ON TWO DIFFERENT PLANETS

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz

Episode: ON TWO DIFFERENT PLANETS – July 15, 2026

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode captures Kelly and Lizz navigating their very different current life stages, reinforcing the episode’s title “On Two Different Planets.” From the chaos of pregnancy and motherhood struggles to savoring a kid-free night out, the hosts showcase how millennial moms can support each other—even when they’re worlds apart. Midway, they interview Sarah from “At Sadie’s House” for their Side Hustle Summer series, exploring her journey launching a profitable and time-efficient Etsy shop while working full-time and raising children.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Catch-up & Mom Life Chaos

00:03 - 06:29

• Lizz describes a classic “Mondayest Monday ever,” complete with pregnancy discomfort, sick kids, and a breakfast delivery fiasco.

  "I wake up... we’ve got a lot of podcast recordings going on today... I’m going to treat myself to some breakfast delivery... It was delivered... I walk to the end of my driveway to see if you, like, put it by my mailbox or something, and I see, like, a coffee lid and coffee on the ground." – Lizz [01:41]

• Both discuss the realities of summer as work-from-home moms and wish they’d better considered timing for projects like a new website launch.

• Lizz voices guilt and anxiety over preparing for her maternity leave while Kelly’s professional energy is ramping up.

  "There's a part of me that feels a little bit guilty that I'm, like, winding down when you're ramping up... like I'm gonna have a harder time enjoying that time when you're not also doing it." – Lizz [05:40]

• Kelly reassures her, maintaining that every mom returns to herself:

  "You're just like an iced coffee, a spray tan, and like seven months postpartum away from being back to yourself. You're not as far gone as you might think." – Kelly [07:03]

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2. Different Universes: Thriving vs. Surviving

06:30 - 17:48

• The sisters reflect on fluctuating closeness based on life stages, from nearly-twins growing up, to diverging while one started a family and the other didn’t, to now, where Kelly is “thriving” and Lizz is “surviving.”

  "Elizabeth and I are on different planets right now in terms of... planets." – Kelly [04:29]

  "We could not be less synced up right now if we tried." – Lizz [04:29]

• Kelly details her “mom in her element” moments, like hosting friends, crafting an easy dessert with store-bought cookies and ice cream [08:23], and organizing upcoming back-to-school ice cream socials for her kids’ classes.

  “I picked up a tray of mini cookies... then I got a tub of vanilla ice cream, and we made mini ice cream sandwiches. It just felt like I did more than just show up with a tray of cookies because I had a plan in place... effort was there. When in reality, I was just out another $4.50 for a tub of ice cream.” – Kelly [08:23]

• Meanwhile, Lizz is focused on easy, low-effort dinners and debating pre-baby treats (like $60 parmesan wheel pasta), emphasizing their current “intergalactic” differences.

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3. Weekend Recaps and Finding Joy in Small Wins

09:57 - 18:07

• Kelly recaps a night out—drinking (with a designated driver!), staying out until 11 PM, and contrasting it with Lizz’s low-key plans or big dinner deliberations.

• Outdoor hosting tips surface: ice cream socials held in the driveway, disposable dishware, strict end times, and “bring your own lawn chair” rules.

• Lizz expresses longing for the days when she’ll enjoy hosting again, while Kelly encourages embracing exactly where they each are.

  "I'm hosting three times this week. I'm so excited. I'm like, that sounds awful right now. Like, it sounds horrible." – Lizz [07:39]

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4. Summer Mom Hacks

17:48 - 18:07

• Kelly shares time-management hacks, like scheduling kids’ horseback riding at 7 AM.

  "We leave for horseback riding at 7am... I love getting them out of the house early... I like a morning summer activity." – Kelly [17:48]

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Side Hustle Summer: Interview with Sarah of At Sadie’s House

23:30 - 36:41

1. Launching an Etsy Side Hustle as a Busy Mom

23:35 - 24:54

• Sarah introduces her shop specializing in colorful fabric-wrapped picture frames—started out of a desire for a creative outlet and extra income.

  "I sell colorful fabric wrapped picture frames... I had just had my third baby and gone back to work... One of my friends was like, 'Why don't you start an Etsy shop with your frames?'... I opened my shop in March." – Sarah [24:02]

2. Financial Success with Minimal Time

24:54 - 25:34

• Works full time and spends on average about one hour per day on her side hustle.
• Profits range from $400 (low month) to nearly $950 (high month).

3. Product & Shop Management

26:05 - 27:41

• Emphasizes the importance of “ready to ship” products to reduce stress and meet quality standards.
• Larger frames are made to order, but most inventory is pre-made for efficiency.

