Make Over Your Life with HGTV Star Lauren Makk

*This transcript was auto-generated*

Kim Gravel: Coming up on The Kim Gravel show.

Lauren Makk: We're missing out on the real purpose of ourselves, which is here to experience all of the highs and the lows. You know, I, I get to remember Christmas now. I remember, I remember my forties cause I don't remember my twenties or my thirties. You know, I get to be there for my children.

I, you know, I witnessed them doing things now that I probably would have not been paying attention to, you know, like they're funny things that they do. And, and I get to watch them and I just sit back sometimes like, man, I'm so I, it's the moment, it's the pride I get in those moments where I get to.

Really, pay back all of the, the, the bad decisions I guess I've made in the past or the, the times I wish I had, had been clear for.

Opening Introduction: Let's just go on and spill the tea. This is The Kim Gravel Show. This is one of the realest persons I've ever met in my darn life. You gotta watch this. My mission is to encourage every single woman, we're here to lift y'all up. There's no one more effective than moms. You mess with the bull. You going to get the horns. I need coffee. I need Jesus and I need therapy. If you can bring a smile to people's faces, why would you not? We love our kids. We love our husbands. What a blessing. We're gonna dedicate this to you in finding your superpower. Okay girl. True confidence is knowing who you are and why you're here.

Kim Gravel: Hey y'all, it's Kim Gravel and this is the Kim Gravel show. And this season we are leveling up our lives and stepping in to our purpose. And we're going to do it together. And today. We have got a guest on that is so, creative, Zac, I love creativity. I do. I love to be creative.

Zac Miller: I try to be creative every day and it's not always easy, you know?

Kim Gravel: No, that's the big thing. I mean, people think, oh, you have talent and, or, you know, somebody has the skill of, you know. Creativity is hard. It's really, really hard.

Zac Miller: Yeah, you see people who are really good. I actually let me let me tell you this. I've had to stop going on Instagram and looking at like what other like filmmakers and photographers are doing because it always just makes me feel like I'm like, oh, my work is garbage compared to all these people, right?

It's hard to not compare yourself when you're trying to be creative.

Kim Gravel: But you can't because you're seeing their highlight reel. You're seeing what they have just worked probably hours upon hours upon hours of doing. But I think everyone has creativity inside them. And and There's something about tapping into that, whatever that is for you, that gives you joy and passion and makes you feel alive.

So, if you are in a place in your life and you're like, Kim,I want to be creative. Like, people always ask me, how do you do all the stuff that you do? The thing about creativity is it, it spawns more creativity. It, it, it increases. Creativity is not a shrinking violet. It is an expansion. So, you know, if you do a podcast or you write a book or you develop and you design, the more you step into your creativity, whatever that is for you, the bigger that, canvas gets, so to speak.

You know, whatever that is for you, but everybody has creativity. And we're going to talk about even how to start it, even if it's just decorating a little space in your home, or even if it's just writing down a little something creativity is in you. And today we're going to talk about how to step into that with my good friend, Lauren Mack.

I just want to say a big thank you to everybody who's reached out to me about, the book collecting confidence, my new book that is just been such a blessing to hear from you. It's been a bestseller and it's, and more importantly, it's the messages I'm getting that has touched your life is really.

You, you have no idea that is true success to me. If you've taken anything, any nugget, any truth out of that book and applied it and, and related to it in your own life, I say, thank you. Zac, it's just been so amazing to hear people say to me, Kim, this book touched me. That's why I did it is that I want everyone to walk in their collected confidence so you can start where you are and become everything you're meant to be.

It doesn't matter your age, doesn't matter, what you look like, where you come from. Confidence is right there for you and can everything help you be everything you're meant to be. Thank y'all. I love you. Okay. She is an interior designer, DIY expert, HGTV star. You'll recognize her from the design star, next gen HGTVs show, TLC's trading spaces, y'all remember that one?

And A& E drill team. Hey, and of course the talk show fab life. Y'all welcome Lauren Mack.

Lauren Makk: Can I have that when my husband comes home? I love that. Thank you for that , Zac.

Zac Miller: You're welcome.

Kim Gravel: Lauren, I love you. I tell you, when I met you, I felt like I've known you forever.

But girl, you've been around forever. Been in tv a long time.

Lauren Makk: I know what is going on. You think I'd be a household name by now?

Kim Gravel: You are, you are. So look, how did you get your start? I love the fact that you, when I was reading about you, that you got your start on trading spaces from answering a Craigslist ad?

Lauren Makk: Yes, girl.

Now, this is going to date me, okay?

Kim Gravel: Go ahead, do it.

Lauren Makk: It was, right when the pand not pandemic, goodnight, the other pandemic, the financial pandemic. I remember that. When the bubble was popping on the housing market, I had actually started my career as a model home designer. I worked for a big merchandising firm.

We designed all the models for Southern California, Nevada's biggest builds, you know, for big home builders. And the bubble was popping on the market. I started recognizing that we were having a free fall and financial collapse. And everybody around me was getting fired. And I said, I gotta, I gotta pivot.

I gotta figure something else out. I know I'm next. And so I went on Craigslist on my little sidekick phone. I don't know if y'all even remember that. It was, yes, it had a little swivel screen and it was the first phone I ever had with the internet on it. And I went on and, and I was sitting in my little car and I looked for a job, went on Craigslist.

Does anybody even use Craigslist anymore?

Kim Gravel: They do.

