OKAY- for all my day ONER’S you probably know a lot about me by now. I am an open book & am always sharing… but I know there are some people who could be new to Fashionlush so I figured it’d be fun to do a post so that everyone can get to know me better.

A post all about me feels weird, but I am going with it because FUN FACTS are just so damn FUN & hopefully puts a personality behind all the photos. I want to know you guys & I want you guys to feel like you really know me!!

I feel like, with blogging, there are so many questions about the person behind the screen & personally my favorite influencers are the ones who are sharing REAL LIFE SHIT. Pretty pictures are nice, epic vacations are fun to watch, but that is all so surface level. I want to know about your family, your likes, your dislikes, where you came from, what your life is like when you’re not blogging. I want details, & because I want that, I am giving that today.

There are A LOT of facts to go over, so I am cutting myself off here before your guys’ eyes get tired from too much reading. I could really write a novel on the importance of influencers being relatable vs. just being #GOALS… but I will save that for another day.

20 FACTS ABOUT ME

1. When I was born they were told I was going to be a boy & my name was WESLEY ERIC STOLMAN. When I came out a girl they named me ERICA LYNN. Erica cause my dad’s name is RICK (eRICKa) & Lynn because my mom’s name is LINDA (lynnDA). It’s cool I am named after both my parents… but I really wish that my name was still Wesley.

2. I have been obsessed w/ Elvis Presley since I was 6 years old. Instead of kid books I only wanted to read books about Elvis. I have Elvis collectibles, I cry when I watch videos of him performing, & I have ALWAYS wanted to name my first child Presley. I almost gave the name to Ruby but nope, fully reserved for my future offspring.

3. I fucking hate teeth SO MUCH. I mean, I love having them, but I just hate the thought of them falling out. I have nightmares about teeth falling out and wake up in cold sweats & when I was little (warning: this is sick) I was so scared of having a loose/dangling tooth that I would just yank it out of my mouth the second I thought it was getting loose. It was torture, but not as torturous as the thought of tying my tooth to a door and slamming it shut. I AM CRINGING SO HARD RIGHT NOW. I don’t even know how I am writing this. Clearly my teeth issue started young, but my highschool boyfriend knocked out his four front teeth in front of me & that’s what really spurred the phobia to a whole new level. When I do have kids, I already told Zack, I am gonna have to move out of the house when they go through the loose teeth phase.

4. I have a sister. DID YOU KNOW THAT? She is 4 years older than me & the most amazing human/sister a girl could have. We are very different, but SO much alike. She is a a trained midwife (which is funny, cause my other phobia is being pregnant… a topic I should save for another day cause that’s a WHOLE thing). She also is the BEST Mom to my gorgeous nephew Grayson. She has always been super nurturing to me growing up & seriously has the most calm/amazing energy. LOVE HER.

5. When I was 23ish I was misdiagnosed with Lyme’s disease. For 6 months I was taking over 30 antibiotics a day until I went to San Francisco State University to meet with a Lyme’s specialist who said I 100% do not have Lyme’s. That was a real bitch of a time for me.

6. My grandfather invented the Dove bar. I shared this story on the blog, but it’s worth repeating here because YOU MAY BE NEW HERE & that’s a fun post!!

7. I used to make and sell my own clothing designs & my go to design was oversized flared legging type pants in Missoni-esque fabrics. THEY WERE AMAZING & I wish I still had a pair. I do have the pattern that I made still, so I guess I could make a new pair… but I don’t love sewing as much as I used to.

8. I am NOT A MORNING PERSON & never have been. My housekeeper when I was a kid used to have to dress me while I slept because she could never get me out. When I was in college I had an alarm clock that would roll around the room for me to chase it in hopes it would wake me up (spoiler alert: I caught that annoying thing and went back to sleep). Now, as an adult. I wish Zack would dress me while I slept & I still ignore my 5 daily alarms. IT IS A PROBLEM, but also… some people just have different circadian rhythms so I am going with it.

9. My first job was at a donut shop. My Mom would wake me up at 5am to walk to work. Based on the above, I was NOT AMUSED with this situation but I did it for a year & left hating donuts for like 4 years. Luckily that faded.

10. Growing up I had a guinea pig named Moesha (after the show, Moesha). I walked her on a leash & once we ran away together. I was on rollerblades with a bag filled with clothes & Moesha on top. I threatened to my Mom I was going to rollerblade down the hill next to our house. My Mom told me to do it (LOL) & I came back instead. I was a HUGE brat growing up, so props to my parents for dealing w/ that situation.

11. I am 100% LEO. Everything about me is LEO since day one on this planet… literally, my Mom gave birth to me while my Dad was at lunch for 30 minutes because I am an impatient Leo who doesn’t like to wait.

12. Zack, my boyfriend, is also a Leo born exactly 1 year & 2 days after me. Everyone warned us two Leo’s wouldn’t work, & although we definitely have some very LEO-ESQUE tiffs, we manage just fine. I think it works well cause, although he is fully Leo, his personality is a bit more chill than your typical Leo.

13. I recently started really hating meat. I have eaten meat my whole life & never had an issue. All of the sudden, it grosses me out. I am not pregnant, I swear, it’s just something about the chewing meat is really disgusting to me rn. I still can eat a number 2 protein style burger from In N’ Out any day of the week though.. although, I didn’t try an In N’ Out burger until I was 17 (I was scared of burgers for years due to a bad case of food poisoning!).

15. I also hate limes. I blame it on a bad experience w/ tequila. The smell of limes makes me gag.

16. SINCE WE’RE TALKING FOOD- I could live off bagels & burritos. I AM OBSESSED W/ BAGELS & BURRITOS. I actually have a handful of friends who have nicknamed me bagel due to my obsession.

16. I was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Moved to San Diego when I was 7.

17. I have 15 piercings & 6 tattoos (used to have 7, a heart I got when I was 16, but I got it removed!).

18. My hebrew name is Ariel, which I chose myself based off the little mermaid. Oh ya, I am jewish too.

19. I spent a month in Europe when I graduated highschool & came back a cigarette smoker (ew). I smoked cigarettes for 5 years & the ONLY thing that got me to quit was when I met Zack & he said he couldn’t date a smoker. I dropped that nasty habit real quick. Thank you ZACK- you saved my life & I love you to the moon & back.

20. My life goal is to hold a baby monkey. Preferably a baby orangutang or a baby gorilla. If Zack is reading this, my actual dream is for him to ask me to marry him with the help of a baby monkey. ASKING TOO MUCH?