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Hello there friend. First and foremost, I want to say thank you for choosing to spend time reading this post because I know you probably have a million things on your to-do list. But you are here, now, sharing your valuable time and mind with me. So thank you.
My name is Katie and this little space within the huge world of the internet is where I call home. It’s where I will, from now on, express my creativity, thoughts and finds with you across a range of topics that make up a life. You might have been following me through my previous brand/website name, Highwood Home Style. While I loved creating this brand and building a platform around interior design, I felt constricted when it came to topics falling under this name. Which is why I have more recently renamed my website and social accounts to Kate Mundo (@katemundo). Highwood Home will always be a part of my growth and history, and I will never abandon my love for interior design.
I’m married to my college love and we’ve been together for a whole decade. While we were both born and raised on the East Coast (NY/NJ), we currently live in Kansas City, MO with our puppy Woody and are expecting our first child (baby girl) in December 2018. In our 10 years together, we have been through so much and we’re excited for this new adventure of parenthood and what else is to come. Pete is my rock, biggest supporter, and I can’t imagine my life without him.
When speaking about my career, I always say I haven’t really found it yet.
I graduated from college with an Accounting degree because, ya know, I was decent in math and enjoyed the subject. Probably wasn’t my best life decision because I hated the courses in college and pretty much disliked the profession from the day I started at a private accounting firm in NYC. Hindsight is 20/20. I quickly moved over to the HR industry within Campus Recruiting at a global investment bank to test out something new. I loved that position and team and thrived during that time. But life is funny like that because soon after I started, Pete moved to Oklahoma to pursue a career in radio broadcasting. I followed him out there shortly after and we lived in that small town for almost two years. As luck would have it, we both then landed great jobs back in NYC and were happy to make the move home. I then joined a beauty ecommerce startup called Birchbox and was there for three years. It was at Birchbox where I learned a lot about myself: my capabilities, drive and motivation and where I was able to really by myself creatively. I made great friends there and really loved my days working for Birchbox, even with the ups and downs. From there I ventured back into the HR industry to work for a global CPG company, where I’ve been for the past two years. I’ve learned even more about myself in these past two years and have really grown both professionally and personally. Maybe it’s the fact that I turned 30 last year, or that I’ve overcome new career challenges, but I’ve learned what I want and don’t want, what I like and don’t like.
The most important thing I’ve learned is that it’s OK for me to be who I am. I’ve given myself permission to embrace both my flaws and what makes me uniquely me.
I’m now entering an interesting chapter in my life. With my daughter coming in just a few months, I’m blessed to have the opportunity to focus on preparing for her arrival and building a career for myself that I love and brings me joy. This space, right here, is what I am building and I hope that you will stick around and follow along for inspiration, thoughts, advice, and perspective as I continue to live a real life. For too many years I’ve fallen victim of being “influenced” by the wrong people on social media who only made me feel less confident and worthy because of the fake life they presented on Instagram. Coming to this realization forced me to purge those accounts. I can promise, you will never find that here as my only hope is that this space becomes one you enjoy to experience and that feeds you rather than draining you.
As I continue to build this space, don’t hesitate to feed me with feedback, suggestions or just general comments as I’d love to hear from you! More to come soon on a newsletter, and I’ll be rolling out content on a weekly basis moving forward. Thank you again for reading this inaugural post, and being witness to my new beginning.
This is so exciting! I can’t wait to read your posts under the new brand. Your commitment to doing what you love is so inspiring 🙂
Thank you, Laura ;-)!! Love having your support and readership.