Lauren Makk: They do? Oh, good. Well, I got to dust it off. Okay. Okay. And I found an opportunity to audition for a trading spaces like television show. Well, I had never done television or even considered it, but I had this great portfolio of all of my, my, my designs for my, my, my job merchandising model homes.

And I just took the photos up there and I said, let me give it a shot. And I walked in that thing. I remember that the room would have looked like, and everything got blurry after that. And then I walked out and like, it was kind of like, I came back into my body and I said, Whatever just happened, it was magical.

That's how it started.

Kim Gravel: Well, and Training Spaces was hard, wasn't it? I mean, that was a hard show to work.

Lauren Makk: Well, you know, it's interesting. For me, it wasn't because I was used to working with a very small budget and on a very short time frame. You know, I come from a bunch of folks from the South, and we were used to making something out of nothing.

So the challenge of 1, 000 in two days was easy for me, honey. It was like, I've been practicing this all my life.

But doing it on TV too. I mean, like when you see these design shows, cause I'm going to tell you something, trading spaces, clean house, Niecy Nash, and, and, John and Kate plus eight got me through my stay at home mom years, which were tough for me.

Yes. I believe that.

Kim Gravel: They were tough for me, but I remember it watching it. How is it doing that on TV? Like, how is it decorating and you know, is it, is, is it what it seems?

Lauren Makk: It's definitely what it seems. It's actually worse than what it seems or harder. I'd say it's a lot more that you don't see on TV. Like we do, we make it magical in an hour or so with some pretty little music and some cuts, you know, but it is a challenge.

I got to say though, you know, I, I forget the cameras there, you know, you know how it is, Kim, you know how it is. I'm forgetting the mics here right now. We're just having a conversation. You know, I think that that's, that's for me been my magic, my sweet spot and you know how it is. You just bring your personality, you bring your skills, you bring your talents and you let God do the rest.

And so that's how I feel. We say that twice. So that's how I feel. It's always been my approach.

Kim Gravel: Well, Lauren, let me say this to you though. Like when, I love decor I love these shows, and I love decorating, and I don't have the gift or the eye for it. But, I'm probably like a lot of people who just sit at home and watch you on TV work your magic.

Tell me, cause you are the queen of DIY. You can take nothing and make it fabulous. Thank you. What What, how did this creativity come to you and can you, can you learn it? Can we do it at home?

Lauren Makk: Absolutely. And we teach, I teach it every day on my social media channels and on YouTube. But I will say this, you know, again, I come from a long line of.

We'll call them homemakers. Historically, black women in the South have been homemakers. , yes. Yeah, for lots of generations, you know, and so when it comes to using what we have to make the most of it, I think that is a real part of the history, of my family for sure. And, you know, growing up, I didn't know we didn't have a lot of money because my mom really made everything look so lovely.

She made all of our clothes. She made all of our costumes. She made all of our decorations. All of our holiday decor. Every dinner party, every event was always something. My mom sewed all of our clothes, girl. I mean, can you imagine? Can you imagine that? I don't even think I had a real retail item until my sister came along because sewing for two was difficult.

 And so I just think back like, you know, Making something has always been a part of my just everyday thing, and now for me, it's a little bit more than just make it, DIYing things. I like customizing things to my home. You know, when I go to Ross, I can find a great lampshade for, or a lamp for, you know, 10, but it's not the right color, so for me, I want to come home and Spray paint it black to match my decor.

So for me, it's always been just this little thing that I do to like tailor my things. You know, you go buy a shirt right now. It's going to fit, but it fits better when you tailor it, you know?

Kim Gravel: Can all of us do this? Because this is, this is, I think women are so, the home is so important.

Right. You have two young boys, your stepchildren, your husband, y'all are the hottest family. I saw y'all's, pictures in the people magazine. Gorgeous. But you live with a bunch of men. Okay. So do I.

Zac Miller: We're sorry. I'm apologizing in advance for whatever Kim's going to say.

Kim Gravel: Be living with a house full of men, you know, but the home is so important.

What is some advice you could give to us women who want to, to decorate and want to make our home special and unique?

Lauren Makk: I understand that because for me, home is the most special space. You know, it's the place we always want to come home to it. It's our space of reprieve. It's where we can be ourselves.

It's where I can take off the Lauren Makk hat and just be mom. Or wife or baby, you know, you too, Kim, right? You too, Zac. Everybody's listening and understands that, right? It's the place, even after three weeks of vacation, you just want to go home, right? And so it has to rise up and greet you. It has to be a space that you like are really proud of and love and feel comfortable in.

And that's what I feel is a part of the DIY, the bigger picture about DIY. And when it comes to that, I'd say it's like any other muscle. You just have to exercise it. You can't take yourself too seriously. I know you will understand this, Kim. Part of your seven do's, don'ts of doing.

Kim Gravel: That's right. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Lauren Makk: Like if you mess it up. Okay. So what, you know what, but you can have pride now, you know, for the next time, how to really handle. The situation. Make mistakes. It's okay to make some mistakes. You'll actually may find that doing a mistake actually teaches you how to do it better the next time, or the mistake turns out to be a happy mistake.

And you're like, that actually looks better than I thought it was. Sorry.

Kim Gravel: I've got to ask you something. This is totally selfish. It's totally selfish. Come on. How do you pick color? Because color has come back in such a big way in decorating and in clothes too. How do we pick colors? But can I just tell you that is the bane of my existence is picking a freaking color because how it looks on the chip, Lauren, and then how it looks on the.