4. Why Choose Etsy?

27:58 - 29:57

• Etsy’s ease of setup, built-in customer base, algorithm-driven sales, and seller support are major perks, despite their 9.5% (or lower, if driving your own traffic) commission fee.

  “Etsy is pretty good at finding the right people for your product... If I had a huge Instagram platform... it surely makes sense to go on Squarespace or... my own platform to sell that.” – Sarah [29:38]

• Etsy's streamlined shipping interface and customer support help with the logistics and early learning curve.

5. Pricing, Free Shipping, and Seller Tips

31:31 - 32:44

• Sarah calculates pricing based on competitors and exact cost per frame, always offering free ground shipping—a key factor advised by Etsy.
• Free shipping significantly decreases abandoned carts.

  “Etsy shares with sellers the amount of abandoned cart... you’ll get if you don’t offer free shipping... it’s significant.” – Sarah [32:14]

6. Life & Car Talk

33:34 - 34:12

• Sarah drives a 2019 Honda Pilot:

  "We did the classic mistake that you always mention... We had one baby and bought it, and now we have three." – Sarah [33:45]

• Hosts agree it could be worse and appreciate her candor.

7. Ditch the Drive-Thru Meal Hack

34:25 - 35:57

• “Lazy Girl Pizza:” Buy pizza toppings from the salad bar for variety and no waste.

  “You go to a grocery store that has a salad bar... toppings from the salad bar into your clamshell... it’s so much cheaper... not going to spend more than $8 on your toppings.” – Sarah [34:25]

• The hosts are “so inspired” by this game-changing, no-waste, minimal effort meal hack.

8. Connect with At Sadie’s House

36:13 - 36:41

• Etsy and Instagram handles: @Sadies.house (with periods), for those interested in her work or tips.

  "Thank you for joining the podcast... This is really nice of you guys to highlight life, people like us." – Sarah [36:41]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You will, Elizabeth, get to where I'm at. Like, you're just like an iced coffee, a spray tan, and like seven months postpartum away from being back to yourself." – Kelly [07:03]
• "We could not be less synced up right now if we tried." – Lizz [04:29]
• "I went out on Saturday with some friends, got a little drunk... we are so [on different planets]." – Kelly [09:57-10:14]
• "We're intergalactic." – Lizz [13:53]
• “You know, people were very appreciative... I'm trying to think, like what kind of outdoor things do I need to have set up... like bring your own lawn chair. Obviously, I put an end to end time 6:30 to 8. Like, this is not an all-night affair.” – Kelly [15:04]
• "We could all be utilizing the salad bar more." – Kelly [35:04]
• “This is so smart… I’m so shook by this.” – Kelly [35:57]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:03 – Chaotic Monday and Pregnancy Check-In
• 04:29 – “On Two Different Planets” – Life Stage Conversation
• 08:23 – Elevating Store-Bought Dessert (Ice Cream Sandwiches)
• 09:57 – Weekend Recaps: Wild vs. Tame Mom Nights
• 14:49 – Ice Cream Social Hosting Tips for Parents
• 17:48 – Summer Mom Hacks (Early Activities)
• 23:30 – Sarah from “At Sadie’s House” Interview Begins
• 24:54 – Profitable Etsy Side Hustle Working 1 Hour/Day
• 27:58 – Etsy vs. Other Platforms Explained
• 31:31 – Free Shipping and Pricing Strategy
• 34:25 – “Ditch the Drive-Thru” with Lazy Girl Pizza
• 36:13 – Where to Find At Sadie’s House

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Tone & Style

As always, the episode is candid, witty, and laced with humor and the everyday realities of millennial motherhood and work. The interview section is practical and encouraging for other moms or listeners thinking of launching a side hustle.

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Perfect for listeners seeking real talk about motherhood, sisterhood, business, and accessible life hacks—no matter what “planet” you’re on.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the carpool podcast with Kelly. You Will Elizabeth, get to where I'm at. Like, you'll. You. You. You're just like an iced coffee, a spray tan, and like seven months post harm away from like being back to yourself. You're not as far gone as you might think.

[B]

And Liz, there's no car outside. I walk to the end of my driveway to see if he like, put it by my mailbox or something, and I see like a coffee lid and coffee on the ground.

[A]

Your mom time off Start. Welcome back to the garble podcast with Kelly and Liz. Elizabeth, are you okay?

[B]

No, I'm not okay. Like, this has been the, like, most Monday Monday ever.

[A]

And they know you're like, so pregnant too.

[B]

No, I'm so pregnant, Sloan.

[A]

Disgusting. When pregnant women get disrespected.

