The Best Blue Off The Shoulder Sweater You Need in Your Life (and closet)
First things first, let’s talk outfits. This blue off the shoulder sweater from Missguided was such an amazing find. I snagged it for under $30 and have worn it non stop. I love a longer length off the shoulder sweater because you can really do just about anything with them. Here I have some faux leather leggings and OTK boots, but I’ve worn my off the shoulder sweater with just my zella leggings and sneakers and it was great that way too. Versatility is everything. I know sometimes it can seem like bloggers who focus heavily on fashion only buy clothes to wear for instagram photos, but I really do try to find items I will wear more than once and can wear more than one way. That’s huge for me.
I also love over the knee boots (or as you see me refer to them often as OTK boots). These were my favorite find from last fall and are still available. I also have them in black. They really are the best heeled boots on the market for the price. Anything else that I would find worthy of spluring on would be well over $300.
A HUGE question I’ve been getting lately has been about scarves. How to wear them, where to buy them, and are blanket scarves still a thing? I’ll be working on a full post about this over the weekend so stay tuned! Scarves are one of my favorite fall and winter accessories… they’re affordable, always in style, and go with everything. This leopard one was under $30 and I’ve found three great ways to wear it.
Off the Shoulder Sweater: Missguided (under $30), Boots: Steve Madden (under $80), Bag: Shein (under $30), Leggings: BP (under $30), Scarf: Nordstrom (under $30), Earrings: Sugarfix by Baublebar c/o, Lip Color: Pink Nouveau
The Importance of Staying in Your Lane:
This is something I know a lot of bloggers go through, but I think it’s relative to everyone. Staying in your own lane. Now… what does that mean really? It means being focused on what you’re doing, your own goals, and your game plan rather than stressing about what everyone else is doing. It’s hard. I get it. I do the opposite almost daily, but I’m truly laser focused on this right now because I’m learning how important it is.
I’m going to break this down in blogger speak because I know I have a lot of fellow bloggers who are also readers, but also in everyday life scenarios because that is something I struggle with as well. For bloggers, it can be so hard to not feel like if you aren’t doing what everyone else is doing you are wrong or are going to get left behind in some way. That really isn’t true though. I am an avid podcast listener, and one in particular that helps me so much is The Influencer Podcast. Recently, Julie Solomon had Lauryn Evarts of The Skinny Confidential on. (Also one of my faves). She was on to really talk about bringing in several different incomes from one space, but went off on a tangent that really struck a cord with me. Lauryn was successful because she did something no one else was doing. She broke the mold. There is no one like her or her brand. That’s how The Skinny Confidential has really made it’s mark.
How many times have you gone to a blog… and honestly in the past mine may have been one of those… and saw the same girl same outfit? Really though… maybe not the exact same girl, but she acted the same, wrote in the same style, shopped at the same stores. She was kind of like a clone, right? There’s the problem. We have to be ourselves. We have to do things our own way. We have to find our own formula. We so often ask for advice and rather than mixing our own cocktail that works for us and our brand we do exactly what someone else is doing and wonder why it isn’t working.
I’ve recently started consulting local businesses and bloggers on this because I’ve had so many people ask… how do you do it? What do I need to do? How can I be like you? Well, my first answer is always… you can’t. No one can be like me because they aren’t me. Same goes for branding and a site. You need to be branded based on your own strengths and core values which are most likely not the same as mine. You have to speak through your images and your social channels. Y-O-U not M-E.
I’ve been there… I’ve done it. So don’t think I’m scolding you. I’m speaking from experience. Being unique is SOOOOO key to getting anywhere in this world and you DO NOT have to have a million followers to make it.
When you don’t stay in your own lane you will never find success, you will never be happy, and you will never reach your max potential. It’s kind of like my favorite phrase “You can’t see the forest for all the trees.” I learned that years ago when I started working through my anxiety. You have to keep focus or all the outside elements will lead you astray from what you really want.
I’m not a blogger… so how does this relate to me?
How many times has something you wanted happened for someone else before it happens to you? Maybe it’s an engagement, a baby on the way, a job or promotion. Maybe someone has a nicer car or house than you. Maybe they look like you wish you did. It goes on and on. When you are so focused on what other people are doing in their lives or what they have, you lose sight of what you have and what you’re doing. It leads to being sub-par. Your daily life won’t be fulfilling. Nothing will ever be enough.
That’s such a terrible way to live. I’ll be honest. Last year was very hard for me. I wasn’t happy, I wanted more time, a better work life balance, more time with my husband… I was desperate for a change. I compared everything going on with me to someone else. Someone with more time with her loved ones. I compared to someone who didn’t work as many hours or drive as far as me. I compared myself to women who I felt were better than me. I was miserable you guys. The comparison game didn’t make it any better.
When things changed for me I had to really focus in on what I wanted. So much so that I didn’t spend time with anyone really outside of my immediate family and blogger community. I knew that I wanted to truly turn this into a career path and see it flourish. I studied my craft, invested the time and money, and really dug into what I needed to do to make this work. Sometimes that’s what it takes.
My advice? You do you boo. Really though. We have to stop comparing everything we do with somene else. There are a million routes to take to get to the same destination, you just have to find the right path for you and run like hell toward the finish line.
