Everything Else

New Year, New Start!

Hello, hello…is this thing on?

I realize things in my little neck of the “Internet woods” have been relatively quiet lately. I’ll be honest – 2017 was a crazy year. With our adoption process, a hurricane, fixing things in our house, and other goings on I just let some things fall to the side a bit. Well, maybe a lot. Whoops. I’m trying not to beat myself up about it too much because: life. It happens.

Anyway, that brings us to today. A new year, a new start. I spent some time at the end of 2017 thinking about the blog and what I wanted to do with it going forward.

Helpful Homemade Food Collage

 

I started this blog back in 2010, but I began blogging in general a little more than a year prior. It’s been a while, you guys! Things have definitely changed over time. in 2010 my blog read more like a journal – I would write about what I did over the weekend, places we visited, maybe even share a photo of a dinner I made (without a recipe attached!). I had a circle of other bloggers, many of them were also starting theirs after our days as wedding bloggers concluded. Over time, I started writing recipes and posting other DIY posts – blogs were becoming much more of a business at that point, and I felt the need to go that direction. Even if I wrote a recipe post that included a story about life, most people would scroll right by in order to read the recipe details. Ok – I get that (and I’m guilty of doing the same at times, to be honest). I’m not saying this as a sob story that no one reads my blog (haha!), but as a realization that times change. The Internet, social media…it all changes constantly. I mean – does anyone use Twitter anymore? I remember constantly connecting with others on Twitter, and now it feels like a ghost town. C’est la vie.

2017 was a year of change for me. Jumping into our adoption process officially took a lot of time and energy from me, and I wasn’t feeling as inspired to be creative. I was probably single handedly responsible for keeping Blue Apron in business during the year. I didn’t even feel like I had enough brain power to come up with a plan for dinner every night and it was easier to just have them create ideas for me.  I felt guilty that the website was being put to the side. However, I did realize that I missed it. So, in November and December I sat down and brainstormed about what I loved most about blogging.

Helpful Homemade DIY collage

I loved sharing stories about my life. I know mine isn’t the most interesting, per se, but I find it cathartic to share with the outside world. But it isn’t just the outside world: it’s for me as well. As I scrolled back through old posts to reminisce, it dawned on me how cool it is that I have a visual and written log of projects completed, recipes I’ve tried, and the like. My best work was when I created things and felt them worthy of posting online, rather than the other way around. At one point I was pushing out content 4-5 times a week. I couldn’t realistically maintain that kind of schedule with my other job, and it just filled me with a lot of pressure and expectations for myself.

So – I’m going to let go of those expectations and start from scratch today. I have a feeling 2018 is going to be a big year for me. I’m hoping this is the year we get to add a child to our family. I’m hoping this is the year that I finally learn how to fold a fitted sheet properly (am I dreaming too big here?). I hope this is the year I put the finishing touches on the inside of our home (I have a list of projects I still need to complete). I hope this is the year I make many new friends (and strengthen current ones too). I just have a lot of hope for this year, and with that this year I want to be able to rejuvenate my little space here on the Internet. I’m going to do my darndest to be regular with posting content, and I have more of a plan for what you’ll be seeing throughout each month. There will be some baby/life updates, there will be some food, there will be some DIY…a little bit of everything that makes me happy in my everyday life! Hopefully you’ll join me.

 

So – what are you hoping for in 2018???

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  • Happy New Year!

    I am hoping for a healthy 2018 for my husband and I. I have enjoyed following you on IG, especially the stories. I am excited to see what you post this year and hoping even more for you to add a little one to your family!

    • I hope that 2018 is a great one for you too!!! And thank you for the kind words – let’s hope those insta stories are soon to be filled with cute baby photos and videos! 😉

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