WIML VLOG 💌 my career before becoming a full-time creator, 4th of july boat day in Austin, TX

[music] >> Hello. Welcome to the vlog. My name is Sonali and we're going to start another week in my life vlog. I've been on a roll with these vlogs and I don't want to stop now. It's making me so so happy. I forgot how much I love and hate editing YouTube videos. I've been doing it the whole morning literally starting at like 9:00 a.m. and it's currently 2:00 and I was like this close to finishing it but I didn't want to rush it. The one thing I didn't get to was number one the thumbnail and that actually takes me quite a long time. And then also I want to do the cute little intro I've been starting to do. And like I said I just didn't want to rush all of that. It's honestly one of those days that I don't feel quite in my body if that makes sense. Like I feel a little bit dissociated. And I will say whenever I notice this it's days that I don't get up and go to the gym which was today cuz Kiana went to into the office. I could have you know gone without her of course but I just feel like I have so much to do and there's not enough hours in the day and I still woke up pretty early and started working right away. So I just feel like my mind is really really scrambled and low-key stressed but we have a busy afternoon so it's not stopping here. First we're going to go to the South Congress Hotel. They're having a furniture sale because it is unfortunately closing down or somebody's buying it and renovating it. I'm not exactly sure what's happening but me and Kiana want to check it out just you know in case we find anything good for a good price. And then I'm headed straight to a studio shoot with Natalie. She was in one of my last vlog. She's a travel content creator or a hospitality photographer. I can't remember the exact verbage she used but she is going to do some branding photos today so I'm super excited. I'm shooting in one of my favorite studios in Austin so that will be really fun and that is at 4:00 to 6:00. She booked a 2-hour window. I was like it's probably best to do that so we're not as rushed. I feel like with the way my brain feels right now it's going to be really hard for me to remember to vlog today but I am going to try my very best. You would not survive without our little mini fans. You guys, he's just like letting us all in right now. I'm so excited cuz I was about to have to leave without Lianne, and that would have been really sad. Oh, there are cute Shopkins and stuff. But, I think we're going to the big brown truck first, so let's check it out. And so pretty. Oh. Okay, kind of annoying because a lot of things are not available at this time. Stay tuned for round two. What the hell is round two? When is round two? Damn. This is gorgeous. Let's see. 150. We walked away with nothing. It was kind of picked over, but we did get a postcard for the men. Oh. I had my hair in a claw clip, and I just crimped it. Dang it. Oh, on the other side, too. Stunning. Okay, well, I guess it'll stay in a claw clip for the shoot. I just got here, and we're a little bit early, which means we're on time, of course. We're here at 3:50, and the only issue about shooting in the studio is that they will only let you like come in right when your session like starts. So, let's say you have an hour session in there, they'll only let you come in at 4:00, and you have to leave by 5:00. And you I think you might get charged if you're like there a little bit later, but usually other studios will give you like a 15-minute grace period somewhere in the front or the back, and that's like really helpful to not be rushed. So, that's another reason why I tell my clients to like book a little bit longer than you might think because I just hate being rushed. Especially in a studio where you think you're getting so much variety, but then you just like feel so rushed cuz like the world is your oyster in a studio, you know? So, I'm here and I don't know if Natalie's here yet, but I am excited to start shooting. We are shooting in the studio today with Natalie. She just went full-time >> [music] >> self-employed as a hospitality photographer. I love her work. I need some kind of branding, LinkedIn, [music] headshot vibes, but we're going to have some fun with it. We have some creative ideas we're going to play around with, so I'm really excited. >> [music] >> Ready? Gorgeous. 3 2 1. One second. I love [music] that. Do the soft smile and look away. Relax your eyebrows. And look kind of like away from me. Cute. That's [music] really cute. We're done. >> [music] [music] >> Oh, it's going to be a good day. >> [music] [music] >> Happy Wednesday. I didn't end up vlogging yesterday just cuz I was on the computer all day. I had a big wedding planning call for the design of the whole wedding. Talked about budget and all of the things, floral design, and gave them some minor tweaks. I think I mentioned it in the last vlog, but we are going to Cabo next weekend for more wedding planning in person, and then my makeup trial, my hair trial, the wedding tastings. So, for the welcome party, it's going to be like all Indian food. At least that's what we're really hoping for. We are trying to hire an