1 Year Blog Anniversary + A Cute Summer Transition

Hi, friends! Guess what today marks?! 1 year since I started this blog! Whew and what a year it’s been! So many highs, lows and one of the biggest learning experiences of myself in regards to patience, determination, self confidence, willpower and less sleep! It’s so crazy how fast a year goes by these days.  There’s been so much work that has gone into this little space here! I am proud of myself for how hard I have worked and so appreciative of the people who have helped me along the way.  I don’t think I have written too much backstory here about how and why I started blogging, what goes on behind the scenes and what the future holds so I am sharing it all here today!

How And Why I Started Blogging…

I remember last summer after we had moved into our new home and were getting settled, I knew I needed to do something to keep me busy.  I wanted that something to be fulfilling and to make me excited to work again.  I have had an interest in style blogs for the past 6-7 years and have read them daily.  I graduated from LSU in Fashion Merchandising, so this type of work has always been a passion of mine.  I still remember being pretty opinionated about what I was wearing/where I wanted to shop as a young girl.  I went through a lot of different scenarios of what I wanted to do (start a monogram business, open a clothing boutique in our community (which I actually looked into but it would have taken over a year for the space to even be available) and one morning I woke up and said I am going to start a blog.  And I haven’t looked back since.  I got right to work and knew this was the path that I wanted to take.  So August 1, 2017 was the first blog post I published!

Behind The Scenes…

I think most people are shocked when I tell them my husband takes all of my pictures using an Iphone! I have come a long way learning to edit them and the aesthetic I am trying to achieve.  Taking pictures (and Instagram) is probably the most frustrating part of the job.  Andrew works a ton and we have a toddler so finding time to actually take pictures isn’t always easy.  I had an opportunity to work with a local photographer here yesterday and these are the pictures from the shoot! So if they look just slightly different from what you normally see here, that’s why! 😉  I don’t think a lot of people realize how much work goes into blogging.  I was definitely one of those people who said how hard can it be to take a picture of yourself, put it on the internet, write a blog post and make money from it? Well, it’s one of the hardest, most time consuming things I have ever done.  One picture to post can take hours to produce and some blog posts can take days to write.  I really respect any blogger who does this full time, who does it part time as a side hustle, who has children to take care of – it’s not easy.  I have seen other people actually make fun of bloggers probably because they think it’s so easy.  There’s so much that goes into taking an outfit picture, linking the items in the picture and then actually posting it for the world to see – which can be quite intimidating! But the best part about it and everyone else doing it, is that we all love it! You have to love doing it to continue working so hard because it takes so much time and effort.

What The Next Year Holds…

I’m excited to see what the next year holds! When I started blogging last year, I didn’t really think about where I would be in a year because I didn’t know where the road would lead.  Sure I have goals and dreams for it and I have a ton more to learn.  I have had some great opportunities come along that kept me pushing forward.  When I have moments of wanting to stop doing this, I pray about it and every single time God sends me a sign that I need to just take a deep breath, stay in my lane and keep working hard.  I’m excited to get back to blogging more in the next few weeks because I really love opening my computer and putting content together.  I am really thankful for each and every one of you who opens that email when you see it in your inbox.

 And now to the outfit! A neutral outfit is my go to and I find when I absolutely love a piece, I wear it a ton.  I’m not afraid to repeat an outfit especially if it’s one I feel confident and comfortable in.  There are ways to change it up to make it seem like you are wearing a completely different outfit! I changed it up by throwing a lightweight scarf over it and will throw the denim jacket over it when it gets cooler.  Because let’s be real…I was sweating while taking these pictures. 🙂 I have been wearing these white jeans a ton lately! I picked up this sweater tank a few weeks ago and I love that it works now and will be a great piece to wear into the Fall.  I just may style it again later into the Fall too here! Stay tuned!

 Sweater tank (50% off today!) | white denim | scarf | denim jacket | sandals | earrings | sunglasses

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Thank you to Nikki for these amazing pictures! She is a local photographer here in Jacksonville – check out her website, Facebook and Instagram!  She was so easy to work with and made me feel comfortable taking these pictures! 

xo