Happy Monday! I recently had a girl reach out on Instagram and ask how I started my blog. While I was flattered, I was a little shocked because I don't really blog about blogging. There are a ton of people who do and make a killing, but its not really my vibe. We DM'ed back and forth a little bit and I thought, hey, how about a quick post to help you start.

Back story. I technically started blogging in college (2008!), meaning all my emo-blog posts are still on the archives here. But I really started blogging in August, 2014. That's when The Everyday Grace came to be. I've been blogging while doing the full time job thing since and it's hard but its the best.


These are some of the things I wish I knew when I started blogging.

You will meet the best group of blog support. Sometimes my best blog support comes from people I've never actually met. Take my friend Chelsea. I have never met her in person, but she constantly comments on my blog, my instagram, likes my pictures, picks me up when its a bad day and celebrates the good. I literally love this girl. Ps. go follow her. Sometimes your real life friends don't get how to support you as a blogger or don't want too and thats okay. Find your blog tribe, love them hard.

Social Media is a full time job.  As much as I hate being glued to my phone, social media is what brings me the most business. Yes, I love writing and I love this blog, but my instagram numbers usually mean more to advertisers. People like numbers on a photo rather than comments on a post. Engaging with other bloggers, sharing your own content and managing it in between is a lot of damn work. I need an assistant/

Quality over quantity. Shoot, I still post stuff where I second guess myself. Write stuff you love. Even if you think you NEED to post, your readers will understand a day off for great content instead of reading crap.

Learn HTML or at least the basics. If you want to make this work, learn the basics. Watch the YouTube videos, take the classes. Don't rest on templates to carry you through. And don't ask for advice if you aren't willing to pay for it. I didn't take 50 hours of HTML classes online over the last 4 years to give you the cliff-notes.
Numbers matter. But they don't. But they do. Are you loving what you're doing? Then great! Yes, numbers matter to advertisers and brands. But so does passion, quality and engagement. Keep working, keep creating and the numbers will come, swear.

You will burn out. Maybe not all the way. Maybe not for a long time. But its okay to take a break. Its only to only put out a post twice a week and call it a success. Burn out is real, it happens to the best of us. Learn from it, take a break and pick back up.

You will compare yourself to others, it's natural, but don't let it control you. It will only hurt you. It's super easy to see someones growth and instantly feel jealous. But you don't know how hard that blogger is working, what they're doing behind the scenes or how they're growing. Supporting others doesn't lessen your own value.

Join Facebook groups in your niche. This is not only a great place to learn tips, but it's a great place to share your blogs and meet amazing woman. There are tons and tons of facebook groups dedicated to all kinds of blogs.

Find your passion. I'm not saying niche per se, but your passion. Mom blogging isn't for us all, neither is fashion. But if you love it, your readers will see it, the advertisers will see it and you will see it in the success of your blog. I don't believe in the whole niche thing, but if you write what you love, it will be the perfect niche for you.

Blogging takes a shit ton of time. I think people look at blogs and think, Oh I could do that. I'm sure you could, but are you aware that most posts take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours to draft. And that pictures are a day long event. An Instagram pic and caption is 10 minutes per, at least. I love blogging, but it totally takes its time.

When did you start your blog? What advice would you give newbies out there?

Ps. If you want some more tips, these are my 10 blogging commandments. See a theme here?

I'm taking a little blogging break. Just need some time to let the inspiration come to me. I will be posting bachelor blogs because honestly I LOVE them. I'll be back in exactly two weeks with regularly scheduled posts. I have some AMAZING new recipes for you guys and some great clothes!

Okay, so the title is absolutely misleading. Not everyone went home this week, but they might has well. I can honestly say I'm not sure if this is going to work out for Nick.

I have three outcome possibilities; (1) he's going to pick someone out of the blue and it won't last long enough to get to the final rose (2) he's going to Juan Pablo us and not propose but want to "continue dating outside the show" or (3) reject everyone and fail at this for a fourth time.

We start back with the result of the two-on-one: Corrinne and Nick are blissfully sipping champs and satisfying each other egos when Taylor walks in. Taylor is pretty ballsy about her feelings and gives it all to Nick and I think she did a pretty good job in sticking up for herself. And to the dismay of the public, Corrinne did not go home at the end of their conversation. Nick goes back to Corrinne to let her know that he's still "interested" in her and then they make-out. Corrinne doesn't seem the slightest bit interested in what Taylor had to say, in fact Corrinne doesn't even seem to be listening to Nick when he talks. She just wants to kiss him.