[B]

Let me tell you what has happened. What has transpired this Monday morning for me. I know it's a Wednesday for everyone, but it's my Monday morning after a long weekend because I am in. So last month I just, when I was feeling like, good, I was like, I really want to spend a lot more time with my two children before I bring three into this world. And so I like, change my kids childcare schedule up. So now I have less childcare this month, which was like, not the best idea. So I've basically been just like running rampant with my kids. And like when I tell you this pelvic girdle pain is just like so ridiculously excruciating pain. Painful. Like it's, it's, it's, it's. You have to laugh. So anyway, I'm coming off of a long weekend. A lot of, A lot of pain, lot of on the floor with my children again. Love it.

[C]

Like, so blessed.

[B]

But anyway, then this morning I wake up and like, I kind of have like a tickle in my throat. Sloan has like a runny nose and I, you know, we're, we're. We've got a lot of podcast recordings going on today. We've got a long day, so I'm like, you know what? I'm going to treat myself to some breakfast delivery. Like an iced latte and breakfast. It's getting here like minutes before our podcast is recording. I'm like, this is perfect. I'm going to get to interview our side hustle Summer, drink my ice latte. Like, I'm so excited. I haven't had any caffeine this morning. You know, you get one shot at caffeine when you're. When you're pregnant and this was the route I was going to take anyway. Get an alert. It was delivered. Go downstairs. It's not here. There's no car outside. I walk to the end of my driveway to see if you, like, put it by my mailbox or something, and I see, like, a coffee lid and coffee on the ground. Like, it's like, he must have. He must have gotten out of his car and tripped up and it spilled,

[C]

but he said it was delivered.

[B]

And also, I had food in that order as well, so it's like he's left the food. So this is literally happening, like, seconds before I'm supposed to log on for our first interview. Side Hustle Summer interview. So I message him and I'm like, hey, I didn't see the order. Obviously, I saw the coffee on the ground. But, like, what's the deal? He's just that I'll issue a refund. I haven't been able to check my phone since then. That happened about 40 minutes ago. So I don't have any resolution yet. I don't have a coffee. I don't have a refund. So, you know, I'm a little bit. It's like, kind of a rough, rough start to my day. And we have so much to do today, Kelly.

[A]

No, we have such a disgusting day. Like, ding to dong. Full, full, full. What is this? I'm already. I've been taking copious summer notes, just, like, on how I can improve my summer. And I think that. I mean, the amazing part about. Part about our job is it can be so flexible. So it does allow us to be home with the kids more in the summer. And we just need more mindful about the kind of work we sign up for in the summer. Because, like, a website launch was, like, maybe not hindsight. A summer launch, not great.

[B]

No, like, and that's the thing is, like, yes, we do want to spend more time with our kids at home during the summer because we have the flexibility. But then we don't seem to do less work outside of dropping the podcast once a week, which the podcast is probably some of the. The work I enjoy more than most of the other ones.

[A]

All I have to do is get on the mic and yap. Like, I could yap for days.

[B]

I know. So, anyway, yeah, we got to get our priorities in line.

[A]

We got to get our priorities in line. Speaking of notes, I've added to my summer list, though, so I'm kind of just also on today's episode, like, we are in full swing with side Hustle Summer. But anyway, we Had a really great. I mean, I know Elizabeth and I. Elizabeth and I are on different planets right now in terms of, like, planets.

[B]

Different universe. Different universes. We could not be less synced up right now if we tried.

[A]

And, you know, it's interesting because we were born 16 months apart, so, like, growing up, we always did everything. Sixteen months apart. And then we always said, like, it got really weird. Our relationship got a little weird. We.

[C]

We.

[A]

In a way, we almost became less close when, like, I started got married and had kids and, like, you didn't. Yeah, not less close, but, like, we just, like, it was just. It was.

[C]

We had less.

[B]

We had less in common. Like, we weren't in the same life stage.

[C]

Like, we.

[B]

Yeah, I moved away also. I moved.

[A]

Yeah. Which was so right. And now here we. And then we had our last two kids, like, close to each other, and now here we are, and I'm thriving.

[B]

No, actually, can I be, like, really? I've never experienced this before. I have to be kind of vulnerable right now because there is. And maybe women who go on, like, maternity leaves feel this way, like, from their corporate job. I've never felt this way because, like, you had Fred and want a maternity leave. And then I had James and went on maternity leave. And then you had Libby when a maternity leave. I had Sloan one on maternity leave. This has been my maternity leave experience. It's been very relaxed also.

[A]

You know, we.

[B]

We work for ourselves, so it's also more relaxed. There's a part of me that feels a little bit guilty that I'm, like, winding down when you're ramping up. And there's also a part of me that feels like I'm gonna be, like, left in the dust when you're, like, winding up and ramping up and doing these things. And I'm, like, sitting, like, sitting at home.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I need. I literally have to sit at home and recover. And, like, I want to enjoy that time, but I'm. I'm. I'm feeling like I'm gonna have a harder time enjoying that time when you're not also doing it, because I'm going to feel guilty. I'm going to feel like you're doing things without me. I'm going to feel, like, totally, you know, unworthy of, like, my paycheck. Like, all of these things are, like, going through my head. And so I think I'm overcompensating, like, trying to get so much work done beforehand that, like, I'm actually not doing anything to prepare for this baby in a Lot of ways.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know. It's just a really weird feeling.