external caterer for that. Um so, we're going to have a tasting with him, and then also for the Four Seasons, which is our venue, um for the wedding day. So, I'm really excited for that, and I definitely want to plan a ton of content while I'm there, but I also feel like it's going to be back-to-back-to-back cuz we're going to be there for like 3 days, and it's going to be jam-packed. Like we have so much to get done. So, there's really not going to be much time to like hang at the hotel and like chill by the pool, which sucks because I could really use a little beach vacation, but hopefully like we'll get like a few hours. I don't know. We'll see. I think the sun sets at like 7:00 and I think our wedding planning stuff is done by like 5:00, but I know it's probably going to go longer. So, I'm just telling myself not to expect a beach vacation because that's not what this is. Unfortunately, even though we're staying at a really nice hotel, but I got a quick workout in this morning and it is my bestie Keona's birthday today. So, I gave her her birthday present this morning and then I think I'm going to meet up with her at Barton Springs at like 2:00-ish, 2:30. She wanted to just like do something fun during the day and so she like blocked her whole work calendar off. Actually, I have my swimsuit on under my clothes right now just to make it really easy for me. I got my towels, I got the floaties, so we're ready for a Barton Springs pool day. Um, but first we are going to get some work done and we're going to work at a coffee shop. I'm going back to Fleet Coffee on Rainey. Like it is such a vibe in there. It is so cozy. It's like a little bit dark, which I actually really prefer editing or doing anything on the computer in the dark. I feel like I can just see my computer screen better. I also don't think I vlogged this, but I had my biggest shoot day since I quit my corporate job. And what's funny is that it was literally exactly what I did at my corporate job, but a lot easier and I'll tell you why. So, just to give you a little background, I had a corporate job for like a year and a half after college. I was working on the social team for a student housing company. I was a photographer and videographer and it's crazy because I got this job literally 2 weeks before COVID hit and I was trying to pursue photography and videography on my own, but it was so hard cuz I had just moved to Austin and had no connections whatsoever. And if you are a photographer, you know that photography is really like referral based and takes so long to build up credibility and just like have people know about you around town. So, I'm very, very grateful that this job opportunity kind of fell in my lap because it was from an older sorority sister actually told me to apply to it. So, thankful for her. So, I got the job, and I was basically supposed to like travel to all these properties to get marketing materials, but since COVID hit, like I wasn't able to travel a ton. So, I basically just turned into an editor for some of the properties, just like editing their video materials with their iPhone, which was not great back then. And then I also was doing the social media for the corporate account, which honestly kind of sucked because I did not love talking in a corporate voice, and just like writing captions. I mean, chat did not exist, you guys. Like, life would have been so much easier because I had the hardest time with captions, and I still really do because I'm not like the best with words. But, especially back then when there was a lot of information that I had to put into the captions. But, then after a while I was able to travel a little bit. So, they would send me to properties like in Pullman, Washington, which is like rolling hills, no Uber. It was just the craziest experience cuz I was like traveling alone, too. So, I'd film like lifestyle videos for these properties, and take photos for them to use in like brochures, social media, all the things. So, this is basically what I did on Was it last week? I think it was last week, Tuesday. Yeah. It's been a full week, and I already edited the whole entire gallery, sent that over this morning. I'm so happy with how it turned out. They basically just wanted photos, so that's why it was so much easier because at my other job I would do video, photo, and I would take pictures of interiors, exteriors. I also did Matterport, if you guys know what that is. It's like 3D walking tours online. But, I was still a little bit nervous showing up to the shoot day because it was the longest duration I've shot since like a couple years because I tried weddings when I first got here. It's just not my thing. And then I've learned that like grad sessions do not even need to be like 2 hours. 