A Hobby Blog 😒

TBH

Ugh…so, I am going to be honest with myself and call it what it is. Despite the lack of feedback, I narrowed down the common denominator. Of what?, you may ask. Of my blog. It’s time I burst my reality bubble and call it what it is; a hobby blog.

Cue the dramatic music. Ya know the kind of music that signifies the death of dreams? Yeah, cue that ensemble 😒

While evaluating my blog, I realized the one thing that runs true. Everything I discuss is either a hobby of mine or something I am experiencing. I enjoy stationery, journaling, bits of poetry, accessories, writing… Babbling basically. And while I am diagnosed with co-occurring disorders, I typically speak from a first-person point of view, therefore, offering insight, not solutions.

Duh! Accompanied by an eye roll – where have I been to even question the category of my hobby blog?? It’s right there before my very eyes. So close that I tap on it almost daily. Sheesh, Candace. Can dreams of success be so blinding? Apparently in this la la land they can. But all of that aside, I refuse to throw in the towel on the idea that I can run a successful blog. By successful I mean a blog that generates an income. I don’t know how I will get there but I do know that I will get there! Stay tuned 😉

Keeping with Be

To keep with my word of the year I must be intentional with all I do. For me this mostly includes purchases. The renewal of my plan is up in February of 2022. While I was intentional in paying it, I didn’t realize that my renewal doesn’t include the renewal of my domain. This sucks because if I think about it that is the only part I need to keep updated. I am only realizing this days after my renewal, therefore, requiring a separate purchase of $18. For information purposes, if you purchase a plan through Word Press, the domain is included the first year and not thereafter. Just a heads up!

If I am being totally honest, all I really need is the domain and not the plan seeing as how I do not utilize any aspect of a paid plan. So basically this purpose slipped through my intention radar. Whoomp whoomp. I like having the paid themes to choose from and the one I currently use is one, however, it is an expired theme. I am waiting to update my theme for when I have my laptop fixed. If my intentions about the whole thing were in order then I would’ve applied the plan renewal funds to the repair of my laptop. It would have covered half of the cost of the repair. Yeah, kinda kicking my own ass on this one. Sure, I could get a refund because the timeframe is available but I don’t have the wherewithal to deal with. So there’s that.

My Magical Morning Muse routine is going strong. It’s basically an analog routine of journaling, planning, and documenting. I added an aspect of being to this list by incorporating a be for the day. For example, today’s be is be consistent. I dedicated a journal to this so that at the end of the year I will have 365 days of being ☺️

Conclusion

I am accepting Revenge of Eve for who she is. It’s hard some days as I wish her to be more. So ultimately I have to come into acceptance that she is what she is supposed to be right now. Looking at the bright side I reap her benefits without ever making a penny. Can I get ‘ah witness?

Oh yeah!! I emailed Mailchimp and I await the return email to see if it’s possible to gain entrance into my account. As a backup, I went ahead and started a new email list. If I gain entry to the old list, I will subscribe all the emails to the new list. It’ll be work for me but I know it’ll be worth it. So with that said, do me a favor and subscribe to receive the new and improved Garden newsletter!!! I will cherish each one of you. And I do not spam. Promise. This is the last I ask of y’all for awhile 🤞

Ok. I’m done being needy.

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Oh, I Remember!

Reaccessing

So now I remember why it was I wanted to rid my studio of things!! Overwhelm. I have too much, y’all 😒! I am grateful to have the materials that I have, however, I don’t know where to begin with using what I have. It’s an issue that runs me out of my studio almost daily.

I am bringing intention into my life and running out of my studio is an avoidance tactic. If I don’t sit with it, it doesn’t exist.

But it does.

In large amounts.