[A]

Well, here's a couple of things I've learned as, like, just someone who again, just climbed Everest with four kids in five years. Like, we all get here. Like, you do get through it and it sounds so dumb, but, like, whenever someone was like, clean the kitchen or snuggle the baby, it's like, no, you snuggle the baby. Like, when I say I think I did a good job of, like, enjoying the time that I had it, but, like, you will, Elizabeth, get to where I'm at. Like, you'll. You're just like an iced coffee, a spray tan, and like seven months postpartum away from, like, being back to yourself. You're not as far gone as you might think.

[C]

No, I know.

[B]

And I'm not really focusing so much on. On that. It's more just like thinking about, like, going on maternity leave and like, putting. Feeling like things are being put on pause when other things. Because when I've gone on maternity leave in the past, the car mom kind of pause along with me, and now it's not.

[C]

And you just need to get in

[A]

your passenger princess era. Like, I'm driving.

[D]

I've got it.

[A]

You're there in the passenger seat. Kind of where you belong as far as I'm concerned.

[B]

Yeah, no, I. It's just. I. Yeah, I don't know. It's just. It's a weird. It's a. It's a different dynamic. It's a weird dynamic. And Kelly has all these big grand plans and I'm like, yeah. She's like, I'm hosting three times this week. I'm so excited. I'm like, that sounds awful right now. Like, it sounds horrible. I'm looking for any ways to out. I'm looking to get invited to places so I don't have to be at my house cooking dinner.

[A]

Like, love to have you over. Well, that sounds like a lot of work too.

[D]

I know.

[A]

I'm a little far away. We'll get there, though. I would love to come over. I'm actually kind of. Okay. Anyway, but here's what I want to talk about. Here's why I bought them in the first place. Anyway, we had a great weekend. We were. We went to the farm yesterday. We had like a pool day. We did carry out ribs. We made a couple of easy sides. But then I like, kind of like came in clutch with dessert. I feel like.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

In. In a kind of like, store bought but innovative way. And I stole this, of course, from one of my sister in laws. And I'm not a baker. Like I'm always one. I'm always one outside of the peach cob that I can make. I'm always one to just like go to the grocery store and like buy a pre packaged dessert. You know what I mean? That's just like who I am. I'm not even like calling a bakery. Like I'm just going and picking up a tray of cookies and they're fine for me, but I kind of elevated it by picking up a tray of like mini cookies. So they were like, you know, they're about a little bigger than an Oreo, but they were, they were smaller.

[D]

Cookie variety pack.

[A]

And then I got a tub of vanilla ice cream and we made mini ice cream sandwiches. And it just, it felt like, oh wow. Like it. I. I did more than just show up with a tray of cookies because I had a plan. I had a plan in place. Yeah, they were delicious. And it just felt like such effort. Effort was extra. Effort was there. When in reality I was just out another $2 and 50 cents or $4 and 50 cents for a tub of ice cream.

[B]

Yeah. And it added a. It added activity. Some of the kids didn't want cookies, they just wanted ice cream. So like that was nice.

[A]

How do you, how do you had a bowl of ice cream and then put two cookies in it? The kids had fun being like, oh, I want an M M1 on top and then I want a chocolate. We. We were diying.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. It was mix and match situation. Yeah, yeah, it was, it was a little bit extra effort. That went a long way.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

They were great.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

So that's what, that's what I've been up to. Really. Just, Just kind of crushing it.

[D]

Great.

[B]

You are crushing it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I went out on Saturday with some

[B]

friends,

[A]

got a little drunk.

[B]

Holy stumpy. We're with again Planets Universe. We are so.

[A]

Well, Tyler owes me some drives.

[B]

Like, because for sure, for sure.

[A]

Tyler just owes me some. Several drives. Several drives. And we were going out with some friends and me and the girl, like when we. And we were driving kind of far. So like the dinner place was 45 minutes from our houses and she's my neighbor. So like we were like, we'll drive together and like the boys will be in the front. Like Tyler was driving. Like, we'll be in the back seat. Like such a fun vibe. Like, loved that. Like, how fun was that? Like they were talking. We were talking and we get to Dinner. And I'm like, I'm gonna make this a three drinker. Like, and that I just, like, I. We both had kind of had expectations set. Like, we're not driving. My husband's driving. We're out at a fabulous meal. Like, I'm gonna. I'm going to this knowing I'm gonna have three drinks at dinner. Yeah. And we ordered something called a ranch water. Because she also did that like, crazy loom program that I did. Not crazy, but, like, she was also on that restrictive diet. And like, she's like, here's what I've been drinking on this program. I'm like, okay, fine, we'll get it. Ranch water is just topo chico. Tequila and lime and salt.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We added tajin rims. Like, couldn't. Literally couldn't find a skinnier cocktail out there. Like, there's nothing to it. They were horrible.

