Happy summer, Mommy Chicks! It’s a new month and a new season. Can you believe it?! With the temperatures rising, I have chosen this cool mama, Julie Solomon, as our June Mommy Chick. 🙂 She is the immensely talented co-owner and publicist of OMG! Publicity in Los Angeles, California, an adoring mother to her adorable son, Camden, and loving wife to her husband, actor Johnathon Schaech.
We are thrilled to have Julie as our June Mommy Chick and are delighted to introduce her to all of you. I love her mission and message to her readers on her blog and I know that you will love her too. Please welcome our June Mommy Chick, Julie Solomon!
It’s so great to have you as our June Mommy Chick, Julie! I love your blog and videos! What motivated you to start your website?
Thank you so much, Nina! I started my site a few months after my son was born. Those early months of having your first child can feel somewhat isolating, and I wanted to connect with like minded new moms out there to “build my village” so to speak! I wanted to create a space where I could curate tips and tricks that I myself was searching for online; but using my background in publicity to offer an affective way of communicating, which gives my blog a unique spin! I am inspired by moms who are bloggers everyday. It’s a good reminder that we are in this together, and we are all capable of find that balance.
When planning your content calendar, what kinds of work projects excite you the most?
I have very Type A personality when it comes to business, so just the action of being able to plan content calendars is exciting to me (ha!). I’m a planner by heart, and a publicist by trade, so creating and executing content is something that I love to do. I generally plan my content out 60-90 days in advance, and I try my best to base it around what my readers will be interested in at that time.
From my PR days, I learned that planning content around seasons or holidays is always an easy tip (this is what the magazines have done for years)! So I tent to follow that mold. For example, the last 3 months on JulieSolomon.net, readers saw that April was “beauty month”, May was the “month of mom”, and June is more travel focused. This doesn’t mean all content is that specific, but I try to hold true to a theme for consistency and cohesiveness. I also love projects that are collaborative. That could mean they are sponsored by a brand I truly love or something that I just feel personally moved by (like my Mom to Mom series).
Yes! I love your Mom to Mom series.
What’s the #1 thing that you want people to take away from your site when they visit your blog?
My hope is that readers take away information that is efficient and applicable for their everyday days. I strive to create a lifestyle destination that is practical, not only for the modern, millennial mom, but for young career focused women as well. I hope they see my blog as a one-stop-shop for information they can find useful in their everyday lives.
As a New York Times Best Selling Publicist, (very cool!) what are your top tips for new entrepreneurs and creatives?
Thank you!! I have been very privileged and honored to work with so many talented authors and influencers who truly make this world a better place! My “top tips” is actually a question that I get a ton from other bloggers/ entrepreneurs out there, so I decided to start on a new series on my blog called BYOP (Be Your Own Publicist), where I offer monthly tips on on array of topics pertaining to growing your brand and business. Readers can sign up to my newsletter to get the tips in a PDF form (for free!!) and its there to keep forever! 🙂
I think my most important tips I can give anyone is to find what you can offer and be consistent with your message. In this day and age, social media is your currency, so its so important to stay consistent in your message in order to organically grow your unique audience. Also, if your a blogger, you HAVE to have beautiful, professional quality photos. Nowadays, you can find photographers who are not outrageous in price to shoot you. Trust me, its worth it. My entire blogging business changed for the better when I finally became consistent with my photos and YouTube videos.
Such great advice. I couldn’t agree more!
We know that it can be difficult to find time to take care of yourself and your family while running a company and a blog. How do you carve out mommy time?
I treat “mommy time” as a meeting, like I would any other professional or personal endeavor. I have it blocked out in the day as I would a conference call or lunch. I try and eat as healthy as I can and take a jug of water that I fill up in the morning and drink throughout the day. Another essential, exercise! When I am majorly swamped with clients and campaigns, I have to get a workout in every day. Preferably in the mornings if I can swing it. It just gives me that extra boost of energy and clarity that I need to get through the day.
Do you have a lifesaving beauty product? Baby or toddler product?
There were a ton of baby products that I loved, but I don’t remember what they all were now that we are in toddler mode! LOL! An iPad and iPhone for sure, MacBookAir (its lighter and easier to travel with!) help get through flights or long car drives. I’m obsessed with Pur Cosmetics Full Throttle Mascara and Kate Somerville skincare. I also use Laneige concealer everyday which is a must!
Definitely going to try some of those!
What is your favorite part of the day and why?
Even though I am not a morning person AT ALL, the early morning before anyone else in my house is awake have become my favorite part of the day. If I can swing it and am able to get up before my son, it’s nice to have that quiet moment before the storm. I get some warm water with lemon and take my dog on a walk, and sort of get situated before my day gets crazy. I also love dinner time because that is when I get to catch up and play with my son!
If you were to describe what it’s like being a mom in LA, what would you say?