It's clear that Nick and Corrinne's relationship is primarily sexual. If you compare the TV time their date gets versus anyone else's date, there is literally no talking, just kissing. Let's compare: with Rachel we were able to explore her family dynamic and learn so much more about her. With Vanessa we heard all about her previous relationship and things got very emotional for her and Nick. Raven, same story, she even met his family. With Corrinne, we just watch them make out, and while I'm sure that will keep them going for a while, it will not sustain them. I can guarantee that Nick would have never taken Corrinne to her hometown date.


No cocktail party is always a problem. How many times do I have to watch Corrinne chug her champagne, it's just cuz I'm jealous, I started sober February over again. Whitney is so darling, I really hope she gets some more air time this week.

Spoiler Alert: Shark girl (Alexis), Jaimi and Vienna's look alike go home.

Holy moly, I want to go to St. Thomas. I am dying for a beach vacation. I really wish I could get married again (to Adam, duh) and go on our honeymoon in Grand Cayman again. Ugh. Anything to get some color. Excuse me while I go spray tan.

The worst part about the Bachelor is when they make the girls yell the leads name from a balcony. Without fail, it happens every single time. Balcony at the mansion? Check. Balcony at some huge resort? Check. Man alive. By now we get it ABC. But back to the episode - landing on water would be so awesome!

The first one-on-one: I'm a little surprised he picked Kristina. I understand, we are getting to the point in the season where they aren't many options left for one on ones and to double pick makes it too obvious. That actually happened to Nick in Andi's season. But, Kristina is so beautiful. They seem to be attracted to each other, but I am not really seeming them mesh. I can't tell if they're a good fit. I'm interested to hear more about her life.

I read somewhere that they don't eat the food. They have their day date, go back to their hotel, change, do interviews, and eat, alone. Then, when they come together they don't eat because the mics pick up the sound of them chewing. So Nick making the joke about "lobster for the lady" is hilarious because he knows for sure that they don't eat the food. Instead they just get to watch it get cold and then taken away. Man. What a waste.

Listening to Kristina's story is so incredibly sad. She is a tough cookie. She seems to have it all together. I really enjoy listening to her. They seem to really enjoy each other. But, I still do not see her as his happily ever after.

Poor Lorna, she is wayyyy too good for Corrinne. And Corrinne is a damn joke. Time for her to go. The comedic relief she provides takes away any amount of integrity this show might have.

Group Date: Let's do this. Does anyone feel like this is Ben's pig-island date? Or Andi's wrestling group date where the guy got hurt? Or Chris Soules when he made them ride tractors? It appears that whenever the lead attempts to do a "fun" date, it backfires like woah.

Corrinne is a hot mess, per usual. That is what my hair looks like fresh out of a workout that hasn't been washing in a week.  Can you tell how drunk she is? Wow. This volleyball game is a horrible idea. Girls have fun with this kinda stuff for like 9 minutes and then they break. Boys, take note. Girls wanna date you, not play volleyball.

The whole getting shit faced on tequila was a horrible idea because now all the girls are emotional and depressed. 

Alright Nick, now it's how you pick up the pieces of this shitstorm you've created. But instead they just cry on the beach alone while he walks away. Now, we just wait until the evening? Man. He doesn't have great mitigation experience does he? It is clear that Nick is very interested in Rachel. I for one lovve how honest she is. She is incredible and he obviously thinks so or else he would have reacted to her the way he did to Jasmine. He cares about how she's feeling.

The more and more I watch Raven, the more I love her. Plus her lime yellow/green dress/romper is incredible. And I think her evaluation of Jasmine is super accurate. She's losing her mind. And we've all watched girls like that implode.

Oh my gosh, shut the f*** up. RE: Jasmine. lolz. Now we watch her implode. She is super agreesive with him and you can tell by his body language that he is not at all interested. She is crying her eyes out and he isn't trying to comfort her or really sympathize. You can see that he's not interested. She just loses it.

Spoiler Alert: Jasmine. So glad I don't have to listen to her anymore. 

Woah, Jasmine, throwing out what everyone is thinking. "I don't think this will work for him." Maybe she knows more than we know.

Two-On-One: Bets on if this is more awkward than Taylor and Corrinne? Probs not I have a feeling they both go home, which would be devasting. I am actually super surprised to see these two girls on this date. Danielle was such a front runner for me and its weird to see her fighting for attention. He's not even looking at Danielle when she speaks on the beach. Before he was super interested in her every word, not he looks bored out of his mind. And Whitney looks nice and cozy on the beach. She's cute, and I absolutely agree with her statement that you get to know someone the more you hang out. He didn't really give her a fair shake. This whole beach scene is not good.

Spoiler Alert: Whitney.

