Podcast appearances and mentions of elsie larson

Welcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and it's time for your February Extra Butter episode! Listen to hear about:⭐️ Anti-diet GLP-1 life⭐️ Who gets left out when the tradwife aesthetic takes over influencer culture⭐️ Interrogating the ableism of not wanting to be on medication your whole lifePlus, serious stuff, like:⭐️ Corinne in a prairie dress⭐️ How long Virginia will last in a zombie apocalypse ⭐️ Why hot cheese is in for FebruaryTo hear the whole thing, read the full transcript, and join us in the comments, you do need to be an Extra Butter subscriber.Join Extra Butter!This transcript contains affiliate links. If you're going to buy something we mention, shopping these links supports Burnt Toast at no extra cost to you! Episode 232 TranscriptCorinneToday we are talking about the state of GLP-1 discourse. A few recent media pieces have us wondering if the GLP-1 backlash is finally beginning, and if so, why is all of the coverage still so anti-fat?VirginiaWe're going to use two primary texts for this conversation, but I also want us to talk more generally about how we're seeing the conversation shift, because I feel like there's been an amorphous shift.CorinneI think the initial craze has died down and we're starting to see a more nuanced conversation.VirginiaWhich in many ways is good. There's more nuance on both sides, but there's still a lot of harm being done in the way the media is framing this conversation.CorinneFor sure. VirginiaExhibit A on that front is a piece by Dani Blum that ran on January 15 in the New York Times. The headline is The Hard Truth of Weight-Loss Drugs: You Probably Need Them Forever. Corinne what is your immediate first reaction to that headline?CorinneNo shit, Sherlock. Why were people confused about this?VirginiaI guess people were. It seemed obvious that if a drug makes you lose weight, and you go off the drug, you won't continue to lose the weight.CorinneUnfortunately, except for maybe antibiotics, that seems to be how drugs work. You have to stay on them.VirginiaThere's a lot that comes up for me in this piece. It's looking at new research, bringing to light the fact that when people go off the weight loss drugs, which many people do because they can't tolerate the side effects and it's too expensive, they just get tired of it. There are lots of reasons that people fatigue about being on a weekly injection drug. They're seeing now that people regain the weight. This is being framed as a grave disappointment and a surprise in the article.CorinneNot to me, but to Oprah.VirginiaOprah particularly. Oprah was surprised. They referenced the fact that even Oprah said that she had stopped taking a weight loss drug cold-turkey for a year and then gained back 20 pounds. "I tried to beat the medication," she told People Magazine. It was then she realized it's going to be a lifetime thing. Brilliant marketing for Weight Watchers, Oprah. She thought she could go off it, but you can't. You should be on it forever. So buy your GLP-1s from Weight Watchers. Of course she wants us to be on it forever. She has a business incentive to make that work. It gets into ableism. Why is it problematic to be on a medication for the rest of your life? I have asthma. I expect to use an inhaler to manage that for the rest of my life. I have sleep apnea. I expect to use a CPAP for the rest of my life. Most people with mental health conditions expect to be on an SSRI for the rest of their life. Why is that a problem?CorinneI think there's something about human nature where people think, I don't want to be on a medication for the rest of my life. I've heard so many people say that.VirginiaOften it's the main resistance to starting a medication. Why? What is it about that that makes us sad?CorinneWe want to believe that we're strong and independent and don't need pills to make us ok.VirginiaYou and I are going to wear glasses for the rest of our lives.CorinneI am extremely screwed. So many medications, so many glasses.VirginiaIf the zombie apocalypse comes, I'm out in the first week because if they break my glasses or I lose an inhaler, I'm sorry, I'm not going to try that hard to survive. Even my acid reflux medication - I don't have debilitating acid reflux - but it's irritating. I would be out.CorinneSame. VirginiaTake me now. CorinneI take multiple medications every single day that I would be lost, if not dead, without.VirginiaI don't understand the aversion to that because it's great that I get to breathe through the help of medication. I'm a big fan.CorinneI think what you're hinting at is it's ableism.VirginiaIt's ableism. We want to believe we can overcome these challenges. We see it especially in conditions that are weight linked in any way. This is why people get told to diet before starting a blood pressure or cholesterol medication when those drugs work really well to manage those conditions ... Corinne... and diets don't.VirginiaAnd diets tend to not do so. Is it such a moral failing to have to go on a statin? I don't think so.CorinneThe other thing they're not talking about directly is - and we've talked about this before - that studies show people who take these drugs for conditions like diabetes and/or insulin resistance, don't tend to stay on them long-term because they're hard drugs to be on. VirginiaYeah.CorinneThis article is so sad for people who got to lose weight on these because they will have to be on them forever if they want to "keep the weight off." It's also sad for people who need to take them to manage chronic conditions. These drugs suck in a lot of ways and people don't want to be on them.VirginiaThat's a valid reason to think, I don't want to be on a drug for the rest of my life if it's giving me terrible side effects. My inhalers don't give me terrible side effects. I just like breathing and want to do it all the time. I'm an oxygen addict. If it's a medication that's giving you side effects, I understand not wanting to be on it for life. For folks who are pursuing this just for weight loss, independent of metabolic health, maybe that's a reason to reflect on whether you need to do that. It is a depressing thing to say, "I will be on a medication that gives me diarrhea, fatigue or whatever side effects, but at least I can be a smaller size." That feels like something to reflect on. That reflection is nowhere in this article, however.CorinneThe article doesn't mention side effects at all, does it? VirginiaIt mentions that it's why a lot of people in the studies are going off the drugs. It's this Catch-22 where they're saying, Oh, people are saying, wow, it's so expensive, or, wow, I have terrible side effects, so I go off it. Then they're framing it like those people were quitters. That they gave up. On the other hand, some of this aversion around "you wouldn't want to be on this medication for the rest of your life" is another layer of anti-fatness. The message is we shouldn't let fat people get away with thinness this way. We don't want them passing for thin because they can stay on a GLP-1 forever. We