New Year, Life Chat

Hello 2019!

Hi babes! If you’re new here, welcome! If you’re a long time reader, I’m glad you’re back :) Today I’m sharing a life chat all about my plans for the blog this year and what my mindset is like right now. To start, if you missed my 2019 goals blog post, you can read it here. I shared Rob & I’s goals for the year as well as a handful of goals I have for the blog. But let’s get into today’s post.

The blogging industry can be weird sometimes. It’s amazing in so many ways, i.e. creating community, inspiring others, sharing advice, etc.; but it’s becoming such an over saturated space. As a blogger, it can become exhausting feeling like I have to always be wearing a new outfit, sharing sales, curating my Instagram feed, growing my following, etc, etc. As a follower, I would imagine that it’s v hard to not feel like you have to keep up when there’s a constant flow of new, picture perfect content flooding your inbox & Instagram feed. And for some reason, all of the pressure and thoughts always comes back to Instagram.

While I do believe in curated content and pretty photos that are meant to inspire, it is so important to remember that Instagram is most definitely not reality. It’s simply a highlight reel of everyone’s best moments. With that said, don’t compare your behind the scenes to someone else’s highlight reel. You should never feel less than because of what someone else is posting on social media. There are plenty of girl bosses out there who you can follow for inspiration and also know that they are genuine humans, keep it real, and share their behind the scenes. (i.e., @daniellegervino, @whiskeyandlace, @morgbullard, @hernameissylvia, @bronwynbutler, @abigailmarygreen, @conveythemoment @littleblondebook .. I could keep going lol!)

With that said, one of my main goals for the blog this year is to be intentional when creating and sharing content. There’s so much meaning behind this. First, I want to share anything and everything that makes me happy. If it doesn’t “flow” with my Instagram, oh well. If it’s an item from a boutique I love but I can’t link it through liketoknow.it, that’s totally fine. If it means more life chats and real talk, I’m all about it. As long as I know that what I am posting is coming from my heart, that’s all that matters.

Second, my blog has always been my baby and I sometimes I feel like I neglect it because I’m so focused on Instagram. So this year means less focus on Instagram, more focus on my blog. There is SO much more I can share here on my blog as opposed to Instagram. I also know my blog will be here forever and Instagram certainly may not. Then I have moment where I think back to my vision when I started my blog. I wanted to create a place where I could share my outfits, favorite beauty finds, and life chats, all while fostering a genuine community for the every day girl to come and relate. I’ll admit, I lost sight of this vision because of the constant pressure of Instagram; however, this year I am going to truly focus on building blog content and showing up here consistently like I used to!

Third, my goal for my content is always quality over quantity; however, I do feel like the quality of my content has so much room for growth, so that is something I will be focusing on this year. I’ve struggled to find an editing style I absolutely love & honestly, I’m so over the entire preset trend. Everyone’s photos are starting to look the same. What’s so unique about that? Unless a photographer is making presets specifically for you, based on inspiration from feeds you like and the vibe you want to go for, I think it’s SUPER hard to just randomly buy presets and hope they work for your photos. I also understand that people prefer to see every day, in the moment iPhone shots on Instagram, which is fine for Instagram, but not for the blog.

In terms of quality, I’m going to be working with Jay from Twisted Oaks Studio (you probably know his name by now if you’ve been following for a while or saw my wedding photos). We are going to come up with an editing style that works for me. We’re also going to shoot a ton of content each month which I’m beyond excited about because he’s a bomb photographer and it will definitely help me plan my posts and be intentional.

When it comes to fashion, I will continue to share my fave items, when my fave retailers are having great sales, and all that good stuff. BUT, I want you to know, that is part of my job. I am here to share a variety of options, the best of the best, what’s new and items I love, that way you babes can pick and choose based on your needs and your budget. I never want any of you to feel like you have to buy everything I share and build this insane wardrobe with endless outfits. I know that is not everyone’s reality - it’s not even my reality, which all comes back to posting with intention. There is also SO much more to life than clothes. Seriously. So even though I will still share my personal style, I want you babes to know that there is so much more that defines me (and you!) than what you wear!

In terms of beauty related content, expect to see more! I have always been a beauty lover. Trying new products and sharing first impressions, reviews, and tutorials is what I enjoy the most! So, this year I want to be super consistent and share a ton more beauty content because I love it!!

Life updates and real talk will absolutely continue because you guys love them so much. I also want to incorporate more wellness content based on your requests! I have a bunch of ideas on how I am going to do this. I am hoping to launch a new wellness series during the second quarter of this year, so stay tuned!! I want to make sure everything about it is perfect and ready to go before I post anything! If you have any wellness related requests, please leave them in the comments of this post or send me an email so I can include them in my planning!

