Ashley Kang — A Day In Her Life

This week, we’re sitting down with Ashley Kang, a former fashion executive who made the intentional decision to pause her career almost a year ago to invest in herself and her family. Ashley shares what it’s like to leave a job she loved at a fashion company after five years, move to New Jersey to live near her family (yes, literally in the same building complex), and build an entirely new structure around being present for her two boys, ages 2 and 4, and the structures they’ve built to support that.

In this conversation, Ashley opens up about the reality of having a 4-year-old with feeding challenges, the surprise of actually enjoying spending time with her kids more than she expected, and how it took eight months for her 2-year-old to ask for “mommy” instead of “daddy” for the first time. We talk about the 15-minute increments that structure her mornings, why grandpa does school drop-off most days, how she and her nanny divide and conquer, her protein and muscle-building era, and her minute by minute mornings.

What We Cover:

Why she describes her days as intentional, structured, and joyful
The decision to leave a fashion career she loved to focus on her highly anxious 4-year-old
Morning routines scheduled in 10-15 minute increments (butts in seats at 6:40am!)
Living in the same building complex as her twin sister and parents
Grandpa doing school drop-off for her son and nephew (who think they’re brothers)
Working out 5 days a week in her protein and muscle-building era
The Monday grocery haul: Korean supermarket, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s
Standing play dates with her 2-year-old (playing tent in bed with a projector)
Navigating parental preference (daddy’s favorite vs. mommy’s favorite)
Feeding challenges: going from less than 10 accepted foods to expanding his palate
Creating content to remove the taboo of highly educated women quitting their jobs
Dividing and conquering with her nanny (who helps with Korean cooking)
Family dinner at 5pm sharp (something she never had when working)
Cousins playing together after dinner until bath at 6:45
The mental gymnastics of motivating her 4-year-old without him knowing he’s being motivated
Two surprises: she actually likes spending time with her kids, and her relationship with her 2-year-old changed completely

Guest Bio: Ashley Kang is a former fashion executive turned full-time mom of two boys (ages 2 and 4). After starting her career at Rent the Runway, getting her MBA, working in consulting, and spending five years at a fashion company, Ashley made the intentional decision to pause her career to invest in herself and her family. She lives in New Jersey with her husband (who she met in business school) in the same building complex as her twin sister, her parents, and her nephews. Ashley creates content on Instagram about her experience as a highly educated professional woman who chose to step back from her career, working to remove the taboo around this decision. Her days are filled with Korean cooking, gymnastics for muscle tone, feeding therapy wins, and finding creative ways to motivate her kids.

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