Okay. Help a sister out.

Lauren Makk: I'm here for you, sis. Listen, I always say this. Everything looks great on a one inch square, right? And then a little, in a little file, when you start painting it, you're like, Oh, this gets crazy. There's so many different things about color, but really I take a color and I look at next to, like say if it's a gray, I'd put it next to a blue.

If it starts to lean blue, I know that that is blue. You know, If it starts to lean brown, or I'm like, Oh, maybe that's closer to the shade that I'm going for. Yellow is a tricky color too, because it can look great in a water square. And next thing you know, it's like this color on your wall. This is a rag.

So, I just say like, it's really important. I even take things like a car, a piece of cardboard and I'll paint that cardboard, you know, like make it maybe two feet by two feet. I'll paint that cardboard and I'll, I'll tape that cardboard to the wall sometimes. And just leave it there. Leave it there for the day.

I want to see what it looks like in the morning and then afternoon. But you know, it's just paint at the end of the day. So if you don't like it, just change it, you know, the world, right?

Kim Gravel: Oh, I've stressed about paint girl. I have sat there for months and be like, Oh gosh, I do it. Should I do it? I mean, it, it's one of those things where it's, you have to have that creative vibe, but I like holding it up to different colors.

Lauren Makk: That's brilliant. That's good. Also, I want to say this too about paint while we're on the subject. Painting the sheen is more important than I think anything else. High gloss, semi gloss, those things are out. Even, even like, a matte can be a thing. But if you have kids, you know, kids touching the walls, I always say a satin or a eggshell finish is the best way to go.

And my last and most important tip is You need to hire a professional when it comes to paint. I always say, it don't say painter on my business card. And that's for a reason. I know where my skills lie. And I know where my DIY skills go. If I don't, I'm not a good painter. I just can't paint a straight line to save my life.

And it doesn't matter the color if the painting job is tacky. So, hire the professionals. Do what you gotta do. I would rather have an ugly shade on my wall if the painting is done right. Versus having, you know, a really tacky paint job in the right color. That's what I said.

Kim Gravel: You got a point there because like Travis and I tried to paint our house one time.

Zac Miller: How'd that go, Kim?

Lauren Makk: It's a skill. It's a skill. I wouldn't. Let me do my own electrical work, you know what I mean?

Kim Gravel: Right. That is the truth. Okay. So know your, know your limits. Yes. What makes something feel expensive, Lauren? Because I look at you. I'll go and y'all have gotta follow Lauren on all her social media.

So I want you go and find these things at Goodwill. Oh my, lemme just, lemme set this up so she'll go to Goodwill and find something. And before I know it, she's done looked it up. It's 700, $800 worth. I mean, it's. How do you know when something feels and looks expensive?

Lauren Makk: Oh, well, that's in the eye of the beholder.

I'll tell you, you know, it's easy to, it's easy to find out the true value of something online. You can take a Google images, take a picture of something and scan the internet and it'll tell you what it's worth. For me, I look at things like weight and what it's made out of. I can tell some, you know, when something got good vote.

 It's a lot of things you can trick the eye with inexpensive products and make it look expensive. Like for instance, hanging your curtains higher and wider around your windows tends to make the space feel grander and bigger and larger and more expensive. Expensive. So those little tricks can also be one of those things that you, can use to really trick or manipulate the eye.

 So that's my tip on that too. Because I want to say this too. Expensive things don't always look great. How many times have we been to someone's house and we're like, this is such an expensive house. And you're like, this is tacky as hell. Can I say that?

Kim Gravel: And not comfortable. No, you can say that all day long.

And not comfortable.

Lauren Makk: Yeah, not comfortable. We didn't look good. None of that.

Zac Miller: Can I, wait, can I break it for a second? Because like, sure. For me, you're saying not comfortable. I feel like there's two types of couches and Lauren, I want you to either tell me I'm wrong and crazy or not, but like there's either really beautiful couches or comfortable couches.

And you can never have both. And it's so frustrating, right? Because I'm moving and I'm like, do I want to bring my couches? I kind of like, they look terrible, but they're comfortable. Do I want to move them? Like, what am I, you know, they're so expensive.

Lauren Makk: It's tough because you have to shop around. Now, I will say this when it comes to my home, my couch, I do more living on my couch than probably any other piece of furniture in my home.

It is the one thing that I will like, I'm going to go ahead and buy the one that I love because I can skimp on dining chairs. I can skimp on, you know, accessories and all those other things. But that couch, we get a lot of living out of that thing. And it's not meant to last forever. So just give that up, folks.

Like it ain't the couch of yesteryear where our grandmothers used to say, don't sit You know, in the front room, you know, I say, I would always say splurge a little or not splurge, but necessarily, but spend the money on your sofa because we can buy cheap pillows. You can take off the pills that come with it or whatever.

You can buy cheap ones and, you know, get away with other things, but spend the money on the thing that you use and get the mileage out of, you know, so that's what that's a good point, but it's not going to last forever. Like it's, you give it five years and then do the math. If it's a $5,000 sofa, you got five years on it, it's a thousand dollars a year.

You take, start taking the math out of that. It's less than a hundred dollars a month. It ain't that expensive.

Kim Gravel: A $5,000 sofa, Travis would have an absolute heart attack.

Lauren Makk: I was using a number I could easily do math on. There you go.

