Emily Miller is wife to Brandon, mother to 2-and-a-half-year-old Vaughn and owner of a residential design firm, Emily Miller Interiors. Miller and her family live and play in the Hollywood Heights neighborhood. Her admitted addictions are caffeine, Mexican food and hearing her daughter laugh.
6:30AM Alarm goes off. Hit snooze until 6:45, which is annoying to husband.
6:45AM Peel myself out of bed, shower, get dressed and out the door by 7:45 (before daughter wakes up … a huge feat!). My wonderful nanny, Jennifer, will arrive shortly to get her dressed, fed and ready for the day.
7:45AM First stop: Whole Foods for coffee. Then on to my office, which is only about one minute from my Hollywood Heights home.
8AM Check messages, return emails to clients, make a rough schedule for the day.
10AM Meet with business manager, Carrie. She is in charge of the tedious task of billing the designers’ time in 15-minute increments throughout each workday. I am constantly reminded of how thankful I am to have her!
10:30AM Surprise! An unexpected visit from one of my best girlfriends, who bursts through the doors with her first sonogram picture in hand: TWINS! We hug and laugh and discuss the great news for several minutes!
11AM Meet with design assistant, Brooke. Review furniture plans in preparation for meeting.
12:30PM Run home to grab lunch and spend a few minutes with Vaughn. She is standing at the glass front door, waving and jumping up and down as she sees me pull into the driveway. I know that seeing her excitement upon my arrival will be the happiest moment of my day. It’s tiny moments like this that turn me into mush and remind me how richly blessed I am.
12:45PM Vaughn “helps” me make lunch: A spinach salad, because I am currently on a health kick that will last all of three days. (I will then be in desperate need of Mexican food and margaritas and beg my husband to meet me for dinner at Mi Cocina.)
1PM I hurriedly eat my salad as Vaughn heads upstairs for her nap.
1:15PM I run out the door, barely making it in time for a meeting with a new potential client.
2:30PM Back to the office. Review cabinet drawings that were just sent over. Brief conversation with builder to discuss changes. (Marking up cabinet drawings is a task I usually despise, but this time it’s for family friends in Austin, so it seems a bit less painful.)
3PM Design assistant and I scramble with last-minute details before meeting. We quickly work together on schematics and floor plans, laughing at ourselves for always being so last minute, no matter how hard we try to stay ahead! Assistant is out the door just in time for meeting.
5PM Head to Whole Foods (again) to pick up one of their yummy soups and a pre-sliced baguette for dinner. I decide to grab a few essentials while I’m there: Milk, bread, eggs, juice and fruit.
5:45PM Walk in front door and am greeted by a very high-energy 2-year-old. Wonder how I am going to keep up with that energy level for the rest of the evening. Feel like I could crawl into bed right now!
6PM Nanny leaves. I change into comfy clothes and join Vaughn for her snack time (sneaking some of her Goldfish and apples). Anything for a quick energy boost!
6:15PM Pour soup into pot and simmer. Let Vaughn sit on the counter and lay the baguette slices on tray. She helps drizzle olive oil and sprinkle parmesan cheese over the bread. Between the soup simmering and the bread toasting, my house smells cozy and comforting … even though I didn’t technically cook!
6:30PM Vaughn and I head out the door for a nature walk through the neighborhood. We visit with neighbors as Vaughn fills her nature pail full of little treasures: dandelions and feathers, a snail and several roly-polys. A frog is where I draw the line!
7PM Walk back home to see that my husband has arrived. Vaughn plays catch with her dad while I finish dinner.
7:15PM Sit down and eat dinner as a family. Vaughn does the honor of saying the blessing.
7:45PM Husband and I tag team bath, pajamas, stories, songs, kisses and prayers before bedtime.
8:15PM Lights out for Vaughn. Husband and I pick up around the house and wash dinner dishes.
8:45PM Curl up in the media room and check emails as we watch the news. Decide we are tired of hearing about the depressing economy, as if we aren’t already aware ….
9:45PM Turn off the news and catch up on episodes of Entourage.
10:45PM Crawl into bed to read but realize I can hardly keep my eyes open.
11PM Lights out. Cuddle with husband as I drift off to sleep, happy that God gave life to someone who loves the gift.
