Why I Started Blogging and What I’ve Learned
Why I started blogging and why I blog now have certainly changed. It’s been quite an evolution and journey.
Quote of the day: ” Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Mahatma Gandhi
This quote really spoke to me when I read it. Because I do feel like I am so happy with what I am doing now with this blog and the people I’ve met.
After writing about the relationship of my moms and the history of how we organized the photos for the blog, I thought it’d be fun to talk about the reasoning behind this endeavor in the first place. And how do I start telling you about that? I thought I’d start with some history.
Below is one of the last holiday photos we took as a dental office before I retired. Silly? Sure, but we certainly tried to have fun and make our patients laugh. Yet, this was a stressful time for me. We were super busy at work, and I’d been chosen as one of 5280’s Magazine Top Dentists 5 years in a row; Honored yes, however, that meant stress, at least to me.
I truly enjoyed creating relationships with my patients and helping them out. Yet being a boss is not my strong point. I tend to be a micromanager, or as some patients would comment, “you run a tight ship.” Well, of course. I am a Type A personality, and I wanted everything to run smoothly. And we know that only happens in the movies, right?
The other factor is that there are SO many patients who absolutely dread and hate the dentist. As much as I tried not to take this personally, it’s tough. Who wouldn’t get tired of hearing “I hate you” over and over? However, I had a ton of incredible patients that inevitably became my friends also, and to this day we keep in touch.
So when I sold the practice, I thought about what else I could do to keep busy. Considering my love of shopping and clothes, I took my husband’s advice and started this fashion blog. Why I started blogging was really to help women feel good about themselves with clothes.
What I’ve learned
I will laugh at myself now when I think that I thought I knew everything about fashion and styling clothes. It’s true, that I’m an enthusiastic shopper, and it’s true I’m an organizational freak. Yet, after watching What Not to Wear, I seemed to think that I knew the CORRECT way for every woman to get dressed. You have to admit that it’s a little funny.
Because if it’s one thing that I’ve learned after blogging, it’s that we are all so very different. Having the rules that used to dominate the fashion scene seems like pure craziness. It’s like having to wear a uniform to school. I see the idea behind that concept at a younger age, but now we are far from being in that stage of our lives.
So what have I learned?
1- I’ve learned that we shouldn’t be taking ourselves so seriously when it comes to clothing. It’s been a blast trying out new styles and ideas that I would have NEVER done while I was working.
In the same respect, I still realize that the clothing we chose tells a story behind us. That’s why I still think it’s so important to look nice when we go out in public. Yes, even the grocery store. Because isn’t that where you are going to run into many of the people you know?
2- I’ve learned is that NO store is off-limits. I guess maybe I should just confess that I used to be very judgmental. I felt like I knew better. Along with this came the thinking that there were “appropriate” stores for someone my age.
But now? Why shouldn’t I be able to find fun clothes at any store I’d like? I have never seen a label that says “only for 20 year olds.” Have you? Yet it still happens. A woman shopping next to Nancy at DSW one time told her that she was too old for those shoes. Eeeeks! You’re only as old as you think you are.
In fact, I have grown to love many stores that I didn’t before I blogged. One of those is Anthropologie which has many unique and whimsical pieces. My friend, Lindsey, even researched other stores similar to Anthropologie.
3-I’ve stopped being so judgmental when looking at others. Everyone has worth and meaning in this life. Even if I don’t think their outfit is the best, that’s my opinion, not fact. Because until you walk a mile in someone’s shoes, you have no idea what they are going through. And maybe they are a totally different personality than I am, and so that’s why they are dressing like they are.
Trust me when I say I still struggle with this. There are days, especially when we are out at nice restaurants or events, that I wish Denver wasn’t so casual. Yet then I realize how great it is to have the freedom to choose what we wear no matter what.
4-I’ve learned that in my opinion, our style should evolve just like we evolve. Sure our core values and personality don’t change throughout our life. Yet we have learned so much and grown in many ways throughout our birthdays. Shouldn’t our clothing choices? I realize that it’s not easy to change.
Yet one of my favorite arguments is this: As a woman we expect much change in society to value us as an equal members with pay and respect. It hasn’t always been the case, and many grew up learning it differently. Yet we want and demand this change. And I’d consider that a value adjustment. Certainly not so simple, I would expect. So should it be so hard to change the fact that we can wear ankle boots with dresses? Or black and navy together?
