The Name.
I wanted something that reflected who I am and the feeling that this space gives.
Smitten // one of my favorite words. It’s a sweet word that by definition means “completely in love” and it encompasses how I feel about this luge and who I share it with.
Joyfully // truth is, my first choice was Simply because I live a very simple life but it was taken. I spent a week and a half trying to figure out what fit just as well. Joyfully was the answer as it help create the happy, light & inspirational feel I hoped for.
The “Feel”.
I really wanted to focus on how the blog felt, how a reader would feel coming into the space. Like I mentioned above, the initial feel was happy, light & inspirational but I also wanted a little bit more. I picked colors that make me feel happy. I snapped a photo that was relaxed and laid back which was what I hope the reader feels when they come into the space. My friend Santana said “I feel like im sitting across from you chatting with a cup. Inviting.” when she first saw it online. Perfection. That was precisely the goal and when I snapped it, I didn’t have that goal in mind. I also wanted my photos to radiate happy through the colors portrayed within them.
My Readership.
I feel like this part limited me before in my previous space. I was always excited to share my space with the whole entire world. Family, friends, etc. Although that was okay for a little while I quickly learned within the last year that I kind of regretted it. I felt like I was limited to what I could write which naturally defeated the purpose of my blog. I had the option to shout it from the rooftops again, have bloglovin switch over my followers to the new URL OR start from scratch using just social media, Instagram and Google +. I chose the latter. This also meant I went through and disconnected myself from some individuals I felt weren’t my target readership anymore. This also meant I created an Instagram to be just for the blog, along with our personal one. Our personal Instagram is connected with some family & others that I’ve decided were limiting my writing. With the new Instagram I can keep the two worlds separate.
The Content.
When I took away my self-inflicted expectations and stepped back about how much I post I was able to really clarify what I really want this blog to be and it’s content. Real genuine content that I would get excited about posting, not that I felt like I needed to post. I was tired of just posting useless content – or that I felt like was useless or even not genuine – Know what I mean?
The Blog’s Mission.
When I started the rebrand the only mission I fully honed into was – I wanted it to reflect me and my heart. A splash of my messy personality, my free spirited joyfulness and how smitten I am with life. What came later is what this blog’s mission blossomed to be. That didn’t come until several weeks after the rebrand. In fact, it happened while standing in my kitchen going through my recipes. That’s when the clarity began.
I learned that I want this blogs mission to capture my story and the life of our family, as well as, all the things we love. How cool would it be for A to be able to come to this space – click the recipe page and find all of her favorite recipes of her childhood?! Find guidance and acceptance as she grows as a person and hopefully a parent some day?! To look for the DIY fun projects we did together that she may do with her children some day?! So really – having endless access to her little life, the memories of events, food and activities all while reading her Mama’s heart.
