Thoughtful Thursdays: Where the Blog is Currently

​Wow, it’s been months and months since my last blog post.

​My blog was my first love; I created my first blog before Instagram was really a thing, before I ever met Collin, and definitely before moving to Nashville and becoming a mama. I actually began my blog as a means to cope with an eating disorder when I was eighteen and found some really sweet readers and a surprising amount of support along the way. 

my first blog post ever! http://wldrnessa.com/blissbranch/2013/01/08/forgiveness-is

Once I started dating my now-husband, Collin​, I gained quite a few followers and readers who connected with my personality and writing style. Honestly, that’s all social media was to me! Just cute pictures and occasionally linking to my blog where I would talk about my struggles and accomplishments in my life. 

sooo many posts about tour life when we were dating in the archives of the blog. 

The blog went through many seasons, and the one that stands out the most is when I started selling vintage online. It was such a fun way to connect with readers and allow them to support the blog and my message of self-love and awareness while also finding fun pieces for them. I loved the thrifting game of hunting for quality pieces that really stood out and then sending them off to their new life. 

Eventually, however, we used all our savings to move to Nashville and both began working full-time jobs. We moved here to pursue music and blogging so it was really sad when I couldn’t keep up with my shop full-time anymore. I still think about how much fun it was and my heart feels torn and sad about stopping something so special.  It was such a sweet chapter and I learned a lot about business and why it’s important to connect with followers and readers, especially after they support such an ambitious passion of yours. 

We worked and worked several different jobs over the past three years, and once I got pregnant things became different. We needed steady incone to pay for my prenatal care and homebirth experience, so Collin worked two jobs and I worked full-time until 36 weeks. That was a challenging but overall fun time for us. We regularly saw friends and interacted with people constantly, which was a change from just working from home. During this time, I basically quit blogging the way I always had. Pregnancy took SO MUCH of my mental energy that by the end of the day, there was just no motivation for posts. 

Enter: Instagram Stories. They debuted when I was pregnant the first time (fall 2016) and so naturally I took to those as a way to share my more personable, video side.  

I feel like the rest is kind of history! The engagement and connection I receive from doing stories is by far the most rewarding when it comes to social media and establishing a like-minded community.  

However, the blog was my first love! As much as I absolutely believe we need to change and grow as the times do, I don’t love thinking about dumping everything I am into just IG alone. The thought of IG eventually disappearing is a sad one, so I’m taking small steps to bring some life back into my blog.  

That’s where the idea for Thoughtful Thursdays came from — just starting with one post a week! If I feel so inspired, I’ll put out more, but blog posts take a lot more effort and preparation than just opening a camera and talking. 

I’d love to hear some ideas for Thoughtful Thursdays. I definitely plan on addressing cloth diapering, recycling, composting, skin care, motherhood, etc.!