Welcome to our blog and thanks for joining us!

Laura and I started this blog to celebrate our two very different lives. To stay connected through the inevitable chaos. To have an excuse to take beautiful pictures and process through writing. To show the challenges behind the fabulous parts. To remind us of the beauty in the common and mundane. And to inspire others to look at their lives the same way.

We will take turns posting regularly, each discussing something “fabulous” or something “common” or examining the intersection of the two. 

But first, we want to introduce ourselves. I get to start.

So, hi there! I’m Kristin.

I am a dangerously fervent optimist staring ahead at my not-so-distant 35th birthday, 11th wedding anniversary and 8th year of being a parent.

I crave constant change and big, meaningful work that makes the world a more equitable place. I grew up wishing I could live and serve anywhere but the United States. My master’s degree is in international public health. In a beautifully ironic twist, I ended up in the middle of Iowa, about as far from any international borders as I can get.

And yet, I love it here.

But sometimes I get antsy for adventure abroad. Sometimes it’s hard to passively serve those in need from a computer in my living room. Sometimes it is hard to find the meaningful difference I am making amidst the chaotic monotony of raising small children. Sometimes it’s hard to be so tied to the lives of these precious people in my life.

It’s easy to see the excitement and adventure and glamour in the fabulous lives of people like my sister. And to only see the common in my own.

So this is my attempt to live richly where I am and to see the fabulous within my own common.

I hope it helps you, too. Thanks for joining us.