A Breather

These pictures are from Memorial Day Weekend. It goes without saying that I am more than a little behind on posting. For the past couple of weeks I've been a one-post-a-week kind of girl. I was a little caught up living my tangible life. That's the one where I get together with friends for mid-week laughs, take myself on romantic dates, and go for long afternoon runs with Lua. And I got to do all that without pressuring myself to rush back to my apartment to get a post or two done before my eyes would start to close for the night. It ended up that I took an unintentional breather from blogging. 

I've written about similar issues with finding a balance between blogging and real life before. I bounced back from those breaks with a fresh take on how to approach this whole blogging business. Maybe this is just the breather I needed to kick myself into gear again. Blogging has become so important this past year and has opened up endless opportunities for me. In some ways, I feel like I'm being unfair to my blogging persona by taking such a step back. It's amazing to be even a small part of this vast community. I absolutely love the people I have met, and am so grateful that I've been able to use this space as a way to make some incredible new friends. I almost feel I'm being selfish in my relationship with this blog. It seems that I want to reap all the benefits, without putting in all the hard work. 

I honestly don't know how some of you do it. Full time jobs, full time blogs, some full time parents, all while balancing a seemingly active social schedule that keeps you healthy and happy. I was putting a lot of work into my blog, until I realized that I was putting more work into my blog then into some of my face-to-face relationships. And with the addition of gorgeous weather I really began to feel the itch to be outside my apartment after work, instead of cooped up, spending even more time sitting by a computer screen. 

I have a few options. I can continue to blog in a less than predictable way, constantly feeling guilty than I'm not providing enough inspiring, new, or thought provoking content. I can go back to the days where I came home from work to immediately sit down at the computer and work on the blog way past my bedtime. Or I can dive head first into this blogging world, start accepting sponsors, offering giveaway upon giveaway, spend all my time outside of work shopping for new clothes, networking with companies, and scouting outfit photo locations. Now, that doesn't necessarily sound terrible at all, but it does seem like more occupied time I'd have to take away from the time that I like to leave unscheduled in my life. 

My problem with going down the road of sponsors, is that I think it would change my blog tremendously. Right now, it's all me. I get to post whenever I want, write about the topics I want to, and say pretty much anything, all this over sharing included. If I start having to be a voice that represents different companies, that will unavoidably change. Personally, I would feel a responsibility to keep a certain level of professionalism on the blog. I'm just not sure I'm ready to be held accountable to anyone besides myself for this space. I share a lot here (probably too much). I'm not sure a clothing, jewelry, vintage, handbag, etc. company cares that I share my deepest darkest feeling with their target audience. Yet, I'm still being contacted. What am I missing here. What should I be doing here? 

AG Top, Brandy & Melville Skirt, Espadrilles from DSW
Friendship Bracelets from Madewell, Coral Bracelet Gift, Pendant from Clyde's Rebirth

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on all of this. I know it's hard for everyone to juggle all the things they have going on. I'm not giving myself an excuse, or saying that I'm more busy than anyone else, I'm just asking for advice. I know that most of the people who read my blog are also incredibly busy, want-to-do-everything-but-just-don't-have-the-time people too. Maybe you have some inside advice you wouldn't mind lending me. Or any advice on partnering with companies and how it's changed your blogging experience for the better or the worse. I'm all ears. 

Photos by Melissa

Thank you again for sticking around while the posting has been so spotty here. I'm going to try to do my best to get back up to speed and start sharing and interacting with you all more because that's what this is really supposed to be all about right? 

Two of Us

Hi! I'm guest posting for Emily over at The Daily Fashionista today. She asked us to write posts inspired by a favorite song, or our favorite music. Of course I chose a Beatles song as my inspiration and shared a little love for Lua. Thank you so much to Emily for being the sweet stylish lady that she is and for asking me to contribute today!

Sunglasses from Sucre, Hat borrowed from my Mom
Dress from Pavement, Dolce Vita Sandals

You can head over to Emily's blog to see the full post, some different photos, and read a bit about my buddy - buddy relationship with Lua.

Guest Post : Morgan and Lua

Photos by Melissa

The Beatles -  Two of Us

I figured it was only fair to share some Beatles love. After all, they did inspire the post. 

Scenes from a Weekend : XX

Memorial Day Weekend! I spent the long weekend out of the city at my parent's house. Melissa and her pup Cooper came out to enjoy the vacation. I was really looking forward to having a girls weekend at the beach. It's always nice to spend quality time with good friends, especially when there's no pressure to entertain or make plans. We both just wanted to relax the weekend away. I picked up Melissa, and the two girls and two pups drove out together. 

In true girl's weekend style, we filled our time with plenty of pampering. Saturday morning I took Lua with us and we all went for a morning run. After we got cleaned up, Melissa and I went into town and shopped around for a bit. Mostly window shopping, but we did pick up these friendship bracelets from Madewell. One of my oldest friends and her boyfriend came out to spend the night. We all grabbed a quick bite at a low key place near by. Then we went to a beer tasting that was hosted by my friends who brew their own. They use local ingredients as much as possible and are really getting good at their craft. As soon as their company gets off and running I'll be sure to let you guys know all about it!