[B]

Had three great.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't like ranch water, but I don't like tequila.

[A]

I like tequila. The problem is they kept adding too much lime. And then the tahini was like the most sour, heartburn infested cocktail I've ever had in my life.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And then like, carbonated topo chico, like, washed it all down.

[A]

I need a PepsiD immediately. Like, I'm so old. And then, like, you know, we ended our dinner and we both had our. Our sitters scheduled for like, till 11pm And I'm like, we cannot go home yet. We have to stay out. And it's good to, I think, go with another couple because, like, then you don't get home at 9:30 from a date night. So we're like, let's go to another bar. Like, we're two. We're a bunch of crazy mid-30s.

[B]

We're crazy.

[A]

So I went to a bar and we ordered an espresso martini.

[B]

You're like, so wild.

[A]

I know. And I ordered two. I had five drinks.

[B]

Kelly, you want to know what me and. Sorry.

[A]

I know. I normally don't talk about.

[B]

Let me tell you, this is so funny because, like, when you are like, you and your. Your neighbor, like, we're gonna go on the way. We're gonna have a drink on the way. We're gonna.

[C]

Like, we're.

[B]

This is what we're doing. Like, you. This is your game plan. My game plan, because I'm getting dinner with my neighbor next week because I want to do it before I have another kid, is I'm trying to decide if I'm gonna. If I'm gonna splurge for the 60 Parmesan wheel experience or not? It's so funny. Me and my girlfriend, we went out to this. This place that does this Parmesan wheel because we saw it on Instagram. We're like, let's go to the Parmesan wheel. We get there, they don't have it during lunch services, which is when we went. So this was, like, days before I had Sloan. So now that I'm like, days before I have this baby, we were like, we should go back to the restaurant. We should do the parmesan wheel. So she makes as a res. But it's $60. They cook your pasta in the parmesan wheel. Like, it's. They bring it. It's tableside. It is $60 for a bowl of pasta. And I'm like, okay, respectfully, I actually don't think I can do that. No, you're not.

[A]

A cocktail.

[B]

No, but it's minimum. No, no, but for them to bring it out, it's minimum.

[C]

Two people have to order 120 bucks in the hole.

[B]

So you're 120 bucks in the hole. And like, last time when we went to this restaurant, her and I split all the fun stuff that, like, Maddie otherwise wouldn't split with me. So I'm like, I actually don't think I want, like, that much, like, Alfredo Parmesan pasta. So that's what I'm trying to decide right now is if I want to do the Parmesan wheel or not.

[A]

Universes.

[B]

Different universes.

[A]

We are intergalactic.

[B]

Like, but you're right. How much did you spend on drinks? You know?

[A]

Yeah. I mean. Right. Wasn't really my problem, but all to say is, like, okay, I had fun. I think that's okay to have fun. Every once in a while,

[B]

I thought I should have fun. No one's. I'm not coming for you.

[A]

I know. I just, like, did wake up with, like, a little anxiety, you know, it's like, what did I talk about? What am I talking about?

[B]

I know. That's the worst.

[A]

But you know what? We had a good time. So that was. And then that was my weekend. And then I made ice cream sandwiches. And, yeah, this weekend, it's kind of like I'm hosting a couple of times. And then I also did something so crazy because I'm again, we're like planets, galaxies away from each other. I decided I wanted to have two ice cream socials. One for George's class, one for Hattie's class leading up to school.

[D]

Okay, I've talked about this.

[A]

I'm like this sounds so fun. Like I'm not. No one's a lot. I mean, you can use the bathroom, but like the party's not in my house. The party's in my driveway. I'm setting up a table. I'm getting a couple gallons of ice cream, all the toppings. And I'm gonna have. I'm having George's on Monday night. I'm having Hatties on Tuesday night. Because like I already have all the stuff.

[B]

The table set up. Yeah, the table.

[A]

I mean, I'll bring the ice cream and I'll bring the toppings. Like I'm buying it all. We're, we're making it and then we're having the ice cream social.

[B]

Someone has to do it.

[A]

Someone has to do it. I think it'll be fun.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And I'm, I'm really close. I know, I know all the parents in Georgia's class, but I don't know, I mean, Hattie's going into kindergarten. Like I don't know all the parents that well. You know, I said new friends. I said siblings, welcome. Cuz I'm not a monster. But I do worry how many children that is.

