When I started blogging back in 2001 (sadly all my old college blogs have been deleted), I had no idea what the world of blogging would become. I was simply thrilled to find a more efficient way to journal & the idea of it being public created an odd sense of community around my stories. When I began Heir to Blair in 2008, it was the same – I needed a corner to write, anonymously, to be whatever struck me in the moment. But it took me by surprise, becoming bigger than I ever imagined.
I dreamed of turning my blog into my career. I figured if I worked hard enough & smart enough, I could make it happen. It hit me a few months ago that it didn’t matter how hard or smart or successful I was, blogging as a career would not be my reality.
It was the most liberating realization ever.
I began to feel boxed in by Heir to Blair. It felt like that old Pottery Barn duvet cover that I have that doesn’t even fit our bed anymore, but I can’t seem to part with it because I wanted it so badly back in 2009 & it was so expensive & it’s in perfect condition. But dudes, it doesn’t even fit our bed anymore.
I realized that I wasn’t afraid if nobody recognized me anymore in the blog world. I’m just me, almost thirty with a slight obsession with summer scarves & a husband that I adore & a little boy that steals my heart every morning.
Thank you for continuing on this ride with me. I hope it’s as fun for you as it is for me.
p.s. queen sized pottery barn duvet comforter up for grabs. simone-style.
p.p.s. There are still BlogHer ads up because they don’t require you (or me) to do jack shit. I’m still writing for Babble because I enjoy it. I’ll even do the really cool reviews, like that one where I got to give away a Keurig. I am finishing out my commitment to Huggies & other companies because that’s the nice thing to do.
{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }
the new place is fabulous! bright & airy with a really cool vibe to it. glad to continue following you in the new place =)
Good for you, exciting to see you being you!
Love & hugs!
That’s awesome! I’m so excited for you and this new road you’re taking. I’m just glad you’re not leaving! I get a kick out of your writing – it always brings a smile to my face and many times I have to share with my husband because you’re just so dang funny!
LOVE
The new look is so fresh and happy. Does that even make sense?
LOVE the design, so clean and fresh (or is it so fresh and so clean?!)
I wrote about your new venture:
http://www.babyshmizz.com/2012/10/okay.BA.html
Beautiful new place. And good for you, for realizing that something was no longer a fit and doing something about it.
Congrats on the new space! It looks great! Sometimes we need to shed our skins to grow (not saying you’re a snake or anything).
Fantastic to see the new site. It looks great.
Save it for your guest bedroom!
Congratulations! And that duvet cover is tempting…details?
Beautiful layout, very calm and inviting
I can’t WAIT to continue on this ride with you. Congrats and enjoy!
I’m so proud of you and so happy for you! Love the new place. Write on, sister. xoxo.
This is just so YOU. Absolutley perfect.
I’m exciting to continue this journey with you.
Thank you for sharing your life with all of us.
like the new look! also thought I would add that this showed up fine in my Google Reader without me having to resubscribe to the new feed or anything.
::hi kicks!!::
Love the new site!! Also, that duvet is beautiful!
Love it. Congrats!
I’ve been a reader since your very first HTB post. I would (and have) follow(ed) your blogging anywhere you chose to take it. I love this new design and layout, and am so excited to read what you write here.
And in a way, I am relieved that SOMEONE whose blog I follow and who reminds me of myself in a lot of ways had to realize that blogging as a career wouldn’t happen for her. Not in a schadenfreude kind of way (I want only the best things for you!), but reading blogs was starting to make me feel bad and jealous instead of happy and communal and uplifted because it seemed like it was just so easy for everyone to make a job of it (nevermind that half of the blogs I read are written by SAHMs who wouldn’t have to work anyway, which will never be my reality unless that winning lotto ticket shows up) and I knew I didn’t have enough time or enough of a “hook” or whatever to even take a stab at it myself. Anyway, yay for your liberated feeling, and your new start.Congratulations! XOXO
Kristen, that is EXACTLY how I feel.
It took me a long time to realize that with the exception of a few, the majority of folks who blog for a living were already staying home. I don’t mean that rudely – I think it’s awesome & they are pulling in big bucks to help support their families. They’re sending their kids to college on the money & helping pay the mortgage. They are working, for sure.
But for us, with financial stability & health insurance relying on me holding a 9-5, that just wasn’t in the cards. I also found that I didn’t have the guts to be 100% self-employed. So definitely not for me.
