Remember that time when I was good at blogging? Yeah, I know it’s a bit of a distant memory but I can vaguely recall it. What happened to that girl? And if you see her, can you tell her to get back here ASAP.

No but really, I suck at this lately.

I think mostly because you pay attention to the stuff that’s most relevant to your life but in the last few months, I’ve heard people talking a lot about seasons of life. It’s like it’s a season for working, or love, or one of your kids going through a tough stage (I’m perpetually in that season). For me, it seems like the past couple seasons have been all about work and kids and trying to keep my life straight and less about the blog. And I hate that. Because I love the blog. I love writing, I love finding trying out fun new products and talking about them, I like spending more time than I’d care to admit browsing the internet for good shopping deals and cute tops. While in theory I treat the blog like a business, it’s really a passion project and it’s been bumming me out that I don’t have enough time to dedicate to it lately.

So before I jump into some holiday content, I thought I’d give a little update on what Iife has been like lately. Nothing truly ground breaking but a quick catch up since I feel like I owe it to you all for sticking with me through thick and thin.

The reason things have been so sparse over here is because starting a new business has been exhausting. Beyond that, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was stressful. I quit a job where I had put in the time allowing me a comfortable salary, super flexible hours and the ability to handle this side-hustle with ease. Plus, there was health insurance.

I said goodbye to all that knowing that it would take a lot of time, sacrifice and hard work to get back to that position in life but I definitely didn’t realize how big of a sacrifice it would be. Every day I’m getting a better handle on things but it’s been tough. There’s the guilty feeling that I’m not contributing as much to our bottom line, that I’m not able to focus as much on my kids as I’d like and just generally feeling guilty that somewhere a ball is getting dropped whether it’s at home, the office or most often, here on the blog.

I walk past this building everyday and I love it. Seriously, I wish I could buy it. Finally snapped a picture of it and it just felt right for this post. Not sure why. Maybe because it’s got a ton of potential just needs a little TLC which is how I feel right now 🙂

The work side of things has been equally rewarding though and I try to think of that when I get down about all the aforementioned guilt. But it hasn’t been all anxiety stomach aches over here.

Of course in the happiest news of all, my business partner, my sister-in-law AND my best friend have all had babies in the last month. So that has been a big ball of joy dropped into some of my most favorite people’s lives. Last weekend I got to go to Atlanta on a little blog-related trip for College Vault and UofL. Hoping to get some pictures from the event soon so I can share over here. I’ve also had the chance to work with one of my favorite local boutiques Dress & Dwell on all their marketing and social media. I’ve made pretty wreaths with the talented Jaclyn Journey and am attempting to get into the Christmas spirit with some partnerships with some of my favorite brand partners. Plus, there was a super fun giveaway a couple weeks ago that I’m hoping to do again in the next couple days … promise not to drop the ball on this one.

I just felt like I had to stop in and share, as I tend to do more frequently these days, that life is way messier than it appears on Instagram. My hours is currently in shambles, I’m attempting to keep everything together at work (did you notice that I said my business partner just had a baby!), there are two, yes two, Christmas presents under my tree and everything else is hanging on by a couple threads. But even in the madness, there is joy.

And occasionally, there is content to share over here. Hoping to get better at the balance soon. Until then, I appreciate everyone who made it this far through the post. #YouDaBest