While trying to find my style this led to a variety of aesthetics being purchased. And I don’t like that nor have I discovered my style 😩 And I haven’t played to find my style because of overwhelm 😩😩😩😩😩

OCD, much?? (I am diagnosed btw)

Piece by Piece

I arrived at starting with my sticker pile. I want to incorporate fun into my planner and journal and what better way to do that than with stickers!! I am not going to be too picky about the aesthetics … ooooo!! Wait. How about I theme each week??!!?!?! That’s a great idea. See talking things out helps immensely! I asked my daughter if she would like the ones I decide to not use and she accepted. And if she doesn’t use them she will pass along to her step-sister. Problem solved! No waste 🤓

R.O.E.

Quick Update

That is as far as I’ve gotten at tackling my stash. It’s a start, right? Other than that, I have been in hibernating mode. I have spent my days off in bed. This time of year is my restoration period. I allow it to bother me on some days thinking of all the things that I could be doing. But there are days I just accept it and sleep peacefully. For a chronic busy person this hasn’t been easy.

Laying around doing absolutely nothing feels great!!! ☺️ I am now monitoring my down time. Who’wouda’thunk it? I slowly open my eyes each morning around 10 am. I take until 11 to be up and moving around. I journal, plan, read, shower, and get ready for work. I work at 2pm, Wednesday-Saturday. Other than that, I’ve enjoyed my lesson on being. I won’t deny that I struggle with feelings of laziness but I am working through that.

Everyone around me is sick. Coworkers, family, and friends. The weather here can’t make up its mind. It’s been windy and unpredictable. Saturday evening we had snow flurries and today’s high (Wednesday) is 71 degrees. I attribute the sickness to the weather. On a different note, I have maintained my journaling habit. I also created a morning routine for setting the intention for the day. I call it Magical Morning Muse ☺️ I document the week’s affirmation, 3 gratitudes, 2 priorities, a block for work and the money earned that day, the weather, and my mood. It’s taken me until now to find a layout I enjoy but finally, I am pleased.

That’s it for my 2022 this far. I am still on track and will continue to apply being to my everyday. How is your progress? Are you on track with your resolutions or word for 2022?

If you haven’t already, check out my post-Blogger Outreach

Blogger Outreach

PSA

It always baffles me how much of blogging is behind the scenes. This isn’t exclusive to the operations and maintenance of a blog but also the blogger outreach. Why so hush hush?

I get it if you operate a successful, corporate blog. Certain positions are established to handle those aspects of the job, example: press roles. But what about when you are a small time blog not looking to make it big rather a part-time income?

Aren’t small blogs important to the blogosphere? Can’t we advertise your new product just the same as a magazine? Yes, the number of eyes that see said advertising is significantly vast but isn’t a customer a customer? There are many scenarios that can play out and I’ll leave that to you. But do you follow what I am saying?

If so…

I am formerly offering product reviews for products related to:

Crafting

Journaling

Coaching programs (self-improvement)

Mental health

For a limited time I am offering to review your product(s) in exchange for the product/service. This is at little to no cost to you. Basically free advertising while I build my readership and continue about my blogging journey. How does that sound??

If my offer interests you, leave a comment or contact me directly using my contact page. If your product doesn’t fit into any of the above categories, list your product and perhaps another blogger will be interested. Please use the comment section to connect with others and get your product out there using small time blogs.

We are in this together!

My Current Stationery Obsession(s)!

A Plethora

The spectrum of materials stationery encompasses seems endless. Stationery is often innocently thought of as customized paper with matching envelopes but below you will see the plethora of materials this one word encapsulates. While it does include envelopes and paper it is oh so much more!! The official Wikipedia definition is:

a mass noun referring to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies.^[1] Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer printers.

See??

I can scroll for hours looking at aesthetically pleasing storage solutions, paper, office accessories, etc.

Gah!

Over the years I’ve touched a bit on my infatuation with stationery. Truth be told I was embarrassed by it until I stumbled upon hundreds if not thousands of Instagram accounts of others who appreciate it as much as myself. It didn’t take long before my feed was dedicated to all things stationery (and art). As an adolescent, my favorite pastime was playing school. I was Ms. Debbie Smith. I took my job seriously 😂. A few stories are floating around about my school playing days. Not too long ago I realized what drew me to it and low and behold it has always been… You guessed it… Stationery.