Did you guys see how awkward Nick and Danielle were when they were holding hands? So strange? You can tell from the beginning that this is very awkward and seems very forced. He just seems like he is having a miserable time. She literally said she was falling in love and he looked like he wanted to murder her. Why is he such a weirdo. 

I wish we could take a step back and ask Nick what happened. Like what happened between last week, the group date and today. He's saying that he didn't feel it anymore. Like how does that go away with every girl? I don't get it. I'm not sure I've ever seen a lead break this much.

Watching Danielle trying to process what Nick is saying is so so sad. You can see her thinking back on everything shes's said and done to try and figure out what she did wrong. Adam said it right, but Corrinne is still around? I thought for sure, Danielle would win. 



This is nuts. Spoiler Alert: Danielle goes home.

I honestly don't know at this point who is going to win. I mean looking around the couches, who on earth does he pick? Why would he come tell the girls that he doesn't know if its gonna work? Or if he doesn't know he can keep doing it? Like what does that even mean?

What do you guys think? There are only SIX girls left: Danielle, Kristina, Corrinne, Rachel, Raven and Vanessa. Who do you think he picks?

See ya next week!

I have to apologize for my lack of blogging recently. Besides moving into our new house, I really have no excuse for my lack of witty banter and recipes. To be honest, I just haven't wanted to blog.


Putting that on paper makes me sound super blah, but it's the truth. Lately, I've felt uninspired and bored.  The problem with that state of mind is that it easily translates to my blog posts. And the last thing I ever wanted to provide my readers with are garbage posts to fill a space. And the worst part, is I feel like I HAVE to write apology posts. I hate that I feel such guilt for taking a vacation and not posting.

This is not what I signed up for 9 years ago. It's so easy to get wrapped up in what I should be doing, instead of what I want to be doing. When I started this blog it was called "Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." Based on how I've been feeling it should be called, "whatsoever you do, it should be blogging all the time." It's hard to not get wrapped up in feeling inadequate.

I'm the first to admit that I'm not the ideal blogger for a lot of reasons. In recent months, more like the last six months, I've felt this intense pressure to be the best blogger. Attend workshops, grow and gain followers (but only authentic followers), craft the BEST content every single day and heaven-forbid if you miss a day, your readers will hate you and stop reading your blog.

This post isn't a dig at all you incredible bloggers. Please don't take it that way. This one's not about you. Trust me, I love you, admire you and inspire to be you. This is me releasing my insecurities as a blogger and an adult by putting them into words. This is a challenge to myself. I know if I want to really make it and be a full time blogger I have to // need to do these things.

But for now, I'm letting go of the blogger guilt I have and embracing the fact that I will grow at a different rate than others. Some days, I feel like I'm a very very teeny fish attempting to keep up with all the big-blogger fish in the ocean.
I don't spend 8 hours a day blogging. I wish I could, trust me, but I cannot. I wish I could quit my job and jump into the blogging world full time. To say I'm jealous of full-time bloggers is an understatement. They're my inspiration daily to keep this little space going.

Some weeks I only blog twice and then I have to start my blog with an apology (see above). But the reality of it, is that life is busy and how you super-bloggers do it, please share your tips. And if sleeping only 3 hours a night is your tip, I can't or I'll get angry.

I don't have a newsletter that goes out with different content then what's on my blog. I'm working on that this weekend, but Denver is tempting us with 75 degree weather on Saturday so there's a huge chance I won't and instead I'll be on an outside patio.
Instagram is my biggest frustration. How do people have 500,000 followers? I'm dying for 2000. I don't spend 3 hours posing for Instagram pictures just to get the right shot, even though I know I should. I don't post on Instagram every day. I've heard it everywhere that the key to Instagram is authenticity. Well, if I'm being authentic, I'm a lawyer with a desk job and 8 hours a day I'm staring at a computer. So figuring out something to post that's also interesting when most of my day isn't interesting, is really freaking hard.

This post is a vent, a release of energy and a promise.

I'm not the best blogger. But I love to blog and I promise that when I post, I will post interesting content. I promise that I will remain authentic, even if that means I'm not posting every day. I promise that I will support all my other blogger-friends, because if we're not in this journey together, what's the point. I promise that I'll work harder.

It's incredible what happens when you release pent-up energy. Just while writing this post, I came up with some fun ideas for posts. Stay tuned peeps, I promised interesting and that is just what you'll get. I want to blog now.

If you made it to the end of this long rambling vent session of a blog post, thanks for reading. Thanks for not only reading today, but everyday. You guys rock.

Start a blog they said, it'll be fun they'll said, you'll make money they said. Little did I know, when I started my blog over 8 years ago all the struggles that would come with it.