Frequently Asked Questions
Have a question? You may find your answer below! Otherwise, feel free to contact me at malia@graceandgingham.com or send me a message on my contact page, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!
Personal ‣
Where do you go to college, and what are you studying?
I go to the University of Notre Dame! I'm majoring in Political Science and I have a double minor in Real Estate and Business Economics.
What is your ethnicity?
Honestly, I'm a little bit of everything! I took an Ancestry DNA test a few years back and it was really interesting, but to narrow it down, I'm Native American, Nigerian, French, Irish, English, Spanish, & Portuguese!
How did you and Jacob meet?
Funny story, actually! We were in a group chat together during our senior year of high school (with other seniors all over the country who were planning on going to Notre Dame), and so we got acquainted way back then! I didn't see him much once freshman year of college started, but he switched into my macroeconomics class spring semester, and we ended up working on our final group project together. I thought he was really sweet, but the semester was over before we knew it, and we didn't have time to get to know each other before the summer. Fast forward to June 20, 2019, Jacob posted a gorgeous sunset photo while he was up at Lake Michigan, and I sent him a message about how beautiful it was. When he responded, we got to talking, and just never stopped!
Where are your favorite places to shop?
My wardrobe is almost entirely from either J. Crew, LOFT, Ann Taylor, Abercrombie, or Lucky Brand, but I have a much longer list of all of my favorite stores on my Shop My Favorites page!
Where are you from?
I was born in Austin, Texas, but I grew up in Houston. I absolutely love Texas, and I couldn't imagine growing up anywhere else!
What is your diet like? Are you still vegan?
No, I'm actually not vegan anymore. I decided to start eating fish again back in February, and I recently introduced egg whites back into my diet. Honestly, I feel so much healthier and happier since switching back to being pescatarian, and I'll definitely be writing a post about this soon!
How did you decide on the University of Notre Dame?
This is such a great question, and one that I love to answer! When I was a senior in high school applying to colleges, Notre Dame was actually on the bottom of my list. I did look at a few other Catholic universities, but I really had my heart set on staying in the south, rushing a sorority, and finding a charming apartment to decorate! I also didn't think I'd even get in to Notre Dame, so when I got the decision email that December, I was preparing myself for rejection, but to my surprise, I was accepted! I was so much more excited than I thought I'd be (especially considering I hadn't really given ND a second thought since I applied), so once I got the open house invitation for Arts & Letters students, I gladly booked a flight up to Indiana. South Bend is certainly no Austin, Atlanta, Miami, or New Orleans, but the second I stepped on campus, I knew it was the place for me! Everyone I met that weekend was so kind and helpful, and I really had a sense on belonging that I didn't experience anywhere else. Not having Greek life was definitely a drawback (and seeing all the girls from my high school go through recruitment freshman year made me so sad that I nearly transferred), but after I got over the reality that I'd never be a Kappa Kappa Gamma (if you've never read 'A Southern Belle Primer', here's a link for a great laugh!), I knew that God had put me exactly where I was supposed to be!
What are you planning on doing after graduation?
It really depends on the job offers I get, but I'm interning in commercial real estate for an amazing Austin-based firm from summer 2020 to summer 2021, and I've loved every minute of it! Whatever I end up doing after graduation, I'd definitely like it to be in the real estate industry!
Blogging ‣
I’d love to get in touch. How can I contact you?
Feel free to email me at malia@graceandgingham.com or send me a message through my contact page!
What kind of camera do you use?
For big shoots, I use my Canon 600D with either a 50mm lens or an 18-55mm lens. For selfies and other photos, I generally use my iPhone 11.
How do you edit your Instagram pictures & stories?
For filters, I use Lightroom! There are a couple of preset packs that I really like, and the app makes it really easy to make adjustments to the lighting, contrast, sharpness, etc. For my stories, I use Unfold! It has some really nice frames and layouts, and to add the fun little animations, I just use GIPHY in the Instagram app.
How do you make money through By Grace & Gingham?
Great question! I am so incredibly grateful that I am able to make a small amount of income from By Grace & Gingham, as I dedicate a lot of time, effort, energy, and love into putting out high quality content for my readers to enjoy.
To get into specifics, I make a very small commission through my RewardStyle affiliate links when someone clicks on a link and purchases something. Using these links is of no cost to you, and helps me to continue improving my content and making my various project ideas a reality! However, not every link I share is an affiliate link, and I do not base my content solely on what products I can monetize through RewardStyle.
To read more about how I use affiliate links and produce sponsored content, visit my Disclosure page.
Why did you decide to move from Blogger to WordPress?
Blogger was such a great (and free) platform to start with, and I still highly recommend it for people who are just getting into blogging, but I'm very creative person, and I just felt very limited by Blogger's design features. There were so many things that I wanted to do with my design on Blogger that I simply couldn't, and while I think I managed to get it looking pretty nice, I knew I'd have so much more creative freedom with Wordpress!
Who hosts your blog?
By Grace & Gingham is self-hosted through IONOS, and my experience with them has been great so far!
I can’t find your theme on SheShoppes. Is it custom?
No, actually! I used the SheShoppes 'Cottonwood' theme as the base for my site design, but I implemented a number of elements and short code changes through Elementor, so my blog would be a better representation of my personality! I'm constantly making little adjustments here and there, but I'm really happy with the way it's turned out so far.