These days I get stuck more so on a brand that suits my design style than a product. The quality is of utmost importance. That is part of the criteria. Followed by the aesthetics. Both must align for me to consider making a purchase soooo in saying that, allow me to list my current obsessions.

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While I am an Amazon associate, none of the links included in this post is affiliate. I did not receive the products mentioned in an exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

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Favorite Brand

I am currently stalking Russell+Hazel. Like seriously. I look at their website at least once a day. The selection is minimal therefore making my efforts slim but I can’t help myself!! I am goo-goo over the color scheme of black, acrylic, grey, white, and gold. They do offer a few other colors, pale blues and muted pink paired with gold foil accents.

The selection of acrylic organization and desk accessories hypnotize me ☺️. I was introduced to the brand by accident. Some of you may be familiar with Dirt Cheap but if not it’s an unorganized store that purchases product containers from certain retailers and then resells the products for a cheaper price. Well, I was digging through the store’s stash and I came upon a nice leather planner, the one I am currently using. It was already halfway into the year but at $5, I couldn’t pass it up. As I began using it I fell in love. I found myself using it instead of looking for another one. They call it planner happiness for a reason.

I Googled the brand when deciding on 2022’s planner and to my amazement, I opened a treasure chest!! Have a look for yourself. If you are anything like me you are sure to be pleased.

Favorite Pen

For a little over a year, I have used the same brand of pen. The S-Gel by Sharpie is a gel .07 tip pen that glides smoothly across any paper. The dry time isn’t long and the ink is deep black. The white design pairs with my love of the black and white aesthetic. They sell this pen at Walmart so it is fairly attainable for anyone who wishes to give it a go.

S-Gel by Sharpie

Favorite Paper

Now this category is tricky. While I collect paper, my exploration of writing paper is almost non-existent. The papers that my collection consists of are of the vintage kind and designer kind. Don’t get me wrong, my collection includes notebooks purchased on a whelm as well as others gifted to me, all of which have writing papers. I’ll break this favorites section down a little different.

Since stumbling upon my favorite pen, I now know I prefer gel ink. Check. I know that I do not like ink to bleed through the paper. Check. I have come to conclude that while I enjoy college-ruled I prefer my pages without ruling so that I am not limited to writing, however, 2022’s journal has a faint grey ruling and will be dedicated to writing. Weird, I know. I discovered I like the freedom blank pages offer so three out of four for 2022’s stack are blank paged. Now that absolutely no sense has been made, my choice of blank paper is Tomoe River. During my paper research, I learned Tomoe River recently changed the quality of its paper product, to the dismay of many. My opinion of the quality is based on the older product.

52 g/m2 fills the Galen Leather co. notebook I’ve almost used from cover to cover. Filling a notebook has been a goal of mine for some time and I am 10 pages away from accomplishing said goal!! Yay!! Ok on to the paper. Tomoe River paper is thin, fountain pen-friendly paper. There is no bleed-through or ghosting which from its thinness is shocking. It is a Japanese company with a reputation for the quality of its paper.

As I unpack my studio, I will document other favorites. What types of pens and paper do you prefer?? Do you have a particular brand that captivates you?

Because Why Wait?

Waste Not, Want Not

I am either in or I am out, on or off, black or white … you get the picture.

By the time my previous post published, I went through with my plan upgrade purchase, set up a new contact email, and began tweaking my site. I have a tendency to procrastinate but I refuse to let more time lapse. Refuse! do you hear me!?! Lol. I feel confident in my premium plan choice, although it requires I relearn the bells and whistles. Redundant but because technology advances rapidly, my self-taught knowledge is a bit rusty. No biggie. I do not sweat the time involved gaining knowledge. The bright side of the once grey cloud is the mailing list for theGarden. It is still intact!! Yay! The crowd goes wild.

