Moms in the Lou: Meet Blogger and Influencer Katelyn Young

Spend some time getting to know our next Mom in the Lou, Katelyn Young!

 

Tell us about yourself and your family. Are you originally from St. Louis? 

 

My husband and I both grew up in Chesterfield. We met in children’s church as kids but never hung out. I left for New York and then Los Angeles at 17, and was gone for six years. We reconnected when I spent a summer at home and then we dated long distance!  I moved home a few months before our wedding in 2011. I have always loved St. Louis and it gets cooler every year, but mainly I love it because it’s where my family is from. I wouldn’t trade having my kids down the road from their grandparents.

 

 

Tell us about your professional life. Any unfulfilled dreams for the future? 

 

In 2009 I started a shoe line with my sisters out of a UCLA marketing class called Km2. It grew into accessories, and at one point, we were in 150 stores, but having kids shifted my focus in a big way. My ultimate goal is to relaunch a fashion label with my family.  

 

Right now I really enjoy collaborating with small businesses on my Instagram account. I know what it’s like to start a business and using my small platform to share companies that I love really makes me happy.  I also like the community I have talking to moms. Getting to write about things I’ve learned in motherhood in Town and Style magazine monthly and also on my own site, kyleandkate.com, is a wonderful outlet . I am grateful for a place to share and be honest, that is the only goal I’ve ever had on my social platforms. I hope it makes other moms feel less alone in the journey. 

 

The other area of work I’ve found myself in from spending way too many hours on Instagram is in social media consulting. I’ve learned about telling stories and how to get to the point of a brands mission statement quickly. I have worked with several companies helping them develop a strategy over the past two years. I’m a firm believer in digging in and building a community that supports a brand for growth. I love the small businesses I have been able to help from a consulting standpoint. 

 

Where do you love to shop in St. Louis or otherwise??

 

When I first moved back from LA, I worked for my friend Sarah at Cha Boutique. She also was the biggest seller of Km2 in STL. They are in Ladue and a great stop for on trend clothes and gifts.

 

My sisters are both personal shoppers. @Meganlperry, my older sister, is a stylist at Saks at Frontenac and Mattison, my little sister, works in the collectors department at Nordstrom Galleria. I love shopping with them for timeless pieces. 

 

I’ve always been a treasure hunter shopper and have a secret love for vintage. I do a lot of eBay stalking for cool pieces.  My friend, Mary, just opened a great vintage website @fifthandvintage. I have my eye on some stuff! 

 

Most of my coolest stuff is from living in Los Angeles. I love mixing old band t-shirts with designer jeans and blazers, or sequin jackets and great heels.

 

 

What is your greatest victory in motherhood recently? The hardest part?

 

This is a really hard question! We have floundered through homeschooling and the house is always a mess. We spend some days in pajamas all day and I’m not getting as much healthy cooking done as I used to. 

 

But I have seen so much growth in my kids this year. I have gotten to witness my son get more confident in areas and have seen my daughter come into her own with opinions and her quest for knowledge. She’s really finding her passion for learning new things (outside of  the homeschool curriculum) and that makes me smile. 

 

Where’s your favorite date night spot in St. Louis? Favorite spot to take your kiddos? 

 

We always try new places! We recently went to Prasino in St. Charles and loved it. It was cozy and easy. My husband and I are super low-key.

 

Our kids have an obsession with Sportsman’s Park in Ladue. We pick up food from there and go on picnics a lot. They also love to go to Grassis which I love because my grandparents always took me to both places growing up.

 

What do you love about blogging? What bugs you??

 

It’s actually hard for me to call myself a blogger. I sort of fell into the space. My favorite thing is communicating. I love sharing, I love learning, and I love connecting with people. 

 

I don’t like the feeling of keeping up that comes with it. For a while, I got caught up in the whole thing trying to be and do what everyone was doing. It really hindered me creatively and it mentally wore me down. I’ve tried to detach myself from the “keeping up with social media” mindset and just share authentically. It has made it less of a business for me but I feel happier deep down so it’s worth it personally. 

 

 

How have you made your marriage a priority in raising three small children? 

 

We are not the best at date night, especially with a one-year-old, but thanks to my amazing in-laws and parents teaming up together we have been able to sneak away on a lot of weekend getaways! It’s amazing what a couple of days, a couple times a year will do for a marriage.

 

We are also pretty serious about our kids bedtime. We make sure we have at least two hours together every night to hang out.

 

And one other thing that has really helped us is prioritizing the first 20-30 minutes when Kyle gets home from work. I let the kids watch a show or play in the basement when he gets home from a hard work day or I’ve had crazy day and we have 20 minutes of just us to talk, no kids screaming and no intensity before the night time chaos starts. it’s not always perfect but I try to make it a priority. It really grounds us and helps our time together at home every night be a lot more peaceful.

 

What gets you through the hard days of motherhood? 

 

Jesus and drive through. 

 

But seriously, I am far from perfect when it comes to mothering. I ask God to help me every single day, I ask for wisdom and grace . I try to forgive myself when the mom guilt sets in. There is so much pressure on moms today to be engaged  at all times… it’s not possible and probably not healthy for our kids. I want them to develop independence and confidence. 

 

I try to remember that and on hard days I usually lay with my kids a little linger at bed time and remind them all the things I love about them and tell them I’m sorry if I need to. Kids are so forgiving. Snuggles and sorry goes such a long way. My kids teach me so much. 

 

 

And drive through … when things get really intense at home (especially this year with next to no breaks)  I put everyone in the car. We go get iced coffee and treats and turn on our favorite playlist. It may seem weird but it’s our own kind of family therapy.  My kids are always down for a drive with the windows down and music up. They are my people.