What made you decide to use your actual name as your blog URL? from Amber

It was mostly a fluke! My initial blog – KylaBea.com – was was part craft blog, part promotion tool for old etsy shop I had, and then it started becoming personal. When I re-launched I wanted to stick with my first name because I felt like I wanted there to be a common thread between KylaBea.com & Kyla Roma.com.

Now I’m torn! I love my company name, A Little Thistle and I think it would make a super cute blog name, but I am Kyla Roma, and this is my space – so it definitely works :)

My favorite posts are the ones with stories (you are a wonderful writer!). Can you share a little about your writing process? What makes a good story? from Caiti

Thank you so much! When I go to write a post that has more of a narrative it’s usually because the story has been sitting on my chest, kind of demanding to be written. I love This American Life and The Moth, and I love the idea of big personal moments that happen in small, unassuming ways. They both really inform the style I would like to have as a story teller.

My process for blogging in general always has one thing in common: I start with an idea or a visual that I’m excited about, I work it through as best I can, and then I leave it for a day or so and read it out loud when I come back to it. It helps me to hear the beats and make sure that my writing is clear when you guys get to it :)

I’m sure you’ve probably answered this before, but how did you and the Mister meet? from Stephany

Jesse was actually the teaching assistant for one of my university classes! I met him in the theatre department of university and we dated for the second half of my first year. It was stressful- not only were we in class together, but while I was in school Jesse was older than me and planning to move away at the end of the year.

The end of the year rolled around and he came withing 12 hours of moving to Florida (*shakes fist at his dual citizenship*) but decided to stay in Winnipeg and give it a go here. He literally had to unpack his car! But he stayed, Winnipeg worked and within six months we moved in together. That was five years ago!

Do you think you’ll get another tattoo? If so, what would you get? from Lisa

Yes I definitely will! Having grown up in the back stages of theatres & music festivals tattoos seem very normal to me, and I’m in love with the ones I already have. They’re not for everyone, but I feel more like myself with them. I would like to get my cherry blossoms made into a half sleeve, and have a half sleeve of bluebirds and yellow finches on my other arm. In my mind the difference between one half sleeve and two halves is really minimal, covering them up is just a cardigan away so I figure that I might as well make them big! :)

What’s your favorite way to spend an afternoon? from Mandy

Making new recipes! I love to bake, and I love to try new things, and it’s been too long since I’ve spent an afternoon in the kitchen. I really want to learn how to make fancy French pastries and in October I’m going to try to set aside some weekend time that will only be for learning to make Eclairs.

Crafting and blogging are close seconds, but I love making food with all my heart. It’s indulgent, personal, and can only really be shared with people who are close by. Something about that makes it sacred and wonderful.

How do you manage to keep up with all this blog work, comment on other blogs, and maintain an active outside life, being a wife, business owner, worker, etc.?! from Stephany

I think the best answer is just that sometimes I handle it better than others. In the past six months a lot has changed and I’ve definitely had to make sacrifices. I don’t have as much time for friends, I wake up quite early and drink a lot of coffee, I’ve taken a pay cut and Jesse and I have had to re-work our priorities to chase down the dream of me working for myself.

That being said, the biggest thing that’s helped me feel like my time is balanced and manageable is planning & pre-writing my blog. Sitting down and inventing posts just stopped working for me one day, so I’ve had to come up with something else. Every month I look at the calendar and sketch out an idea of what I want to be talking about, and then I try to write final drafts of my weekly posts on the weekend. It gives me the ability to write when I’m really excited and then take time off, without stepping away from my blog. It also gives me a better chance to interact with my readers. I can’t imagine writing 600+ words every day and trying to reply to comments & visit everyone’s blogs. It’s more fun for me this way and it leaves all of my evenings free :)

What has been the hardest part of marriage so far? The easiest? from Megan

Aside from dealing with the normal hurdles & communication stuff that people living together juggle, the hardest part of marriage in general has probably been trying to figure out what we want our lives to look like as a couple. What city do we want to live in? What kind of work will make us happy? When do we want to start a family? How do we manage time together vs. time with our friends & pursuing our separate interests? It’s hard to negotiate through these things while honoring what both of you want, and while they’re tricky those conversations are exciting and full of possibility.

The easiest part of marriage? Laughing at ourselves as we try to make it all up on the fly. Our only relationship rule is “When all else fails? Give up and just go for nachos”. There’s no situation can’t be improved by having nachos & beer at our favourite Mexican place.

Want to see more? Click here for parts one & two