I would say I am lucky to be a mom in LA! I hate being away from my family and friends (who are in Tennessee and Maryland), but you just can’t beat the weather and lifestyle of LA. We are very blessed to have the options of exposing our child to the ocean, mountains and desert all within a quick drive away. The museums are great, as well as many amazing other nuggets throughout the city! I did a museum guide blog post and plan on doing a LA city guide (for mom and family) this month, so stay tuned!
How cute! I can’t wait to read your LA city guide!!
Any tips you can share with new LA moms?
GET OUT! Go see, go do, go experience!! I have to remind myself of this all the time. It’s so easy to get locked into the mundane routine that we create, but I always notice that when I make the extra effort and take my child somewhere new or even to just the beach, his entire mood and energy lights up! Especially at his age (2 1/2) he is soaking so much up right now, and I won’t have him home forever as school will be starting in a few years, so I want to take the time to do it now!
I feel like that can apply with just about any mama anywhere. Love this advice. It’s great to get out and do!
By the way, your recipes look delicious! What is your favorite meal to make your son and your husband?
I love my #CookingWithCamden series! It’s so fun to share my love of food with him, and I also think it’s important for my child to have a healthy relationship with food. I grew up in the south where everything was extra fried and extra sugared. As much as I love that kind of food (donuts are everything!!) it didn’t really allow for me to have a good relationship with food growing up. That kind of processed food is just awful for people and can cause so many long term health issues! We are big veggie eaters in our house (believe it or not)… when Camden was very young I just started him on veggies like it was a “normal” thing and it stuck! I never buy store bought fruit juices as they are packed with refined sugars and stuff I can’t even pronounce haha. Camden drinks a kale, lemon, apple, ginger and carrot juice I make every morning, which he loves. To him, that is “juice”. He eats cucumbers like they are chips (the crunch makes that easy to convince). And he loves kale chips as well (we bake them in the oven!).
YUM! They seriously sound so delicious.
My husband is a chicken guy, so this no fail chicken recipe is probably my favorite because its super easy, quick, feeds the entire family and is insanely delicious!
I also try to not “make” Camden something different than what we are having. I got this tip from a mom when I was pregnant. She said to me, “Limit the options! If you and your husband are eating a salad and you make the decision to give your son a frozen pizza, how do you ever expect him to make the decision to eat salads? Children are creatures of habit and highly adaptable, feed them what you eat, and they will eat what you eat.” That really stuck with me! So, I always try to be mindful of that. If I make fish and veggies, then the entire family is eating that. Doing it this way, Camden doesn’t even know he has other options.
With all the hats that you wear, do you have any time-saving tips or mommy hacks to share when it comes to getting healthy food on the table in a time crunch?
Yes, and I’m actually doing a hacks video series on my YouTube channel this month!! Check out my bath time hacks, kitchen hacks, and mom hacks will be up next week, so subscribe to my channel if you want to see that!
You and your husband are the cutest! How did you first meet?
Thank you! We met through mutual friends in Nashville at a charity event. The rest is history! 🙂 He’s my best friend and my sounding board.
Love that!
So what’s it really like to have a husband who’s an actor?
My friend, Angela Lanter, recently did a post on this, as she is married to an actor too! It’s really about flexibility and adaptabilty, which can both be hard! We may have to pack up and leave at the drop of a hat to a filming location, so you have to be ready for the quick change.
What’s the greatest lesson or lessons that motherhood has taught you?
To always try and be present, moments are fleeting.
As a seasoned mama, what’s a piece of advice that you wish you would have known as a new mom and would like to share with expecting moms and/or new mothers?
There are so many things, I wish I would have known about pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding and the first year, honestly. I did a video series on all of this as well last month, if you want to check out here! But to sum it up, I think I would like to always remember that the phone calls, the meetings, all of that stuff you won’t remember in 10 years, but having the opportunity to be with your child, that’s what you will remember. There have been times that I’ll get stressed over not getting this or that done… and I have to remember that he’s only this age once… those “things” will always be there!
So true!!
Recently, I saw on your blog that you had your baby naturally (no pain meds)! You are AMAZING!! So incredible! Would you recommend giving birth naturally to other moms? Would you do it again or would you do anything differently?
I would totally recommend it, if you can health wise. I always wanted a natural labor as epidurals really freak me out! So I took a natural birthing class (The Bradley Method) which really helped!
Who is your mommy inspiration?
I look to other moms for inspiration! My mom is amazing, so I am lucky to have her. I also love women who are fearless and truly follow their dreams, that attitude is infectious!
What does “living the chic(k) life” mean to you?
It means you can still be a powerful, assured woman even if you are a mother!
Amen, girl! And I love the powerful message that you are sending to all mothers everywhere. 🙂
Julie, thank you so much for being our featured Mommy Chick for June. I so appreciate you sharing your story, tips and advice with us and for giving us some amazing insight on how you’re able to do it all. It’s been such a pleasure! xoxo
I hope you all enjoyed “meeting” Julie. She’s a doll! Which mamas are you inspired by? Share with us who your mommy inspiration is and they just might be our next featured Mommy Chick of the Month! 😉