Home content is something that I know a lot of you want to see, and something that I definitely plan to start sharing more of. I share a lot on my Instagram stories, but our home is such a work in progress and that’s okay! We are taking things room by room and I will surely share before and afters here on the blog as the rooms are completed! One thing I’ve learned is that completing a room takes TIME (& money). I don’t want to settle for pieces I don’t love, so even though I may know exactly what I want, it may take some time to find the pieces I need to finish a space.

Last, if you want to stay connected, it would mean so much if you would subscribe at the bottom of this page! I am going to be launching a *weekend deals* newsletter in February, where I send an email every weekend full of the best sales that are going on! In addition, you will get an email every time there is a new blog post, and that’s it! <3 If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading!! Without you, this blog would not be possible!

xoxo

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Pine Barren Beauty Turns Three!

You guyssss. I can't believe it's been three years (and a week or so 🙃) since I've started my blog! Time just keeps going by quicker and quicker, especially the past few months. Today I'm sharing a life chat & a little bit of what I learned along the way because SO much has changed in the past three years! 

WEDDING

If you've been following along for the past year, you'll know that Rob proposed last August (read about it here) and we are getting married this October. This has been by far one of the biggest life events that happened since starting my blog, so it's only been natural for me to let you gals know how planning is going and share what I've been learning! If you're a bride to be, check out my bridal category for a ton of fun posts, and more to come after the wedding! 

About a month ago, I shared a life update blog post and wrote about how wedding plans were going pretty smooth and crazy Megan didn't have to come out. Well I spoke too soon 😝 this past month has been nuts in terms of wedding planning. It's funny how the planning process goes. In the beginning you feel the stress of finding your venue, booking your date, and securing the rest of your vendors. Then there's a long period of time where you really don't have anything to do. Then, you wake up one morning and your wedding is three months away and you're like shit, I have SO much that needs to get done! 

Now that our wedding is just four weeks away - literally can't believe I just typed that - I've had my fair share of mental breakdowns over the past few weeks and I'm sure there are more to come. At this point, one of the biggest things I regret not doing is using some type of planner or app to keep me on track along the way. I'm almost positive that The Knot and Zola both offer some type of planner/app to help you manage everything and let you know what you should be doing and when.

One thing that affected my ability to stay on track was the purchase of our home (another major life event that has helped Pine Barren Beauty evolve). If you've read my previous blog posts, you know we were definitely not house hunting, but the perfect opportunity came along and we had to take it. Talk about a major distraction. We began to pour all of our time & energy and heart & soul into our home and as a result, wedding planning was put on the back burner. And I mean rightfully so. This home is our forever, and our wedding is just one day. It's so crazy to say, but if we knew that we were going to purchase a home when we did, we most likely would have eloped. BUT, more on that after our wedding day! I don't want to speak too soon haha. 

At this point, our wedding bands are ordered & hopefully will be here in time, if not we'll be exchanging silicone ones lmao. I DON'T recommend waiting until 6 weeks before to get yours; definitely go like three months in advance :) The guys also got fitted this week for their suits! Also don't recommend waiting as long as we did for that either. We were going to use The Black Tux because it's convenient and has great reviews, but there's only one option for a tan suit and I was super disappointed in the color, quality, and fit, SO we had to go with a second option. 

As far as things that we are enjoying - have your RSVP's addressed to your house. It's so fun to get a handful in the mail every day and open them together! One major tip I have is to number your rsvps. We got a handful returned with NO names. Having them numbered was such a help in determining who sent theirs back blank! I also have been stalking my registries like crazy because my shower is this weekend and I'm so excited. Another fun task has been picking out bridal party gifts! I also can't wait until I have my final meeting with my florist because I am beyonddd excited for our flowers. Everything is coming together and I just keep telling myself everything will get done ... because it has to :) hahah. 

HOME

Needless to say, wedding planning has taken over! We still have a couple house things we want to finish before the wedding, including getting the rest of the trim up in the main hallway, framing out the shiplap wall in the living room, and completing the fireplace/mantle area (happening this weekend yay!). Besides that, finishing the kitchen and starting the master are going to wait until after the wedding. 

The living room will most likely be the first room that is entirely complete. We really just have to get a rug, coffee table, and some fun decor items. I have been sharing updates on my instastories and have a highlight saved on my profile in case you missed anything! You can also shop our furniture and decor here (access this page at any time under "shop - my home" in the main navigation bar at the top of my blog). I can't wait to post room reveals here on the blog and share the before photos! Every room is such a transformation - I know you guys are going to love it!

LIFE

I think it goes without saying, but life has been pretty crazy lately. I'm out of routine and my head is in the clouds most of the time. If there's anything I've learned so far it's that self care is so important. Even when you feel like you don't have a second to spare, you have to make time to nourish your soul. There are SO many ways to practice self care, and this is a topic I plan to really expand upon in the coming months. Once the wedding is done and I finally have time to plan and get things in order, you can expect more content in the areas of self care, beauty, home content, and life chats. Of course, if you have any specific requests, let me know what you want to see! As my life changes and evolves, so will my blog. I'm beyond excited for what's to come and I hope you babes are too! 