For those of you not subscribed, please do. I promise not to flood your inbox with spam or nonsense. In fact, I have yet to publish a newsletter for a consecutive period of time,however, I do look toward dropping a line at least once a month. I can get overzealous with my plans to follow through on tasks. This go-round I am going to remain mindful and make a point to not overcommit. I am a work in progress, folks!

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Design Decisions

I am sticking with my same color palette of black and white with a touch of red but I made the bold decision to remove most images from my blog. Gasp! It’s blog blasphemy to not entertain the eye.!! Well … I will use self-made graphics throughout my posts and limit the images to gallery widgets. With the theme I have chose, I am braving unchartered territory and doing as I have always desired and going minimal. I made the move to black and white images some time ago but I find not everything looks presentable in black and white photography especially not artwork. My yearning for a clean, crisp design went out the window when I read the importance of imagery but I am at the point where I realize those are merely suggestions and not blog law. As far as displaying artwork (journals too) for sale, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. One challenge at a time.

I am going to learn from my mistakes and not get overly ambitious with my efforts. Last time, my views and engagement skyrocketed, I made the mistake of integrating the idea of art sales. The commitment of such sent me in a tailspin. An aspect of my plan purchase offers the ability to make sales but that is not my immediate focus. I hope to slowly introduce my art as it may.

No forcing.

No hurried attempts to make an income.

I am just going to sit back and let the horse follow the carriage, if ya know what I mean.

Before going any further I want to personally say thank you to those of you who have stuck by my side despite any failed attempts, set backs, and start overs.

Thank you for welcoming me back with open arms and warm hearts. I have to give the credit to y’all for my willingness to return. If it wasn’t for the compassion, understanding, and encouraging words, I fear embarrassment would hold me back. Y’all are the real M.V.P.’s. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You!! One more won’t hurt … THANK YOU!!

To any newcomers to the blogosphere or to R.O.E., a word to the wise; let the community love you and empower you. An enthusiastic welcome from me to you and an open invitation to connect any time. Coming soon I will offer a contact page but until then, feel free to chat it up in the comments. No question to too silly and no conversation is too long. I follow no rules when it comes to my comment section so feel free to express any concerns. All I request is respect for one another. Oh and one more thing … subscribe!! Tee-hee. Okay, I lied. One last thing. Everyone please be patient as I fumble around with the block editor. It’s a learning curve for reals.

An Introduction

I am always trying to think of ways to make my blog stand out in a sea of blogs but also wanting to invent trendy ways of bringing blogs together.

The first example of this was by creating my own niche. I did this in an effort to make those of us who discuss many topics feel a sense of belonging. Having a niche topic works for some and for those of us that feel it limits us, I now offer the unconventional lifestyle niche. Please feel free to label your site as so if this fits your style!! I would be so honored.

That led me to decide on An Introduction, which will be a brief intro to the categories within my blog. So… I must backtrack and present to you the ones that have been established thus far here on R.O.E. and also introduce a new category.

Personal growth & goals

This is a category created to document the efforts and tools put into place for my personal growth. I am passionate about this category. It is in its infancy as am I. 2019 is my year to focus on uncovering and revealing the true me. It will be a raw experience with the hopes of life-changing results.

I do wonder if I will get anything out of it, I must admit. I am also hesitant about the vulnerability that comes with it but I trust my readers with my crazy, so to speak. We shall see. If it feels like too much I will slow my roll.

Planning & Organization

Each of the categories is pretty self-explanatory. Having co-occurring illnesses it is vital to living with a daily routine/schedule. This helps keep surprises at bay and allows for preparation, mental, for changing environments.

Less clutter has been proven to be a good thing for our mental health. Eliminating the chaos from our immediate surrounds gives us the opportunity to be productive. Clutter is a distraction and can increase anxiety. Over the course of a year, I plan to organize every aspect of my life. This will require a plan.

Thanks to social media, I discovered what I have done all along now has a name and a community. It is called creative planning and if you like crafty things, you will love creative planning! Stay tuned to find out more.

