thoughts & a little thursday inspiration

Hey everyone! I’m back after a bit of a hiatus. I wish I could say it was solely because I was off gallivanting around town and enjoying the last bit of summer (as if that’s really a thing in Southern California) but truthfully I have hit a bit of a wall here at ITSF. I woke up this morning and after doing my usual morning routine (which begins with laying in bed and checking my iPhone notifications and ends with coffee and eye cream,) I scrolled through some motivational quotes from the “happy thoughts” board on my Pinterest page. I realized many of the quotes I pinned were about change and growth, and I reflected on my own.

I’ve drafted several posts here and there, but have struggled to incorporate new content in order to round out the blog and present myself, through ITSF, as a whole and complete person. I was in such a different place when I began the process of birthing this blog, and I’m grateful for the changes I’ve experienced since then, as they have been a result of positive growth. However, the blog should grow with me! And it hasn’t. I have been trying to find the most natural jumping off point to display this, but I’ve been fumbling through it for the past few weeks, (plus, there truthfully was some gallivanting which left little time for taking outfit photos) hence my silence. I have had many different ideas for new posts, but told myself they strayed too much from my “brand”…well at it’s core, aren’t I kinda my brand? That’s all blogging really is, people sharing their own voice on this huge platform, right? Then how has my brand (aka: me) stifled me? I have completely abandoned a post I initially felt very passionately about because I thought it was too intellectual, too deep or preachy. I’ve questioned my authority…over my own thoughts! It’s all very ironic and unnecessary, so I am committed to loosening up my own reins and writing about whatever I want to write about. It may come off as an abrupt departure at first, but it’s really just sharing more of myself with my readers, and I think that’s ultimately a good thing. 🙂

That’s not to say the fashion and beauty enthusiast in me will whither away, those are still two huge loves of mine that will never leave me or the blog. But I think ignoring the side of me that actually reads books and thinks more insightful thoughts and ideas beyond mixing leopard print and stripes together in one outfit (although, when done right, is still pretty epic) is really doing myself and ITSF a huge disservice. So, I guess the first step to expanding was just putting these thoughts on paper (virtual paper, that is) and I certainly wish I had allowed myself to do it weeks ago. This was the easiest post I’ve ever written. It pretty much wrote itself in a matter of minutes! Well, now that we’ve gotten all that out there, I’ll leave you with some inspirational quotes to ponder on this lovely Thursday-before-a-holiday-weekend. Be safe! xoxo

PS. I just had to stop myself from writing an apology disclaimer for how long this post is…change is a process people, A PROCESS! 😛