really into and I took pride in my house and I still do but at a different level now. So when we moved into this house, I sold everything, okay? So when I sold everything, things didn't fit in this house as it did our old house. Like the size was off, the dimensions were off and I wanted a fresh start which I think is totally natural and a lot of people end up doing. So I sold every single thing from Z Gallery, got rid of that style and it was actually my girlfriend that showed me there was an RH outlet right up the street from me. I'm like, what's RH outlet? I knew what Restoration Hardware was but I knew Restoration Hardware as like the old Restoration Hardware where it was like tchotchkes and like hardware for cabinetry and whatnot. It was not the Restoration Hardware as it is known today. So I walked into Restoration Hardware outlet here in San Diego and I saw the Marble Plinth coffee table right when I walked in and I was like... And that was kind of what started my obsession with Restoration Hardware. You can even ask Shelly, my manager. I was in there every single month buying stuff for this house and it took us a long time to get to this point of being able to afford nice pieces. It was never that way. It was... I saved money. You know, we definitely have started from the bottom and have worked our way up and now I can appreciate really good pieces of furniture that I invest in, that these are life pieces. These are pieces that are going to be with me for a very long time. So that is how I got into Restoration Hardware. Will you consider doing YouTube full time? I actually got this from quite a few of you asking me if I was going to be doing YouTube full time. And to answer that question, absolutely. You guys, that is what I'm striving to do and that is what I'm striving for, manifesting YouTube full time. It just, from an analytic standpoint, needs to make sense before I make that leap. So yes, that is something I absolutely want to do. That is something that I'm trying to pursue every single day for you guys. And more subscriptions, more likes, more comments, all that stuff helps my channel spread the word. If you guys have someone that might be interested in my channel, send them my way. It all helps my channel and it gets me closer to being able to do this full time as well as bring you guys more content on a weekly basis. Am I going to do a nursery reveal? I got this question a lot too. Absolutely, you guys. I am in the process of doing the nursery. Collin and I have painted. We have hung wallpaper. Her chandelier is at my front door right now. I've been trying to document this, but yes, I'm going to be doing a reveal on how it is that I styled baby girl number two's room and I'm super excited to show you guys. So yes, I do have little projects here and there that I'm working on. Like I said, that dining room is another big project that I've worked on. I actually just ordered a rug. So things are happening and as things are progressing, I'm definitely going to be sharing that with you because you guys are my family. I'm wondering why I'm not her neighbor in Florida. This is from Tam Tam. Girl, send me out and we will go shopping because she says we'd go on some epic shopping adventures. Yeah, we would. Absolutely. So send me out Tam Tam. I will definitely come out and see you. All right, I'm going to be going over to Instagram now to read the questions you guys have for me there. Does your sister help with styling your home or do you have your own ideas? This is another great question. So my sister is a really incredible and talented designer here in San Diego. She does specialize in like renovations of kitchens. That's kind of like her bread and butter. That's where she kind of got her footing. She does a lot of like kitchen flips and she has a beautiful style, but no, when it comes to my own home, I have a very different style from my sister. I can appreciate the things that she has. I can appreciate her style and the decor that she owns in her shop. But no, for me, I have my own design style. Even all of the, like the fireplace project, the shiplap, things that we have done in our home has been 100% my own idea and thoughts. We are two very different people, but we also are very creative in different ways. So to answer your question, no, I have my own style and my sister has not helped me. It is something that I have been doing on my own. So that is one question. How did you get started on YouTube? So I got started, you guys, like I said, you guys can go down and watch the cringeworthy first video that I ever posted, but I kind of explained why it is that I wanted to create a channel. If you are thinking about starting a YouTube channel, just do it. You guys, there's never going to be a right time, the perfect day. If you've been contemplating doing it, just do it. And that is exactly what I did. And what stemmed me wanting to start a YouTube channel was to show my life, was to do more of like a lifestyle videos. It's obviously evolved into more of the home and home decor and styling videos, but it really started with wanting to showcase my life after having a baby because one of the one things that we call in and I always got after we had our baby girl was people were so impressed how him and I just kept having fun. Like we'd go out to the desert, we went to Vegas, we did all these things and we didn't let having a toddler or a baby stop us from having fun or fulfilling our dreams or continuing on with our life. I didn't lose who I was as a person because I was a mother. I kept going and that was kind of where that whole thing stemmed from. And I haven't looked back yet and I love YouTube. It's honestly been such a fun, fun Avenue for me. Yeah. So I started this. I originally started this channel because I wanted to show moms that you guys can still do everything you want to do, even though your mom, you don't have to lose who you are as a person. You can still have fun. You can still start a business if you want to start a business. You can fricking start a YouTube channel if you want to start a YouTube channel. Like there should be no restrictions even after becoming a mother. So that was kind of the big reason and my big takeaway as to why I started a YouTube channel. How did I, this is from Brenda. How did I get started at restoration hardware? So I got started at restoration harder. Obviously I was a frequent flyer there. I shopped there a ton, but I ended up working at restoration hardware after I got laid off from my job at Lulu lemon. I worked for Lululemon for four years. I was their lead merchandiser for the location here in San Diego and after COVID and the restrictions that they had put on all the employees, it was just not something that I was able to fulfill. So after I was laid off from Lululemon, which I was very sad about, but I was also really excited to start a new journey. I had already had a love for restoration hardware and then the push of getting laid off from Lululemon really pushed me into wanting to get a job and Shelly offered me a job. I essentially got hired on the spot and the rest is history. So that is how I got started at restoration. How did you successfully transition your style from one to another? This is a great question. To answer this, to be 100% transparent to 100% blunt, like I already said, I sold everything. I started from the beginning. I started fresh. I got rid of everything and started completely over and I think that is the best way to transition. There are some glam things that I think I could incorporate in this style, but to be honest, I just, I don't like that style anymore. So I wanted to just get rid of it entirely. So when I did sell everything, I sold everything on Facebook marketplace and offer up super, super helpful when it comes to selling furniture. And I also went to my Instagram to sell items as well. For every item that sold, I would put all that money into a jar and then that jar accumulated over time as I would sell my furniture and then purchase new stuff for the new home. So, and that's how I handled it. I'm sure there's other ways you guys can go about it, but just stripping that bandaid off and starting completely fresh, to be honest. All right, you guys, I didn't want this video to be like 20 minutes long, so I'm going to end the video here, but you guys have such great questions. So yeah, that is it. As always, be sure to like and comment and subscribe to this channel. It helps my channel a ton and I'm very, very appreciative of everybody that is joined the mom with muscle family. I love you guys. See you guys in my next video. Peace.