My Moms
But this blogging thing isn’t all about me. The reason I started blogging is that I had the opportunity to not only showcase myself but 2 other decades of women looking stylish right at my fingertips.
I’m not sure that my moms knew what they were getting into when I asked them to join me. I mean, heck, even I didn’t know what was really involved. Yet they trudged along with my requests (with a couple of eye rolls thrown in for good measure), and I have to think it’s helped their confidence and creativity too.
Not only do we now have a weekly photo shoot scheduled which enables us to catch up on each other’s lives. We also have been starting to explore different areas in and around us. My mom’s favorite saying when Rob is driving us to a place, is “I never get to see all of this when I’m driving because I have to concentrate on the road.” And even Nancy who has lived here the longest has discovered new and fun places to explore.
And trust me, we have a lot more planned. It’s almost like we are the traveling trio (not meaning to leave out the most important person, my husband, who is taking our photos and herding us around). Maybe I should call us the Fabulous Foursome?
Other Women
Yet the fun doesn’t stop there. One of the most wonderful aspects about this blogging that I didn’t even consider at first was the idea of meeting up with other like-minded women.
All three of us were so lucky to attend a small meet-up organized by Sherry, with who we have collaborated many times in the past. Not only did I get to meet, Rena, but also Jude who is a longtime reader and contributor to the blog.
The obvious place to meet other fashion bloggers would be in my backyard, you would think. And so I have. Cindy has become a fast friend even though she lives in Erie which is 1.5 hours north of where I live. Cindy even joined us on the blog last summer with our versions of summer tops.
Not only have I met women, but I have also become embedded in the Forever Fierce group which is a midlife revolution. Join us in the Facebook group, where you will find supportive and inspiring women. We always say “no mean girls allowed.” I was introduced to Catherine, the founder, last year in the first campaign where we joined with another over 50 blogger. Since then the group has grown exponentially and expanded our group to include women of any midlife age!
I’ve become a huge organizer of the group because I think the message is so important. #AgeisJustaNumber means that any woman is wonderful no matter the birthday under her belt. In fact, I was blessed to be able to journey out to CA and be part of Chico’s video promoting #HowBoldareYou.
Of course, these are not the only women I’ve met. There are so many others, even some that I’ve only met online. Yet they make many days fun and worthwhile whether I know them in person or over the web.
My Thoughts
So what does this all mean? Truly it means I’m so happy you’ve joined us on this journey. And in my hopes of hopes, I hope you spread the word to other women to join us on the blog by signing up to get updates by email and on the Forever Fierce Facebook group.
But there’s so much more. I feel so blessed to be the age I am…each and every day. I want every woman I know to rejoice with whatever age they are, and shout it to the world.
For some reason, I want everyone to feel this “aha” moment when they are getting dressed. It’s almost rebellious to think I can wear my dressy sweater with my jeans. Or even though I’m over 40 years old, that I can wear OTK boots and look fabulous (did I tell you my mother has 3 pairs of these boots now?).
So in conclusion, the reason I started blogging has somewhat changed over time. Sure, my original thought was to inspire women with their clothes. However, at first, I thought there were rules attached. There are still many blogs that concentrate on the rules. But I want to be different. Because I think there is creativity in all of us. Sometimes it just has to be nurtured and practiced.
I also hope we can learn to be kinder and show love to everyone. Cheesy? Maybe, but I think the realization that every woman is incredibly unique and can showcase their personality with their clothing is more than fun. It’s uplifting. And we all need to be uplifted from time to time.
Keeping in Touch
I would feel extremely thankful if you sign up for the emails to let you know when a post goes live. Just add your email to the pink box that says updates to your inbox. I only use this email list to send out a notice for my posts and to offer my regular readers a chance at a survey now and then. In the future, I plan to incorporate special offerings to my email subscribers.
It’s so helpful to me if you follow me on any social platform that you’re on like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, You-Tube
And please, please, please, spread the word to others who you think would enjoy this blog also.
And if you’re new to my blog, you can always see our outfits organized by categories, here. Don’t forget to check out the deals & discounts too, on this page.
Also, feel free to Shop My Instagram items.
