How Dallas Women Do It — Stephanie Taylor Jackson

Stephanie Taylor Jackson knows how to juggle. The mother and multi-hyphenate works in corporate for a luxury retail brand by day, and runs a wildly successful blog by night (and early mornings). By partnering with brands like Nordstrom, Pantene, and Halston and offering her real-life advice on everything from finance to motherhood, the mission for her platform is clear: to go for all the things.

Stephanie talks with PaperCity about everything from her surprising pick for best margarita to the epiphany she had in her 20s.

What’s your Dallas-area coffee order?
Stephanie: I don’t drink coffee, but I am a tea drinker. I love an iced green tea unsweetened from Starbucks. That’s my fave.

What’s the best Dallas meal you’ve ever eaten?
Stephanie: The best meal is hard to say, because it was probably a home-cooked dish from my sister who is basically a chef. But my all-time favorite meal in Dallas is Crab Station. I love boiled seafood! Their peel & eat shrimp dipped in the extra shazam sauce is next level. Can’t forget the side of Cajun fries either!

What is your favorite Dallas wellness spot?
Stephanie: I recently discovered Hiatus Spa, and had an amazing experience. I really, really enjoy it.

What is your ideal hidden Dallas spot?
Stephanie: My sisters and I love Tricky Fish in Richardson. We’ve said multiple times, ‘I hope people don’t start going there!’ They have the best margarita I’ve ever had in my life. Best margarita in Dallas, and I don’t think many people know that.

What does your career and blogging journey look like?
Stephanie: I have a retail background, so started my career in big-box retail. I worked at Target for almost seven years. I was in a management role there as a store director, and I managed two stores in Houston. I really wanted to get out of big-box retail and into luxury retail, so I made the transition to an affordable luxury brand a few years ago. I recently landed my dream job — almost two years ago — working for a luxury designer in corporate retail. I’m doing something that I’ve always wanted to do and it’s been a natural progression for me over the years.

My blog is something that is also very much a full-time job and keeps me extremely busy. Both of them are full-time and take up a full-time amount of time, so my blog happens early mornings before everyone is awake in the house or at night after everyone goes to sleep, and on weekends. [My life] is really non-stop, but both are things I’ve worked really hard for. So for now, I’m doing both and enjoying both.

How do you prioritize your own mental and physical health?
Stephanie: I try to remember what it feels like when I don’t take care of those things. It feels very stressful, I’m not my best self, and I think that’s reflective in how I interact with my kids and how I perform at work. So I always try to make sure that’s a priority for me, and that I’m taking that time.

Last month [that meant] a sister night out and my first night away from Zoe, my new baby. This month, it was a night out with my girlfriends. I try to just make sure that that time is planned out. You have to be really intentional about it, I’ve found. It doesn’t just happen at this point in my life, and you have to really plan it out to make sure it can work into your busy schedule — because it’s very necessary.

What advice would you give to Dallas women?
Stephanie: Just go for it — whatever it is that you’ve been wondering what people would think or [whatever it is] that you’ve been wondering worst-case scenario. If it’s the business, start it. If it’s the idea, put the business plan together and go for it.

In my mid-twenties I realized I only have one life, so I’m going to go for all of the things. That’s something I tell all of my friends. Just go for it. What are you afraid of? Just do it. Worst thing that can happen is that you figure out a different course of action you need to take. Just