want them to do the "real work" of weight loss.The idea that you could only achieve weight loss by staying on the medication forever makes the weight loss feel fake to people. It's interesting because all intentional weight loss is fake to some extent. It's all manipulating your body in a direction it doesn't naturally want to go in. So why do we penalize medication-based weight loss versus excessive-running-based weight loss?There's also a nice shout-out to RFK, Jr., who also thought the drugs would just be a short-term fix for people and then we'd go back to eating beef tallow to stay thin. Turns out that's not science, but I don't think we're surprised he's not science. Another flavor of anti-fatness in this piece is the casual normalization that you could do this the old fashioned way. In talking about folks who are able to lose the weight even after they go off, the article says:It's not impossible, but it is extremely difficult. Dr Hauser estimates that fewer than 10% of her patients have successfully kept off 75% or more of the weight they lost after going on a GLP-1 without turning to another weight loss medication or undergoing bariatric surgery. "Those are the people that are working out two hours a day, tracking what they eat. They're working really hard," she said. "I haven't had anyone that just tapers off and isn't really putting that much thought into it and just keeps the weight off. I've never seen that happen."That's just casual normalization of eating disorder behavior. Working out two hours a day and tracking what you eat is not a normal way to live.CorinneThe choice is either drugs or an eating disorder.VirginiaThat's not interrogated by this piece, or in any of the discourse I've seen around the whole idea that you have to be on it forever. It's either you have to be on it forever, or we expect you to do this the old fashioned way, like a good fat person would.CorinneIt's also getting into the Rosey Beeme of it all. She lost some weight with a GLP-1 and then was like, Well, I guess weight loss surgery is the way to go here.VirginiaRight, to continue her health journey. I haven't checked on her in a while. Do you know how that's all going?CorinneNo, I don't and I don't honestly want to know. I just think that will become a more common storyline where people are saying, I didn't want to stay on this drug. It didn't lead to permanent weight loss, but maybe bariatric surgery will.VirginiaWell, that's depressing.CorinneSpeaking of influencers, the second article that we wanted to discuss today ran at the beginning of January in Vulture. It's titled ‘Less People Click If You're a Size 16' How plus-size influencers are faring in a GLP-1 world.VirginiaThis one is paywalled. CorinneI'm glad we're talking about this article because I saw so many people whispering about it on social media before I saw it, and then I saw a lot of folks sharing it. The gist of it is that plus-size influencers are not making as much money as before. They're not getting as many brand deals, etc.VirginiaThey're not getting brand deals from fashion brands and other lifestyle brands, which was interesting to me. The plus-size mom influencers, brands don't want them to show the car seat or the stroller anymore.CorinneI think a lot of plus-size influencers would make money from beauty skincare deals. That seems to be where a lot of the marketing money is. Even that area is slowing.VirginiaThe article talks about how one explanation, in addition to the rise of GLP-1s, is the rise of the tradwife aesthetic. An influencer named Joanna Spicer is interviewed quite a bit in the piece. She says:People in the industry, according to Spicer, are “afraid to say anything. It's being danced around. I've been told that I don't fit the criteria to work with the brand because they're more into the tradwife aesthetic. I'm like, ‘Got it.'”With the tradwife aesthetic, a baseline of thin is a given, right? They're all willowy thin blondes like Ballerina Farm. It's interesting that it's not just thin, but the whole Little House On the Prairie conservative fundamentalist perspective. That's what is trending right now. CorinneIt's very depressing. I like Joanna Spicer and that is not her aesthetic. There are plus-size influencers that lean more in that direction who are also suffering.VirginiaBecause they're not leaning enough in that direction.CorinneThey're not living on farms in Utah. I also thought an interesting part of this was her saying that it's being danced around, that no one's straight up saying what's going on.VirginiaOn the flip side, we've also seen (and reported on) a lot of plus-size influencers becoming not plus-size, or attempting to become not plus-size by sharing their GLP-1 journey. While we've had valid criticisms of the way Rosey Beeme and others have articulated those journeys by using a lot of anti-fat rhetoric, I do understand that when you've made your body your business, and now the business is changing, you feel a lot of pressure to change your body to keep up with things.CorinneThis article doesn't mention it, but there have been a couple of brands recently announcing they're not going to make plus sizes anymore, one of which is Christy Dawn, which is a big tradwife aesthetic brand.VirginiaI never did get a Christy Dawn prairie dress while they made them in my size. Now I guess I never will.CorinneI did try one once. It's really not my aesthetic, but it didn't seem nice.VirginiaI kind of wish you had photos. I really can't picture you in a tradwife dress.CorinneI put it on and was horrified.VirginiaYou had a reaction to that like I have to those boiler suit jumpsuits where I feel trapped, have a panic attack and I can't get them off.CorinneThere was too much shoulder. I didn't like it.VirginiaIt's the whole milkmaid thing.CorinneI like my shoulders covered.VirginiaYeah, not your aesthetic. All of this tradwife aesthetic taking over influencer culture and who's getting brand deals also very much ties into how much this is driven by the political climate right now, which is obviously a dumpster fire. Here is another excerpt from the piece:One vice president and an influencer marketing agency who asked to remain anonymous, said that while they haven't seen brands explicitly push back against working with plus-size creators. They are far more hesitant to sponsor any creator who gets even remotely political. What is acceptable now politically may not be in the future, and to avoid any issues, they don't want any voices that are not controlled internally from their side, he said.That made me wonder if fat influencers are more likely to be left wing and progressive than thin influencers. We don't have any data, but my instinct is yes.CorinneThey're probably more likely to be outspoken about size inclusivity, at least.VirginiaPeople think fat liberation is not political or it's not considered part of political action, and it is part of it. They also wrote:"The trend to move away from plus-size clothing aligns with the trend to move away from DEI. It's all related,” says Monica Corbin, a stylist at a plus-size fashion