Kind of like how Doug can’t be a PGA player
Yes! Not knocking the awesomeness of SAHM bloggers’ contributions at all, you’re right. There’s just no possibility of financial stability here either without a 9-5 (well, I keep hoping I can find a 9-2 that pays like a 9-5 so I can do preschool pickup, but that’s about as unrealistic as the lottery ticket!). So, in summary, we won’t be SAHM bloggers, Doug won’t be a pro golfer, my husband won’t be a sportswriter, but the world will go on, our toddler sons will be happy with the parents they have, and someday both of us will get to have a second baby. And until then we’ll drink many delicious beers. Cheers to that!
Big LIKE to this whole thread!!
Me too! Loving this thread!
I felt the same way! I’m excited for you BA and look forward to your future posts on here!
I’m happy for you, and I’m digging the new space!
Good for you.
Signed, a quiet follower from all the way back in the Bump days.
The blog looks great!
I’m not sure I’ve ever commented before, BA, but I’ve been reading your blog since the very beginning, back when I “found” you on the Nest, lol. I’ll be honest: I used to think you were a total bitch (especially on the Nest), but something kept bringing me back to your blog, and over time, I’ve really come to love you (in a non-creepy way!) and the topics you discuss. I love that you’re not afraid to be so honest about your life and your struggles. I feel you’re one of the few bloggers left who is REAL and not showing off or faking things for your blog. I think you’ve really found your voice over time on this blog and I’m glad I’ve kept coming back. I’ll be here to stay as long as you are.
A couple other things: (1) Yay for getting a new blog title! “Okay BA” fits you sooo much better and I’d always felt you’d outgrown “Heir to Blair” a long time ago, so yay for you for making the switch and starting fresh! (2) Good for you for letting go and embracing a new vision for your blogging future. Honest-to-goodness professional blogging has got to be so difficult; I hope this new way of writing proves to be fun, rewarding, and stress-free for you! (3) And this is just in case you’re interested in feedback on your new look: I LOVE the new look, but wanted to throw my two cents in and ask if you’d consider scooting the ads to the right side of the screen instead of the left? I find wide left sidebars maddening for some reason, lol. Anyway, do what you will with all that info and keep up the good work.
Anyway, keep it up, BA!
LOVE the new digs BA! So excited to read what comes next.
congrats on the new site! it looks great! and, agree with all kristen says above!
looking forward to reading more of your adventures in working mom land!
I love that you are a liberated woman! This site is fresh, clean and lovely.
I remember when you bought the duvet! I’d gone to update our master bedding and decided against the Simone, and you got nervous when I said I didn’t love it because you’d just ordered yours….
My, how things change in three years.
So glad to still be on this post-Bump, blogging/mommy journey with you.
Good for you BA! I’ve been reading your blog since you started & we were pregnant at the same time. I’m proud of you for not needing your blog to be your career. Same here
Congrats!!
Congrats on the new digs. The 20s are the decade of change. Most start as a college student and most end married and / or a parent. The girl I was then it just part of the past so never feel bad about letting your space evolve with you.
Love the new digs! Very “you.”
After a lot of trial-and-error and deliberation as I’ve gotten more comfortable with and knowledgeable about blogging, I finally came to the same conclusion as you that I don’t want to make blogging my business. My blog is my space to process my own thoughts and emotions and chronicle my memories so that my daughter can hopefully someday read it and know me through a slightly different lens. That’s in the back of my mind with everything I choose to put on my blog, from personal stories to sponsored posts. It’s why I don’t do private ads or reviews and won’t hesitate to turn down a paid post if it doesn’t fit my niche. Having a specific focus has really helped me in not getting so bogged down with the business of blogging. Sounds like you’ve come to the same place here, which is cool – it’s no small feat to have the discipline to go from where you were in the blogging world to just, “Hey, I want to write and that’s it.” Good for you!
I like it. I like it a lot. It feels fresh and laid back (can a blog feel that way?).
Good for you & congrats on the new space!
You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about shutting mine down or going back just to a simple Caringbride site. I feel like I don’t have enough of a hook…seriously I know there is no way I’m the only young blogging mom who fought cancer. Also what frustrates me? When I rack my brain for something to write about or post a heartfelt post only to find out people in my family aren’t even keeping up with reading. Then my kid does something cute & I have to attn whore it up again.