Sunday morning we drove to the deli for breakfast and I took my friends by my absolute favorite beach. We lounged at the house for the rest of the afternoon. I whipped up some homemade hummus that hit the spot. My friends had to leave for a BBQ, so Melissa and I were basically on a date for the rest of the night. I took her to a great sunset spot, followed by an amazing dinner, and wound down the night sitting by a bonfire with friends.

Monday we slept in late. It's not really a vacation until you sleep past your work alarm. Melissa and I eventually rolled out of bed and made some coffee and breakfast. We sat  at the table and talked for a while. Discussed the nights events, our goals for this summer, our pups, and anything else that crossed our minds while sipping down our cups of joe. I love leisurely mornings like that. 

We packed up, cleaned up, made a quick pit stop at the beach, then started the long drive back into the city. It was great to have a real girls weekend away from all the hustle and bustle. I always love being able to show people my favorite places and I'm really glad that Melissa could make the trip out! I'm sure there will be plenty more summer weekends that look pretty similar to this one. I can't wait. 

Hope everyone had a great week! Sorry it was so quiet on the blog. Hopefully you can understand that sometimes enjoying real life just has to come first. That said, how is everyone?

Belittle Me

Someone was rude to me this week. So rude that I couldn't sleep, that I obsessed over the why's and how come's for the entire day following it. It made me think of high school a bit. When it was the thing to do for your guy friends to lead into a conversation with a snide remark about how you looked or what you were wearing. Except this wasn't high school and this wasn't a teenager. It was an adult.

Being around people like that makes me act like someone I hate. It's not that I want to go through life wearing bubble wrap. I can take my fair share of abuse, insults, and hurtful comments. I'm usually able to come back with something to either let them know that I can handle it, or I walk away from the situation all together. 

  

I've talked about how I'm trying to be nicer and cut down on the sarcasm, especially when it comes to meeting new people, but that night I had to be someone that I didn't like at all. I had to be extremely rude and I hated it. I tried for a long time to keep the plastered smile on until I hit my breaking point. Even though I tried to remove myself from the situation several times by turning my back, walking away, and not directing any conversation towards this person, it didn't work. Trying to joke and smirk my way through it didn't work out in my favor either. They continued to find their way over to me for the single purpose of being cruel. At one point I was even shoved across the room. 

  

People say that living in a city gives you a certain edge that people who don't live here might not necessarily have. I think that just living around other people gives you an edge. Everyone comes at life with a different perspective, from a different angle, and with a different outlook. Not everyone is going to be nice, although it would be great if they all were I also realize this isn't a fantasy world. I certainly learned my lesson this week. 

Living in a bigger city you're exposed to more people, so it's more likely that you will bump into someone who isn't the most pleasant to be around. A part of me thinks that these particular type of people use being in the middle of a huge city as an excuse for their rudeness. It's not ok to be disrespectful to one person simply because there is a larger volume of people here. When I leave my apartment I never intend on being a stranger's target to dump their frustrations on.

Live and learn I guess. I should have removed myself from the situation far sooner than I did. And by that I mean, I should have left all together. This person didn't deserve to have control over my night, but I let him. Up until that point I was having fun, laughing, and enjoying a night out with friends. What I did realize is that there's a distinct difference between someone who is sarcastic with good intentions and a person who uses their voice to belittle others. 

Sunglasses from Sucre, Madewell Jeans, Jeffrey Campbell Sandals
Vintage Ring from my Grandma, Vintage Earrings from Spitalfields Market
Sheer Polka Dot Tunic Borrowed from Jupe Boutique

I am very aware that there are a large group of people will be always be crass, rude, ignorant, offensive, etc. I can't change that, but a big part of me does want to understand it. I realize that's almost asking for the impossible too. So the next logical answer is to accept it. Seems to be a common theme for me these days. See the problem, acknowledge it, accept it, move on. So, moving on...

On a completely different and much more positive note, last week Terra put up her Style My Closet feature! While I was in Pittsburgh we made plans to stop by Jupe Boutique so I could be Terra's style challenge for the month. She picked out this sheer polka dot top for us to style. Of course I went with a simple top and pants sort of look, while Terra put me back in my pink skirt for a ladylike vibe. You can check out more photos and read about Terra's take on the looks in her post, Jupe Boutique's Style My Closet. 

Sunglasses from Sucre, Skirt from Anthropologie, Ring from Anthropologie
Vintage Clutch from Tree & Kimball Market, Custom Harness from Clyde's Rebirth
Photos by Terra

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! I spent some quality time in the park relaxing with Lua yesterday. Tonight I'm looking forward to meeting up with the always lovely Sarah who's in town with her husband for the weekend. Have a good one and be nice to a stranger!