Hey new friend! I'm Kelsey, a gal from Austin, Texas living in the Arizona desert with my husband, Chris, and our three kids. In this space I write about living intentionally, setting goals, parenting, and taking your creative passions seriously, among other things. I adore the medium of audio and also co-host The Girl Next Door Podcast which is a show that feels like sitting down, talking, and laughing with your best girl friend.

Writing this blog and the creative endeavors it has inspired me to pursue,helped me to take a big leap and in April of 2018 I quit my full time job to pursue writing, podcasting, and creating full time.

I never would have thought that I would want a blog of my own. I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to have a birthday party because I don't want to be the center of attention. And blogging seemed like a very "look at me!" affair. But after a few years of following several blogs I felt as if I'd met these amazing and creative people who I'd love to be friends with if we lived in the same city. And so the blog world started to feel very much less "look at me!" and more like a community in which I'd like to take part. And so on New Year's Day of 2011 I published my first post to RISING*SHINING.

I've learned so much and developed true friendships from the blogs and bloggers I follow. I especially love knowing how other people are how they are navigating personal finances, married life, careers, following their passions, and starting a family. This blog is my contribution to the conversation.

Some of my favorite topics to write about are personal finances (including our efforts in debt reduction), raising our kids, my experience as a full time working mother and pursuing creative work. And I've collected my favorite posts all in one spot.

For a few years Chris and I had a podcast called Matrimoney (pronounced like matrimony) about life, marriage and our money. 

I love to connect with readers; that's what makes this a community! If you leave a question in the comments I'll do my best to respond quickly. I also love to get your emails at hello(at)risingshining(dot)com and to see you on Instagram.

Thanks so much for stopping by!