brand. “We had this big explosion during COVID around inclusivity, and I just think there's been the biggest backlash."So what's happening in influencer culture is just a microcosm of our whole country right now?CorinneThere is a part of this article that was so sad. Joanna Spicer was talking about how not being able to get work in your area of expertise makes you feel like a loser. That it's demoralizing and you feel like you've done something wrong. And you don't want to speak out about it because you don't want to screw yourself over in the future. It sounds so isolating.VirginiaThere's often a lot of pressure on influencers not to be transparent about the business model and the money, which is something we see in almost every female dominated industry. Anytime you have an industry that's majority women, people tend to be underpaid and you're encouraged not to talk about money, which is why all of my writer friends know I am extremely transparent about money. Because I feel like this is how any of us make any. It doesn't surprise me that people were so hesitant to go on record for this story because they think they have so much to risk if they say these brands are paying them less. But it also enrages me because these brands are treating you terribly. How else do we put pressure on them to do something different and make different choices?CorinneI don't know, but it's scary to do that now, especially when it feels like there's fear of political retaliation.VirginiaMaybe this is me grasping at a strand of hope, but I do wonder if the fact that Vulture did this story is a positive sign. Will this kind of media coverage put pressure on brands to be more inclusive again? You could read this piece and think, What is Virginia talking about? There's no GLP-1 backlash. The fact that the piece exists feels like a tiny bit of backlash. Or am I just grasping?CorinneWe'll see. It's probably going to take eight years, but I think at least some of the shine is off.VirginiaIt's hard to say that we're definitively in a backlash, or in a moment of change. I don't think we are. I think we are in a moment of increased nuance, and that's where we've landed. There's value in that. There's value in the conversations becoming more nuanced. The last piece we wanted to talk about was Amanda Richard's recent essay about her own experience taking GLP-1s and her take on where we are in this moment. It's called The return of thinness, without the reckoning. What are your thoughts on this piece?CorinneI thought it was really interesting. I read it this morning and haven't fully digested it. The most interesting part to me was this part near the end where she says:What this moment reveals isn't hypocrisy, it's preference, preference for ease over effort, relief over reckoning, for changing bodies instead of changing the rules that they're judged by. Fat acceptance faltered not because it was wrong, but because it asked more of people than a weight loss transformation ever could.She's getting at this moment in culture where people have lower tolerance than ever for friction. We want everything to be as easy as possible, myself included. That's not always what's best for the world, or even ourselves.VirginiaShe's arguing that we're not in a backlash, but that the rise of GLP-1s has legitimized the pursuit of thinness in new ways. She wrote:What's changed isn't the desire to be thin, but the way that desire is explained. It no longer has to pass through shame, discipline or denial, instead arriving framed as care, responsibility and common sense. we've had moral alibis for thinness before diets, program, supplements, lifestyle changes, but they were always imperfect because they still smelled like wanting. They required visible discipline. They demanded effort. They asked people to accept failure when their bodies didn't cooperate. Medicine is a better alibi.I thought that was pretty dead on.CorinneThat's interesting, although we had health as an alibi before.VirginiaWe definitely did. But she's right that making it something that doctors prescribe, that you have to do, and you have to do in very specific ways in order to adhere correctly to it, does feel different from when doctors say, Try to lose some weight and, you know, walk more. It's vague and nebulous and pushes people over to diet culture.Because you're accessing it through consumerism it feels more like something you want, like a choice you're making. There's aesthetic components. I'm doing this celebrity's plan, you know. It feels legitimate now that you're doing it as a responsible choice for yourself because a doctor prescribed it. It's not to say that the medical choices people are making to do these drugs are always wrong, or that it's a bad choice for everybody. Again, it's a great medication for managing diabetes. Because all of the research dollars in the world go towards these drugs, they are discovering other new benefits of them, and that's great if we don't want people to not have those benefits. CorinneWe didn't mention that the whole premise of the piece is that she's taking a GLP-1 for a condition, and it has helped tremendously.VirginiaShe's had some weight loss as a side effect, but that wasn't the primary goal. Fat acceptance needs to keep making more space for those stories and that reality. That is why we added the Anti-Diet Ozempic Life chat room on Burnt Toast, because I was hearing from readers ashamed and confessing to me that they were on a GLP-1 and not having a place to talk about how to do that with integrity and in alignment with their fat liberation values. I was thought, Well, we're doing something wrong if we're making people feel bad about their own individual choices. That's what the other guys do. That's not what we're about. The conversations there have been fascinating and super instructive to me. I've learned a lot. Everybody who's navigating this, if you've identified that fat liberation is one of your values, you have a responsibility to interrogate this thing that Amanda's articulating, how much of this is a moral alibi for thinness, and what does that mean if you're using medicine as your alibi to achieve thinness because of all the other reasons that thinness is valued.CorinneAlthough, in our culture, how can you not? There's always some element of "Being thin is good? Being thinner Is better?"VirginiaBeing prettier? I'll have better access to things. I don't think wanting that for yourself is "wrong" because how could you not want it?CorinneIt's the water we're swimming in. It's hard to make a neutral choice.VirginiaThere is no neutral choice. Articulating that tension to yourself is valuable versus just dressing it up in "I am doing this for x, y and z health reason. I don't care about being thin." Let's be honest. Of course we all care about that a little bit. We're in an interesting place with this stuff. I'm curious to hear what folks think. How you resonated with these articles and what else you're seeing in the discourse. I am glad for the increasing nuance and I wish mainstream media could spot its anti-fat bias even sometimes.

