Meet Jessi Puga | Blogger & RN

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessi Puga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessi, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My blog turned into my own business, but it took years for it to do so. I actually started blogging six years ago when my son was a newborn. I was spending so many hours on the sofa feeding him, so I started looking at blogs and reading what other mom’s were going though. I was inspired to start my own blog and six years later, I’m still going and loving it! It became my own biz about a year later but I consider it more a hobby and passion that became a business. It was never the intention. From my blog I’ve started other hobbies that turned into businesses like my furniture rehab business, that I blog about.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My full time job is working as a pediatric RN. I love working in healthcare and learning every day. My business aka blog started out as a hobby and continues to be one. I’ve been fortunate enough to have success with my blog though the years. (Including working with brands like Disney, Amazon to name a few). Challenges with being a blogger include the ever changing “influencer” world. Instagram is king, but often feels not as “authentic” as it intends to be. I personally love looking at Instagram but don’t want to focus hours a day to it. In order to be successful with Instagram you have to. Unfortunately many brands want huge Instagram followers when working with bloggers/influencers. I’m not willing to devote that time, when I have three kids and a husband at home. I don’t want to set a bad example of how many hours mom is in her phone or on a computer for my young kids. So I feel this is a huge challenge to overcome. Success=followers on Instagram now. That’s so different from six years ago when I first started. In short, keeping up with the latest and greatest is the constant challenge.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Sans children or with children? This completely changes up the week! lol. Being a Colorado native I can’t say we’d stay in town the whole week! We would start out in Boulder to eat at Jill’s in the St. Julien! Patio views and amazing food with live music…doesn’t get any better. We would hike Chautauqua park and shop on Pearl Street. In Downtown Denver we’d walk to Wineries in RiNo and eat at Root Down. At night we would bar hop to some of the fun Speak Easy bars that the Highlands, Denver and Cherry Creek have. There’s something so fun about speak easy bars…it’s not the same ol’ same ol’ bar experience which I love! We’d head to Estes park for the day to see the town and Rocky Mountain National park! A must see when you’re in Denver! As a family we love the Gaylord hotel in Aurora, so we’d have to stay a night there to enjoy the outdoor pool and hot tub area that’s open year round. Heading west of Denver we’d spend some time in BlackHawk to do a Spa day at the Ameristar and gamble a bit. I love heading up to the mountains for so many reasons, but antique shopping and furniture picking has become my favorite past time! (I can tell I’m getting older…I feel like it’s almost a rite of passage now! Lol). I’d also be sure to bring them up to St. Mary’s Glacier and finish the day with a drink in Idaho Springs at one of the many adorable restaurants or bars! So many to choose from, all with great views of the Mountains. I would have a hard time just choosing my top favorite Denver area attractions, but these would all be at the top of my list.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As cheesy as it sounds, my husband. I spend hours on my computer, writing posts, taking photo’s and editing. Doing this while having a busy home with three young kids and three crazy dogs becomes my husbands second job at night. He’s cooking and cleaning up while I’m busy typing up my latest post. Without his help, I would NEVER have the energy to blog! 🙂

Website: http://www.JessiLivingLovely.com
Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/JessiLivingLovely
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/JessiLivingLove
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JessiLivingLovely