Zac Miller: I feel so the couch is $5,000. You walk into the store these days though, man.

Lauren Makk: They're everywhere.

They're 5,000. So that's a nothing. That's a, that's nothing.

Kim Gravel: It really is. But Travis would be like, what? The what? We're not okay. You know, I'm married to the cheapest man in the free world.

Lauren Makk: I will say this too, though, as I just mentioned, I have found some really beautiful, great sofas at the regular box stores. But they have, you know, pillows that perhaps I'm not in love with.

And if you can take away the, the fluffy pillows that come with it and actually look at the bones of the sofa, you might be overlooking something that's really great. And you can find a good deal while you're at it.

Kim Gravel: Yes. That green couch you bought, didn't you buy that at Goodwill girl? Y'all got to go to her social media and look at that.

How did you find that thing was absolutely gorgeous.

Lauren Makk: Thank you. The Dupioni sick. Let me just set the scene. What does that mean? Goodwill. Oh, what does that mean? What's the Dupioni sick? No, it's the honey, the finest silk, only the finest silk I've ever seen in my life. It is beautiful and it was in pristine condition and it was filled with down and it was, it is everything I've ever wanted it to be.

Had the most beautiful lines and the pillows were a little bit dated because they had this like pattern sewn into them. Girl, I flipped those pillows around, honey. That sofa is chef's kiss. But you know, you have to be willing to see past, you know, some of the things. I took the old, the dated skirt and I stapled it underneath it.

So now it looks nice and tight and tailored and it's just a beautiful piece of furniture for our home. But I would say that to anything. It's like, it's like our husband's ladies, right? We got to overlook some of their minor flaws to see the man underneath.

Kim Gravel: Because we sure can't reupholster them.

Lauren Makk: That's right.

Kim Gravel: We can make it happen. All right, listen, I want to talk about something serious Lauren because you have had this visual transformation. I've watched your journey on social. You have really gotten so healthy. You've lost a lot of weight and you're pretty candid about how that happened. Can you share that with our audience?

Lauren Makk: Absolutely. You know, I accidentally I'll say lost about 70 pounds in the last two years and it's because I quit drinking and it is. I just stopped drinking. You know, I, it was one of the toughest and hardest breakups I've ever had in my entire life. That's what I equated to. Jack Daniels and Sutter Home were my two best friends.

 But I recognize that we were in a toxic relationship with one another and the pandemic really amplified that for me and made that really clear. A lot of people. You know, and, and I'll say this, I had always been the party girl. And I love a good cocktail. I love a good reason to have a celebration and alcohol comes with a celebration for everything, you know, and it's, you know, wine and it's beer and it's all of the things that I love and I have a love affair with it.

 But I recognize that it was no longer serving me. In fact, it was actually hindering me from the things that I really wanted in life. And, I had this come to Jesus moment. I was sitting right here in my, my, my, my living room. And I said, You know, God helped me like I'm, I hadn't been a very religious person prior to this moment, but boy, God spoke to me, you know, in this way, this loud way, it was a voice that I had never heard.

And it was not my voice. It was so clear. It was during the pandemic week, you know, everybody kind of lost their jobs and kind of lost their direction and what's lost her way. And I, and I was just like sitting in the living room. I said, God just helped me like. Help me. What do I do? What am I, what am I here for?

What is, what is going on to help? And I heard this voice say to me, like, how do you expect me to help you when you're, you're too numbed out to hear the blessings that I have for you? And then with them, if you're drunk and can't use them. I said, okay, Lauren. I know. I mean, I get goosebumps telling this sermon now.

Zac Miller: Say that again. Say that again?

Lauren Makk: He said, how do you expect me to help you when you're not helping yourself? How do you expect me to use you if you're numbed out and checked out and not available for the gifts that I'm giving you? Like, how do you expect me to help you? That was the voice. Oh, girl.

I mean, I got goosebumps telling you about it right now. Cause it was so clear. And I'm grateful for this reminder. Cause sometimes I still forget, you know, I'm like, not going about my way. I say this to say at that moment, I said, okay, God, like, okay. All right. I hear you. I know. I knew every time I'd want it.

You know, I'll go on a bender on a weekend and I'm like, okay, Monday, I'm stopping drinking. Just like Monday, the diet starts, which by the way, I'm waiting on that reward next.

Kim Gravel: Well, when he gives it to you, will you call me?

Lauren Makk: Cause he is, he's telling me I was just still out. And that's what my, my ears have been shut down.

Kim Gravel: No, but, but, but don't you think that that's, I mean, don't you really think we all numb out to something though, Lauren? I think everybody, you know, for you, it was drinking for some of us is eating for some of us it's excessive shopping.

I mean, there can be so many ways that we numb out.

Lauren Makk: all of it. And let me tell you, it has been alcohol for me. I mean, food, it's always food because who doesn't love a good date? I love date. I know. Hello. Listen, and that's my first addiction. Then I had a gastric bypass in 2001, lost a lot of weight. And so when my, when I was physically restrained from eating, then alcohol became my crutch, you know, And I'm still working through that, but what I have learned in my process and through therapy and all of the other, and prayer and everything at meditation is really that I have been afraid of feeling feelings.

And, man, when that reality hit me, like. Oh, you're trying not to feel feelings and you know, the feeling part is, is, is really kind of two, two, two prong. Like I'm avoiding the feelings I don't want to feel, but in the same moments, I'm also avoiding feelings that are really good that I want to feel. And I'm telling myself that I'm feeling those things with, with alcohol or with food or whatever else, you know?