[B]

Well, and like you said, it's all outside.

[A]

Well, it's all outside.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I'm trying to think, like what kind of outdoor things do I need to have set up? I said bring your own lawn chair. Obviously I put an end to end time 6:30 to 8. Like this is not an all night affair.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

So we have those coming up. I'm probably gonna be using all China products. I'm gonna do like, I like doing those little china clear like shorty glasses

[B]

at China sponsor the Stumpy's ice cream social.

[A]

Yeah, no, I believe they are. So are they.

[B]

I didn't know we had an ad coming up with China. You do love China.

[A]

No, I love China. But they have like the little, you know, like the little nice glasses.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So we're gonna do those toppins or fixin's toppins. I'm so excited. I bought an ice cream tablecloth.

[B]

Please make a real about this.

[A]

No, I got. I think I, I will. Oh.

[B]

Because it's a China ad. Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I didn't know. This is all, see like things I'm not worried about because I'm about to go on maternity leave.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I was like, that's perfect. I was gonna do it anyway, first of all, but I'm like, this is perfect.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, perfect.

[A]

I would have used them anyway.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

So it's like when you're authentic. Things just kind of work out like that.

[B]

I think it's a really good idea. I think it sounds like a lot of fun. I'm, like, looking forward to. Kind of looking forward to that age to do stuff like that.

[A]

You know, people were very appreciative. They're like, oh, my gosh, this is so kind of you. It's like, well, you're welcome. But, yeah, just come on over. A little ice cream social. My kids are excited. How do you start horseback riding lessons?

[B]

Don't wear anything with crazy brands on it because it's a chinatte ad, so. I got it. No, I'm kidding. No, it's a good idea. It's a good idea. You would have done it anyway. Yeah. So how you started a horseback riding

[A]

lesson because people don't know the song. But, like, I was such a horse girl back in the day.

[B]

Like, the definition of a horse girl.

[A]

Totally. I think I was, like, a little. Yeah. Anyway, so she wanted to start riding horses. And so there's a. There's like two horses at the farm. And I was like, okay, we'll go down there. We'll ride those horses. And she's like, who's gonna teach me? I'm like, I'm gonna teach you. She's like, what do you know about horses, Hattie?

[D]

So that's what we've been up to.

[B]

So crazy that she did.

[A]

Yeah. And so we're kind of, I think like a hack I have for the summer that I've written down is like, we do. We leave for horseback riding at 7am like, we wake up and we go, like, we treat it like school. And I love getting them out and getting them out of the house early like that. Like, I don't like these, like, afternoon summer activities. I like a morning summer activity or an evening summer activity.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

Just seems to work better for us.

[B]

You guys are early risers too.

[A]

Okay. And that's all I want to say. I do only have 2% battery on my laptop, so let me know if I need to get a charger.

[B]

No, I think you're good, actually, because I need to check my phone to see if I have any missed calls from doordash. Because I really need to figure out, like, what I'm, like, what I'm gonna do about this situation. Thank you so much for listening to Carbo podcast. Let's get into our interview.

[C]

Today's episode is brought to you by Caraway. Throughout the years, I have been slowly swapping everything in my kitchen for caraway.

[A]

Products.

[C]

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[A]

O L Sarah from At Sadie's House, welcome to the Carpool podcast.

[D]

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

[A]

This is, we're kicking off side Hustle Summer and I'm really, we're really excited to have you on because you have an Etsy shop, which I don't think we've ever really dipped our toe in the Etsy side Hustle world. But I feel like there's a lot of opportunity on that site and I mean there's so many different things that you can do and sell. Tell us a little bit about your, I guess, niche or products on Etsy and maybe a little bit of background on how you got started.

[D]

Sure. Yeah. So I sell colorful fabric wrapped picture frames. So I got started. I'd been making them for friends and for my own house for like a year and a half before I started. But I had just had my third baby and gone back to work. And I was at my. We have like an annual favorite things girls dinner. And I was kind of like lamenting that I didn't feel like I had a creative outlet or like. And also we were all kind of complaining about how we could all use a little extra money. And one of my friends was like, why don't you start an Etsy shop with your frames? And then we all kind of were just spitballing on the idea and it kind of started from there and I opened my shop in March.

[B]

So how has your success been since March?

[D]

It's been really great. Honestly. It's exceeded my expectations, love. So I really do. Like, this is very limited amount of time that I put into this because I work full time outside of the home and have three kids. And so I really try and spend no more than an hour on it a day. But I've made my lowest month in terms of profit was around 400. And then in June I had like my best month and I had like almost $950 of profit.

[B]

That's amazing.

[D]

So it, yeah, it's honestly thrilled.

