I want to share something with you all that has been weighing on my heart lately. It’s something I struggle with as a blogger and it’s the business of blogging and social media. I absolutely love what I do! I love being able to connect with you and share a bit of myself with you all hoping that I can inspire you to elevate your everyday!! But here’s the thing, I know very well that by sharing my outfits, “lifestyle”, sales, travels and more, that it feeds into this feeling of always wanting more. As a society it seems newness is so important. What I mean by that is the idea that our worth to everyone else is somehow linked to always having the latest and greatest. Here’s the thing about things, if you’re always on the hunt for the newest thing you’ll never be happy because as soon as you get it something else will pop up that you now want or worse think you need! There will always be something cooler, better, or more expensive than what you currently have. But I think it’s so important to not be so concerned with what we don’t have or what our neighbor or friends have but rather what we do have!
I was talking to a few of my girlfriends a while back and we somehow found ourselves on this topic (sort of). It wasn’t so much about clothes as it was about upholding a certain lifestyle and the size of our homes. I feel blessed to be a homeowner and have found a great beach bungalow, in a great neighborhood. BUT, it’s tiny and I do long for the day we can have more space. We live in one of the most expensive areas in the country so that dream might not become a reality if we stay where we are. But here’s the thing, we could easily get what I WANT in a home. It just would be somewhere else. But then we wouldn’t be minutes from the beach or minutes from our friends and family. There are trade offs and so it’s hard to compare when I see the massive homes being built in other areas that cost less than our tiny home in Santa Cruz County with no garage.
It’s easy to compare. But it’s not apples to apples, it’s apples to oranges. And what’s more important, really?! Having a huge house with an amazing walk-in closet to display all my possessions or is it to be happy knowing I am beyond blessed to have found the love of my life, who supports all my dreams, and to have a healthy child who lights up our entire world. That’s what’s most important to me and always will be. I don’t NEED any of those things I mentioned above but I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice to HAVE. So this is where I want to shed some light. The difference between needing something and wanting something and then most importantly appreciating all that you have.
I never want someone leaving my blog or social media and feeling down on themselves or their situation. Quite the opposite actually. I want to inspire, encourage and motivate you. The lifestyle I share is completely 100% attainable. I mix high and low fashion and share how my family is able to travel as much as we do and how you can easily too! But in the end I want you to know, that all the material things I share are not what’s most important to me and they shouldn’t be for you either.
That’s a big reason why I went out of my comfort zone to get myself a side hustle that would help aid me in being able to experience more. Traveling and experiencing new places, exploring outside your bubble, is truly the only thing money buys that can enrich your life and make you happier than you already were.
Happiness doesn’t come from shopping a sale and scoring some new things at 40% off. Yes, I love shopping those sales, they’re some of my favorite but if you can’t, it’s not the end of the world. I might have been happier for a split second when I got my hands on some Tory Burch sandals in my size that sold out so quickly but that only lasts a short time. I love those sandals and have been wearing them nonstop but my happiness comes from my family. I’m grateful for God and everything he has provided me and my family with. I’m sorry this post has turned into such a long one and I really hope that my message gets across in the way I am hoping it will.
What I’m trying to say is, I share about fashion, lifestyle, motherhood and travel to inspire you, not to make you feel bad. And remember that what you see on my social media is a business, as is so many of the other accounts you go to for inspiration. I try and keep it as real with you as I can but when I’m shooting content for a brand I can’t really go into the details of how long it took to get the shot or of the tears and meltdowns that happened in the background. No, what you see is the finished product, the final look not the hard work it took to get it!
As always, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today! I hope you enjoyed the post.