2 hours is my max. The shoot day was like 10 to 4, and it went very smoothly, and it was so much fun because I actually was working with a girl I knew from UCF. And the best part about it is that it paid very, very well, which was lovely because at my corporate job like that would have been an hourly rate, and it would have been nothing compared to what I am able to charge doing freelance. I do have a few galleries to edit in the coffee shop, so I'm excited to get to those, and I'm meeting my friend Lauren. She also does YouTube vlogs. She recently moved to Austin, and I feel like it's so different talking to someone who does YouTube instead of just doing Tik Tok and Instagram cuz she like gets like a whole different level of like being a creator, and it's just so nice to rant to her. >> [music] [music] >> We're showing each other our cameras, and she shoots on a Sony. I love Sony. >> I used to have a Canon, and then this is like crystal clear. Yeah. >> Sony's video is amazing. >> I know, and like even it just it's more smooth. >> Yeah, the autofocus, everything on a Sony is >> [music] >> Yeah. >> I went through like five Canon DSLRs. Like I swear to god. And then I'm mad because I would throw them away when they broke. >> Hey Mal, look. >> [laughter] >> Like you could like probably sell that for parts or something. >> Oh, I know. >> Dang, that's crazy. >> We [music] set up on the stairs. >> It's so nice that we all get >> I know. I'm so happy. I actually kind of thought there would be like a lot of people. >> It's kind of like a movie theater. >> Yeah. We'll have to like get outside. >> Mhm. Kiana ended up meeting us out here. Birthday girl treated us to some beautiful face, but we are heading out cuz our parking is done. Kiana realized that Lauren literally left her purse right where we were sitting, so I'm going to go deliver it to her. It is 5:00 and I'm freshly showered because >> [music] >> I came home and I was like, you know what? It would just make sense to wash my hair today. My hair washing schedule is a little bit thrown off because we are going to the lake on Saturday for 4th of July and Kiana's birthday. I'm obviously going to wash my hair then, but usually I wash it on Friday after our weightlifting class workout. So, that just changes everything. So, I thought I would just like go ahead and wash it now and I have the time, so like why not blow it out? But, I did just use this whole line. This is L'Oreal Elvive and I've actually heard amazing things about like this collection of L'Oreal, but it is the volumizing one and I just got it in PR. I was like, you know what? Let's try it. This obviously isn't sponsored. I'm curious cuz I do want that volume and I have been using a different kind of mousse recently, so I wonder if this is any different. I have the Dyson Airwrap. It was like one of the first versions, but I honestly like my Shark FlexStyle better because look at this. Like how cool is that? So, it doesn't need a extra attachment just to use like the regular blow dry. I actually just realized that I've been using one of the L'Oreal products. Um but I guess this isn't the Elvive. But, I have been using this just for some extra shine and like humidity control. Oh, okay. That kind of just went into my eye. I used to never put product in my hair and look how many products I'm putting in my hair now. Okay, this is literally so important. This is the Kenra blow dry spray. I've been talking about this stuff for years. It cuts down your blow dry time like almost by 50%. It's absolutely nuts. And it smells like a salon. I love the way it smells. I'm going to go in with this attachment. Please don't judge me. I know I need to clean the brush pedal. If you've been watching the vlogs, you know my situation with my baby hairs and it's driving me absolutely insane. I air-dried my hair the other day for the first time in forever and that was not smart. I should have at least blew out my bangs because they were not sitting how I want them to sit. >> [music] [music] >> Good morning. It's Thursday, [music] but I kind of feels like Friday because it is 4th of July weekend and we did our usual Friday workout today. We changed it up so last minute because we were like, oh, people have like the day off tomorrow. Our friend Andy is coming to visit us this weekend for Kiana's birthday boat and she's going to be here today. So we thought we'd just like do a trail walk tomorrow morning and get to sleep in a little bit. But I wish I knew that sooner because I did wash my hair and blow it out yesterday. So I was like, shoot. Like I don't want to sweat. And Kiana did the same cuz she had her birthday dinner yesterday. So today during the workout, we tried to take it easy, but that was not happening. It was such a sweaty workout. Anytime I see box jumps on the whiteboard, I know it's going to be a bad one, which is great going into the holiday weekend, you know, we're going to be like eating junk food, all the things. So I do feel good that I got that done, but I wouldn't have blowed out my hair if I knew that or I would have waited till this morning to like wash my hair. So we're going to touch it up just cuz I feel like it's it's lost its luster. I haven't used this tool in so long and I thought I would film a little Tik Tok video about it, too. This is from Bondi Boost and it's like that heated round brush. So, I thought I would just like add back in some like layers and just some smoothness. So, let's see what this can do. Ooh. My hair has been brought back to life. You can see all of my long layers now. The little swoops. And I'll make sure there's space like for text if you want to put a little shoot for ATX Mom Society. >> She gets all these cute little moms together. >> Yes, and we >> And throws events. >> events. It's a whole network of moms across Austin. All over 950 moms. >> 950 moms? That's insane. >> Yeah. That's amazing. So I'm excited for her to get the photos. They're all so good. >> One more where you're When you answer the phone, maybe you can just like [music] act like you're grabbing the stroller with your hand. Like put your foot down. I think no coffee cup cuz you can really see that it's clear. Okay, 3 2 1 zoom. Perfect. Look to the window again. I almost want you to like really [music] cover yourself in that blazer. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. Okay, get that hair out of the blazer here. Perfect. Yeah. Tilt your head this [music] way more. Yeah, there we go. You got it. Cute. I'm going to come back more just in case you want text over you. >> [music] >> And just like look to the side. You know it'd be cool if we did the shutter speed like blurry thing. Do you want me to do that? Smile big. Really, really big. Or maybe even just like in your head [music] like kind of like Yeah. And go. Lean forward a lot more. There we go. 3 2 1 and go. Keep going. You want to know the worst thing about your dog getting old? She doesn't even hear you come in. Good morning, Sophie. Hello. >> [laughter] >> Hello. Good morning. Good morning. The shoot went so well. She's gorgeous and I'm so excited to edit the photos. I'm so glad I got to use my flash for a couple too because I just like want to practice more with flash. I did a bunch of camcorder stuff because I just thought that's like fun to have, you know, for her to just edit down on her own. But now I have a call with a past brand partner um because they want to like do a debriefing, a creator round table. I believe all the creators that joined the campaign are going to be on this call and just like talk through feedback and all of that stuff. They did give us the questions beforehand so I might just do a little prep. I was also thinking, do I go the day without caffeine? But I don't know guys. Like >> [laughter] >> I woke up pretty early. Obviously don't have time for a nap so we are going to go with an Alani Nu. I do feel like it is a little too late to be drinking this but also I'm going to dinner with my friends at 7:00 and last night at 7:00 I felt like I was hit by a train. I was so dang tired. So, like that can't happen tonight. Like I'd rather stay up till midnight than be like so sleepy at dinner. So, Alani knew it is. >> All right. Yeah. Whoever would like to start? >> I'm Sonali and I started on YouTube in 2013. Just got off the call and it is such a weird experience emailing these people for like months and then finally seeing what they even look like because I had no idea this whole time. I mean, over email maybe sometimes Gmail will show you a little tiny profile picture, but you you can't even like click in to really see it like blown up. So, I don't think this girl had a profile picture. So, I just didn't even know what she looked like, but it's funny to like actually meet them. Well, not in real life, but technically I guess video call is like the closest thing rather than just like emailing someone. Like they actually are a person, you know? But the brand was on it and the agency was on it. So, I just really hope that the agency liked me so that I can work with them again and again because I think they have some really good brands and just connects under them. I want to leave for dinner a little bit early. I told my friends we should go early so we could take photos cuz I want to dress cute and get some cute content. Cuz this glam is just looking so good. I filmed a TikTok on this blush combo and the glow is holding up. So, I'm really really happy to report that. I probably should film a ton of other stuff while I have makeup on. Um and I always write down content ideas on my calendar and my calendar looks absolutely insane. Whenever I bring up my calendar and show people, they're like, "Girl, are you okay?" And I'm just like, "No. No." Because in my mind, this is what my mind looks like. I mean, it probably doesn't even look like that crazy, but let me show you. Okay, this was last month's. There is just so many things on each day because I treat this like my to-do list, which I know is really not a good habit. Like I do not recommend people to do this, but all of the yellow are my TikTok ideas. The red is just like I don't know, things I like have to have to do. Um and the blue, this teal blue is fun things, social things. Oh, green is when I get something done, I'll change that and then after the day, sometimes I'll do so many things throughout the day and then like my friends will be like, "Oh, so what did you do yesterday?" I'm like, >> [snorts] >> "Girl, I couldn't tell you." I just feel like I'm go, go, go, moving on to, you know, the next task after the next task. There's just like so many little things that maybe it doesn't feel so productive. Um so, I like to see, you know, the things I got done during the day, especially the big things that I've been putting off. >> [clears throat] [music] >> Good morning, it's Friday and it does not feel like Friday. I said this