Mental Health & Recovery

It is what it says. Anything having to do with mental health, substance abuse, alcoholism, bipolar, OCD, healthy tips, and tricks, etc. This category is one that is personal to my heart and my life. I am diagnosed bipolar 1, anxiety, and OCD. I received my diagnosis in January 2017 after living 38 years in complete disarray.

Holiday Greetings

I noticed when I wanted to acknowledge a holiday that the post didn’t have a category so I created one! (Surprised?). Holiday Greeting is for those posts wishing my readers a day of enjoyment.

R.O.E. Need To Know

This category is for information regarding this blog. Anything related specifically to the operations, simple additions and information I decide to share about this site with my readers. My curiosity leaves me wondering about the how to’s and why’s in life and I established this category for those of you who may be curious like me. 🙂

Creative and Collective

This is a new category that I haven’t published a post for but I am excited to bring it to R.O.E. When this site (not R.O.E., long story) was first established it was dedicated to exploring my creative side. While I don’t consider it a fail I felt boxed into a niche that I wasn’t familiar with. I didn’t want to scrap the entire idea rather integrate my newfound hobbies.

It is here I will discuss my handmade products and boast about the things that I collect. These items include paper, vintage ephemera, purses, and glasses. We all have small things that bring big joy to our lives and these are mine.

More to Come…

A few more will be added and with them, come an introduction. I created a category menu that can be found at the bottom of the site. Click on one of them and it will take you to the posts that have been categorized under the listed category. I used the social menu to create these category menus and that added them to the top of my site as well. They showed up as WordPress logo buttons instead of the category name. You can use those as well.

If this idea inspires you to create a menu similar to mine, I encourage you to do so. If you decide to classify your blog as An Unconventional Lifestyle blog, link to this or any other post so I can check it out. 

R.O.E. 411

Last month I thought my WordPress plan was set to renew but that is only done when you have a card on file. My plan wasn’t due to expire until the 30th of May and while I had the money to renew last month, I decided not too for a few reasons.

• I am unsure of which plan will best suit my needs for the next twelve months
• I have not decided on my set plan of attack for selling my memory keeping journals and journaling packets
• I haven’t weighed my options about the benefits of having a paid for plan verses a free site considering I do not have a plan mapped out for selling things online
• I have missed too much work to invest in something without seeing a return immediately
• My only fret is that my design layout will be affected and I am not so certain I will invest the time to get it how I want it due to when I do decide having to invest the time on the new site
• I have stepped back from blogging and reading blogs daily to avoid burnout
• My personal life needs attention
• The domain remains mine because it was purchased separately and at a later date from the plan so I do not fear the loss of it
• I want to be more intentional with all I do from here on out
• Direction, routine, and scheduling are things high on my short list of priorities and sticking to them is my biggest priority
• A free site is suitable for the time being and forces me to establish an action plan in regards to my desires to work from home
• I am unsure if I want to air my personal life in the same space I want to develop a professional relationship with customers
• I may use a free site for personal and launch a professional site using a paid for site…the problem there lies not being able to transfer my following to my business site but having my followers on my free site allows them the choice to follow if my business is targeted at their individual interests
• I’ve attempted operating two sites before and one suffered and the other never quite took off but in comparison to beginning my first site, it did well
• I do not want to abandon my R.O.E. as my web persona but I also want to be respected professionaly
• I have no clue what direction I want to go in professionally speaking
• I am working on a few projects so my time is limited

Did I say a few reasons? Lol… It’s more than a few and I need more time to sort things out. The purpose of this post was to a. receive feedback and suggestions from my loyal followers b. to have my thoughts/questions/concerns listed out for reference c. to inform y’all that the overall design of R.O.E. is soon to change due to the fact that final decisions have not been made. Free themes are limited to chose from and if I am honest, I’m not pressuring myself to invest the time it takes to design a website without knowing my next move. If you have any insight into the operations of the WordPress business plan, Etsy, or Shopify please let me know your experience in the comments. Or do you use a self-hosted platform? If so, how much behind the scenes work is required? It is difficult and much more time consuming? Any feedback is great feedback!!