So I'm really just trying to process my feelings now. I've tried to get a hold on that. I mean, it's a long process, probably a lifelong process, but I'm learning to like. Understand that there are moments when I have highs and lows and sobriety. I'm like, okay, this is a low for me right now. I'm allowed to feel these feelings of like disappointment or shame or guilt or any of the other human emotions.

I process that. And I try to just live. like move through it. And sometimes it comes with a Chick fil a meal.

Kim Gravel: Okay. Girl, with that Chick fil a sauce.

Lauren Makk: Don't talk about it. Anyhow, I use, I try not to use it as my crutch, whatever it is, because let me tell you, I can use anything to fill in the void, right? I can do

Kim Gravel: it. I think we all can.

Lauren Makk: I think we all can. So I'm just trying to learn how to feel the feelings.

And my husband, God bless him. I say, listen, right now I'm feeling anxious. So, and he knows, like, I have to, I have to process that because it used to, if I used to feel anxious, I'd go grab my Jack Daniels and I can't do that any longer, so, or I don't want to do that. I can do that. I just don't want to. I want to be available for my children.

I want to be available for my family and I want to be available for myself.

Kim Gravel: You know, don't you think there's a lot of people that feel this way, Lauren, about their lives? I mean, there's got to be more out there than just what meets the eye. And I think those things that we numb ourselves out with keep us from those, those blessings and those opportunities.

Lauren Makk: Yes, absolutely. And, and, and we're missing out on the real purpose of ourselves, which is here to experience all of the highs and the lows. You know, I get to remember Christmas now. I remember, I'll remember my 40s cause I don't remember my 20s or my 30s. You know, I get to be there for my children.

I, you know, I witnessed them doing things now that I probably would have not been paying attention to, you know, like they're funny things that they do. And, and I get to watch them and I just sit back sometimes like, man, I'm so I, it's the moment, it's the pride I get in those moments where I get to.

Really, pay back all of the, the, the bad decisions I guess I've made in the past or the times I wish I had had been clear for, you know, so.

Kim Gravel: What did you learn from the bad decisions? Because I say the messes don't make don't mess us up. They make us up. I truly believe that. I think all of our messes and mistakes in life are truly really Game changers, if we let them.

Lauren Makk: And you know, too, I wouldn't even say I made any big mistakes, because that's one of the messages I had is like, God was like, are you going to wait for something bad to happen to quit to change your life? Okay. Okay. Okay. Do you need that? Does it need to get ugly for you to do something else? Like, because I work in television.

People know my mess.

Kim Gravel: Right? They know your stuff.

Lauren Makk: Yeah, my mess gets amplified. And it's on somebody's People magazine, right? So I don't want it to get messy. Right. I just want to make the decision for myself. But I'll say this, like there are no messes, right? Every decision happens for you, not to you, you know?

And so I just stopped it before it happened to me. Right. And I made the choice to happen for me, you know, because I don't want it to, affect my children, my family, my all the hard work I put into everything.

Kim Gravel: All the hard work. Do you have any advice? I mean, this interview has just gone down this road and I think it's very powerful.

Do you have any advice for others who might be struggling with numbing out, drinking, eating? What can you say to, cause I,I think this is a bigger issue that a lot of people deal with than we even know.

Lauren Makk: Oh A hundred percent. Especially for women. And I have people write to me when I, when I share this thing, cause at first I didn't want to talk about my sobriety.

I didn't want to talk about it. It was something that I was like. Anxious about I thought, what if I don't, what if I'm not successful? What if I tell people I'm sober and then I just, and then I fail and I go back to it, I'll say this, like, that's a part of what I'm learning about it is that's a part of the disease, the disease within myself, the disease of alcoholism or whatever you want to call it, right.

Alcohol dependency, whatever. Right. And I just say this to speak folks. I think it's about time. We all start getting really clear about our purpose. Right. There is a bigger plan for everybody who's listening to this. And, and, and it's calling us, it's calling us, it's calling us forth. And you know, you've said it on your podcast many times, you get one shot at this life, right, Kim?

One shot, one shot, man. And we, you know, it's, it's all the times we keep saying everything starts on Monday. Man, Monday can start right this instant. And, and, and we don't have to look at it forever. Just look at it for right now. When I quit drinking, it was too much for me to think about tomorrow. Even like, I gotta stop drinking.

Tomorrow's my cert, my sister's birthday. We're gonna have a big party. I can't quit drinking now. I don't do it that way. I take it day by day, minute by minute if I have to, you know, I know. In fact, today's my daughter's 21st birthday. You know, what comes with a 21st birthday, honey.

Kim Gravel: Honey, she legal. She done got legal.

Lauren Makk: And I'm like, okay, we're having dinner tonight. We're going to celebrate her birthday. There's probably going to be shots there. I have to play the tape forward. I know what happens when I pick up the bottle and I get toe up from the flow up and tomorrow morning, I can't. Function as a mother because I'm, you know, chasing my Advil bottle and, you know, trying to have a beer with breakfast to, to take them to knock down the edge off.

Yeah, you know, I know what that looks like. So, but I also know what playing it forward looks like for me if I don't pick up the bottle. And that is I'm clear. I'm awake. I'm, I'm, I'm remember I could take pictures of the memories for everyone else who won't remember tomorrow, tomorrow morning, I'll be able to get up and go.

