Once upon a time, about three years ago.. a dear friend named Bonnie introduced Lauren and I. Bonnie is one of those fabulous people who everyone adores.. she also knows a lot of people and has this amazing super power in connecting people.

Lauren was(is) a photographer and fashionista and I was a fashionista wanna-be and creative person! I was pregnant with my son at the time and Lauren did a pregnancy photoshoot for me and helped put together outfits. She had (has) this amazing collection of clothes, shoes, accessories.. all specially curated and found at thrift and consignment shops. (Lauren’s super power is finding diamonds in the thrift shopping rough).

Anyway, we became friends (because Lauren is also fabulous!) and I suggested she start a fashion blog. I tried to convince her the world needed to see her unique and timeless style and be inspired. She said she would think about it if I would do the blog too.. and so it started and evolved and we created Dit-Elle a fashion, food, lifestyle mommy blog.. in attempts to inspire other busy moms. We’re both introverts so it felt a little awkward at first just putting ourselves out there in this blog and on social channels, but it took off.

Lauren did most of the fashion posts and I did most of the food posts. I love food photography and wanted to build a collection of my favorite, true and tried recipes. I was also gluten free and dealing with stomach pains.. and wanted an arsenal of recipes I could refer back to anytime, a go-to cookbook. When I made a new dish (and if it was good!), I’d immediately put it on a fancy plate, place it by my kitchen window, and with one kid on my hip, the other playing on the floor, snap a bunch of photos, hoping to get at least one good one! And then I blogged those food photos twice a week when the kids were asleep.. sometimes I would do posts on wellness, health, gluten free or paleo living, food allergies and other tips and tricks. On occasion Lauren would talk me into doing a fashion post. We rarely saw each other, but we alternated fashion and food posts to create a rich collection of inspiration for our readers and for ourselves!

This past fall.. it seems like life caught up to me and I had to stop blogging. I work full-time outside of the home in a very demanding job and industry. Then I have that other full-time job of raising two kids which I think is actually the more demanding job (and kudos to all those moms who do that full-time because it truly is a full-time, 24×7 job!). For me, juggling the office job and home job provided a kind of balance. I love (most of the time) going to an office and working on demanding projects with intense people.. success was always defined and I felt like I was growing and doing great things. Raising two small kids was very hard. Everyone says “enjoy it, because those toddler years are so fleeting, they go by so fast..” but for me, every day was slow and tough and difficult. And people don’t talk about that. And when midnight rolled around, and the house was finally quiet, and I was still amped up from getting the kids to bed (feeding and bedtime in the zoo!) and then perhaps some “fire drill” project that had come my way from work.. I would blog. And it would bring me some peace and quiet and space for my creative energy.

Anyway, there you go.. which brings me to now. My kids are  demanding attention from me in a different way.. Ava is in kindergarten and Anders is a little 3 year old terror (a super cute one, but still trying to tear the house down at every opportunity). I rarely cook and am thankful for food services like Munchery (read my post about “Not Doing It All” here). When I’m home with them, I want to give my kids undivided attention. I want to take care of my body (hot yoga, walking the dog, sleep..). And on that topic, after years of a huge sleep deficit I am now enjoying finally sleeping through the night on a regular basis (wahooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Sometimes you have to lean in to what inspires you and gives you energy. And sometimes you have to lean out. Right now I have to lean out. And take a break from blogging.

My philosophy has always been this: every parent is different, every kid is different, every family situation is different.. you simply have to find what works for you at that moment in time! And hopefully have some fun, and laugh at yourself a bit along the way! 🙂 I will not be blogging much this year but if I do make something interesting, it will find its way here! 🙂

Happy happy 2017! Wishing you a wonderful year ahead! 🙂

One of our family goals is to spend more time outdoors and less time in front of screens (because we do a lot of that for work!). Here the huz, Ava and Anders and I on a fall hike on Crystal Mountain! 🙂