Proof of Life
Hello my friends. I am feeling better, thank you for hanging in there with me. I have perhaps one or two more cathartic blog posts to write about my mother and sister, and then will close the chapter on their lives. I cannot continue to dwell on their demise, I have to accept what has happened and move forward. I want to do this for my husband, our children, but mostly for me.
It is time to let go. I want my life back.
I’ve been actively searching for things that make me happy. Spending time with family and friends, reading, playing with our cats, listening to music (so good for the soul), and retail therapy (so bad for the wallet) are the things that work for me. And my blog, Connecticut in Style, was always in the top five. I cannot tell you how much I have missed blogging.
The naked truth is that my blog has been neglected for the better part of three years, I can’t even believe that you guys have even stayed around. What’s wrong with y’all? I am genuinely puzzled by the number of visitors that come everyday because the vast majority of the content is so old. Over the past few years I’ve felt like my blog was on life support, and I would occasionally dig up an old post and repost it just to show proof of life. So lame.
A simple gesture of encouragement
I recently had lunch with my dear friend, Jenn. She was 100% my first dedicated follower and it was Connecticut in Style that inspired her to launch her own awesome blog, Coast 2 Coast with Kids. If you don’t follow her blog, please do. It is a treasure trove of travel tips and it has made me so happy to watch her blog grow! I know she is reading this now (Hi Jenn!) and I wanted to publicly say thanks to Jenn for her unwavering loyalty. During lunch she told me that about once or twice a week she checks my blogsite to see if there is anything new. She said “No pressure, it’s just so good Sarah.” And it got me to thinking that maybe diving back in will bring some much needed joy.
Blogsite Makeover Plans
So I opened up my laptop and took a look. It is all doom and gloom, which is pretty accurate. I will not erase the content, one day my children might want to take a look at the archives and they should know what happened. I also realized that my blogsite was really outdated. Things in the blogging and influencer sphere are evolving rapidly and Connecticut in Style was not keeping pace. It is not just the lack of new content, the entire site needs a makeover. I am not exactly tech savvy, but I convinced myself that I could do it. I wanted the challenge of learning a new skill and the satisfaction of being able to say, “I built it myself.”
Here is a bullet list of elements that I am working on to make my blogsite look more polished:
- New theme (I am using Elegant Themes by Divi)
- New logo that I have designed (I may ask for help in selecting which one to use)
- Updated ABOUT page
- Updated CONTACT page
- A Guide to Fairfield County’s restaurants, shops, and attractions
- A SHOP page with links to items that I love (I am a member of Like To Know It, Amazon and Shop Style)
- Easier navigation when scrolling through posts
Mock ups of the new logo
Scroll down to see mock ups of the logo, I would love your input!
A note about my logo design considerations. For my logo I am leaning towards a blend of old and new fonts, and incorporating a symbol. The idea is to include a multitude of elements that capture the soul of Connecticut.
1. Pay homage to Connecticut’s long history (our state was founded in 1788) so I selected a font for the logo that is similar to “Caslon” which has been around since 1722!
2. A tag line “the east coast lifestyle blog”
3. A mixture of upper and lower case letters in contrasting, but complementary fonts – Old + Modern.
4. A symbol, in the form of an arrow with a feather. The arrow to represent moving forward and the feather to represent Connecticut’s Native America culture.