Walk the boys, you know, to their bus stop and I'll be able to hang out and cook breakfast and make lunches and be present for my day. And so, I plan, I play that forward. I need to start doing that with Chick fil A though, by the way.

Kim Gravel: That's another podcast.

Lauren Makk: That's podcast number two. I will say this though, Belle by Kim Gravel are fabulous.

They are tummy tucking. They are waist cinching. They have slimmed my thighs. I'll never forget it. When me and my husband first started dating, I had put on a pair of your beautiful jeans that you sent me. Thank you so much. They were so lovely. I love you. I put them jeans on and I took a picture and sent it to my then boyfriend and he was like, girl, you look good.

And I was like,

Kim Gravel: you do look good. Honey, you got baby, baby got back. You got a good back. Okay. You know, let me ask you this, do you know we came so close to working together on the fab life? Really? Did you know that? So throughout all that, they were casting the fab life. I was on the short list.

Lauren Makk: Get out of here.

I didn't know that.

Kim Gravel: I'm telling you, we came this close. You know that, Zac.

Zac Miller: No. I know you were on the panel as a guest.

Lauren Makk: But you know, I was completely oblivious to what was going on. I got on that show and I was like, what the hell just happened?

Kim Gravel: But see, listen, I loved that show, baby.

Lauren Makk: I know we got to meet.

And you were, you, I've always been so lovely. You've been a lifelong friend ever since. So I know we would have been lifelong friends then. We are. Everything happens for a reason, right? Cause you know, that show didn't

Kim Gravel: last. It should've. It should've. I'm sorry. It should've. I know. I know. Because I loved what y'all were doing.

And that, that truly is your gifting and your calling. You are so creative. Y'all have got to go follow Lauren. What is happening right now in your career television wise? When are we going to see you on TV again?

Lauren Makk: Well, I do. I'm working with all of the HGTV giveaway homes. So we've got Urban Oasis, Smart Home, which is out right now.

Y'all got to go in and and put your name in the hat so you can win that house because it is beautiful. And then I've got some other really do give away the house, girl. Yes. And a car and 50, 000 to pay off the taxes, honey. All right. That's sweet. I mean, yeah, go sign up on tv. com. You can win the smart home.

It is worth 2. 3 million in, Santa Fe, Mexico, which is. Phenomenal. I've just, Santa Fe has never been on my radar, but it is now, honey. Super beautiful. And, and of course, the Urban Oasis house will be giving away soon. That'll be, dropping, so I can't tell where it is, but it's beautiful. Fabulous.

 And then, of course, we're working on some new projects for HGTV, but I'm also working on my own. personal projects that are near and dear to my heart dropping soon at the end of this summer. So please follow me on Instagram or social media.

Kim Gravel: I've gotten to follow you. You will learn so much. I still think you need a line on QVC.

So we got to talk about that. Come on, Lord.

Lauren Makk: Are you listening? I would love that. That would be my honor. I, you know, I have so many plans for, for craft tools and materials and things. So, yes. You see, call me baby. I'm right here waiting.

Kim Gravel: Well, and I need you to come home, come to Georgia and design my home.

So we'll talk about that too. I know you're in Nashville, Tennessee.

Lauren Makk: Yes, I am. You know, I come to Georgia every other week to get my hair blonde. To be like you, Kim.

Kim Gravel: Oh my gosh. Well, you better pick me up. We'll go to lunch and you can take me to your hair place. I would love it. We, we're gonna, we, every time, every guest we have, we do what we call rapid fire questions.

I love it. And we ask you these random questions. Now don't think about it, Lauren. What comes up comes out. Okay. Okay. Got it. All right. Rapid fire questions. What in the world made you want to be a graffiti artist?

Lauren Makk: Oh, well, I had a boyfriend. He was much older than me and he was fine, honey. So I was like, whatever you do, and I'm gonna do it too.

Kim Gravel: Oh, we've all got that story somewhere in our back.

Lauren Makk: Listen, it's who I lost my virginity to. And I was like, I'm gonna go wherever you go.

Kim Gravel: You said, I'm gonna throw it on the wall.

Lauren Makk: Oh, girl, whatever I need to do.

Kim Gravel: Oh, Lauren. Honey, I don't know if we could do a daytime show together. They might bleep us too much. All right, here we go. What's the craziest date you've ever been on?

Lauren Makk: The one where I left his butt right there at the movie theater. There is this movie theater in L. A. that used to sell funnel cakes. And honey, I love me a funnel cake. Oh, I love a good funnel cake. There needs to be more funnel cakes in this world. I don't know why you're gonna put them at a carnival at West anyhow. Agreed. Agreed. Right? So there I am, we and this guy, he took me on a date to the movie theater and I chose that one because I wanted me a funnel cake.

Well there it was, I'm sitting there holding my hands. You know when all the sugar gets on your fingers and you can't wait to suck it all off after that last bite? I'm sitting there with my fingers up in the air watching the previews and this boy sticks my fingers in his mouth and sucks my, the glove off.

Kim Gravel: Don't take my powdered sugar. Don't take my powdered sugar.

Lauren Makk: And also how gross. Right. Like, yuck. So I was like, Oh, excuse me.I excused myself, took my funnel cake and walked out that movie theater and said, bye. Left his butt sitting right there. You can not.

Kim Gravel: Tacky. Tacky. What's the best thing you've ever found thrift shopping?

