🍪 Francesca Jansen got pregnant with twins barely a year into her marriage, tore her ACL right before a missionary program she'd planned her whole life around, and spent years believing she wasn't worth pursuing because of her weight. In this conversation with Liv Harrison, she gets radically honest about what it's like to be a plus-size young mom in the Catholic world and how she stopped letting the internet define her worth.

They also dig into the breastfeeding guilt no one talks about, why surrender isn't a one-time thing, and how Saint Maria Goretti taught her to forgive herself. This one's for you if you've ever scrolled past a friend's photo and felt like you didn't measure up.

💛 Guest Bio

Francesca Jansen is a Catholic content creator, handmade jewelry maker, and twin mom based in Chicago. She runs Ite Ad Joseph, an Etsy shop where she designs faith-inspired jewelry by hand after her boys go to sleep. Francesca is known online for her honest, unfiltered perspective on body image, young motherhood, and navigating faith as a plus-size woman in the Catholic space. She lives in the city with her husband Christian and their twin sons, Joseph and Benedict.

Follow Francesca:
https://www.instagram.com/francescajanssen_/

Chapters

00:00 Babies and Beautiful Chaos

00:40 Meet Fran: Twin Mom at 24

03:44 The Unsolicited Advice Industrial Complex

05:00 Newly Married, Immediately Outnumbered

06:43 "Trying to Find Myself Through Other People"

08:50 Falling Down Stairs Tearing ACL

10:55 First Dates and the Feast of St. Joseph

13:30 "Never Thought I Was Worth Pursuing"

15:00 Liv's 300-Pound Weight Loss

17:30 Friends Who Make a Living Being Beautiful

20:20 Pregnant, Plus-Size, Carrying Twins

23:00 "If I Just Hit This Number" Lie

25:50 Every Woman Sees Something She'd Change

27:20 Curvy Catholic Fashion Finds

30:30 Learning to Forgive Yourself

34:20 Twin Mom Survival Tips

35:50 Breastfeeding Guilt Nobody Talks About

38:10 Birth Plans, Epidurals, and Letting Go of "Superwoman"

40:40 Where Comparison Really Starts

41:10 Fran's Jewelry Shop

43:10 Prayer Requests and Closing

🎨 Fabiola Garza spent 10+ years at Disney, then left it all to draw saints for kids. In this episode of The LIVing Room, she sits down with Liv Harrison to talk about hitting a creative plateau, the moment her side project outgrew her day job, and what it took to go full-time as the artist behind the beloved Princesses of Heaven children's book series.

They also get real about Catholic singleness over 30, why God promises himself and not a white picket fence, and Fabiola teases what's next. Including Catholic toys, Princesses of Heaven Vol. 2, and the long-awaited boys' saints book.

⭐️ Guest Bio

Fabiola Garza is a Catholic artist, author, and illustrator with over 10 years of experience at Disney in merchandise design. She is the creator of the Princesses of Heaven children's book series and has worked with publishers including Pauline Books & Media. Her work brings a Disney-trained eye for whimsy and storytelling to Catholic children's content.

🔗 Links

Connect with Fabiola Garza:

https://www.instagram.com/fabiolagarzacreates/

Follow Liv Harrison:

https://instagram.com/@livharrison

In This Episode

00:00 Why Whimsy Isn't Immaturity
04:08 How Imagination Became a Vocation
06:01 Holiness Over Catholic Check Marks
08:44 The JPII Book That Almost Didn't Happen
11:20 10 Years at Disney and the Creative Plateau
14:06 "When Are You Leaving Disney?"
17:20 Saying Yes to the Unknown
21:22 St. Therese, Rosary Walks, and Discernment
24:20 Playing Convent at the Playground
29:50 What the Church Gets Wrong About Singleness
33:40 "God Promises Himself, Not a Husband"
37:37 Toys, Princesses of Heaven Vol. 2, and the Boys' Book
42:50 Prayer Request

🎧 In this episode of The LIVing Room, Liv Harrison sits down with Marilis Piñeiro, former religious sister, Vatican insider, and the woman behind Ex Nun on the Run, for a conversation that covers convent life, conclave chaos, singleness, hot takes, and what it actually looks like to build a life you love on your own terms. Marillis tells the story of working alongside Pope Francis during his 2015 US visit, including the moment she accidentally told him to go to bed (he meant the next dinner course).

If you've ever wrestled with vocation, boundaries, singleness, or what it means to live with both courage and peace, this one's for you.

⭐️ Guest Bio

Marilis Piñeiro is a former religious sister who spent almost nine years in the convent and three years working for the Vatican, including during Pope Francis's 2015 apostolic visit to the United States. She's the voice behind Ex Nun on the Run, where she shares honest conversations about faith, singleness, boundaries, and navigating life after religious life. She currently lives in Italy and co-hosts a podcast on Catholic singleness with her friend Gabrielle.

👉 Links

✅ Connect with Marilis Piñeiro:

https://www.instagram.com/exnunontherun/

✅ Follow Liv Harrison:

https://instagram.com/@livharrison

🗒️ In This Episode

00:00 What "Normal" Looks Like After Rome Jubilee
01:25 Conclave 2025
05:52 Telling Pope Francis to Go to Bed
10:00 Hot Takes and Travel Stories
11:15 Catholic Social Teaching Doesn't Pick a Party
14:30 The Courage to Speak Up
16:10 Leaving the Convent: Almost Nine Years In
19:20 Rebuilding a Prayer Life After Hurt and Anger
22:10 Why She Started a Podcast About Being Single
24:50 "I'm Not Dying to Get Married"
28:30 Bare Minimum Men and Fulton Sheen
32:20 Vulnerability With Boundaries
36:10 How to Pray for Marilis