Amanda Auker
about
COFOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
hello, hello!
My name is Amanda (Mandy if you’re feeling friendly), and I represent the Leo half of the LEO & MAUDE team.
Who am I?
A lover of animals. An avid booze enthusiast. A queen of snacks (self-proclaimed, of course). A music aficionado. A hiker. A runner. An explorer. A tree hugger. A 99.99% vegan (there’s a margin for error in everything). A proud wife. An obsessed dog mom. An incessant list maker. A major weirdo. A jigsaw puzzle fanatic. A potty mouth. A big sucker for stories (always lost in a good book, TV show or movie).
...and so much more.
The facts.
Snacks & my husband & my dogs (not necessarily in that order)
Reading & running & hiking
TOO MANY, but to name a handful: THE SHINING & WE BOUGHT A ZOO & ARMAGEDDON & ZOMBIELAND & ALLLLLLL THE FANTASY/SCI-FI MOVIE SERIES
Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes
Spiders
The Walking Dead & Bob’s Burgers
NORMAN REEDUS & JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN, DUH! (WHAT CAN I SAY, I’M A SUCKER FOR THE GRUNGY, ZOMBIE-KILLING TYPE) Also, DAVE GAHAN, because that stage presence hits me right in the feels
Hamburgers
The island of Socotra
The Scorpions & Sammy Hagar
Pooh Bear & Brittney Spears & my dad
Wine (preferably pink)
The details.
My Cancer sun and Aquarius moon are constantly pulling me in different directions, making me an overly empathetic walking contradiction (cue Meredith Brooks singing “I’m a b*tch, I’m a lover”) who is weird AF…and I love it. Add Sagittarius rising to the mix, and you’ll understand my typical lack of filter and insatiable craving for adventure. I swear like a sailor and I drink like a pirate. I love the freedom of expression I feel when I immerse myself in graphic design, decorating and all other opportunities to let my creative juices flow. I’m independent and imaginative. I’m a creative dreamer with a tendency to overshare. So what better place for me than a blog, right?
Over the years, I’ve tried to fit in so many boxes, constantly trying to mold myself into the Amanda that I thought I needed to be for everyone else. Terrible, I know. Eventually, that got boring, and my deep desire to be true to myself started to persevere. That’s when I met Jennifer. She’s my LEO & MAUDE counterpart and the true Blanche to my Rose. Through our friendship, I have learned to better embrace my inner light (quips, quirks, ups and downs included). I’ll forever be attempting to “figure it out”, but I realize now that it is perfectly acceptable to have days when I feel like I’ve really got my sh*t together, and others when I’m convinced that I’m the poster child for Murphy’s Law. Amidst all of this, I have come to the realization that I am the queen of my crazy jungle and I want every woman to own that role.
I dove head first into founding LEO & MAUDE with Jen because I wanted a platform to share stories and perspectives that would (hopefully) resonate with other women. I want us to laugh together, to cry together and to create a safe place to connect with each other. I want us to show each other that we, as women, are never alone and we are all beautiful warriors who are capable of defying the boundaries that surround us. Most importantly, I want us to prove that we can celebrate each other for our differences even when the world expects us to do otherwise.
Truth is, I am on a journey to find the beauty in all of life’s messy moments, giving less f*cks about being “perfect” and more f*cks about happiness, self-love, acceptance, and being the most authentic version of Amanda I can possibly be. Why? Because who wants to fit in a box, anyway?
The history.
I was born in a small, foggy coastal town in Oregon under the summer sun but have spent the majority of my days living in California. At 17, I left a town in the Central Valley to move back into the familiar coastal fog and attend California State University Monterey Bay, where I got my bachelor’s degree in Psychology / Human Development. That’s also where I spent three years as a collegiate athlete and met my husband.
After the college craziness settled, I found myself not being able to pin my finger on what was next for me (still feel that way, to be honest), so I threw my resume in the hat of a local temp agency, which led me to my current job, managing digital media. I met Jen through work, and we have been soul sisters dreamin’ up LEO & MAUDE ever since.
Voila, here I am today. I love where I live (Monterey, amiright?!). I love my husband, whose weirdness gives my weirdness a run for its money sometimes. I love my family (blood and self-chosen), despite them being big pains in my ass sometimes. And I especially love my spunky, eleven-pound Yorkie Poodle, Marley, and my chunky, old man Yorkie Dachshund, Alfie. Stick around, and you’ll be sure to see a lot of them.
