New Beginnings

Happy Wednesday, gorgeous friends!

This outfit may look familiar because...it is. I actually styled it almost a year ago in this post. Although, I don't normally post the same outfit twice on the blog, I thought I could give myself a free pass on this one since it's symbolic in a way. I have something so exciting to share and this dress is just so fitting...

Outfit Details:

Dress: Free People (old) | Boots: Coach (old) | Hat: Anthropologie (similar here) | Bolo Wrap: Ettika c/o | Cuff

Exactly two months ago, I wrote a post explaining my frustration in my job....how I felt confused, disappointed and unmotivated. I had originally planned to delete the post but when I saw all your supportive and encouraging comments, I literally had tears in my eyes and felt so much better knowing that I wasn't alone in this. I have been at my job for the past four years...this is longest job I've ever had. I stumbled upon it when I was laid off a month before our wedding and just kind of...stuck with it. Over the past few years, I've gone through so many emotions and had so much pressure from everyone else to become a teacher even though I knew in my heart that wasn't what I wanted to do. It has really been an emotional rollercoaster but this past year has really been the most difficult for me. Things are definitely not how they used to be and I find myself burnt out and craving something more. I have been praying over this situation for the past few months and I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. I believe that sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can happen and I truly think that this didn't worked out because that's simply not what I was supposed to do. It is for this reason that I have decided that now is the perfect time to take a leap of faith and start the transition to full time blogging.

You don't even know how ecstatic I am to even be saying that. I have never wanted something so much in my life and now I finally have the chance to create the life that I have always dreamed of. I thrive off of creativity and to be able to actually do something I love means so much to me. Some of you know that I attended fashion school many years ago...however, many of you do not know what actually happened. The school I attended ended up not being accredited and scammed me out of a lot of money that I had saved up. I moved back home and it was during this time that I had applied and been accepted to some of the most prestigious art schools in the country, but simply could not afford to go as I had to pay back my loan from the previous school. As a result, I ended up finishing my education at the local university where I majored in art and marketing. At this college, I learned that I not only have a strong love of figure drawing but of sculpture as well. I ended up taking a ton of sculpture classes so that I could create dresses. I made dresses out of everything...toilet paper, newspaper, foil, wire, feathers, etc. But no matter how hard I tried to make a career in fashion design work, something always got in the way...there was always an obstacle making it impossible for me to go down that route. It was devastating because it's the only thing I have ever wanted.

Then I found blogging and everything seemed to come naturally without me having to force it....no obstacles whatsoever. I originally started blogging like most people do, as a creative outlet. During this past year, it has become so much more and I realized that THIS is what I love and want to do. I love that I am able to share my passion for styling, that I am able to think creatively without limits, that I can actually learn new and exciting skills, that I can help other people and create a supportive community and that I can work in something that does not feel like a job at all.

My biggest resolution for the New Year is to be courageous. I think that taking risks can be a difficult thing to do because you don't know what will happen but in my experience, taking risks has always proven to be an amazing choice. I have really had a lot of reservations about this, mostly for financial reasons but realized that keeping my side job as a guitar instructor would provide just enough income to make my dream a reality. Another worry was that I was too old to make a career change. Someone once said "If not now, then when?" and this has stuck with me. If I don't do this now, then I never will and I don't like living with regrets. I think it's important to at least try something and have the possibility of failing than never trying at all and wondering what could have happened if you had taken the chance. I also know that a lot of people don't understand this "blogging" thing and it must sound crazy to quit your job to run a website that you may or may not make a living from. In fact, when I told my grandmother that I was styling outfits for this "blog thing" on the side, she said "Don't quit your day job." Too late. :-) Since this is so untraditional and against the norm, I feel that it gets a lot of backlash and eye rolls and that's completely okay. It's not everyone's cup of tea. I never felt like myself or that I was living up to my full potential in a "traditional" job, but this just feels right. Sometimes you come to realization that you have to stop living for everyone and live for yourself and do things that make you happy even if others don't agree.

I know I have had a lot of sappy posts lately, but I am just so thankful....for everything. I am so humbled and overcome by gratefulness for the support that you all show me each and every day. Thank you for the words of encouragement that you all gave to me a couple months ago when I was feeling so lost. Those words meant everything to me and have completely rewritten my story. And thank you for those of you that took my survey. I have been implementing changes ever since and have a lot of things in store for the future that I think you'll enjoy. I know there are a lot of you in the same position and I want to encourage you to live your dreams without fear and to know that you can do absolutely anything that you pour your heart into. 

With that being said, I'd love to know if you have anything you'd like me to cover in a future post. I'll be starting a mini flatlay series next week -woo hoo! I will also be planning a Q & A post so if you have any questions about anything at all (about me, the blog or anything else), feel free to leave it in a comment or send an email to lizzieinlace@gmail.com.

Thank you all again for the support! I love you all so much and am so glad to have amazing friends like you <3

xo