This week on the CrossFit Grandview Podcast, we're joined by our youngest guest ever — last year's #2 in the 16-17 Girls Division at the CrossFit Games, Elsie Larson! ⁠Now part of our Level 2 training crew, Elsie shares what it was like growing up with 6 siblings, training full-time as a gymnast, and where she's headed next in her CrossFit career. Don't miss it! ⁠⁠

Today Virginia is chatting with Jeff Hunger who is an assistant professor of social psychology at Miami University in Ohio, who studies weight stigma. Our focus of this episode is Jeff's work on anti-fat bias, understanding how we internalize it, the difference between implicit and explicit bias, and how we start to separate out concepts like body image struggles from the larger conversation of anti-fat bias. We cover a lot of important ground. Including Taylor Swift.If you want more conversations like this one, please rate and review us in your podcast player! And become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber. It's just $5 per month or $50 for the year. Producing a weekly podcast requires a significant investment of time and resources from several talented people. Paid subscriptions make all of our work possible and enable us to offer an honorarium to expert guests, which is key to centering marginalized voices in this space.And don't forget to preorder Virginia's new book! Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture comes out April 25, 2023 from Henry Holt. Preorder your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books.Disclaimer: Virginia is a journalist and human with a lot of informed opinions. Virginia is not a nutritionist, therapist, doctor, or any kind of health care provider. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions she gives are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.BUTTER & OTHER LINKSJeff on Instagram and TwitterVirginia's previous reporting on weight stigma in healthcareVirginia can't be a cool foodie because she has to feed small childrenA recent review on how we reduce weight biasA good introduction to ACT, and here's an example of research on its utility in reducing weight stigma (ironic warning for weight-normative language there!)Weight bias is still going up. Study on fat-shaming celebrities and implicit biasThe very heated debate about Taylor SwiftWhen Lizzo used an ableist term (and fixed it!)Stan CultureWho gets to call themselves fat?Denied rights to our own bodies.When a kid comes home and reports that someone called them fat Mary Himmelstein's research on weight-based bullyigWhy Dan should build Virginia a hidden kitchenNo really, hidden kitchensThe appliance garage conceptIt's just gotten bigger and bigger and more absurd.Elsie Larson's hidden libraryWant to come on Virginia's Office Hours? Please use this form. Fill out this form to help us plan for the Fat Talk book tour and launch. Thank you!CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith. Follow Virginia on Instagram or Twitter.Burnt Toast transcripts and essays are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting independent anti-diet journalism. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

