Hello, dear readers!
It has been awhile since I posted, and I wanted to say hi and bring all of you an update.
As many of you know, I’d taken some time off blogging since July of this year…and going from 5-6 posts a week to 0, taking a huge step back from the blog, and reassessing turned into a 5-month silence here. (Except for a few posts I was required to make as part of partnership agreements 😉
Ive never taken so long to contemplate a new move. Perhaps with all the massive changes that have happened in my life since 2013, I was reluctant to change the last thing that remained from my past.
I’ve been blogging at Chic Steals for almost 9 years – it’ll be a full 9 next month.
9 years is a long time.
During that time I’ve changed immensely. Almost everything from my old life has been stripped away and rebuilt from the ground up. The past 3 years have brought into focus what my values are, and how I want to live them.
By the middle of this past Summer, I’d come to the realization that everything about my blog, from the content I shared to the look and feel to its mission, even to the name of it – didn’t align with the person I was anymore.
And so for 5 months I’ve struggled with what to do. I realized I had to make a decision: remake my blog into something that I aligned with who I am and how I want to connect with people – or STOP it and shut it down entirely. So for months I’ve gone back and forth, trying to decide.
I decided that blogging was still a part of my identity, and that I couldn’t give it up. I decided that I valued my readers and audience too much to just shut everything down and say goodbye. I decided that it was time to grow or get out.
So I am.
I’m going through a full overhaul of this blog, and a full rebrand. And a new name. And a new website. New content, slightly shifted focus.
I can no longer compete with blogs that are churning out 6 posts a week, DIY after beautifully-photographed DIY. There is so much amazing content out there, I can’t compete by being a content machine.
I’d rather compete on quality, on uniqueness – not hopping blindly on every fashion trend, not churning out tutorial after tutorial, not advocating unending consumption, but staying true to oneself and focusing on the less is more approach. Putting one’s personal stamp on one’s entire life, and molding what is around us to our own tastes. Living frugally but fully; celebrating design, ideas, and creativity. And sharing this with all of you.
You’ll see changes happening here over the next couple months.
So goodbye 2016 – a year of debilitating lows for me…and slowly gathering highs. Not quite there yet – but I also hope that 2017 will surpass this year in every way!
I hope you’ll stick around for the ride 🙂
xo
