Wow, so I celebrated my blog’s anniversary on Monday, and then promptly ceased to post anymore for the rest of the week. To be fair, I was out of town for a few days, but lately I’ve just been trying to take a step back from a lot of things. I’ve been doing way too much, for too long: two different part-time day jobs, writing a monthly column for Antigravity Magazine and blogging for BloggingNewOrleans.com, writing here at MissMalaprop and creating stuff for dismantled, volunteering with Big Brothers-Big Sisters, plus being involved in various Etsy street teams and the New Orleans Craft Mafia… the list goes on!
Having recently celebrated both my birthday and MissMalaprop’s first year, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the next year ahead. I know I’ll still try to tackle a lot of things, because that’s just the way I am. But I’m trying to cut back and refocus my energy instead of spreading myself so thin. I’ve been thinking about this blog, and where I want to take it in the next year. For starters, I’ve updated the Charity Fundraisers section. Instead of choosing a completely new charity every few months, I’ve created a new Firstgiving page for each of the first three charities I spotlighted. They all mean a lot to me, and I wanted to give all of the more time to shine.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about what it means to be an “indie shopping blog”. Yes, I like to shop, and when I do I certainly try to buy from independent shops & designers and responsible companies. And I definitely love helping to promote those kinds of companies. But at the same time, I’ve been trying to cut back and limit my personal shopping habits more and more, for both environmental reasons (both the larger world and my home environment — too much stuff = too much clutter!) as well as trying to be more financially savvy. I doubt this will affect my posting habits much… after all, just because I don’t plan to purchase every amazing indie find I discover, doesn’t mean I can’t still share them with all of you!
What do you think? What kind of posts do you most enjoy reading here? What would you like to see more or less of? At the end of the day, what I post about here is my choice, of course, but I value and respect all of your comments (even if I don’t always have time to respond to each and every one!), and I’d love to here what you have to say.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m still relativly new here, so I can’t say what kind of posts I’d like to see more of. I can however fully relate to the thought of spreading ones self too thin! Refocusing is always a good idea. Best of luck! I always find myself just submerged in new “too many” things later on…hehehe refocusing is kind of a monthly thing I think.
I’ve really enjoyed both the charity-related posts and the ones that highlight individual artists. While not everything you pick out is to my taste, sometimes you hit on something that just makes me to ga-ga. It’s great for the artists, because I’ll be putting their stuff on wish lists, and it’s great for me, because I’ll be the coolest chica around in some of the great stuff I’ve seen here.
I really enjoy your blog and would love to see it continue in the same direction, although I’m sure where ever you take it will be wonderful. My favorite part is that you give me great ideas for designers and things that I might not otherwise come across.