Let's talk about haters, critics, and naysayers and their impact on our manifestations. Should we listen to them, let them take our confidence down, or is there a learning lesson when someone says you're not good enough? Can we use critique as an opportunity for growth? Consider this: If everyone is happy with what you're up to, you probably aren't stepping out of the comfort zone enough. There are a few reasons you may experience haters. As your star rises, it's inevitable, there will almost certainly be critics and naysayers with something to say about the work that you're doing to manifest your dream life. In this episode, I'm sharing three tips for letting other people's shade turn into your shine. Read more on the podcast blog at ouiwegirl.com/podcast.  Resources mentioned in this episode: The episode My Best Friend Shares Her Woo Woo Journey a conversation with my bestie Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess, stay tuned we'll have Elsie on the show again soon! Have questions, or want to say hi, text me

A few years ago I spent a weekend at a shamanic studies workshop learning about animal guides, I came home shared the details with my BFF, and rather than thinking I was totally out there, she got curious! Today I'm joined by my very own best friend! Elsie Larson, of the lifestyle blog A Beautiful Mess, is with us today to talk about her own integration into the woo.  Elsie and I met when I lived in Nashville and in our friendship, while I'm the woo one, I've always known Elsie has some woo, woo witchy gifts. I've seen her manifest really incredible things over the course of our friendship - even when she didn't necessarily know she was doing it.  Over the last few months, as Elsie and I planned for this episode, we talked about the list of things that she might be interested in from astrology readings to aura photography readings to reiki, and more. We've been having discussions about past lives and karma, kundalini yoga and acupuncture, psychic gifts, and intuitive wisdom and honestly, it's been so much fun for me seeing my BFF get into the things I love so much!  This is the episode for you if you're new to the woo, or if you have a friend you'd like to share your woo practices with. Prior to recording this episode, Elsie booked appointments and now we're discussing how it's all gone for her thus far! If you want to hear more, give her show a listen too - I joined her over on A Beautiful Mess pod to chat specifically about Astrology, especially for those that might be a bit skeptical.  Elsie Larson is the founder of lifestyle blog A Beautiful Mess and apps A Color Story and Filmm. Elsie lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, two children, and two dogs. You can find her binging Succession and re-watching old episodes of The Office.  Find and follow Elsie at @beautifulmess and @elsielarson Resources:  Book a Karmic Astrology reading with Chelsea Jewel, in Nashville book an Aura Reading with Tertiary Sights. Books mentioned in this episode: Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want To Speak Up, Create and Lead by Tara Mohr I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi Upcoming events to know about: Register for my upcoming Manifestation Blueprint Workshop and my monthly Moon Manifestation classes via the Oui, We course page.  Find more to love and join our community at ouiwegirl.com. Where to find me: ouiwegirl.com @ouiwegirl Follow the show Instagram page: @yourwoowoobff This show is produced, mixed, recorded + additional music by T'Ben Alleman Opening and closing music: Pet Fangs

