Oh me oh my, it’s been quite some time since I’ve checked in with my favorite people – you ladies! I owe you an update on where I’ve been because – well you’re my friends, and I’ve been MIA for 3 months here on Belle Meets World. This will be a longer post, so for those of you who like to read, dive in. For those who just want the pics, scroll on!

CAREER MOVE

So here is what’s going on with me. I got a new job – a fabulous new job – that really pushes my career forward. I decided to take some time away from the blog so I could focus all my energy & brain power on getting this job, wrapping up my old job, taking a little time off to recharge, and then starting the new one. And it was much needed!

I’ll be honest that I’m struggling to figure out how to balance blogging at the level I did before I took on this role. The great thing about blogging as a side hustle is you can go all in when you want to and pull back when you need to. In case you were wondering, I don’t have aspirations to blog full time, though I do make money from ‘influencing’. I like my HR career that I’ve built, and I’m all in on pushing it forward. AND I love my moonlighting gig of blogging. I’m pushing that forward, too – though with a lot less rigor in the remainder of 2018 than the first half of it.

ALL-IN ON ATLANTA

Taking this job puts us squarely in Atlanta long term. My previous company had offices in nearly every major city in the US and Evan works from home, so moving somewhere else was always an open possibility for us. We’d always viewed Atlanta as a layover to our next move, so we didn’t try very hard to put down roots. Instead, we became hermits and isolated ourselves. We spent a lot of time at home and not a lot of time out exploring the city and building friendships. We decided to be ‘meh’ on Atlanta without giving it a proper chance.

As I reflect on that in hindsight, the advice I’d give myself is: don’t be afraid to put down roots and get to know a place and people there. Even if you leave it soon after, you’ve made a mark and had a richer life while you stood in place for a moment. That’s a better way to live no matter where you are.

So now, we’re going all in. We’ve made the goal to do one Atlanta thing every weekend and to make an effort to push some of our acquaintances here into friendships. Turns out, Atlanta has a lot to offer us (I know, duh. Surprise, surprise).

WORK WARDROBE

A new job means a new work wardrobe! Ladies, for those of you who work in a business casual environment, here are the brands I pretty much exclusively wear for work:

• Ann Taylor – blazers, suits, dresses, tops, skirts, shoes – pretty much ALL of it. PRO-TIP: Sign up for their mailing list to find out about 40% full price sales online. Weekends are good for in-store sales.
• Express – camisoles, blazers, trousers. They usually have some sort of BOGO 50% deal. If not, wait and check back next week.
• Calvin Klein – dresses, trousers, blazers PRO-TIP: buy via discount stores like TJ Maxx, Saks Off Fifth, Nordstrom Rack; NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR THIS BRAND. It is ALWAYS on sale at discount stores.
• Karl Lagerfeld – dresses, jackets PRO-TIP: NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR THIS BRAND. It is ALWAYS on sale at discount stores like TJ Maxx, Saks Off Fifth, Nordstrom Rack.

Why? Quality, cut, and fabrics that last, or are easy to clean, or can be worn a couple times before washing, or don’t wrinkle. You might be wondering, what about Banana Republic?! Nope. I have to be honest with you – their quality and fabrics have really disappointed me lately! I feel like I’ve only gotten a couple wears out of their items before they look totally spent so I’m on a hiatus until they pull it together. For me, quality must match price point. I feel the same about J.Crew. There are some items of theirs that I will wear (wool cardi sets, winter wool blazers, some summer tops and bottoms) but I always judge quality really hard before buying because their price point is too high for an item not to fit well.

BEAUTY & STYLE COLLABORATIONS

While I haven’t been blogging much, I’ve been keeping my Instagram game going and that’s where a lot of the magic happens when I can’t keep up with the rest. I’ve been so lucky to work on recent collaborations with some of my most favorite brands – CoverGirl, Nyx, Buxom, Soap & Glory, Almay, Charlotte Tilbury, Zappos, Gigi New York, Flower Beauty and YesTo. This post is sprinkled with all those pics!

2018 GOALS UPDATE

At the beginning of the year, I committed to doing one resolution per month, rather than a whole list of resolutions for January that I wouldn’t keep up with past the first week of 2018. Well here’s the honest truth – my February goal (Patience In, Anger Out) took me all of February, March, April, May AND June.

Turns out, it can take at least four months for a new mindset to become real. You have to be dedicated and committed to change. I’m so psyched to tell you that life with less anger has been really different, challenging, new, and hands-down-so-much-better than before.

I have a lot further to go, mind you. But I’ve made a lot of progress. My relationship is better, my day-to-day attitude is better, my outlook on life overall is better. Letting go of thinking the world is out to get you opens up the chance to be calm, strong and kind. My same mantra still serves me every day as I breathe Patience In, Anger Out.

So what about the rest of my 2018 goals??? I’m going to do my best to keep up with them and be honest with you here while I work through them.

Okay, if you made it through this post, nice work! Thanks for hanging in with me while I figure out the balance between my new job and blogging. I’m back, just not so often. Thank you and love y’all!