Let's Play Catch-up
Hey people who actually read my blog!
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I mean, I’ve only posted once this year! Sorry about that… But! I’ve got lots to catch you up on and a bit of insight as to why I’ve been so silent this year.
The biggest change in my life this year has been that Alex and I bought a house!!!
We’ve been living together for almost four months now, and things have been amazing. The house has come together quite quickly (well, most of it), and I’m really happy with where we’re at currently. It’s been fun to decorate and have an entire space that we can change and update to fit our needs, merge our styles, and that we can call home. I’m so incredibly happy and excited for our future in this little home, and I can’t wait to see how it develops and changes over the years. I do plan on snapping some photos and giving you tours of specific areas and rooms as time goes on, as well as give you insight on some of our design choices, etc. So if you have any questions related to buying a house, decorating or anything else, please let me know in the comments below!
Secondly, and not as exciting, I’ve started running.
If you know me personally, you’ll know that my dad has picked up running due to some changes in his health, and seeing the improvement and benefits he’s experienced from running really motivated me to put on my beat-up sneakers and run around. Running has also given me the chance to explore my neighbourhood a bit more (goodbye downtown, hello suburbs), and by setting up a plan through the Nike Run Club app, I’m more motivated to get out and go exploring! I’m already noticing some improvements, and I like being able to compare stats with my dad, cheer each other on through the app, and it’s just given us something new to bond over and chat about.
Thirdly, I’ve experienced quite a few moments of burnout at work.
They could very well be a combination of such big changes in my life and an increase in work to do during my 9-5. Feeling stressed and mentally/physically drained on a daily basis due to work is never fun, and I’ve felt like I’ve needed to take multiple steps back in my work-/personal-life to help balance things out again. I’m slowly coming out of a mini-burnout now, and I’ve got to say that picking up running as well as reworking my site have given me a bit of a boost - a much-needed boost.
Lastly, and related to my third point, I’ve clearly redone my website (again lol).
I decided to switch over from WordPress to Squarespace for a few reasons. I loved the flexibility and customizability of WordPress, however, the constant plugin updates, battling with code and plugins that didn’t like each other was just getting exhausting. It’s a great platform, but I think for now (and the foreseeable future), I wanted to simplify my website and blogging experience. Unfortunately, through the process of moving over to Squarespace, I’ve lost all of my previous comments through Disqus. But other than that, I’m happy I’ve made the switch and I’m looking forward to the future of Blonde Up North.
If you’ve gotten this far, I’d like to thank you for reading my posts, and for sticking around through my periods of silence. My blog has been an outlet of mine for a few years now, and I’d really like to start giving it the attention it deserves. I’d love to hear your feedback on the new layout, as well as if there are any topics you’d like me to talk about! I’m always open to ideas and suggestions and would love to write about things that you want to read about.
