stop. reset. move.

Good morning 2015. How the hell are ya?

Ahh the first day back. This is always a hard/exciting day. As a mom I'm thrilled to be back on schedule and have a break from the constant bickering that occurs between siblings that have spent a lot of time together over the past two weeks. But as an individual (parents can be both despite what my children think) I am mourning the end of one of the best breaks I can remember in a long time. It was heaven. I did all of those things you imagine a vacation to be but feel too guilty to actually do. I had day(s) when I didn't get out of my pjs. I read books, not magazines but actual books. I spent one full day watching nothing but wonderfully bad TV. But we also went out on a lot of adventures, did lots of baking, went out with new friends and old friends and laughed each and every day.

I also turned off my computer on the first day of break and didn't turn it back on until this morning. Scandal.  I can count on one hand the number of times I checked Facebook and Instagram and the iPad was used mostly for watching Netflix. A much needed tech detox of sorts.

And as usual when you have a lot of relaxation, your brain tends to think about the things that in your busy daily life you push aside. One topic that popped up often was the blog. The blog (that would be this blog) that I love but over the past few months has felt a bit more obligatory and less fun. I've realized that a lot of those feelings come from my own push to follow the blog rules in fear of loosing my place, whatever that means. You know those rules: post several times a week, always post at the exact same time each day, always include pin-worthy pictures, always tweet and pin and Facebook, always always always.

But in trying those 'rules' I've realized two things: (get it, light over my head. ha)

1. When I follow someone else's rules, I start to plan and write thru someone else's voice.
If I were starting a business, I would take classes, read books and research the necessary formulas that have been proven to launch and sustain a successful business. But this blog is not a business. This blog is my own personal outlet that should follow the ebbs and flows that personally work for me. Do I sometimes share things about my business on the blog? Of course. Do I sometimes get work because of this blog? Proudly I say yes. But this blog is more than just a digital advertisement. I don't want to be selling all the time, and you lovely people don't want to constantly be sold.

2. If I don't follow those rules, the world will not end.
My goal for this blog is not to make millions of dollars so who exactly am I helping with these rules? The point of this blog has always been to talk about and share what I love (interior design) and do it with a community full of like-minded individuals. When the focus starts to shift to simply driving traffic (I believe) the content becomes hollow and all of that traffic will quickly dry up. No one wants to read post after post of pictures from Pinterest that they've probably already seen or post after post of sponsored content. Yawn. Does that mean I won't ever post pictures from Pinterest or work with sponsors? Absolutely not. But I can guarantee it won't happen just so that I have something to post about.

I say post when you have something you want to say. A passion should always be about the want, never the need.

And rather than calling it a resolution for myself, I'm calling it a promise to you. I'm going to work at keeping this blog the same thing that brought you to it in the first place. This could mean that I post four times a week or four times a month but it will always be genuine. And if the lack of a consistent 'schedule' from me leads you to not read this blog at all, then I suspect you weren't very interested in the first place.

I say we keep this love letter to design as pure and as FUN as possible.

And on a totally unrelated note, cucumber water is the bees knees. Give it a try.