Interview Archives - Girls Who Brunch

I’m back with another fun interview, this time with blogger babe Lauryn Evarts from The Skinny Confidential. Lauryn’s blog is seriously awesome. My best friend Cat turned me onto the blog last year, and it’s quickly become one of my favorites. I love how cheeky and real Lauryn is. She talks about everything from health, wellness, beauty and much much more. Not only is she a blogger, but she’s got her own fitness and nutrition guide, a book, a podcast and so much more! Check out my interview with Lauryn below!

You’ve built a successful business out of blogging, did you always want to be a blogger? How did you come up with the idea for The Skinny Confidential?
The idea for The Skinny Confidential came about when I was attending San Diego State University. I was incredibly frustrated by the lack of healthy food options on campus… and I was BORED. At the time I was going to school full-time, working days & nights, and teaching reformer Pilates and Pure Barre. Also, I was on a major budget. So I started modifying all of my meals & the rest is history. I would take off one side of the bread in a sandwich or swap lettuce for spinach, sweeten coffee with cinnamon, make taco salads, you get it. Then one day I sort of had a lightbulb moment and thought, “why not share my tips and tricks with other women? There’s 20,000 women on campus, they need these tricks too! And shit, I want their tips.”

Since then, The Skinny Confidential has evolved from a fitness and health blog to a community for women all over the world to come & SPILL their tips & tricks. It’s a source of inspiration for women. The Skinny Confidential is also a book, a podcast, and soon to be product line.

What kind of info are women getting when they visit TSC?
Anything & everything! The more taboo the better, HA! One day I’ll share a healthy 1 minute recipe, the next we’ll talk home decor, and then another day BAM! A post on yeast infections! The content sort of varies but it’s always TSC branded.

Ultimately I like to get REAL real. A little sassy too.

What are your top easy fitness tips?
1. Workouts should be effective, not time consuming. I created TSC Bombshell Body Guide which integrates barre, yoga, Pilates, and your favorite personal trainer all into one. It’s 27 minutes, I’m dead sore after, and I can do it anywhere. Really ANYWHERE. In a hotel room, at the beach, in my office, etc. I shoot for three times a week.
2. You need cardio. Not a lot, but you need it regularly. Intervals are huge for fat burning. I shoot for 3 to 4 times a week.
3. I love a good Pilates class — huge Pilates fan. Also, yoga once in awhile is always good for the psyche.

Favorite quick/easy recipe?
Easy, the TSC 3 Ingredient Pancakes. I am also obsessed with TSC Detox Drink; I drink it every morning.

Tell us about your journey from blog to book. What inspired you to go from online to also in print?
Since I get a lot of questions from readers, I thought it would be fun to put all of my tips in one place, in print, so women could have a coffee table book and refer to the chapters at any time. A lot of the info in the book is not found on the blog.

What can we expect to read in “The Skinny Confidential: A Babes Sexy Sassy Fitness and Lifestyle Guide?”
Even though the content is fresh, it’s a lot like my blog. Kind of everything & anything. You’ll find recipes, personal stories, makeup tips, relationship advice ( like how to avoid the “Love Chub” ), easy/quick workouts, hair secrets, TONS of pictures, and more.

Which chapter did you have the most fun writing?
Definitely the chapter on my relationship. It was fun and something a lot of girls can relate to: LOVE CHUB. The guy can eat whatever he wants usually and as women we want to keep up! That’s love chub. I write about how to avoid it!

You just had a super intimate wedding in Cabo. Tell us about it.
Michael & I were engaged for 4 years before we tied the knot. We invited our closest friends & family to Cabo for a 4 day wedding celebration.

Between the blog, staying fit, your husband, dogs, managing a social life, the list goes on and on, how do you manage it all? Do you have any tips for women that wish there were more hours in the day?
I make things quick and easy in any way I can. For instance, I use the 27 minute workouts in TSC Bombshell Body Guide — a lot of my recipes take 5 to 10 minutes to make. Quick, easy, painless.

As far as balancing it all? I recommend LISTS. Stick to them. I also set goals for myself & make sure to meet them. Balance is discipline & discipline is difficult. If it were easy though, everyone would do it. Discipline can really take you places if it’s utilized correctly.

My ultimate advice: start small, think big.

What’s the single most important thing you’ve learned from building a successful blog empire?
Anything that’s truly worth it takes time & patience. Success takes time. Business takes time. Relationships take time. Building anything takes time.

Time is your friend.

I launched my brand over 5 years ago. I have blogged and worked on it every single day, 7 days a week. Again, discipline is key.

What are you working on now? Any books or special projects we should be looking out for?
I’m constantly adding new content to TSC Bombshell Body Guide and Membership. We’re currently working on an ANTI-INFLAMMATORY meal plan, which I can’t wait to share with everyone.

Michael & I are having a blast recording our weekly podcast: The Skinny Confidential: HIM AND HER. We answer business and relationship questions from readers and just shoot the shit. It’s been so much fun to work on a new medium. Podcasting is something we are very focused on right now. Big plans to come.

