All about me

What’s your full name?
Hannah Jane Roué. My parents joke that I was named after a song by Hootie & the Blowfish. 

Where do you currently live?
I currently live in a typical little house in the English countryside, south east of England. We are surrounded by a national park and the southern coastline. It’s a pretty place to live.

Did you grow up here?
We moved here when we were pregnant two years ago. I was born in New Zealand. My family relocated for my dad’s job to Hong Kong, then Japan, then England. Now my family and friends are dotted all over the map. Don’t ask me where ‘home’ is!

Where is home?
With Arlo, my baby

Will you ever relocate?
That’s the plan, yes!

How old are you?
27 years young

What star sign are you?
Gemini, and definitely a Gemini

Strengths: Gentle, affectionate, curious, adaptable, ability to learn quickly and exchange ideas

Weaknesses: Nervous, inconsistent, indecisive

Gemini likes: Music, books, magazines, chats with nearly anyone, short trips around the town

Gemini dislikes: Being alone, being confined, repetition and routine
Expressive and quick-witted, Gemini represents two different personalities in one and you will never be sure which one you will face. They are sociable, communicative and ready for fun, with a tendency to suddenly get serious, thoughtful and restless. They are fascinated with the world itself, extremely curious, with a constant feeling that there is not enough time to experience everything they want to see

Do you consider yourself mature for your age?
Yes. I have a child, I own a house with my life partner and we both have pretty solid careers. Very mature responsibilities

What color is your hair?
At the moment, dark brown with a blend of blonde balayage highlights. I have dyed my hair every colour under the sun, red, blonde, black, dark brown, auburn, blue, grey (unintentionally), orange (again, unintentionally) – but I think this mixed colour shade suits me best, so I’ve finally admitted to myself that I’m going to stick to it

What color are your eyes?
Green, blue or grey – they change colour. Arlo has blue eyes at the moment, and I notice some days they look more ocean blue, some days sky blue and other days they’ll look grey. Perhaps he’ll grow to develop green and we can have ever-changing eye colours together

Your best physical feature:
My eyes, on that note

Do you wear make up?
Yes, sometimes I do and most of the time minimally

What do you see when you look in the mirror?
The minor perfect imperfections, the angle, the curves. The body that made my baby, kept him safe for 9 months and managed to give birth beautifully. Oh and my tired eyes that still have a hidden sparkle

What is your go to outfit?
At home – Jeans and a soft feminine top, usually in a muted or pastel tone, with something knitted if it’s chilly. At work – a mid length dress or something more casual with a blazer and heels

What do you get most complimented on?
My photographs, writing and my post pregnancy body – no fancy health kick or exercise plan here. Just a velcro baby, copious amounts of coffee and a quick biscuit for lunch (but I wouldn’t recommend that you try this diet!)

What is your favorite trait about yourself?
My honesty, I can be pretty blunt. I really strive to be a kind and open minded person.

What is your favourite trait in other people?
Loyalty

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
I’m ultimately an optimist

Do you hold people to higher standards than you hold yourself?
Yes, I guess so. I like to see others succeed, it helps me keep motivated

Do you constantly self-analyze?
I can get self absorbed and anxious, I’m only human. I try to be secure and confident with who I am so that I make a good role model for Arlo. I want to raise him with a kind heart for others and himself

Do you have a job? What is it?
I’m currently on Maternity Leave. I am a Personal Assistant for a small company based in central London. Outside the office I work on my blog and various photography projects

Do you enjoy it?
Totally. It utilises my skills and I work with a fabulous bunch of people. My blog and photography are my creative outlet and eventually what I’d love to dedicate more of my time to

Do you have kids? How old are they?
I have 1 son, his name is Arlo and he is currently 7 months old

Do you love being a mother?
Yes, hand on heart I honestly love motherhood, but it is challenging. Sometimes I feel like it’s my only reason for existence – as if fate put me on this planet to be a mother (Oh yeah! Give me all the babies!) I feel extremely lucky to have such a gorgeous son of my own, but there are times that it gets incredibly overwhelming. I’ll look at the sky, take a breath and tell myself I’m going to get through it.

