Happy 2016 | A Quick Update

Hello lovely reader! I hope you are having a good start to 2016. Today's post is more of a chatty post one, which I don't do often but in some ways I see this blog as a bit of a journal and a place to share feelings that other bloggers or readers may be able to relate to. Like most people, I have made a few "New Years Resolutions" one of them being to post more when I have the time which I already seem to be failing at. However, another one of them is to be more optimistic, focusing on the positive side of situations, and not stressing out about unnecessary things. I absolutely love blogging but sometimes I'll hit a bit of a wall as far as things to post, it then spirals into worrying because I haven't posted something in a while, and questioning my content and whether or not I should just quick whip something up in order to have a new post, even if the content is not superb, or if I will loose the traction that within in the last few months I have been quickly gaining (Thanks to you!). I then step back and remind myself of why I started blogging and think about how quality over quantity in the blogging world is one of the most important aspects. (It is also one that I very much value and practice day to day) I also realize that the only person creating this pressure is myself and that it's okay to do something else for a little while.

If I wake up in the morning and feel like creating a post, great I'll do it, but if I wake up and would rather bake something and not document it, that's okay too. Sometimes I feel like blogging and social media in general can keep us from being present. We become so wrapped up in "capturing the moment" with a phone that we miss the actual experience. Staying present is another resolution I have for this year, and while I know it will be one of the hardest ones, I think it will be the most rewarding.

I believe that this cycle can be applied to a lot of things in life, questioning yourself, self doubt, and loosing sight of why you began something. Feeling like your fire within has become a tiny match, and wondering where that massive bonfire went. But with a new year comes a fresh start, and the perfect opportunity to start searching for things that fuel that fire once more, taking time and not rushing, doing certain things when it feels right and not feeling like you must force yourself to do something if your heart isn't fully in it. So after all this, may you be optimistic and present in the coming year! I also want to say thank you to everyone who has continued to or started reading "Not Exactly Plain Jane" this past year. The growth within the last few months alone has been amazing and it makes me so excited for what's to come. I have been given some great opportunities and cannot wait to see what 2016 will bring!

Happy New Year! Xx