We were lucky to catch up with Kat LaIuppa recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kat, appreciate you joining us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

Being a stay at home mom is a choice that, depending on the audience, will either get eye rolls or an applause so I believe most people who are not making this choice assume that women who do are inherently oppressed, silenced, and ultimately giving up on themselves. My career goals growing up always included the fashion industry. Whether that led me to styling, merchandising store fronts, or attending fashion week in Miami or NY…thank God after college I got to do it! It was an amazing part of my 20’s but when Covid happened I lost my job with the designer I worked with which allowed me to pursue other passions. After my own painful acne healing journey I went back to school and got my esthetics license and quickly opened up a home studio to serve acne and age management clients which I love and still do today on a “virtual care only” scale.

Why do I bring up my decision to be home full time after sharing both career moves? Fulfillment. Neither of those two career paths have come close to the way being home with my children feels. I’ve been replaced in my career but at home there is no other “me” that has been chosen to steward what I’ve been blessed with.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well hello there reader! I’m first and foremost a Bible believing Christian who just joined the 30’s club and I’m happy to be here. Over the past decade I have gone to work in the fashion industry doing styling, merchandising, buying, and have worked alongside brands creating social media content. I later when on to get my esthetics license, opened up a small in home studio and retained a handful of acne and age management clients up until a few weeks before my first baby was born in 2022.

I remember initially thinking I would go back to in-person esthetics services a few months into motherhood but quickly realized I had a beautiful opportunity to be home with my baby full time and chose to dive into the role of a homemaker while still providing virtual care to clients on a small scale.

I’m most proud of the decision to stay home because I’ve discovered that I am so easily replaceable in both the fashion and esthetics industries but not at home. My opportunity to steward what I’ve been blessed with right here at home is not replaceable by any other career path and that is so fulfilling to realize this early into motherhood.

Any advice for managing a team?

I really like this question as it pertains to homemaking because the reality is that keeping a home is like running a business and your team is your family.

Here’s the advice: take note of the strengths in your teammates and make it clear that we really are all in this together.

I currently have three people on my team, if you will. Me, my 20 month old son, and my husband. We’re all great at different tasks and I implement rhythms into our day to day that allow for us to work together. We have a family mission so how we do what we do is filtered through that mission.

I cook and bake from scratch a lot and keeping my home on a schedule for top priority tasks like meal planning and prepping, laundry, and maintaining a tidy home allow for me to complete these things without being enslaved to hyper productivity with no time for rest or quality time with myself, my husband, and children.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Deleting my social media apps! Does that sound insane for a millennial to say in a modern tech world?! Probably.

However, at the end of 2023 I knew I needed to practice self control and remove myself from social media for a time, which for a content creator is basically social death! Though my reason for leaving is multi faceted, in relation to homemaking and motherhood, I did it because relatable content on the internet about your current circumstance is not always right nor should it be the goal.

I didn’t want to consume content promoting bitterness towards homemaking, motherhood, children, a spouse, or self pitty in the name of “relatability”. So, I opted out because I wanted to choose to not only just show up in my business (aka homemaking) but actually do my very best, do it with excellence, have a plan for my week, do it with a grateful heart, recognize when circumstances are hard yet not stay there and move forward, implement systems that work for me and my family, change what needs to change, and enhance what already is.

I want to do it for the Glory of the one who created me and thank you Jesus I don’t carry this role on my own but alongside Christ who equips me daily.

Contact Info:

• Website: Oatandfig.com

Image Credits
Nick LaIuppa