Oh Darling Blog Is Two Years Old

We have been blogging for two years now!! It’s been a year filled with growth for our blog, having to let go of things, some great opportunities, making mistakes along the way, a lot of tears, and so much joy. Last year we BOTH opened up about our thoughts behind our bloggiversary + what we learned in our first year of blogging, so we’ll be talking just about that on today’s blog post.

Oh Darling Blog Is Two Years Old

Since year one, a lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same. One thing that has stayed the same is our thoughts from last years post. Everything we talked about + the tips we gave still stands true.

Something that’s different is our personal growth in not comparing anymore. Especially, when you first start blogging, it’s so easy to get trapped in your own negative thoughts about that. So we’ve learned to not compare (we are human so we still have those days), to let the little things go, and to focus our energy on our OWN journey because (listen up) every single one of us is on a different path. BAM!

Want to know why we have let go of worrying about our growth and let go of going down that rabbit hole of, why is this person growing and we’re not? Because not one of us is the same and if we all sat down to talk about why we’re doing what we’re doing, we are all going to have different answers. Yeah, most of us have that end goal of making our dreams our full-time job, but with our own personal goals, that’s where every blogger/influencer is doing this for a different reason.

SO focus on you and only you. Focus on growing what is most important to you whether that’s your Instagram page, making connections with others, working with brands, growing your blog, etc. We are a community of people who are sharing our passions with the world whether it’s fashion, lifestyle, food, wellness, beauty, or home decor. There is room for all of us to pursue our dreams so stop making excuses and start doing!

What Else We’ve Learned This Past Year:

Be true to who you are! Meaning don’t let trends or other peoples success change what you want to accomplish.

Stand behind what we believe in, even if it’s against what others are doing.

Allowing ourselves to take a break when needed and not working on trips.

One of our favorite parts of blogging is taking pictures. We’ve learned that having fun and creating more “editorial” content is what makes us happiest.

This journey is not an easy one, but to not give up.

Success doesn’t just come in a day. It takes several years and we just need to be patient while working our butt off.

Enjoy every moment of what you’re doing! We truly don’t know where our blog will be tomorrow or years from now, so just enjoy it all.

You don’t need to have it all together. That’s how we learn, we improve, we find what works for us.

There are many instances when you just have to let things go and NOT take things personally.

You are going to have a lot of good days and a lot of bad days. Allow yourself to feel those feelings!

You don’t have to buy things all the time to create new content and to keep your blogging career going. In fact, most of our 2018 was spent not buying a ton of clothes.

We know more about what our readers like to see and what posts seem to perform the best.

Only surround yourself with people who are going to lift you up – we’ve had to leave groups and unfollow people for our own sake. Don’t be afraid to do those things because personal health is most important!

Your numbers DON’T and SHOULD NOT define you.

Taking a step back from Instagram and focusing on what’s most important to us – our blog.

Invest in things that are going to benefit you in the long – SEO, having someone help you with your media kit, photographer, getting collaborations, etc.

Realizing and accepting that we have different goals than many of the bloggers/influencers we follow. Our focus is not surrounded around trying to sell clothes and people don’t seek us out to buy our clothes.

Being okay with not making money. It can be hard at times, but we always have to remind ourselves that it takes time and we are investing in ourselves.

Katie’s Thoughts

I truly can not believe that we have been blogging for two whole years. Looking back we have come so far, but I know we have so much more to learn.

If someone would ask me what the hardest part of blogging is, I would say coming up with fresh content. It’s hard! The struggle is real to come up with content that your readers will find valuable and that you are passionate about. We truly wish it was as easy as posting an OOTD (outfit of the day) and linking to it. Not only is creating content hard but finding new and creative ways to shoot pictures can be challenging. My favorite part of blogging is the photo shoots. Although I am way more awkward and definitely not a natural like Lydia. I just love it!

At the end of the day, the thing that truly keeps me going is I believe in our dream. I believe in us!

Lydia’s Thoughts

I went back to read my personal thoughts from our blog turning one and for the most part, my thoughts have stayed the same. I am proud of our growth and the dedication we put into it all.

To be completely honest with you, 2018 was one of the hardest years for me. I have really struggled with being in the unknown, especially at 20 years old when I am trying to figure out literally EVERYTHING in life. With that came a lot of emotions while blogging because I felt so confused about life and wondered many times if blogging is something I should continue doing.

I want to share this because behind the scenes can look so different. Following a dream of yours while trying to figure out life is a rollercoaster. And let me tell ya, I don’t like roller coasters (literally). And although I have had more days of feeling lost and not knowing if what I’m doing is the right thing, my struggles are just giving me more strength.

At the end of the day, I know that I still have a passion for blogging. I am on my current path because it’s part of my story. I have so much to be thankful for and so many things to be proud of. I’m proud of my mom and me for trudging through the hard times to follow a dream of ours. I’m proud of the improvement in our photos because they make me happy. And I’m proud of the content we’re creating.

 

Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for allowing us to follow this blogging dream of ours. We feel all your virtual love and support. We are beyond blessed to have created such amazing friendships and we can’t wait to see where this blog takes us! And if you haven’t yet, start following those dreams of yours!