[B]

Like if you do one hour a day, is that weekday or weekends too? So it's like seven hours of work week some night.

[D]

Some days I do nothing. It just averages out to about an hour a day. Like tonight we have fabulous. My son has a swim meet. Like, I'm not doing anything tonight except for packing up any orders that come in.

[A]

Like, and when you do like say you're spending this time on it, of course it's like packing orders. But how do you feel like you're at a point now where you want to get into more products, expand, sell more or like what are kind of your goals of at Sadie's house?

[D]

I do want to sell, I want to add a little bit more variety to the shop especially. I've started adding like some larger gallery wall style frames that are selling at a higher price point and I'd like to get a little more variety in that part. But I think optimizing too is part of my goal. Like I'm figuring out what designs really sell well and I want to kind of like niche down on the ones that are selling well. But that's, that's kind of my next steps.

[B]

Is it fully custom or do you have some pre made and you're shipping them out? Like what's the, when you get an order, what is the process like for you?

[D]

So this is very like I was very proud of myself because I was very intentional about this. It is almost all ready to ship. The larger frames are made to order, but I only sell things I've already made. I did not want the stress of trying to meet someone's expectation of something that they have in their mind but they haven't seen. And also the quality the my process. I really need to know what fabric I'm using and like face frame I'm using because it doesn't. I've tried a lot of stuff and some of it I've had to just toss because it's not, it turns out it's like the quality isn't there. The other. Okay, so it's pretty much just for my smaller frames. It's made to order, I get it. I get an order comes in when I've made the frames, I add to my inventory, an order comes in, I ship it out.

[B]

Okay, Easy day. So for someone who's never used Etsy, how does, how does it actually work? Like what is it and why? Like opening up a shop? Like what is that process like for someone who's maybe has an idea in their head of something that they want to sell on Etsy but just like doesn't really know where to begin.

[A]

And if you could also Sarah, speak on why Etsy over. Just like trying to sell, I guess more direct like via Instagram, you know, website. Like why the Etsy? Because Etsy takes a percentage surely, right?

[B]

Oh, oh yeah.

[D]

And that's a great, that's a great question and a hot topic in like Reddit forums about Etsy. So Etsy setting up an Etsy shop is so easy. Like don't be intimidated by that stuff at all. They make it really easy. They have a lot of educational content to help you figure out what's going to drive more sales, what's going to drive more traffic. You could do it in an hour if you know what you want to do. Photos are really important. So like quality photos, I mean I take them with an iPhone but just make sure you have good lighting, et cetera.

[A]

You style it nicely. Like I'm kind of, I'm stalking your shop right now. Everything's nicely styled.

[D]

Yes, it's really important for the algorithm and like I've even considered like should I hire someone to come in with a dslr like with that, like boost me up. But I haven't done that yet. But it's super simple to set up. That's easy. Etsy takes nine and a half percent of your sales. They do have. If you drive your own traffic like you have like a direct link, you get to keep 4% of that. So it goes down to like okay,

[A]

so, so if someone finds you like via the Etsy like you're just browsing, they get nine but like if I were to post link on our carpool Instagram, you would get four or they would only take four.

[D]

I'm sorry, is it like five and a half? I guess.

[A]

Okay, that's interesting. That's interesting.

[D]

Okay, but I'm not driving. Etsy finds the right buyers for you so that's like the reason for me to do it. If I had like a huge Instagram platform and I could drive my own sales, I think it surely makes sense to go on Squarespace or something some my own platform to sell that.

[A]

Interesting. Yeah.

[D]

So people do make that switch. But Etsy is pretty good at finding the right people for your product.

[A]

Sure.

[D]

I don't. For me at this point Etsy makes a lot of sense.

[B]

Does Etsy do anything else other than just like find the right buyers for you? Like their search engine for you? Obviously. But do they have offer any support to customers for you? Do they help streamline anything else for you?

[D]

Yeah, they have like a whole shipping interface so they have negotiated rates with usps. Okay so you get, if you use USPS for your shipping you get a lower.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And it passes on to your buyers as well. A lower rate. They offer some add ons with like taxes too. But I have like a business account that I am using that, doing that through. But the Etsy support is really good I found for sellers so far. So I, I messed up one of my shipping settings and I waited too long to contact them because I was like giving away priority shipping for free and I couldn't figure out why.

[B]

But yeah, so for. It's probably good for that initial like learning curve of trying to just having extra support and trying to figure out what the heck even you're doing.

[A]

Yeah, it.

[D]

Right. It's very, honestly, it's very easy. And then people can, you know, they can favorite your shop. They also have all these different ways you can set up sales and promotions and like that's all built in. Like, it is super. I was surprised at how easy it was. Like that part.

[B]

How did you decide how much to charge for your frames?

