I was born and raised in Charlotte, N.C., and my parents still live there. It’s a great excuse to go back and visit a lot!

I’m 5’3 and a half. That extra half inch is important!

The M is for my middle name, McColl. It’s a family name and I’ve always loved it! When I was younger, I wanted to go by “Mac” but everyone told me it was a terrible idea hahah.

Chris and I met in Greenville in 2012 – my first “big girl job” was in public relations in Greenville, and I moved there after college. I met Chris 18 days after moving, although I wasn’t interested in him at first (haha). Chris pursued me and convinced me to go on a lunch date with him, which he called “harmless” and the “friend zone.” After that first date, I was a goner! I fell for him quickly.

My favorite favorite favorite faith-related book is “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers. I recommend that EVERYONE read this book. I think it’s classified as Christian Historical Fiction – it’s a re-done, biblical version of the story of Hosea but it’s set in the 1800’s during the Gold Rush in California. This book is not for the faint of heart – a young girl is accidentally sold into prostitution and the story revolves around suffering, heartbreak, faith, forgiveness and above all, love. I read a lot, but there are very few books that I have come across in my life that actually made a REAL difference. This one gave me hope during a rough time in my life, and brought me closer to understanding how deep God’s love for us really is. Be sure you have tissues nearby!

I do Kayla Itsine’s Bikini Body Guide (otherwise known as “BBG”) three times per week, with a couple of pure barre classes thrown in! I like BBG because it’s only a 28-minute workout three times a week, but be warned – it is INTENSE!

Two ways! First, I blow-dry my hair upside down. Whenever I flip my head over, my roots have so much volume because they were blow-dried that way! Secondly, I also pouf up my hair and clip it in place with this big hair clip while I’m doing stuff around the house. It trains my hair to have more volume!

My hair is naturally wavy and frizzy. I used to scrunch it in college and it would turn into ringlets, but if I let it dry naturally it’s more wavy.

It used to take me about an hour, but I’ve gotten it down to about 35 minutes now! I blow dry my hair first and then curl it with this curling wand using the 1″ barrel.

I started my blog when I was still in college, with no intention of turning it into a career or ever making a dime off of it. I really wanted to work for a magazine after college, and I wanted a creative outlet that could showcase my writing ability, as perhaps an extra addition to my resume. I wasn’t prepared to fall head over heels in love with blogging. It ignited a passion within me for so many different things! I found out that I loved photography in addition to writing, and it was fun to share recipes and fashion, as well as talk about sorority life. I eventually graduated from college and got a job in public relations, but kept up my blog on the side. My blog kept growing until I couldn’t physically handle my desk job and my blog at the same time – so I took a leap of faith, trusted God and moved back to Charlotte to blog full-time. That was nearly six years ago 🙂

I edit all of my Instagram photos with Lightroom! It’s a little bit annoying because I have to airdrop or email all of the photos from my iPhone to my computer, then I apply a Lightroom preset to the photo, save it, then transfer it back to my iPhone. From there I sometimes use Snapseed to adjust the lighting.

I started my blog in college and had absolutely NO idea that it would be my career some day. Looking back on it, I might have picked a different name if I had known! I decided to go with Southern Curls and Pearls because I was southern, I had curly hair, and I loved to wear pearls – the name just sort of came to me and I went with it!

A lot of people, haha! Sometimes my mom, sometimes my husband and sometimes my brother. My mom and I started out taking pictures together many years ago. We taught ourselves everything from watching YouTube tutorials.

Don’t give up! Blogging can get pretty discouraging sometimes, especially if you are working really hard and it feels like you’re not growing. If you continue to put out really good content on a consistent basis, it will grow. I would also advise bloggers to utilize social media to their advantage… get on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and use these outlets to create good content.