October marks my one year anniversary of blogging at the Chatty Girl! I want to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has been following along on my blogging adventures, I truly appreciate all the support! I also want to thank my friend Kira at Northern Style who encouraged me to start blogging again, it has become something that I love to do!

While I don’t have as much time as I would like to plan out blog content, I do try and get something up every week or two for my followers. I believe in quality over quantity so I want to post things that readers will connect with.

I enjoy writing and have a lot to say so blogging has been a great outlet for me to share more about my lifestyle including things I love, recipes, fashion, travel, books, family and events! It’s great to connect with readers on topics they can relate to, I’ve enjoyed connecting with followers on social media about some of these topics as well!

This year I wanted to focus on learning, so I’ve been setting aside time to do that. From photography to PR to reading books, I have learned so much in the past year since starting this blog. The books I have read about lifestyle have taught me so much about myself and have made me more confident with who I am. (check out my blog posts from January + September with some of my favorite reads). The online courses have been amazing for tweaking my photography and other things that go into blogging, I always love looking back at pictures to see how far I’ve come.

After years of putting everyone around me first, I have changed my ways and carved out time for myself. This has not been easy, there has been a lot more no’s to things so I can find more time in my day. I’ve had my children help out more around the house to take things off my plate. I’ve delegated more at work so I can find more time for growing and learning. There are so many ways you can find more time in your day when you start looking at where your time is being sent.

My favorite thing to do is start my week out with Monday morning Yoga. It brings a sense of calm to me for the hectic week ahead. From there I schedule in gym time so I don’t have any excuses for missing it. I’ve been focusing on eating better and have recently adapted the Keto lifestyle to keep me on track. I always unplug on Sundays, that means no work and little time on social media. We ALL need a break from being online. I share these things with you because I think a lot of women struggle with finding time for themselves. I’m here to tell you it is possible, the hardest part will be overcoming the guilt of putting yourself first.

So here’s to year two…..to more travel, more time for myself, more focus on photography, and more experiences + things that I love. I want to share more of myself with you, and part of that comes from feeling more comfortable in my own skin. I encourage you to evaluate yourself and to make changes to become a better version of yourself as well. No more excuses, the only thing holding us back is ourselves.