Lauren Makk: Oh gosh. What? What? Oh, that's a tough. Everything. I'm looking at some things right now. Okay. You know, I love me. Uh. A historical vintage moment. I got these tessellated tables that are valued at like thousands of dollars each. I'm obsessed with them. I found them for 20 bucks each. But you know, every time I go out and find a treasure, that's part of the hunt, right?

I found a brand new product. It is. I found a brand new product tuxedo in the bins, honey. I got it for a dollar a piece. I know. Wow. I resell a lot of things online because I just find great stuff. Even if it doesn't fit me, I have to resell it. I love it.

Kim Gravel: Oh, so it's a business. It's a total business side.

Who is your favorite designer?

Lauren Makk: When it comes to home interiors, I love kelly warsler She comes to mind because I just love she has like a vintage approach to things and I just love anything marble or stony But still done with like a cool Cool touch and I love my boy. You like things that are expensive.

That's what you're trying to say, but I don't like paying the price And I love Jonathan Adler. He's just colorful and bold and he's my dear friend. Love him. I mean, but you know, everybody, I like everybody for just putting themselves out there. It's an art design is an art. It's like being, you know, putting your own pieces together.

And so I just really appreciate art in that way.

Kim Gravel: Three quick tips to elevate your home interior space.

Lauren Makk: Okay, if you can do nothing else today, just clean your space up, right? You don't have, that don't cost you nothing at all. Clean your space. The struggle is real. That's a bridge too far. I know it sounds crazy, but take everything, put it in a box, like take all this stuff off your countertop, put it in a box, wipe it down, and then see what really needs to go back.

That's my first tip. Okay. My second tip would be... That's a good time. And my second tip would be, speaking of boxes, when I was a little girl, my mama handed me a box is mine and this box is yours. Everything at the end of the day needs to go into this box because I don't want to see it and I don't want to trip over it.

And I have lived my life by that rule ever since, like I put my remote controls in a box. That's so good. Right?

Kim Gravel: That is such a good piece of advice. I'm saying that to my kids when I get home, teenagers.

Lauren Makk: Cause I'm looking at a monster truck right now. I'm looking at a teddy bear. I'm looking at a bunch of junk and I'm like, what?

I've worked hard at putting this house together and keeping it nice. Like I don't want to trip over your monster trucks. So I love my little thing ever since then. I like I put everything. I've got a lot of junk, but I hide it, honey. That's what's underneath this shirt.

Kim Gravel: Yes. The tape holding all this up.

You knew what it really was. Exactly.

Lauren Makk: So that's number two. I love it. Put out, put your junk in boxes so you don't have to see it so that your house looks nice. What's the third thing? Hmm. I told you my tip about curtains and stuff, but I would just say, like, make your bed, like, take care of the stuff you have.

You don't have to have expensive things. Just take care of them. I always make up my bed every day. I wipe my counters down. I,I close the lid on my toilet stool. These little things can just make your house feel

Kim Gravel: Oh, I love that! It changes the way you feel about things too.

Lauren Makk: It does. Taking care of your things makes you take, makes you take pride in your home.

Kim Gravel: It does. Oh, I love it. All right. So I'm gonna go home and do all right. Who's your celebrity crush?

Lauren Makk: Dwayne Johnson, without a doubt. Dwayne Johnson, I'm married, but in another life, call me.

Kim Gravel: I'm into that. Yes, yes. I'm super into that. If you could only have one more meal on this earth, and you have to eat it every day, what would it be?

Lauren Makk: Oh, one. Oh. One meal, sis. One meal. I really love Thai food. I love spicy. I love flavor. I love rice. I love the peanut sauce. So I'd say Thai food. Anything Thai would be my, my alley, but I love spaghetti too. And I love donuts and I love french fries and I love hamburgers and I love pancakes.

Kim Gravel: Well, this is what we'll do.

We'll all pick our favorite meal and then we'll all share.

What do you hope technology wise will be obsolete in 20 years?

Lauren Makk: Oh, we have artificial intelligence. Oh, I know, right? I'm scared of like what that means for everybody. I know. Yeah, it's just, I love the reality of life. Like there's so much joy and beauty in real things. And like, we're just moving away from that.

And I get scared for my kids because I see them on their tablets all day, which I'm grateful for. That is my, like... Digital babysitter sometimes, but a little bit. Yeah, but like, I also want them to enjoy like putting their feet and taking their shoes off and run through the grass, you know, and like, there's got to be this balance and I don't know, artificial intelligence just

Kim Gravel: I would agree with you on that.

That is a good one. Lauren. Yeah, very good. Thanks.

Zac Miller: Do you use artificial intelligence things like

Lauren Makk: Oh Honey. Everything about me is artificial. That's the other part.

Zac Miller: You're real on the inside, though.

Lauren Makk: I'm trying to return to reality, but I'm like, what would I do without botox and weed, honey? I don't know.

Kim Gravel: Yeah, let's not, let's not go, let's not go too far.

Lauren Makk: Just the intelligence part.

Kim Gravel: Just being able to type in chat GPT. I use it all the time, and it's a little scary.

Lauren Makk: I agree with you, it's a little scary.

I know, I haven't touched it yet, but I'm nervous. I've heard that like you're not supposed to because then they'll like know all the things you're thinking about and I'm like, hey, they already do.

Kim Gravel: Honey, if they knew all the things that we were thinking about, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be locked up somewhere.

