the Happy Hour with Aud blog

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A space to talk about growing our businesses, families, & dreams. Pull up a seat, grab a glass of something you love (it's a dry rosé for me), & hang out for a while.
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Franklin Albert Skelton’s Birth Story

UPDATE: Sooo… we changed his name. Originally we named him after my grandpa’s last name, Erickson, but it just never *felt* right to me after going home from the hospital. I loved the nickname Sonny, but the full name didn’t seem to suit him as time went on. It didn’t help that we had around […]

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Family, Personal

January 31, 2023

2022 Holiday Gift Guide: Interesting + Affordable Gift Ideas for Women

Are there one-million-plus gift guides out there? Yes, yes there are. Did I need to make one? No, no I do not. Do I still love making them? YEP. And thus, here we are—with my own lil’ gift guide, except I’m not just pulling random, unrealistic things that have high affiliate commission rates (*cough cough* […]

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Personal

November 21, 2022

11 Tips to Survive Long Road Trips with A Baby (or Toddler)

In Wallace’s short one year of life, he’s been on a total of four road trips. Counting there-and-back, that’s eight long car rides for our little buddy. Two of those were to Lake Tahoe (about 4.5 hours nonstop) and two were to Las Vegas (about 9.5 hours nonstop) to visit family. And every single time, […]

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Family, Personal

January 5, 2022

Wallace’s Birth Story

On January 4, 2021, Wallace Ronal Skelton was born at 3:44 pm, weighing 7 pounds 4 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He came into the world with a splash and with the most beautiful sounding cry I’ve ever heard. Funny enough, January 4 was my original due date from my first doctor’s appointment when they […]

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Personal

January 14, 2021

Our Simple Gender Neutral Nursery Details

I feel like I’m a minimalist, but once we started figuring out what we needed for the nursery, I was overwhelmed by how much STUFF babies require! Our little nursery is about 10 by 10 feet, so I knew that would keep temper some of the goodies and gadgets. Plus, keeping it super gender neutral […]

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Home, Personal

December 12, 2020

10 Things Being Pregnant in a Pandemic Has Taught Me

Apparently I have a lot to say about this year—which is odd because doesn’t it simultaneously feel like NOTHING and SO MUCH has happened these past 11 months? Anyone else? I think 2020 has transformed most of us in some way. I’m constantly torn between wondering who the person is growing inside me, and who […]

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Career and Freelancing, Family, Health, Personal

December 4, 2020

The “Every Gal’s” Gift Guide 2020: For Busy, Ambitious + Fun-Loving Women

I was helping one of my clients pull together her annual holiday gift guide and found myself sending her link after link of things I’ve bought or had my eye on lately. And then I was like, “Wait a second, why don’t I just pull all of these into one spot?!” I mean, I am […]

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Beauty, Career and Freelancing, Fashion, Personal

November 25, 2020

Second + Third Trimester Update

This week I’m 31 weeks pregnant and it’s still hard to believe we’ll have a BABY in just a couple of months! We’ve been deep in the process of redoing all of the flooring in our home ourselves (long story that I’ll get to…), but now that that project’s winding down, it’s actually becoming more […]

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Personal

October 30, 2020

My Approach to Maternity Leave as a Freelance Writer (& My Interview on the Goal Digger Podcast!)

When I found out I was pregnant, one of the first things that crossed my mind was: How in the world am I going to figure out maternity leave as a freelance writer? I know, it should’ve been more baby blankets and bottles than worrying about work—or taking time off of work—but I love what […]

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Career and Freelancing, Personal, Self Employed

October 6, 2020

First Trimester Update & Covid Pregnancy Experiences

What a wild, amazing few weeks it’s been! We have been so overjoyed by and thankful for the outpouring of love and excitement for our quarantine baby news! I’ve also been so heartened to hear from so many women who experienced similar fears about conception/fertility/motherhood that I had. It’s simultaneously such a personal AND collective […]

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Personal

July 8, 2020