Meet the Blogger

"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

 - Toni Morrison

Years ago I was in love with fantasy stories and wanted to read a particular novel. A very particular novel. I knew the characters, the dialogue, the scenery; I knew the hero, the villain. But...no one was writing this book. Why was no one writing this book?! Frustrated with the missing hole in the genre, brimming with a story to tell, it struck me - I would have to write the novel myself.

It seems so obvious, and I thought I'd learned my lesson. 

Don't wait for others to do the things you should be doing yourself. 

So why a style blog? Style blogs have been around for years, but it wasn't until Pinterest that they reached my radar. I've always loved cultivating my own unique style and suddenly I didn't have to sit an arm's length from the fashion world, destined to be an observer. With magazines and malls you only get what they feed you. With the internet you build your own sphere of what you think style should be. Don't like what you see? Skip to the next person or page.  Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, etc. - these are vast visual playgrounds, and with the scroll of a mouse you can be there for hours. There's bound to be someone you can relate to. 

It's easy to build a virtual identity, wandering through pictures of a fantasy world you've built around yourself. I myself have a great Pinterest life. For one, my closet is huge. Steampunk loungewear? Covered. Urban lolita? That too. Then there's my perfect designer home, with the lazy river around the library, and the bathtub shaped like a teacup. 

And of course, I've traveled the globe. I saw the Sahara, Gobi, and Great Sandy Desert in one afternoon and let me tell you folks, the four seconds spent on each photo were glorious. Almost like I was really there.

I am extremely pro-inspiration and believe it can be found anywhere you look. But inspiration overload should be a kick in the shins to get started on something - and not just more scrolling. It's an easy trap to fall into. We see, we get excited, we simply must finish the page we're on and then we'll get started...

...or we could spend half the day searching exotic recipes only to have frozen pizza for dinner (guilty). Or 50 hours pinning DIY for every hour actually spent on DIY. Surely I could have lingered for more than four seconds on those stunning desert photographs, but the "How to Grow Moss Graffiti" tutorial whisked me away. In terms of fashion, look at someone's "My Style" board and and consider, could you pick them out in a crowd? I say this because my own "My Style" board consists of 484 items I do not own and have never worn. 

I have never worn any of this

Blogging, to me, is a beautiful break from this barrage of other people's images and ideas. This stuff is intoxicating but lately skimming the surface has left me unfulfilled. I'm the type to spend twenty minutes pondering the texture of a word when it rolls around my mouth (say "cathedral," say it slowly). I like smelling roses. It's like the internet has fields and fields of them, only to dangle me from such a distance that I can't smell anything and the colors are a blur. 

Blogs are for those of us who like to savor. You get to know people who blog - their personality shines through their writing and choice of pictures. You learn who you might be friends with offline, and live a little vicariously through them. These personal touches have such warmth on the internet where so many things are impersonal or at a breakneck speed. 

That said, as much as I love my usual haunts bits of commentary have started running through my head while scrolling. "That looks nice on them, but I'd do it a bit differently..." or "Their style is usually so much like mine - what were they thinking with this piece?" It was like flashbacks to that very particular story. I knew the clothes, the colors, the hairstyles; I knew the poses, the lighting. But no one was doing it my way. Why was no one doing it my way? 

Oh, right....

For all of the above (and more) I've created this blog. I miss writing, and photography is a new hobby that needs practice. Besides, I've never outgrown playing dress up and now I get to leave my Pinterest wardrobe to play in my real one. 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you find something inspiring here!