It’s Been a While…

…almost 2 years, actually!

Naturally, a lot has changed since my last blog post.

Looking back, I can see the signs that my blog was dying. My posts had gradually become more infrequent and felt uninspired. Despite that, I didn’t intend to stop blogging. For years, this blog was a very significant part of my life and who I was. I couldn’t imagine not having a blog. And yet, I just… stopped blogging.

Over the last couple of years (and especially in the last several months), there have been times I’ve thought about blogging again, but couldn’t muster up enough inspiration to do it.

Why I Stopped Blogging

One of the biggest things that’s held me back from posting is that Something About That was a fashion blog, with lifestyle content sprinkled in. As Instagram took over, fashion blogs lost relevance to me and I stopped reading. Instead, I’ll scroll my Instagram feed for a similar form of entertainment and inspiration. I lost all desire to post to my own fashion blog.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love fashion and putting together outfits, but over time, my style has gotten simpler. I don’t shop nearly as much as I used to, nor do I even want to shop like that anymore. Back in my hey-day, I would shop all the time, you know, for “the sake of the blog.” Now, I prefer to shop for quality over quantity and don’t need the internet’s approval to make a purchase. (Since COVID turned life upside down, I stopped shopping almost entirely!)

It’s also important to acknowledge that planning and shooting outfit photos felt like a chore. I can’t pinpoint exactly when that happened, but it was probably around the time when I stopped blogging fulltime. Being a fulltime blogger was exhausting. Everything I did, somehow went back to “being good for the blog”: Where I ate, what I bought, what I did for fun, which brands I stalked on social media, etc. I also felt constantly overwhelmed by products from PR mailers and event takeaways. I had a hard time saying no, even though I didn’t want or need most of what I had. (But I do miss PR from my favourite brands, like Benefit Cosmetics!!)

Truthfully, blogging felt kind of felt pointless after I realized I didn’t want to do it fulltime. Why bother posting, if not for exposure, collaboration opportunities or to get added to PR lists?

Lost “Blogging” Identity

I’ve known for a long time that I’m no longer a fashion blogger. But if I wasn’t posting outfit photos and beauty product reviews…what would I blog about? Is it worth spending the time writing and creating content, if no one is going to read it (other than Matt, my parents and maybe one or two friends)?

I’m still not sure what my blogging identity is, what I’ll blog about, or how often, but I’m not going to put pressure on myself.

So Why am I Posting Now?

A conversation I had last weekend with Matt was the kick of inspiration I needed to make a comeback, if you will. This conversation helped change my mindset about blogging and brought me back to those feelings I had when I started blogging for fun, back in 2013. Back then, it wasn’t about followers, page views, SEO, money, brand partnerships, free products, or events. It was simply to have a creative outlet, to share what inspired me and to have fun. I will always have a need for a creative outlet, but what that looks like evolves throughout the seasons of life.

These days, my creativity is mostly expressed in the kitchen, but it comes out in other areas too. Looking forward, I’ll be creative via projects in our new home, stationary design, and eventually, wedding planning(!)

More to come (maybe).