After 8 years straight of blogging, it’s been 15 months since my last blog post. Sitting down to start again felt daunting after 3 months and straight up terrifying after 6. Once I hit that half-year mark, I essentially gave up on this little space of the internet and I don’t really have an answer why.

Stopping was never my intention. In fact, just 2 weeks before my last blog post, I vouched to re-invest in the blog in a bigger way. 2020 was one of the blog’s most successful years and the single most successful year for ThePreppyMAG boutique. A part of me thought 2021 would be a whole new chapter for ThePreppyMAG. What I didn’t plan for, was how poorly I personally deal with change.

It isn’t a coincidence that my last blog post was just 4 days after I started my new job. It also isn’t a coincidence that that terrifying 6-month mark was right after I got engaged. And it’s definitely not a coincidence that the first time I’m feeling inspired and motivated to create content again, is at the end of my first hybrid work week. As things become more “normal” again, the more this part of me feels right.

While things may feel “back to normal,” I’m also cursed by digital marketing expertise that makes me acutely aware that with every passing day, I’m losing more and more momentum. I’ve already lost followers and the only readership I’ve had is due to SEO on posts from 2013-2020 (thank you, top performing posts). Getting back in the swing of things is going to be ROUGH but I *think* I’m ready to be patient and build this community back bit-by-bit.

With so much change in the last year, it’s inevitable that this blog won’t be the same as it used to be. So, what can you expect?

1| Unfiltered + unpolished moments. I used to get super stressed out with the time it took to stage the perfect shot, book photographers, etc. so you may see more photography from Tom (ThePreppyMAG’s OG photographer) and iPhone photos (as seen in the above). I know quality is everything and I promise it in WHAT I share here but if a DSLR photo is the reason you’re coming to this blog, you should probably leave now.

2| More lifestyle content. Life has changed a lot in the last year and I’m experiencing new things by the minute (wedding things, relationship things, life things, etc.). Just as I did when I first moved to New York, I’m excited to bring ThePreppyMAG readers along on this journey.

3| Professional musings. In ThePreppyMAG’s first 8 years, I really tried to keep ThePreppyMAG and my professional life separate. However, if this blog is a true reflection of my lifestyle, work is a BIG part of that. I’ve already started to post more about this part of my life on Instagram and excited to share it here as well!

As a digital marketer, I would probably tell a content creator that a “comeback” after this long of a break is impossible but writing this post over the last few hours is also the first time in a WHILE that I felt myself. ThePreppyMAG has become such a part of me over the last 9 years, that losing it at this point is almost scarier than it was to start it back in 2013…so here we go again (cue: mama mia!).