An open letter to my readers. Hello Friends! So here we are, mid-year, gearing up for the summer months. And I have a confession to make, I’m ready to stop blogging. A lot has happened in my life throughout the past six months, which I’ll share with you below. I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while now, but wasn’t sure how to talk about some of this stuff. There have been many back and forth moments as I transition my life a bit, and decide what I have truly wanted to do with the blog. So here goes … You might remember my Digital Detox that I took during February. This experience was eye-opening for me. It was really lovely to disconnect from my digital devices and reconnect with other things in my life. I had weekends without plans for the first time in a while, and that felt amazing. I was able to see friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, get outside and find new trails to hike, and have more time for myself. The month-long adventure made a lasting impression on me, that stuck. During March, my husband and I ventured out each weekend to find our dream home. And we found it, and then we bought it, and now we’ve moved in. It’s our first home together … and my first home since I moved to New York in 2008. I can’t really put into words how much this house means to me. While renting has given me flexibility over the last nine years, I was ready to settle into a more permanent place with Matt. The house is everything I have ever wanted, and we are so excited to start fixing everything up and making it our own. As this transition started to take place for me, I found myself falling out love with blogging. I’ll be honest, I started the blog in early 2016 because I was in a creative lull in my life, and I think subconsciously I needed an outlet. So SFS launched, and I am incredibly grateful for this process, because I have learned so much (like how to build a website and use Snapchat) and I have met so many wonderful people along the way. I am truly thankful for each and every one of you who has connected with me or SFS in some way or another. That’s very cool and very real to me. And I owe you a tremendous hug for that.
But I’m starting a new chapter in my life in moving. We’re away from the city now, and out in the country, as I like to say. And I’m ready to settle down and just enjoy my weekends with my husband at our home. As I write this, it sounds boring, but my life has always been so insanely jam-packed (seriously, in high school, college, until now basically), I’m a bit burned out and ready to just enjoy the simpler things in life. And blogging just isn’t simple. A lot goes on behind the scenes with photo shoots, editing, maintaining my website, developing content, posting, following and supporting other bloggers in the community, and so on. And truthfully, the past few months I’ve started to almost resent it. I don’t anxiously look onto my social media feeds anymore. I was getting nervous and stressed out about finding locations to do photo shoots (because I’m really rather shy and never really grew accustomed to snapping photos in places where there were tons of people around). It was just a lot, and while I loved it for a while, I don’t anymore. And it’s not that I don’t love my readers and followers, because I do. And that’s kept me doing this for quite a while now. But I have to be in this 100% to keep it going, and I am at a point personally where I want to be giving 100% to other areas in my life. Like my relationship with my husband (who, let me just give a quick shout out, has been so incredibly helpful with this whole experience taking photos/editing/supporting me). Like my time with my family. And my friends. And my new digs. But before I sign off, I wanted to share this with all of you, and thank each and every one of you, from the bottom of my heart, for all of the love and support over the last year and a half. It means more to me than you will ever know. And maybe one day I’ll be back, but for now, I’ll catch y’all on the flip side. Thank you again, and be well everyone! P.S. Feel free to follow my personal Instagram page at LaurenCandela3. I can’t guarantee that there will be fashion posts there, but I do add photos of cool things from time to time. XX, Lauren
5 Comments
6/19/2017 03:47:48 pm
Hi Lauren - I don't know how I missed this post until just now. I have to say that I completely understand your decision. There is something to be said for simply being in the moment and connecting with the people who are right there in front of you instead of spending a ton of time tending to a "virtual" life. I mean...it's one thing if blogging is your career and how you make your living. But if you already have a full time career and other obligations, trying to also maintain a blog is a huge commitment. I know I've definitely taken a step back and am now into what I call "slow blogging". haha. I've had times where I've been a bit obsessive about my blog and for me it wasn't healthy, and now I just do it when I can (which is obviously not very often lately).
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Dear Lauren,
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Lauren
6/22/2017 04:17:10 pm
Certainly proud of the amazing job you have done creating and excecuting such a helpful resource to the vertically "unchallenged" (lol). It has been a lot of fun reading and learning more about you from this platform! Of course I consider myself one of the lucky ones, that is one who gets to call you a friend in the real world ! Congrats to you and Matt as you enjoy the next stage of your lives together! Hoping you find happiness in whatever creative outlet you choose to indulge in next! Xo the other tall lauren
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Hi Lauren,
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A long, tall thank you for your friendship, the brilliant Tall Guides articles and your fantastic Six Foot Style blog.Congratulations on the new house and lifestyle shift. I wish you abundance, happiness & every future success with whatever comes next 💛 Stay in touch & if you're ever in London... lunch is on me! Sallee x
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