Would you like to have more kids?
Yes, 3 or 4 eventually would be amazing. Lots of mummy friends are pregnant at the moment and it’s making me clucky AF. I want to make sure I have all my babies at the right time and place, and at the moment we’re still going through a lot of change.

How long did it take to conceive?
Pretty sure it was straight away, maybe give or take a month or two! We were extremely lucky and over the moon

Whats one bit of advice you would go back and give yourself pre-motherhood, or any first time mamas?
Trust your instinct. Listen to your heart, to your head, whatever you feel – it’s always right. It’s great to receive advice and listen to others, but ultimately YOU know what is best

What are your favourite baby names?
I like soft, more unique names, and they tend be names that begin with the letter A or E

Do you have any pets?
Yes lots, but never too many. Two miniature long haired dachshunds, a ragdoll cat and a mini lop bunny.

Favourite colour? Blush pink

Favourite non-alcoholic drink? Coffee

Favourite alcoholic drink? Champagne

Favourite food? Ice cream

Favourite movie? Into The Wild

Favourite television show? Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, Blue Planet, The O.C, Greys Anatomy

Favourite current song? Places We Won’t Walk – Bruno Major

Favourite concert you’ve attended? Biffy Clyro, Arcane Roots, A Day To Remember or Slipknot (All of them…?)

Favourite place to be? Hahei, New Zealand

Favourite book? Anything written by John Green

Favourite person to be with? Arlo

Favourite flower? Peonies. My garden is full of lavender and olive trees though, I love the cool tones in contrast to our lawn and red brick walls.

Ice cream flavour? Banana

Favourite pizza topping? Cheese

Favourite country? New Zealand

Favourite culture? Sweden

Favourite language? French

Favourite season? Autumn

Favourite school subject? Art

Favourite accent? Kiwi

Eat or drink? Drink

Watch a movie or T.V.? Movie

Books or magazines? Books

Color or black & white films? Colour

iPhone or camera? iPhone (that ones so tricky)

Water or soda? Water

Pizza or hamburgers? Pizza

Love or money? LOVE

Meat or vegetables? Veggies! I’m a vegetarian

What’s your favorite genre of music? Rock

Why? It gets my heart pumping

Favourite bands?
Arcane Roots, Biffy Clyro, Bon Iver, Brand New, Kings of Leon, Mumford and Sons, Novo Amor, Twenty One Pilots, Vancouver Sleep Clinic (just a random selection in alphabetical order)

If you could play any instrument, which would you chose? Why?
I use to play the flute, drums and guitar. I stopped, and I wouldn’t know how to handle any of them now. I love the piano though. It’s versatile and beautiful.

Would you say music is an important part of your life?
Totally, utterly, yes yes yes

Last song you listened to:
Call Me Ishmael – Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly

Does this song have any meaning to you?
It’s incredibly nostalgic

Last movie you watched:
Paranormal Activity

Did you think this movie was good?
I love the entire series of them, I love horror movies

Did it make you laugh at all?
Ummm, it made me jump

Do you enjoy reading?
Yes. Snuggled up in a cosy spot and a cup of hot tea. The peace, the imagination. Bliss.

Favorite quote from a book:
It would have to be one of these

‘Just remember that sometimes, the way you think about a person isn’t the way they actually are’

‘She had a very inconvenient heart. It always insisted on feeling things ever so deeply.’

‘Thomas Edison’s last words were ‘It’s very beautiful over there’. I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful.’

‘In my memory, it doesn’t end, we just stay there, looking at each other forever.’

What Camera do you use?
Nikon D5600. At the moment I’m just using the usual lens it comes with but I’m hoping to invest in a snazzy lens soon. A new lens can make a big difference, it’s not all about the body of the camera at all. I also take photos with my iPhone.

Whats your favourite time of day to take photos?
When I started taking photographs seriously, I would target the golden hour. Recently I’ve been photographing at various times of the day, just whenever the light is most suitable. The key is to chase the natural light.

What are favourite subjects to photograph?
My son Arlo, Michael, cute little products and toys, still life. I like playing with angles and putting myself in the photo somehow.