yesterday, I knew this would happen, but it's cuz everyone has the day off and I'm meeting my friends at South Congress in just a second. We're going to go to Lalaland, that was Andie's request and then we're just going to walk around. And of course, I'm wearing my favorite Set Active matching set. [music] Kiana's trying the banana cloud matcha from Lalaland because she was obsessed with Do you like it? Yay, what do you think compared to Sam's matcha? Okay, no, yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah, like a little more artificial. Yes, so we went to Okay, good. >> [music] >> At least you found one that's close to home. We went to San Mosha in Mexico City like every single day >> [music] >> and it was so good. I just got a regular matcha. You guys, [music] my edible flowers are finally blooming. These are nasturtiums, I think they're called. And you can literally eat them. People say that they have a peppery taste and I don't even know what that means. So, I'm like so excited to actually [music] try and taste them. Garden is looking very full and beautiful except for my rose plant cuz that was not [music] under the sprinkler. So, I just put it there. Wait. That is a zinnia I grew from seed. And it's beautiful. Small, but it's beautiful. There is a tomato back here that looks a little sad, but it's turning red, so I think I should pick it and like let it ripen on the counter. I don't know what's happening up here, but it's right on the bottom. You guys, I think I see a little baby. I've been waiting so long for these things to bloom. Also, look at this one. I think this is butternut squash and I've heard that people eat these flowers. I think I've said this before, but I'm like do I eat them? Like, I'm so [music] curious. Maybe I should look that up cuz they look like they're pretty edible today, so but I don't think this one has any things on it. Also, the blue salvia [music] is thriving and bushing out, so I'm so happy about that. We're having a pool day. This is the second time I've used this pool all summer long, but I guess we're in the middle of summer. But, just sitting back here it looks so nice and it's super sunny out. So, I'm definitely going to be having to put on a hat, sunnies, cover the face. We're [music] going to be spending a lot of time in the sun this weekend. >> [music] [music] >> We had a very relaxing day. We hung out in our cowboy pool, which was so nice cuz I feel like we don't use it enough. I mean, Ryan actually uses it a lot more than me, but I feel like it's a lot of effort even though it's like literally in our backyard. So, I need to just like shut up, but it's always so nice when we do use it and I need to use it more. Here is the outfit for dinner tonight. I believe this dress is under $100 and I think it's so freaking cute. I didn't even realize that has like a lace on the side. It's from Revolve. Shoes are from Amazon and they're like the lower heel. I actually have the higher heel and I prefer these cuz I can walk easier, of course. Um and then this necklace, I feel like I get a lot of questions on this necklace. It's from Brilliant Earth. It's just a very simple necklace, but I feel like it needed a little something something. We're getting Mexican food tonight. Ryan actually made me a cocktail just now, which was pretty good and I'm definitely going to order a marg when we get there. >> [music] [music] >> Happy July 4th. I'm going to make a Hugo Spritz to go, and I think I'm going to do two of these single-serve bottles just so I can have two spritzes. Here we go. It's not as exciting because it doesn't make a pop, but that's okay. These are the La Marca brand, and the single serving is just so genius. I think it came in a pack of six or four, but I've had these just around the house for a while now. I think these are the last two, but it's just perfect because you don't have to waste a whole Prosecco bottle and like open one and not finish it cuz that just makes me sad. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur. I never can say that right. Adding in some sparkling water. And I do like to add in more of this stuff cuz it's on the sweeter side. I like my Hugo Spritzes to be a little bit sweet. Just picked all of this mint from the garden, so we are going to use that today. Smells so good. We're also going to add some juice of a lemon. It's going everywhere but the cup. Let's go, but I think I'm going to put a little bit more sparkling water. Sucks that it's not very aesthetic, but that's okay. Still yummy. We're celebrating Kiana's birthday today, so I made her a little birthday banner. I'll show you guys what it looks like when I hang it up. She did not ask for that. She doesn't know what that I did that, but I contacted her mom and asked for the baby photos and I think it turned out really cute. It's kind of smaller than I was hoping, but it would be cute to go on like their bar cart. So, we're going to pack up our bags and head over. So cute. Happy 30th. >> [music] [music] >> Birthday bow. >> [music] >> Happy [music] birthday, Kiana. Happy birthday, Kiana. >> Happy 30th, Kiana. >> Happy birthday. [music] >> Happy birthday. >> Kiana. >> [music] [music] >> Those are my sisters. >> [music] [music]