2 Years is Longer Than a Hollywood Relationship

Silk wrap dress? Thrifted
Coat? Thrifted
Boots? Holt's Last Call
Gloves? Danier
Necklace? Flea market
Clutch? Thrifted

Two years ago I started this blog. Two whole freaking years. No, we didn't go out this weekend to celebrate My Edit, The Brand (sorry, that's just what we need to call it now...). Well, I did go out but my friends and I celebrated $10 cab fares and 3 a.m. shwarma instead... It was good.

The thing with fashion blogging is that it's more than just a hobby. Sometimes I wish it could be a hobby. You know, like when I went to the bead store and bought wire, findings and sparkly beads because I was going to become a maker of pretty things. I still have those beads... they look nice in their original bag. But I am glad that this isn't one of those things that I started and then ignored. I love the way that blogging has given me confidence to take fashion risks, that it's given me a chance to write regularly again and that it's given me some real life Internet friends. It's about time I joined the 21st century and got myself world wide web buddies...

Last year, on the first anniversary of this blog, I wrote a pretty open post about the experience of blogging for a year. The day I wrote that post, I had a botany exam. The exam was really hard (like, you know?), and I might have done better if I hadn't spent so much time trying to articulate exactly how I felt about blogging. The fact that I chose to post instead of study is a pretty good indicator of how blogging can overtake one's life. I can admit it, I am a bit of a try hard when it comes to school and grades but clearly, at that moment, blogging trumped botany. Most of that post still rings true... from the good; the friends, the thrifting ,the dressing... to the bad; the moments of crippling jealousy. I want to say it gets better but sometimes, as the fashion blogging phenomenon grows, it feels like it gets more complicated. When I started my blog, I just wanted to talk about fashion and show off some of my thrift finds, I honestly had no clue that fashion blogging was an industry in and of itself. I remember during the first few weeks of blogging, I saw on some stat that my blog had drawn 71 unique visitors. I knew a handful of people from my family and friends read my blog but I was blown away that 50 random people in this world had stopped by my little blog. I still struggle everyday to keep a good attitude about any kind of stats. It is sooo easy to get caught up in the 'but she has...!' whiny attitude instead of being grateful that people have chosen to waste their boss' time on my little piece of Internet ramblings.

Morgan wrote a good post a few weeks ago about keeping a balance between living a life and blogging about a life. Between taking pictures, editing them, writing posts, participating in this varied and usually, pretty awesome, community, having a job, a family, friends and laundry; life is fairly hectic. And as I continue blogging, the line between real life and blogging starts to blur a bit. You know what's real? The credit card bill I am getting for booking a flight down to Austin to finally meet some other bloggers. It used to be my online life vs. my real life but it seems like the two will continue to get intertwined.

And besides finally meeting some other bloggers, continuing to take pictures in little Hamilton nooks and getting dressed, what else are my plans for My Edit, The Brand? Well, my next endeavour is getting a trademark on the use of sequins and the word 'the', so that anyone who uses either is, in turn, forced to link back to me. And with that kind of traffic, I won't ever need to worry about my botany exam mark...

Ha... I kid about sequin trademarks... though I don't kid that blogging can be rather emotional and complicated. Yet, despite that, I do really enjoy the creative outlet and the journey it has taken me on. And for your readership, your comments and your sweet emails over the last two years, I am deeply grateful. Group hug?