April was last you’ve heard from me. Crazy, right?! This six month, unintentional break was actually very much needed. This space has always been more of a diary than anything, so for what it’s worth I’d like to keep this place updated for my own sake. With that said, I sure have missed this.

Infertility is teaching me so much about myself & challenging me in more ways as each year passes. Although I would choose the busy, frantic life with babies crying over this any day, I have no choice but to choose the bright side of things in what is my present. That bright side is : I have time. I got caught up in the idleness that the loneliness brought by infertility creates. I got comfortable complaining about “why me” rather than asking “what now”. In search of some serotonin, I have found an identity that offers a pocket filled with peace of mind.

If you have noticed at all - my presence on social media & here on the blog has been scarce. I am in some what of a soul searching phase & I am working on setting down the “busy”. Social media is not the sole one to blame, but I absolutely found it carried some fault. I saw mom’s posting on IG & stories of activities they were doing. I wait for my friends with kiddos to get ready for errands & they have 2 other small people to get ready too. I see the hustle & bustle that some may complain about - a kind of busy that I pray for.

This kind of feels like a first impression type thing. Almost as if this is brand new even though it’s not. Starting this blog in 2018, I never would have imagined I would still be going. Here we are & I cannot wait to share all the things with you. First, let me introduce you here!

Have you been able to check out our podcast? That is right! My sister, Alanna & I decided to dive into the world of podcasting together & we just shared our second episode. Why do the podcast? We all know I love to write & share my story, well so does my sister. However, we come from two very different lifestyles.

The history of Our Blue Abode is discussed often on here. I think because my mission through it is constantly evolving. As a brief summary, I started Our Blue Abode to document our new home & the decor process. That turned into opening up about our story & soon found passion in encouraging others to do the same. I started in fear of showing myself - my appearance that is. Now, I couldn’t imagine the growth I have endured through showing up, the confidence gained & the friendships build from being truly myself.

Whether it is your business, your side hustle, your night time hobby. Whatever it is you are wanting to showcase and promote and be creative in on your Instagram, how can any of those things I said above be seen as negative. How can any of that be avoided because of the negative connotations placed in our minds. There is too much goodness to be spread to not pursue it. I created this guide to do just that. To show what to prioritize, to offer tangible and actionable steps to showing up on your Instagram and creating the space you know you can. The space you want to use to encourage.

Not everyone knows what they want to be when they grow up & that is okay. This was not the case for me, however. I always knew exactly what I wanted to be. It consisted of dreams filled with home cooked meals, a stocked piled room of toys & a home filled with people that needed me. Watching all these strong women in my life taking great care of their homes & loved ones demonstrated so much grace. Grace that I longed to one day have.

The other week held one of the most fun things I have done yet with Our Blue Abode. My dear friend, Ashleigh Kluck asked me to join her on an episode of her inspiring new podcast “Have Camper Will Travel”. What a joy it was to not only chat voice to voice - we are Instagram pals, never met! - but it was so good to have a push of creativity in a platform I had never been apart of before. I left the interview with Ashleigh so motivated & inspired to keep doing this whole Our Blue Abode thing because of her infectious, creative personality & welcoming attitude.