So we're all good. We're all good. All right. One last question. Okay. What's one piece of advice? That you can give someone listening right now to step into their creative self. Because I think we've all got creativity inside of

Lauren Makk: us. Yes. I would say this. I would challenge yourself to think, why not? That has always been my mantra.

When I moved to California as a teenage girl, Black girl from Oklahoma, everyone said, why the hell are you moving to California? It's so expensive. It's dangerous. And I said, Why not move to California? You know, I think that we set our own selves in our own little boxes and then we don't, we're afraid to get out of them.

And I always challenged myself when I'm scared to do something. I'm like, why not do that? You know, I threw out the first pitch at the Nashville sounds game the other night and I was scared. I was scared so much. I had all these ideas and all these things of how I could shimmy out of that thing. And I thought, you know what, Lauren, this is one life.

Try it. Just do it. Why not do it? Just do the thing. Why not do it? Why not do it? So I did it. I didn't do the great, but I did it. And I showed my kids what it looks like to be brave. So I would say, challenge yourself to be brave. Challenge yourself to, to do the thing. When you think to yourself, why should I do this?

Why am I doing this? Just say, why not? And do it anyway. You'll be so.

Kim Gravel: I love you, girl. Will you come back and be with us? Let's talk on this. We need to talk about you having a line. You need something big going on.

Lauren Makk: Tell God, Kim, come on, from your lips to his ears. I already said one of my steps, Lord, because now I know who's in charge.

It ain't me, honey. Come on, Lord, I'm here for it.

Kim Gravel: We ain't, we ain't in control anyway. We ain't got no control of it anyway.

Lauren Makk: You're right about it, girl.

Zac Miller: I love you, girl.

Lauren Makk: I love you too, Miss Kim. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being such a, an inspiration to everyone who's listening and watching. You have no idea who's watching you, girl.

You are a true talent, and I love you. I adore you. I'm so proud of you. too. And I'm so proud to know you. It's just, it just gives you a sense of who he's inside.

Kim Gravel: I feel the same. Y'all. I feel the same. Lauren. I love you. All right. Come back and be with us. Y'all. You got to make sure you follow Lauren Mack, get all of her, DIY tips and tricks.

This woman is so creative, so inspirational, and you will not be disappointed. Lauren Mack on Instagram, that's Mack, M A C K, on Instagram. And just, honey, just Google her. You will not be disappointed. I love y'all. See you, girl.

Lauren Makk: Love you. Love you so much. Bye, you guys.

Kim Gravel: Ah, so she left us with, Why Not, Zac. Why not do it? I love it. And didn't you love her story about her sobriety and how she was saying it was numbing her out? I think that's what we do. We, you know, some of us eat, some of us watch TV, some of us escape through social media. We're trying to numb out and, and, and I'm so thrilled to hear her say, she's like, I'm not doing that anymore.

Zac Miller: It's so important. It's like when she said, I just didn't want to feel feelings. I'm like, Oh, like that something deep in me was like, Oh, I can totally relate to that. Hello. I think everyone can relate to that.

Kim Gravel: The thing about it is she made the change. I think that's the power. That's where the power comes in.

That power of deciding, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm tired of this. I don't want to do this anymore. I want something different. I want something better. And, and again, just making that decision. It's not hard. It's not easy. It's a hard decision to make. Like she said, she still struggles with it every day. But, if you're out there struggling with sobriety or Whatever your thing is that you numb out and, and you just don't know what to do or, or how to do it, just make that one, just that one step, one moment, one hour, one day at a time.

Zac Miller: It's not always alcoholism either. It's not always something that you have to No, it's whatever. Completely stop. Yeah, because I, because I get that that's important, especially when you have, you know, an alcohol issue. But you know, if it's social media, like, don't spend two hours on your phone, spend one hour on your phone, you know?

And then use that other hour for something positive.

Kim Gravel: And, and I want to say to everybody listening, she said, everybody's got a big calling. And I loved it when she said that it just confirms everything that we're saying here. There's something great out there for you. Huge, big, special, unique.

I promise you it's not going to be easy and it might not make itself crystal clear immediately, but you've got to start in believing that and knowing that you're worth stepping into whatever that is for yourself because you're worth it. You're beautiful. You are called and you have a big, big why you're here until next time.

Everybody share the show with other people, the Kim Gravel show, let everybody know where you can just download us and listen wherever podcasts are available, but just know that we love and appreciate your support and just know that it's time and you will level up your life. Bye.

Zac Miller: Bye, y'all.

Kim Gravel: Girl, where did you cut your hair? I love it.

Lauren Makk: Honey, this is Black Girl Magic. This is a sew in. It takes two hours and I'm blonde and short in a hot second.

Kim Gravel: Can I sew in some hair? I need to do it.

Lauren Makk: Oh, you can sew it, you can glue it, you can weave it and weave it. You know, excuse me, my husband's calling. So, I said that to say, like, make mistakes on your,

Kim Gravel: The Kim Gravel Show is produced and edited by Zac Miller at Uncommon Audio. Our associate producer is Kathleen Grant, the Brunette Exec. Production help from Emily Bredin and Sara Noto.

Our cover art is designed by Sanaz Huber at Memarian Creative and Mike Kligerman Edits the show and a special thanks to the team at QVC. Head over to kimgravelshow.com and sign up for our mailing list. Again, we can't do this without you, so thank you for listening, and we love you.