Hey! I’m Ashley, and I’m so glad you’re here! I’m a homebody by nature and a money geek by trade. This is my corner of the internet where I catalog the shortcuts that help me do me. That means:
- Homemaking on a budget and building things I don’t want to buy (Shamelessly ambitious DIY projects)
- Making extra money and creating new income streams, because frugality can only take your cash so far (and being alive is expensive 😵💫)
- Tackling anything I want and going for goals because YOLO lol
- doing my best without being the best
Basically— I’m a modern mom, so I have a blog! If I had to define the modern working mom lifestyle it would be stretched too thin. We work so hard in everything we do, so my thought behind this blog’s name was to fit in everything else with the least amount of stress.
Pretty Passive is the general level of effort I have left to contribute to everything outside of waking up and keeping everyone in my house fed, bathed, and well enough to do it again tomorrow.
How this blog started
I started blogging in 2017 as the sole breadwinner for my family with a husband, dog, mortgage, and new baby. Going through that experience and navigating the nonsense that is modern motherhood struck a nerve.
At first, the sensation was painful. I was emotionally and physically sick from going back to work 12 weeks postpartum (while my baby girl starved herself in my absence). On top of that I was overworked, underpaid, and happily, albeit exhaustedly, the primary caregiver of my infant daughter during my “downtime” after relieving my husband of his stay-at-home dad duties everyday.
After trading my dream job for one with less stress, I was turned on to sharing my experiences and offering tips and tricks I learned along the way. I knew I wasn’t the only mom watching my maternal instinct fight against my survival instinct, and I knew there had to be another way to stop living paycheck to paycheck and being so damn dependent on a draining job and lifestyle.
My current life goal is to have the option to run away with my family to the south of France during my daughter’s inevitable awkward stage and escape bullies or what have you. Basically, I don’t want to feel trapped by a job during the most critical years of my family’s foundation – so I’ve been building a life and dabbling in alternative/multiple income streams that give me the opportunity to do whatever I want to do… and I want that for you, too.
I’m all about getting more for less
My M.O. is EFFICIENCY. I like things short & sweet, and I get a HUGE kick out of inspiring others to do the same. I’ve been collecting tips and tricks for getting through the days while building for the future. Working smarter not harder. And living my best life as a wife, mom, and homebody.
But I’m also very experimental and absolutely love learning new skills that’ll get me where I want to go.
Say hello to Pretty Passive.
after going to sleep every night wondering “what do I bring to the table?” I realized that I am the Queen of shameless ambition and borderline laziness.
this blog is my excuse to inspire people to go for it because eventually is better than never and half-assed & cheap beats over the top & bank breaking.
So I share home projects I cooked up and planned with a pairing of Cabernet and educate my readers on financial topics I thought died with my degree after I had kids.
I hope my stories help you feel empowered to start before you know where you’re going.
At the end of the day, done is better than perfect and something is better than nothing. I’m here to show you some steps you can skip to get the life you want. Because I truly believe that you can do whatever the hell you want, and I also believe that your beliefs can have some serious impact on your life.