Whew! It’s been awhile. For those that didn’t know, I took the last month off from posting on the blog and on Lipstick & Ink’s social channels. But I’m back and so pumped to be writing and sharing content again!

After a month of craziness in September (so many birthday and anniversary celebrations and busy weekends!), October has been a breath of fresh air. I finally have had time to refocus and work through my priorities. Adam and I have been able to get things done around the condo that we’ve been meaning to do for weeks. I’ve been able to get back into my workout routine. I read a full book in a week, which never happens (shout out to my new friend, Mary, and her inspiring book – Run My World)! I’ve been able to meet and spend time with other bloggers, which has been fun to network and knock ideas off each other. And I even started cooking more and am seriously loving our Breville combo slow cooker/pressure cooker! It’s honestly has felt so good to get back into more of a routine and focus on myself.

I’ve also had more time to reflect on L&I as a whole and assess what’s been working and maybe what hasn’t been working so well. It’s so important to me to consistently assess progress in all aspects of my life and consistently strive to be better. Because Adam and I had a lot going on this summer, I wasn’t able to give the blog my full attention. Because of that, things just fell to the wayside a bit.

There was a number of things that I did wrong that I’ve learned from. I lacked a content schedule. I was sharing pictures just to post them and stay relevant on Instagram. I was questioning and over-critiquing everything I was writing, which led me to spend way too much time on some posts and not enough on writing new ones. I constantly felt this nagging feeling that I should be writing when I was exhausted and just didn’t feel like it. But let me tell you, October has allowed me to to take advantage of the down time to get ahead so I don’t run into these issues again. By not being distracted and being able to refrain from posting anything the last month has really helped clear my mind and enabled me to stay focused.

In staying focused, I’ve been able to update a few things on the blog, including L&I’s mission statement. L&I’s mission is to motivate you in every aspect of life – to write out your goals, create a plan, pursue your dreams and make your mark – one lipstick stain at a time. So you’re probably wondering, what does this even mean? Well, I’ll tell you. I personally want you to come to my blog and feel a sense of encouragement and empowerment in every category – career, wellness, and travel. I want you to achieve the goals you set for yourself and really make your mark on those so you can look back and feel so proud of what you accomplished. We all have the power to do just that – but it’s a reality that sometimes, we let circumstances and even ourselves get in our way. I’m going to be your reminder to ensure you stay positive and keep going!

I’m going to follow my own advice on this one and get to writing down the goals I have for myself with L&I the next year and beyond:

1. Get L&I trademarked. I’ve already started the process to get L&I trademarked and am crossing my fingers all goes well! I hope one day I can confidently say that no one else can use my brand but me. I’ll know in a few months!
2. Make photography a priority. I can fully admit that photography is my greatest weakness when it comes to this whole blogging thing. I’ve started to learn how to actually use my camera and have been playing around with creating my own filter. Baby steps! I’m thinking about signing up for a photography class too. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
3. Stay consistent.  I’m planning to stay on a schedule when it comes to posting blog posts and sharing content on social media.
4. Bring together women in-person.  I want to continue bringing women together to discuss our careers and other important relevant topics like I did at the Making Your Mark Event. Sitting behind our phone and scrolling or texting only goes so far to cultivating relationships. Getting together in-person will help us build stronger connections many of us are looking for. My thought is to do a panel event every year and then smaller meet-ups throughout the year. Stay tuned for more to come if you’re in the Chicago area!

Onto creating a plan and pursuing my dreams! Until next time!