Hi there, I’m Gabrielle (AKA gabbyellow)!
In a world wide web full of perfectly executed DIYs and never-grumpy children, gabbyellow is the exception. My cakes burn. My hair does what it wants no matter how I flip the bobby pin. But I’ve managed to find a life that works for me and I’m ready to bare it all for the world to read. Laugh with me, learn with me, and teach me to sew. I’ll share my true life stories on love, health, happiness, cats, growing up, and being grown up. Grab a drink and settle in. You’ll enjoy it, I promise.
So you want to learn more? Aw, shucks! Here’s 49 facts to get you started:
1. My name is Gabrielle with a long “a” sound as in day. But Gabbyellow works too.
2. I am infinitely lucky and grateful to be loved and in love with my very best friend Mark.
3. I have four cats who are, individually and collectively, the coolest cats in the world. I know, your cat is the coolest too.
4. I am a connoisseur of water the way some people are of wine. I can tell you all about the pH balance of water and what it was filtered with just by tasting it. My absolute favorite waters come from the South Pacific islands and I order them on special occasions.
5. When I was in my early twenties, I moved to New Orleans for a little while. My opinion is this: everyone should move far away at least once before they settle down. Also, everyone should visit New Orleans at least once.
6. I am an architectural designer which is not the same thing as an interior designer.
7. I’m also an animal shelter worker. Notice a trend here? Love those animals!
8. If I had it my way, it would always be warm out and I’d only ever wear skirts and dresses.
9. I have battled terrible anxiety for my whole life. I’ve found ways to keep it from winning. We’ll talk about that in the blog.
10. I absolutely love to draw and work with ink. I can veg out for hours doing pointillism.
11. Not surprisingly, my favorite color is yellow. Mark, as luck would have it, does not appreciate yellow quite like I do. It poses a decorating challenge.
12. The local fire department holds weekly bingo games. I don’t go often, but when I do, I win. I’m incredibly lucky with bingo.
13. I love tea. Hot tea. Iced tea. All tea.
14. My hair was straight for most of my life, and then slowly turned curly in my teens. It’s also rather fine. I just don’t know what to do with it. I would love for someone to show me.
15. I feel just as pretty without makeup as I do with it on.
16. My very first job was as a summer camp counselor. I was terrible. The kids loved me.
17. My eyes have changed color through the years. In the first grade, I had one green eye and one brown. Now they are both a muddy green.
18. I don’t drink alcohol because it makes me terribly sick. (Oh, but I love sangria. Someone grab me a virgin sangria recipe please!)
19. I am an introvert, but I am not even the least bit shy.
20. I’m always cold.
21. My favorite food is crab legs. I love crab.
22. I was involved with a bad religious group for several years. I was abused and brutally shunned. Surviving that has been personally empowering but I wish it wouldn’t have to happen to anyone else.
23. I still have all of my wisdom teeth.
24. Even if I won billions on the lottery, I still think I would work part-time.
25. I graduated summa cum laude from college.
26. I never pulled an all-nighter in college. I hate procrastinating.
27. If I had millions of dollars at my disposal, I’d hire someone to press and put my clothes away for me. I don’t enjoy hanging or folding things.
28. I taught myself to speak French in the first grade because I didn’t think it was reasonable to have a French name and not have the language skills to back it up.
29. Cheesecake doesn’t appeal to me.
30. Pretty much every other dessert does appeal to me. I love dessert.
31. My best work is done uninterrupted. I don’t like to take breaks.
32. I feel that history classes don’t tell the full truth. Having learned about the world from an American perspective for so many years, I was blown away to learn about it from the perspectives of other cultures. I’ll blog about that too.
33. I have very narrow heels so shoe shopping isn’t much fun for me. But when I find a pair that fits–oh….!
34. I could spend the whole day vibe-ing off of the energy within an airport.
35. I love small town festivals.
36. I also love Fiestaware.
37. Every day, like Eleanor Roosevelt instructed, I try to do one thing that scares me.
38. I really like reptiles. That includes snakes.
39. One time, I took a spontaneous trip to Australia. It was my first solo vacation and my first international flight. See #19.
40. I am a firm follower of naturopathic medicine. I will definitely be blogging about this.
41. I am very determined and can be a bit stubborn.
42. I really like the smell of carbon paper. Mmm.
43. I do not like the smell of coffee beans or brewing coffee.
44. Something about the honeycomb grid shape is unnerving to me.
45. When I find an article of clothing that fits me well and I like, I tend to want it in every color.
46. Finding clothes that fit me well is no easy task. Who do they make this stuff for anyway?
47. I’ve never had a manicure or pedicure and that’s okay with me.
48. Every now and then I crave fruit snacks. I just love to chew on things that squish.
49. As a child, I hated chorus concerts and other events where kids are made to look “cute” by doing hand motions and wearing costumes. I always hated to be “cute.”
GABBYELLOW 