Overall, very nice. I do want to agree with “E” about the ad sidebar – I thought it might just be me being weird, but it kinda actually hurts my eyes to train them away from the left side of the screen and over to the right. I guess I’m so used to it the other way pretty much everywhere?
Congratulations! I love it. I agree w/ @Kristen above. I’ve read your blog off & on since the nest baby (not the bump!), and since you’re not at ALL BlairWaldorf anymore…this is such a good move.
I have been (quietly) following your blog for a couple years. I was immediately hooked by your witty honesty and often find myself laughing out loud at your posts. I just wanted to say congratulations on this change! I’m loving the new name & the fresh new look – it seems so fitting for your fresh new perspective.
Love the new look and feel. I’ve loved reading your words over the last few years. I’ve watched your child grow up and have since had one of my own. Craziness. Yours is one of the first blogs I started reading religiously and continues to be my favorite. I look forward to every post. Keep ‘em coming!
I think you said something like “i just bought a 200 dollar duvet because when the hell am I going to get to spend 200 on a bedspread again?”. I died..and the being 8 months pregnant myself at the time went and bought a 200 dollar duvet as well because you were so right. And guess what…it doesnt fit our bed anymore..but its still in my linen closet.
Ditto on the Google Reader comment mine showed right up. Yay!
Sooo….is the duvet *really* up for grabs?
it would look great in my guest room. 
This site is so pretty!! I love it & you!
I love this for you. I’m not sure I’ve ever commented (or even had a reason to… we’re the same age, but I’m just newlywed). I love your writing and honesty and would probably read anything you wrote. Bravo on the move, and best wishes.
I love the new look!!! So fresh!
Yup, I like this. Good job, you.
YOU RULE.
I love this post, I love your beautiful new site, I especially love your new outlook. I can’t even begin to tell you how refreshing it is to read these words.
Well done, friend.
Good for you!
I’ve read several blog posts lately from women who enjoyed blogging, then grabbed hold of the idea of making lots of money doing it, and then either doing it but getting sick of doing it FOR money or realizing they don’t have that potential and they never really wanted it anyway.
Whether your blog becomes a brand or not, it’s YOUR space and it only answers to you. So keep doing what you want to be doing!
P.S. The RSS feed turned over or still works…whatever the techno-speak is. I didn’t have to do anything!
I’m a long time follower and I love you and I love the new look, but I agree on the ads being on the left. For some OCD-type reason it’s driving me slightly bonkers. Could they be on the right?
I have been quietly reading you for a long time now and want to congratulate you on your fresh start. I was thinking about deleting you from my favorites because I just wasn’t digging the ads and your blog just didn’t seem to have what attracted me to it in the first place…however, right before I would delete, I would check one last time and you’d have a totally awesome post, the kind the made me like you in the first place. I think I’ll be keeping you on my Favorite list for a while now!
I just wanted to add my congrats for the new site. You had no idea where your blogging adventure would take you when you started, and that might still be the case. I think anyone who has “blogging career” as their goal will probably be disappointed, but surprises do happen along the way.
I’ve read your site for years – my daughter is just about 2 months younger than your son, (and was also a fracking colic nightmare as an infant…colic isn’t even the right word, and as a result she will likely be an only child). Blogs help bring folks together to learn, share, grow, etc. Looks like your new home on the internet is the perfect spot for that and I’m excited to continue to visit wherever you find yourself online.
Hi, BA!
I have also “known” you since thebump…and I am happy that you have moved from “Blair Waldorf” to just “BA.” You were the first blog I ever read and inspired me to start my own little blog. I have always appreciated your honesty and did notice a really nice change over the last year or so.
Keep on keeping on. You are awesome.
~Liz
I’m so proud of you, friend. I’m always in awe of you and your work. Love you!
It’s ok, as long as you keep writing!!
I love the authentic & freshness of your posts, & am so happy you realized what you are.
Love
Love it. Good for you girl!
Ooh I like the new site. I don’t comment often but I’ve been following since we both had our November babies. Btw how can they be almost three?
Anyway, I enjoy reading your words and look forward to more, whatever form that comes in!
Love the new space and of course how real you are!!! Keep it up girl!
It’s always good to shake up our surroundings once in a while — helps us grow! love it & glad you’re following what feels right
Looks GREAT around here and I wish you much fulfillment. You’re brave. Good for you!
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