starting a blog + JORD giveaway

one of the biggest questions I get about blogging runs along the lines of..

"where do I start?"

"how do I make time for it?"

I've been wanting to write this post forever because it seems like this is a question I get once a week.. and hopefully I can give you the answers you want to hear without bombarding you with useless information.

for me it has become one of my favorite things to do.. its the time I make for myself and the time I spend doing something I really enjoy. the day blogging becomes a headache and not fun for me might be the day I am done. sure there have been lapses in posts here and there.  life gets busy and sometimes the blog isn't the priority.  but I love writing and I absolutely love sharing our life.. partly because I know when I have something in question I go blog hunting, and being a resource even for just ONE person about whatever makes my time here worth it, for sure.  but mostly because I want to look back at this time and remember crazy life with my three girls.  or look back at the time when we had no kids.. and what the heck we did with ourselves everyday (?!!). 

trips we take.

weekends we share with family.  

I've got nearly 10 years into this little corner of web space and I can only imagine where life goes from here- but I've surely documented where we have come from.

when thinking about where to start, I understand the overwhelming pressure in deciding what you want to share on your new blog.  when I started my blog years back I had no idea where I was going with it, just kind of posted here and there with no real purpose or theme.  then I got into nutrition + food + cooking and thought to myself.. OMG I should totally write about food!  I'm a genius.  

until I googled 'food blog' and about one million blogs popped up.  

its hilarious to look back on my mindset at the time- at 22 years old.  but I was devastated!  

the blogging world is saturated with stuff.  so, trying to write about what you think others want you to write about is pointless.  I blogged for a solid 4-5 years before really finding myself in this world of the www.

when blogging finally clicked for me was when I was pregnant with twins.  I was scouring the internet trying to find anything about twins/multiples/pregnancy.. survival! and wasn't having the greatest luck at all.  

which prompted me to write about it myself.  

..and then I pinned my own blog post. 

good old self promotion right there.. and nothing wrong with it.

traffic picked up to my blog and before I knew it, I found myself writing on a regular basis about my life as a twin mom and all the experiences that inadvertently go along with it. 

and totally loving it. 

that being said, when thinking about starting a blog, taking a leap to put yourself out there, do it for you.  find your niche.  share what you are good at! I share about things that are near and dear to my heart and it so happens that some of you like what you are reading and come back:)  you will probably never see a DIY project on this blog because, well.. I suck at DIY.  

I can throw a mean birthday party or write a yummy recipe for my family.

but, I leave the handy work to the professionals:)

..but Jordan has been pinning bird houses to my 'summer projects' pinterest board the last couple days, so, ummm.. there might be a project in our future. which means JORDAN is the professional in this case and definitely NOT me. 

I try to blog about 4-5 days a week.  I consider 4 days to be great and consistent in creating and sharing content.  being more regular keeps my readership up and engaged.  coming back for more if by chance there is a new post live on the blog.  I can alway tell the reason when my analytics are down- I haven't been as consistent or posting less.  that engagement is so important when you are looking to partner with larger (and small, too!) brands!  

thats another beast and for a separate post that I promise I will share soon!  

I've been really really blessed with some fun partnerships through this blogging journey.  small businesses are my absolute favorite and while some have started small, I have watched them explode in popularity and exposure over the years.  recently I was approached by JORD watches and while I had seen the wood watch trend all over social media, I had no idea there were so many options! at first glance I didn't think they were much my style.. but I was terribly wrong! I have worn it everyday since I got it!  talk about a unique gift for the hubby or a fun splurge for yourself! 

whats even better?? how about $75 towards any wood watch you like!  

JORD has graciously offered one lucky reader the chance to win. 

wait.  its gets better!! 

everyone that enters gets $20 towards any wood watch purchase

which means everyone is a winner:)   

 ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE

the details: the contest will close 6/29 at 11:59pm. the winner's $75 coupon code will expire 7/29 and the "losers" $20 coupon code will expire 10/29.

GOOD LUCK, friends!

special thank you for the gorgeous photography by b faith photography 
Ladies Wooden Watches

frankie wood watch c/o 

mint double layer bracelet c/o

chain bracelet c/o

mini bar harmony bracelets 

bar necklace + drop circle c/o

clara tote

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