Life Update: Explaining the Hiatus

I can but also cannot believe that a whole entire month has passed since my last blog post! My life has been going through something of a transition phase which has made it hard to keep up with my internet life. But, I am feeling cautiously optimistic that I will be able to get back into the swing of things soon. For anyone who is nosy about why I haven't been as active online lately, keep reading!

About six weeks ago, I started having back pain following a rear-end accident. Since then, I've been seeing a chiropractor, which helped at times, but overall the pain has not gone away. I would have days where it was manageable, but also some days where it would really interfere with my life and felt quite debilitating, to the point where dealing with the pain left me very unmotivated to accomplish even simple things. On this particular day that these photos were taken, the pain was not too bad, but I remember being unable to finish my lunch at a restaurant because sitting was causing me too much discomfort. Often times, sitting or standing for long periods would cause me to have intense aches and pains. Other days, I would feel nearly okay, (for example, I was on vacation in Hawaii and for the most part felt great, if only life could always be a vacation!) but then I would sneeze and the pain in my spine would be worse than ever before. On one such day I called my chiropractor for an emergency appointment and he suggested that I get an MRI because sneezes that cause back pain are often a sign of herniated discs.

The MRI revealed that I do in fact have bulging discs which are pressing upon my spinal canal and causing me pain. So now we've identified the problem and I'm excited to get started on the path to recovery so I can finally put this behind me! The bummer is that bulging discs don't really heal, but physical therapy is usually enough to get rid of the pain for most people.

In other news, my fiancé and I finally set a date to elope after being engaged for well over a year. It's stressful enough for me just planning a little elopement, so I can't even imagine what other brides go through! I know some people talk about how their wedding day was the best day of their life, but to me it always seemed like it would be just stressful throwing a big party and having to worry about all of your 250 guests having a good time, so I've always wanted to do something really small and simple. Or rather, small but epic in its own way, haha. Anyway, it's finally going down in less than two months, and I will definitely share more details once it happens! I've got a laundry list of things to take care of before then, including planning a little mini-moon, and hopefully ridding myself of this horrible back pain before the big day.

Lastly, the third reason I haven't been keeping up with blogging is that I actually haven't really been shopping much lately. That's partially because most of my money is going to other things right now (a real bummer), but also because I'm feeling very uninspired by all the trends I'm seeing around me. Nothing is feeling very "fresh" if you know what I mean. Also, as I embark on this next stage in my life, I find myself rethinking who I want to be and how I want to dress for that role. I guess you could call it a style-identity crisis. Some of the things in my closet are starting to feel a bit too juvenile, so a clean-out is definitely in order!

A big thank you to everyone who cares enough to keep up with this blog and actually read this post! I am definitely making it a priority to start churning out more blog posts for you soon.

Outfit details: Ruffled blouse, Wayf (similar here). Frumpy jeans, Topshop. Platform espadrilles, Pull & Bear (last season). Straw basket bag, Zara (only $30!)