In this episode, Sharon is joined by Elsie Larson, creator of A Beautiful Mess, to share the story of Senator Margaret Chase Smith, a Maine woman who refused to take no for an answer. Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman in U.S history to hold a seat in both houses of Congress. With nearly 40 years in office, Senator Smith's career is marked with incredible achievements, such as being responsible for the U.S moon landing and being the first woman to run for U.S president. Known for her political courage, honesty and integrity, she is a hero of democracy. Join Sharon and Elsie as they uncover the remarkable story of Margaret Chase Smith and why she gave Maine - as well as the rest of America - so many reasons to be proud. For more information on this episode including all resources and links discussed go to https://www.sharonmcmahon.com/podcast

Keltie's internet idols, A Beautiful Mess founders Emma Chapman and Elsie Larson, swing by to chat about finding success in the crafts industry, how to handle failures and putting out small fires within your company. Need a holiday gift?? Check out our amazing sponsors!! Head & Shoulders: Check out the Supreme Collection TODAY at headandshoulders.com Mrs Fields: Get 20% off site-wide with promo code LADY at mrsfields.com - Just click or tap the microphone at the top and enter promo code LADY for 20% off your order! DailyHarvest: Go to dailyharvest.com and enter promo code LADY to get $25 off your first box! Brooklinen: Go to Brooklinen.com and use promo code ladies to get 10% off your first order and free shipping. Boozy Bites: Go to www.boozybites.com and enter the code Ladygang to get 15% off your order!

As one of the original internet home bloggers, Elsie Larson is well known for her style, her classic pink front door, her two adorable daughters, and a Pinterest-worthy EVERYTHING. The blog she shares with her sister, Emma, called “A Beautiful Mess”, is a place of joy and inspiration that’s proven longevity on the internet in a day in age where everything feels so fleeting. What’s unique about Elsie (and Emma) is how they’ve taken the experiences of being creators and made it easier for other creators. How exactly? Apps. Four of them exactly (and I use them!). But, that’s not all. In this conversation, Elsie also opens up about International adoption, the story of her two daughters, with some really real chats about the process for her. As a long-time fan of Elsie’s, this chat was a really amazing peek into her life, her heart, and her passions!    You can find Elsie on @ElsieLarson, her blog abeautifulmess.com and her apps FILMM, A  Color Story, A Design Kit and Template App.    Visit ​www.gomacro.com​ and use code ​papaya​ for 30% off + free shipping.   Get 25% off when you go to liquidiv.com and use code PAPAYA at checkout.   Produced by Dear Media.  

Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess blog, (crafting, home decor, recipes). She started as a blogger, but her and her sister grown that business into so much more including 3 published books, a natural product line called Oui Fresh: natural makeup and clean living products, and clothing and subscription boxes, and they own an app company called A Color Story which include a beautiful mess, party party, and a design kit. Her gorgeous home has been featured EVERYWHERE including the newest Domino Book. She’s gonna talk to us about adopting her gorgeous daughter, Nova from China, what it’s like to become an INSTANT mom while thousands of people watch, learning how to balance becoming a working mom overnight, handling haters, and some practical productivity tips to maximize work hours so that she can PRESENT during her precious Nova hours. She even tackles balancing screen time even though part of her job requires her to be engaged on instagram. There’s a lot here guys and I’m not gonna lie I got a little emotional and I might be adopting now. We’ll see. https://abeautifulmess.com/ https://ouifresh.com/ https://acolorstory.com/

On the show today, I have someone you are going to absolutely love. She is warm and welcoming, has incredible fashion sense, and is an a extremely talented graphic designer/digital marketing strategist/style curator. On top of this, she owns and runs the web design firm, Go Live HQ. Her client list includes Sophia Amoruso (THE girl boss herself), Randy Fenoli of Say Yes to the Dress, Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess and so many other inspiring entrepreneurs. This guests' passion lies in helping creative girl bosses KILL it online in a simple, stylist and strategic way. So, welcome to the podcast, Promise Tangeman!!

