From small-town girl to mom and Instagram sensation, Ginger Parrish is ahead of her time. She spends her days documenting her life as a mom, blogging on her website Parrish Place, and working on her very own line of hats known as Gigi Pip, which launched back in November. Ginger is an inspiring beautiful mom of two boys and even has a third little boy the way.
Ginger blogs and Instagrams her “Lemonade”, which is all about the “Sweet” and the “Sour” of her week. I was so excited to meet with her and ask her about how she got started, how she handles being a mom with everything on her plate, and how she stays positive in a social media world that can create so many insecurities.
How Ginger Got Started on Instagram
Back in 2011 Ginger didn’t have 200,000 followers on Instagram like she does today. She had a family blog, like many of us do, that she started when she first got married to keep in better contact with her family who lived in Salt Lake City.
Then she discovered the Instagram app which made editing photos easy. This fit perfectly with her love of photography. Her first Instagram photo was of her new baby when she got home from the hospital. After posting several other pictures, Ginger noticed that many of the pictures in her feed were brighter and edited by methods other than just Instagram’s filters. After doing her homework and playing with photo editing apps, she was able to take her pictures to the next level.
Today, her pictures are crisp, clear, soft, and candid. If you see a cool wall on the side of a building you can bet Ginger’s taken a picture there. She’s become well-known for it!
Gaining followers over time just came as a result of the passion she had for making memories with her family and keeping them in a unique way.
People used to ask her how she got her pictures to look like they do on Instagram. She would share with them her methods, but others had trouble making them look the same.
That gave her an idea!
Ginger decided to share what most photographers would never do: her method to creating her unique pictures! She wanted other moms to be able to edit and store the priceless pictures of their kids in the same way.
So, Ginger decided to create a tutorial book that had step-by-step instructions of the exact photo editing process she uses. From that book, she’s received countless thank you’s from moms and others who love her step by step instructions.
I admire Ginger’s ambition, her business savvy, and her hard work to seek out what she could do to teach herself how to make her photos more beautiful.
It’s so empowering to be brave and put yourself out there and think, “I don’t know if anyone will buy this, but here it is.” She’s sold tons of copies so far and still has the tutorial available for purchase on her blog.
Ginger’s Thoughts on the Digital World of Social Media
Social media is wonderful she says. “But take it for face value. It can have the tendency,” she went on to say, “to create insecurities.”
She said, “Remember it is one square out of your 24 hour day. The most important thing to me is being a mother.”
Ginger started on the journey of Instagram to document and highlight the happy moments of her life. She loves to share these moments with others and has created a beautiful mom tribe of women supporting each other.
With all of that, it’s her role as a mom to her sweet boys that motivates her and makes her a better person.
I know from personal experience that putting yourself out there and sharing with others in the digital world can, in turn, create negative feedback, emails, or comments. That’s definitely not the most glamorous part of social media.
I asked Ginger how she handles that. In one word she responded, “Jon!”
I thought it was sweet that without a second thought she credited her husband.
“He doesn’t do social media and can quickly take the emotion out of it right away,” she said. “Having a voice and a platform is a powerful good thing, but it can come with a lot of pressure.”
Her honesty is so refreshing. Keep in mind that she didn’t ask for all of this. She started posting Instagram and started a blog after she got married just like every other mom. She didn’t anticipate the growth it would have. Still, she’s embraced it and made it a positive part of her life and a positive force in the life of others.
Family, the Greatest Gift
When I asked Ginger about motherhood, she sweetly said, “It is the greatest gift on this earth.” Having children and trying to get them here has taught her so much.
“Seeing us (my husband and me) in a different human being is mind boggling… Motherhood has made me who I am.”
For Ginger and Jon, pregnancy didn’t come at the snap of a finger, and her heart hurts for anyone who struggles with infertility. Through all of her trials, it is her family that continues to keep her centered.
She talks to her mom every day on the phone and her sisters are her best friends. Growing up she did everything together as a family.
“We all went to my brother’s basketball games, baseball games, and all the other activities,” Ginger said.
They grew up in a home that family was first and her parents instilled in them to work hard. Her parents both grew up on a farm, so doing hard work together so that they could play was something they all understood well.
“There wasn’t like a plaque that hung on our wall that said that. It was just what they showed us by example.” Family has always been her happy place.
Gigi Pip and Her Current Favorites
Ginger has always loved hats and wearing them as a finish to a perfect outfit. She says, “I’ve kinda sorta really been a crazy hat lady ever since I can remember.”
She recently started her very own hat company GiGi Pip selling hats with her online store. Of course, the hats are amazing and her pictures are simply beautiful. They combine her love of style and hats with the many hats of motherhood.
Favorites!
I had to ask this trendsetting, fashionable mama about her current favorites.
Favorite Reads: “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” By Marie Kondo: “Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box,” By Arbinger Institute: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” “The Gifts of Imperfection,” By Stephen R Covey
Favorite Hair Product: Big Sexy Hair Spray
Favorite Lipstick: Fresh: Berry
Favorite Household Cleaner: Honest
Favorite Children’s Book: The Giving Tree
Favorite Skincare Product: Murad Eye Cream
Choosing Happy
Ginger intentionally Instagrams and posts happy positive pictures. She is in no way in denial that life is hard and certainly not always happy Kodak moments. “Life is tough stuff for every single one of us! No matter what is portrayed through social media, life is tough. But at the very same time, it’s so so beautiful!”
“I choose deliberately to focus on a happy positive moment.” She said it’s like keeping a journal. She doesn’t want to write all the negative things, she writes about the fun and happy times and finds it can uplift her when she needs it most.
When she was a senior in high school she started “List of Loves”. She would try to write down at least two things she loved that day. She still tries to do that today and uses that same idea of positivity to write on her blog and Instagram. Ginger said, “I hope I can always do that. Choosing to see the good has made a 100% difference in my life, it has the power to change your whole mindset.” She loves that there really is always something to be grateful for. “Whether it is you can see, breathe, or you love the peaches on your socks, there is always one thing you can think of,” she said. Ginger is on a beautiful mission, and I love how she makes no mistake to say she choose this deliberately.
On her Instagram feed is a quote: “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” –Mark Twain.
This is exactly what Ginger is all about. She focuses on the good and spreads her good so others can see it in their own lives.
Where to Find Ginger Parrish
You can find Ginger on Instagram @Gparrish and her hat company at gigipip.com. Also, be sure to visit her blog TheParrishPlace.com. Thanks to Ginger for visiting with me and letting your light shine by always focusing on the good!
I wish Ginger was my neighbor! She seems so nice.