Also, possibly another book & a product line are in the works. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can find some major realness on The Skinny Confidential.

Shout out to Lauryn for the fab interview! I can’t wait to try out the 3 ingredient pancakes this weekend!

You can find Lauryn on her blog The Skinny Confidential, TSC Book, Bombshell Body Guide. Snapchat: @laurynevarts, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and her Podcast.

Hey hey hey! I’m back!! It seems like it’s been forever, and it has been. Sorry I’ve been MIA but I was on the east coast enjoying the holidays with family and friends and then I got super sick so time just escaped me. Can you believe it’s already 2017?! Like what?? I wanted to kick off 2017 with a brand new Brunch Diaries! Ladies and gents I introduce you to my friend Jackson Kalb. I’ve known Jackson since moving out to LA and he’s a bomb chef and is currently the executive chef at Bottlefish. Bottlefish is a new restaurant that just opened over in Brentwood, here in Los Angeles. Created by the same owners as California Pizza Kitchen, Bottlefish is a hip new upscale seafood restaurant. I had the pleasure of going to Bottlefish’s friends and family preview night, and let me tell you…the food was BOMB thanks to my friend Jackson! Get to know Jackson a little more below.

CAREER LIFE:

What is your occupation?
I’m the executive chef at Bottlefish.

How did you get involved with Bottlefish?
Total coincidence. My friend Danny was playing a pickup game of soccer with the GM, Arthur, before the restaurant had a chef. Arthur and Danny started talking and Arthur mentioned that he was looking for a chef. It turns out we all went to the same high school, so we had that rapport immediately.

What has been the hardest part about opening a new restaurant?
Pretty much everything. There are so many moving variables. Between staffing, training, HR, operations management, and everything in between, it’s all done by management and we’re all doing our part to get it done. Luckily, our founders are some of the most successful, experienced restaurateurs on the planet, so it goes without saying that we’re in good hands.

What is your favorite dish on the new menu?
My personal favorite is the scallop crudo. It’s so simple, but not easy. When you clutter a plate with garnishes and sauce, it’s easy to hide behind B-grade ingredients or improper execution. With our scallop crudo, everything has to be executed perfectly, because it’s only five ingredients.

We’re really showing off the intensely sweet flavor of the Nantucket bay scallops in this dish. It also shows off the natural product itself, which is the true star of the show. Often chefs take credit for the dish, but if the ingredients aren’t top quality, it doesn’t matter how much manipulation a chef does to it.

What advice would you give to future chefs?
Don’t watch TV and think you want to be a chef. Do it only if you are passionate about it. TV has glorified the occupation. There’s nothing wrong with glorifying it, as long as you know the reality of the job. If you’re spending more time on your hair then you are learning the fundamentals of cooking, you are in it for the wrong reason and will never be satisfied.

I’m all about showcasing chef’s capabilities on TV and hope to do something in front of the camera myself one day soon. Just don’t consider yourself a chef after going into massive amounts of debt to graduate from culinary school. If you want to learn culinary skills, go to a restaurant (or come work for me) and learn the trade. You’ll actually get paid to learn, and if you’re hungry, the shitty pay in the interim will pay off dozens of times over.

SOCIAL LIFE:

Where is your favorite place to brunch?
I don’t really eat out during brunch in LA. We’re working on a brunch menu at Bottlefish which will hopefully be happening in Spring 2017, so let’s just say Bottlefish will be my future favorite spot.

Favorite restaurant to take out of town visitors?
Sotto for a nice sit-down spot. Leo’s taco truck (which is also the best restaurant in LA) for pastor tacos.

Favorite cocktail?
I’m classic for cocktails. Negroni or a Hendrick’s martini, sub cucumber for olives.

If you’re throwing a dinner party, what is your go-to meal?
I don’t think I’ve ever made the same dish twice at a dinner party. Most people know that they’re my guinea pigs during dinner parties. **cough cough Jackson, where’s my invite??!**

REAL LIFE:

Who inspires you?
Josiah Citrin. He made me who I am today. As distant as we’ve become over the years, I still owe most of my culinary capabilities, and all the opportunities and personal drive that came from it, to him.

Best advice you’ve ever gotten?

Be kind.

What’s the one thing you cannot live without?
Friends and family. Material objects don’t carry the same value. If you don’t believe me, try being alone (no human interaction, no social media) for a week. You’ll go crazy, I promise.

Where is one place you would love to travel to?
Japan. Such a huge cultural difference, as most parts of the world are. I’m just very interested in visiting there right now.

What’s next?
If this pans out long-term, we plan on growing Bottlefish to multiple locations. When we reach our limit, we have a few other concepts in the works. I’m also helping with a small startup downtown and planning a wedding, so I’m extremely busy and couldn’t be happier about it.

Thanks Jackson for the interview! If you guys are ever in the Los Angeles area, definitely go check out Bottlefish and say hi to Jackson!

Girls Who Brunch

Tag: Interview

Interview with Lauryn Evarts of The Skinny Confidential

Brunch Diaries: Jackson Kalb from Bottlefish