On the show today, I have someone you are going to absolutely love. She is warm and welcoming, has incredible fashion sense, and is an a extremely talented graphic designer/digital marketing strategist/style curator. On top of this, she owns and runs the web design firm, Go Live HQ. Her client list includes Sophia Amoruso (THE girl boss herself), Randy Fenoli of Say Yes to the Dress, Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess and so many other inspiring entrepreneurs. This guests’ passion lies in helping creative girl bosses KILL it online in a simple, stylist and strategic way. So, welcome to the podcast, Promise Tangeman!! 

After discussing the special needs adoption process, Caroline asks Elsie a series of questions about her social media practices. Links: Elsie Larson's blog: A Beautiful Mess Elsie Larson on Insta: @elsielarson / @abeautifulmess A Color Story photo editing app OuiFresh Caroline Lee Caroline on Insta: @teamwoodnote Caroline on Twitter: @teamwoodnote Out of Line on Insta: @outoflinepodcast email Caroline: outoflinepodcast@gmail.com

Elsie Larson is one of the OG bloggers and social media mavens, whose blog A Beautiful Mess just turned a whopping 10 years old. If we converted blog years to human years, that’d be like 92.. But Elsie didn’t just stop at a blog. She’s joined forces with her sister, Emma, and together, they’ve published two books, two apps (including my personal favorite phone editing app, A Color Story) and most recently, a product line called OuiFresh. Elsie lives in Nashville, so she and Caroline hopped on a Skype call to record this episode, where they talk about Elsie's recent process adopting her daughter from China. Elsie and her husband chose to adopt a child with special needs, and Elsie discusses that experience and everything that was involved. Read Elsie's blog post on Albinism here. Links: Elsie Larson's blog: A Beautiful Mess Elsie Larson on Insta: @elsielarson / @abeautifulmess A Color Story photo editing app OuiFresh Caroline Lee Caroline on Insta: @teamwoodnote Caroline on Twitter: @teamwoodnote Out of Line on Insta: @outoflinepodcast email Caroline: outoflinepodcast@gmail.com

Elsie Larson is a brilliant blogger, entrepreneur and all-around creative person. Elsie runs the popular blog A Beautiful Mess with her sister and through A Beautiful Mess has launched a handful of bestselling apps, dozens of courses, a number of products, and of course thousands of blog posts. -- You can connect with Elsie Larson on Instagram and check out A Beautiful Mess on Instagram and Twitter and at www.abeautifulmess.com. (And get 20% off A Beautiful Mess’ blogging e-course at shop.abeautifulmess.com with ‘20OFFSOUNDSGOOD”) You can connect with Branden Harvey on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat at @brandenharvey. Learn more about Branden and subscribe to his weekly Goodnewsletter at www.brandenharvey.com. You can find more podcasts like Sounds Good at the all new www.Gradient.is.

Blogger/author/app guru HILARIOUSLY WITTY Emma Chapman, (A Beautiful Mess). We expose her past life as an improv comedy actress and ask her some questions about comparison/sibling jealousy with her sister Elsie Larson. Fake-sponsored by Grocery-store Sushi. And a brand new segment led by Emma called "Pet-styling." Emma Chapman's hilarious Interview: Her business journey, Tips, thoughts on Comparison, and how NOT being a perfectionist is her biggest asset. Show notes: Instagram: @emmaredvelvet Website: abeautifulmess.com Apps: a beautiful mess, party party, a color story Books: A Beautiful Mess: Happy Handmade Home A Beautiful Mess: Photo Idea Book Clothing line: ouifresh.com CONTEST! We want to see how you listen! Post a photo on instagram of you listening to the podcast using the hashtag: #skhowilisten and #shaileyandkatie. We’ll choose our favorite and you can take one of emma’s ecourses completely free!!! GIFT from Emma! 30% off any e-course with the code: SHAILEYKATIE It's good for one course, anytime this year and if you're not into what's available now they're about to launch a few more!