As always, thanks so much for reading!

Have a happy weekend!

xoxo

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Real Talk No. 4: All The Feels + Life Update

Update!

You guys. These past few weeks, (months actually) my head has legit been in the clouds. Between wedding planning, unexpectedly purchasing and beginning renovations on our home, and just everything else that comes along with life, I have been flying by the seat of my pants for weeks. It's such a weird thing too, because up until all the things started happening, I was pretty diligent with planning my days and being organized. But I guess when you have too much on your plate, you're bound to lose your routine at some point 🤷🏻‍♀️ and for me, losing my routine also means feeling all the emotions, all at once. 

Buying and Renovating a Home

In this blog post, I shared my thoughts on our experience buying our first and forever home. You can check that out for more info on why we ended up buying now instead of building later, etc. One thing I didn't mention, because we hadn't yet started, was the renovation process. O M G. We have so many plans for our home and we came in wanting to do everything right away. Well, reality check, not everything is going to get done right away. And you know what? That's totally fine. It's always going to be a work in progress. 

Even though everything is going to take time, we have been moving at a pretty solid pace. We started by ripping out the floors. Once that was done, we painted the living room, kitchen, and hallways all white (shade Pure White from Sherwin Williams). Then, we put down hardwood floor in the kitchen, living room, and hallways, that way the floor was the same throughout the main parts of the house. We finished up the flooring last weekend and it's so gorgeous! It also feels good to actually have a finished floor instead of plywood 😝

Next up is trim, painting the kitchen cabinets and choosing a new kitchen counter top! Our living room furniture should be here within the next two weeks, and I have my eye on a dining table that I think will go with our space perfectly! Everything else will come together as far as the details go, but we also have plans for the master bedroom & bathroom after the wedding!

Needless to say, I have been a bit distracted from wedding planning! All I want to do is focus on the house and get things done; I even told rob we should have just eloped at this point 😂 (we really did talk about that as a serious option at first). But I know once our wedding day is here it's all going to be worth it for the #bestdayever! 

Wedding Planning

Speaking of wedding planning - in a couple weeks, it will be one year since Rob & I got engaged, and two months until wedding day. LITERALLY WHERE DID THE TIME GO? If someone has an answer or knows how to go back in time, please share in the comments lol. But really, time flies. It's such a cliché but it's so true.

Luckily, I got a lot of things done and all of my vendors secured right away. Now it's just finalizing invites & mailing them out, meeting with our dj to go over our playlist, figuring out the set up of the tables so we have a definite game plan for flowers, getting the guys suits picked out, and choosing our wedding bands. Now, I say that's it but it's a pretty long list once it's written out, huh? I know it's all going to get done but I better get to work 😝

More than all of that, here's what I have learned: even though I'm a perfectionist and details absolutely matter, what matters most is what you feel in your heart. It's your day and everything should be how you want it to be. Don't be afraid of what others might say or think. If you want to allow a ton of money in your budget for flowers because you LOVE them, then do it even though you're well aware they will die. The last thing you want to do is regret not doing this or that because you felt like you were being judged. Reality check - no one has the right to judge the decisions you make for YOUR wedding. I'm sure you have always envisioned how your wedding would be and you should do everything you can to make that vision come to life. 

On the flip side, that does not mean to be a bridezilla! You still need to take into account the feelings of your fiancé, parents, wedding party, etc. because they are a part of this process and want to see everything go smoothly for you! I feel like I've been pretty chill for the most part. Naturally, I've had moments of stress & tears, but who doesn't feel overwhelmed at some point when planning a wedding?  I'm just lucky that everyone involved in our wedding day has been on my good side so far hahah. But really, everyone has been great and I can't wait to see everything come together over the next couple months!! After all, it is going to be the best day ever! 

Blog Life

Between the house & the wedding planning, I've been slacking a bit as far as the blog goes. This little corner of the internet requires so much time & attention. There's nothing else I would rather be doing, but I'm also not going to post just to post. I don't want to get in that habit because then I feel like I'm not being true to you guys. With that said, I've also been thinking about rebranding and taking my blog in a new direction - but more on that later - it still needs time to come together! 

I've also cut back as far as buying clothes goes because let's be real, I'm on a budget til our wedding is over! I have my bachelorette party & shower (which means outfits outfits outfits), three other weddings before ours & one after that is a destination wedding so that requires more outfits, and makeup & hair appointments 🙃 I'm not mad about it, but my priorities are a little different right now compared to a few months ago which I'm sure you can understand and relate to. Isn't it crazy how life just happens and our priorities change according to what's going on? Just some food for thought! 

As always, thanks for reading! If you have any thoughts you want to share, leave a comment!

xo

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