Don’t panic! I’m all good

Hey lovelies! For the past month it’s sporadically occurred to me that maybe I should add a little update on here to explain why I haven’t posted in a while. I kept putting it off because there were some items I expected to review in January and obviously that would’ve kickstarted posts again, but I’ve had an update that those items now won’t be arriving until February. It’s occurred to me that with such a long and unprecedented wait between posts, it’s possible some people might think I’ve stopped blogging without announcing it, or, worse yet, might be worrying there’s something seriously wrong. I’ve had some emails enquiring about the latter and I want to set everyone’s minds at ease.

The simple version of it is that last year I got tired and, since this is only a hobby, I lost some motivation. I work full time and blog in my spare time on the weekends, and as this was largely my only creative outlet it’s been something I’ve really enjoyed dedicating time to over the past (almost!) decade. But in 2023 the department I supervise at work became incredibly busy, to the point that there were some weeks in which I felt almost all of my executive function was being exhausted by the end of the work day, leaving me feeling that on the weekends I wanted to relax rather than expend hours of concentration and effort on blogging. My repetitive strain also got so bad that there were some weekends I had to try to use my hands as little as possible just to give them a rest ready for the work week to begin again. Basically, ya girl was a bit burned out, so I made a conscious decision in the second half of the year to dial back on accepting items to review even more so than I had dialled back in the year or two previously.

One of the lipsticks I shot for review. It was only okay

In autumn I did still plan to post once or twice a month, whether that was a lipstick review or an update on my sewing projects, but as we approached Christmas I just couldn’t summon the energy to do that either. The latter would require going out into the cold on the weekends to model said sewing projects for photos, and I just didn’t feel like waking up early on a Saturday after a busy week to take photos in the cold for the sake of a post I’m not sure many of you would’ve been that interested in reading. And the former—my god, you would think a lipstick review would be a simple post that doesn’t take long, but somehow it takes me hours, hours longer than a standard clothing review. There were a couple of times I did the wear test of a new lipstick and even shot the various swatches for it, but once it came to editing the photos and compiling the post I kept putting it off in favour of recharging—only for my laptop to die and need replacing, to complicate matters further.

The lace bolero I made!

I’m still sewing, albeit at a slower pace than in the spring and summer when I got so excited about acquiring a new skill that I dedicated half of my blogging time to sewing instead. I’m on sewing project 11–there’s a completed lace bolero, a burgundy floor length wrap dress, and a navy dobby chiffon bishop sleeve I-murdered-my-wealthy-husband robe you haven’t seen that I kept telling myself I would shoot next weekend, then next weekend, then oh god it’s SO cold, it’ll have to be next weekend. My current project is a rust chiffon version of the Popover dress I’m making full length and with bishop sleeves in the hope that if I like it I can use that pattern adjustment to make the leopard print chiffon gown that made me start sewing in the first place.

I’ve also been reading a ton. I listen to audiobooks at work and basically anytime I’m doing something productive with my hands, so I set my reading goal last year at 150 books, knowing that should be easily achievable. I read 180 in the end, topping up my audiobook consumption by reading eBooks on those weekends that I didn’t blog. This year I haven’t set myself a proper goal, but I’ve read 13 books already in January and am looking forward to some upcoming new releases from some of my favourite authors.

So, yes, I am okay, please don’t worry. I listened to what my body and my mind needed, and after 10 years (this year!) I just needed to have a little break from spending 8 hours or more of my spare time every weekend working on this blog. As I said above, I’m expecting to review some SS24 pieces in February, so if you don’t get another post from me before then, don’t panic! You can always follow me over on Instagram if you don’t already follow me there, but in all honesty I’ve hardly been on social media either, so just know that if I ever have something big to tell you I will do so both there and here.

I hope you had an enjoyable festive season and that 2024 has been treating you kindly so far. It’s tough out there, so please make sure to do what you need to do to feel balanced and rested ❤️