Do you edit your photographs?
Yes, most of the time. A little touch up can go a long way. Otherwise it’s fun to use filters and presets. VSCO and Lightroom are my favourite editing apps.

Are you well travelled?
I’ve been lucky enough to explore lots of the world. There are parts of it I would still like to see, and experience.

Where is the most stunning place you have travelled to?
Maldives

Who is your best friend?
A gorgeous person called Jolene

Do you trust this person 100%?
Yes, she’s the best friend I have

Do you have a lot of friends? Do you think that matters?
No, not anymore. I use to be friends with a lot of people, and over time, mistakes, break ups, judgements, moving, kids, relationships, they’ve slowly faded away. That’s okay though. I have a super strong safety net of people that I can rely on and have fun with. I also have virtual friends through social media who offer amazing support and inspiration daily

Do you have any siblings? What are their names?
Yes, an older sister, she’s called Jessica and she means the world to me

What is your current relationship status?
More on that later…

Are you happy about that? Why or why not?
I believe we are where we need to be right now.

Do you need a significant other to be happy?
At one point in my life, yes. Then I had a go at being independent for a while.. I learnt a lot.

Now, I can’t imagine my life without Michael and Arlo, and that’s totally fine with me. They’re so important to my life and happiness

Have you ever been in love?
Well, yes, totally head over heels!

Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?
Yes, It can happen! The feelings, the connection, the electricity

Do you want to get married?
Yes, I would love to.

How did you meet your other half?
I met Michael on Tinder!

Do you like to keep your personal life private or spread it all around?
I generally wear my heart on my sleeve, but sometimes what I share with people is curated

Have you ever had a broken heart? Is it healed now? 
Yes I have had a broken heart, and no, I don’t think I’ll ever recover from such hard feelings – but that’s not a bad thing – I learn from it and move on all the wiser.

Was having lots of friends or having great grades more important to you?
Friends, boys, popularity, clothes, weekends, social status, having a good time – they were all high on my priority list when I was young. My teachers often told me I wasn’t good at their subjects, so I began to resent them and resent the work. I didn’t try, and I didn’t try to prove them wrong – although I should have. I had one teacher who believed in me and I thank the stars he did. I finished school because of him, and I got the grades I needed for the next stage in life.

In short, you’d be winning if you could strike a balance between the two.

Are you patient or do you have a temper?
I am very patient but I get pretty dramatic when I’m stressed or frustrated

How often do you think about human kind and our destiny?
Daily, at the moment. What with the recent hurricanes, earth quakes and threats of world wars – just to mention a few of the crises’ the world is going through right now. Have you watched Blue Planet? Climate change is a huge scary factor that I think about a lot. I am making daily efforts to squash my carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

Do you plan your life to the detail or leave it up to fate?
I do believe in fate, but I am a planner. I love organisation, and when I get particularly excited about something I like to plan and make lists. I think we are all actively bringing the art of slow living into our lives, so we’re learning how to be more relaxed about this

When you make plans with friends, how far in advance do you plan?
I’m pretty sporadic but I love a good plan for the calendar

Do you frequently speak exactly what’s on your mind?
Yes, I’m good at being honest, but I can still keep things in and close up. I am fantastic at listening too, I just really care

Would you rather read or party with friends?
Generally, I’d like to party. Realistically, read. I am always taking everything in – magazines, adverts, news feeds. Since becoming a mama and having our lovely home, I love nothing more than to be here, pottering around, caring for Arlo, writing on my blog, taking photographs, reading… (with a wine in hand)

Are you really organized or super messy?
We try to be clean and organised, but sometimes with a child that’s impossible to achieve 24/7. Generally I don’t let it cause any stress – there’s more to life!

What’s more important, the process it takes to get to a solution or the solution? Why?
The process. The appreciation, respect, understanding, education and knowledge you build from the process makes the solution x100 it’s worth

Are you afraid of failure?
Yes, every day. I’m learning that it’s okay to fail occasionally and it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to pick up the pieces, start again, and refresh. It’s okay to be challenged and grow. Most of all, that it’s okay to have a little bit of fear

How can people stay in touch with you?
Follow my blog, follow my Instagram here. I dare you to say hi! 🙂

about me interview q&a