Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Happy 2nd Birthday, In A Nutshell!


Wow! WOW! My blog turned 2 earlier this month and while it doesn't feel like that long at all, it feels like a big accomplishment at the same time. I've grown a lot since my first post and seen my blog's style and focus get clearer in the past two years.



I started out pretty scattered, not knowing what I wanted to say and then knowing what I wanted to say but not knowing HOW to do it. There is so much involved behind the scenes, as many bloggers will agree, but I have enjoyed it tremendously and hope to keep enjoying it for awhile longer.


To celebrate In a Nutshell's 2nd birthday, I wanted to have a celebratory post but also give her a face lift. I worked with my blogger pal, Lyndsey from Dressed in Mascara, to make this happen as she is a bit of a code genius and helped upgrade me.


Also, what do you think of my new header? I've wanted a customized header for awhile now so doing it to celebrate In a Nutshell's birthday seemed like the perfect time. I worked with an artist I found on Etsy, Manuella of Manue Illustrations on the illustration part and she really knocked it out of the park.


Aren't I adorable, perched on my nutshell, book in one hand and a donut in the other? If that isn't the perfect embodiment of my personal brand, I don't know what is! It was so fun working with her and I couldn't be more pleased.


The creative process has always fascinated me. I am a creative type and, as a photographer and writer, create art everyday myself, but artists of Manuella's kind are just so incredible to me. It was exciting to see her initial sketches and then perfect the final result with her.


Along with my blog's new look, I wanted to rock a fun and celebratory outfit for today's post - and what's better than cupcakes?! This Matilda dress from LindyBop is wonderfully feminine and fun and covered in colorful sweet treats - could I go wrong?

In my head, I was telling myself "keep a normal smile on your face!" and then the cannon went off and well, I freaked out. As captured here oh so perfectly. 

I even went as far as getting an obnoxious balloon and a couple confetti canons to REALLY drive it home and MAN, those canons pack some punch! Not for the faint of heart, as you can see by my ridiculously genuine reactions. Oi vei. Graceful, I tell ya.


I considered throwing a real, true, honest to God party, but it crossed my mind that there is a such thing as "too far" and a party would definitely fall into that category!


I settled for this obnoxiously happy photo shoot instead - wearing my favorite things, putting on some bright lipstick, going overboard with glitter, and yes, an epic "2" balloon.


What I did not plan for was insane wind! Cody and I took these on the windiest day we've ever had and between photos, I struggled to keep the balloon from flying away - not to mention my hair and skirt! It was kind of a hot mess but we made the best of it.


Happy 2nd Birthday, In a Nutshell! I am proud of how far you've come in two years and can't wait to see how you grow in the years to come!

Aaand one more of me after the cannon went off because, come on...