[D]

I did look at. There's a few other like shops doing similar things. And so I looked there and then I figured out like down to the penny, like what my cost was.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

And tried to feel out, like, should I. Is this worth my time? Like, how long am I spending on these? And it felt right. So I also offer free shipping. So I free ground shipping. So I factor that in as well.

[B]

Love, love a free shipping option. Same literally, like if it's between your shop or someone else's shop, obviously I would choose yours now. But before, if it was like, like I'd be like, yeah, I'm going free shipping, like always.

[D]

So this, okay, this is a great example of how Etsy is helpful. So they. I can't remember what it is. This would be interesting. But they like share with sellers the amount of abandoned car, percentage of abandoned carts you'll get if you don't offer free shipping.

[B]

Yeah, no tea.

[D]

So they, yeah, I'm abandoned.

[B]

I'm out of here.

[D]

Right. Because you get to the end, you don't see what the shipping is until, yeah, the end. And then people. I mean you get a banded cart so matter what. But it's significant.

[A]

That's so interesting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so, yeah, it kind of seems like. So everyone go on to Etsy and check out at Sadie's house. The frames are absolutely darling and I love that this is just, this is exactly like what side of Summer is about. Like, it's a passion project that you took and I love that you're also building something that's. That in a way is like always going to be there. So when you have more time to dedicate to it, you like make more frames, put them on Etsy. Like, it's just nice that you have, you've set up the side hustle where it's like you can do as much or as little as you want. If you, like, want to, you know, ramp it up around, you know, the holidays to make a little bit of extra money, like, you can totally do that. I think it's just a really, I think it's a very smart business model to have or a very smart side hustle model like this.

[D]

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, I really, I mean, my priorities are still like my family, like people, my friends, people in real life that I love and like my full time job.

[A]

What car do you drive?

[D]

I have a 2019 Honda Pilot.

[A]

And do you love it? You can say no.

[D]

If it wasn't like fully paid off, I would probably be looking for something a little bigger. We got it. We did the classic mistake that you always mention of. We had one baby and bought it and now we have three.

[B]

You could have made a worse decision for three kids.

[A]

I agree with that that you could have made a worse decision.

[C]

It's.

[D]

It works. We're three across. We've got two in boosters. So it, it works for now.

[A]

So yeah.

[B]

So, Sarah, after a long day of working full time, taking care of your three kids, selling frames on Etsy, what are you putting on the table for dinner? What are you ditching the drive through with?

[D]

Yes. So I call this lazy girl pizza. And it's essentially homemade pizza, but with like a big shortcut. So you do whatever you would normally do for your crust, your sauce, your, like main cheese. And then for your toppings, you go to a grocery store that has a salad bar. And so you get your toppings from the salad bar into your clamshell. Like, there's a ton of variety. It's already chopped up. Smart. And you can, it's so much cheaper.

[A]

Like, I'm so inspired right now. Wait, this is so smart.

[B]

What other areas of my life am I not utilizing the salad bar enough?

[A]

We could all be utilizing the salad bar more.

[D]

So a friend of mine told me about this like 12 years ago, and it like can't even gatekeeping rings in my head.

[A]

Like, I'm so mad.

[B]

No, that's like, really?

[A]

I don't have a freaking jar of olives taking up all this room in your pantry because you just like, like 100%.

[D]

Yeah. Or like, for. If you just want a little red onion, it's on the salad bar.

[A]

If you just want a little red

[D]

onion, barbecue chicken is on the hot bar at, you know, Whole Foods or I have Wegmans here. I don't know if you guys have

[B]

that, but my mind is really.

[D]

You can get really creative. And I've like, literally, even with, like, the price of groceries now, you're not going to spend more than, like, $8 on your topics.

[A]

No. And you're going to have, like, no waste either, which.

[B]

It also feels good. Yeah.

[D]

Right? You kind of just like, sprinkle it on.

[B]

So genius.

[A]

I'm so shook by this. So smart.

[B]

It's so smart. Sarah, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for sharing your. Your Etsy shop. And so she has Etsy at Sadie's house. And Instagram. You want to spell your Instagram out for everyone.

[D]

Yes. So it's at Sadie's house with periods between each word. So it's at.com. sadie's house.

[B]

Sadie, your daughter's name. Like, where Sadie come from.

[D]

So Sadie's actually a nickname for Sarah. So I just wanted to have, like, a little slight veil of anonymity.

[B]

Well, we're moving to veil today. Now maybe we should be calling you Sadie this whole time.

[D]

No, no, no.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Well, thank you so much for joining the podcast.

[D]

Thank you. Thank you for having me. This is really nice of you guys to highlight life, people like us.

[A]

Thank you for listening to the carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know there's room in the car for everyone.