Today I took outfit photos - the old fashioned set-up-my-tripod-and-run-back-and-forth-to-the-camera-between-each-shot kind! I haven't done this since 2021 according to my ootd folder on my computer, and that is just bonkers! I've done some mirror selfies and a handful of outfit videos for instagram reels but I can't believe this thing that was a part of my daily life for so long was just totally missing for 5 years!
I miss blogging and doing outfit posts. I guess it's all part of that 2016 nostalgia that's been trending online lately. I miss the static image version of social media and the era when those photos were accompanied by text with an unrestricted word count. Sometimes I find myself penning blog-style captions on instagram and coming up against the character limit way too fast. It doesn't help that I write all my captions in texts to myself on my computer and then copy and paste them into instagram on my phone - I'm always like 1,000 characters over at that point and have to trim it down 😂
But anyway, I feel so incredibly OVER all of it. The algorithms and countless posts about which types of media are trending. Do a carousel, NOT a static image! Make sure your first sentence is a HOOK. Everybody has the attention span of a gnat so do everything you possibly can to get them to watch YOU for 10 seconds. Your best time to post is at 7:55pm. If you post in the morning nobody will see it! Use this trending audio or else people will keep scrolling. I just don't want to participate in any of that anymore.
I want to post my old fashioned outfit pictures and static images and long blog posts that I can come back to and read 10 years from now. I'm constantly searching my blog as if it's a digital archive of my life. Recipes, life events, where did I get that dress that I loved so much? What did I write about Arrietty the week that I brought her home? I really hate that most of that digital life archive has lived on sites like instagram and twitter for the past 5 years instead of here, because it's not searchable and it doesn't feel like my own little home. It's an online parking space, not a house. I want to live here again!
I recently got over a really bad GI flare and was living in pajamas and sweatpants, so Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect impetus for finally getting dolled up again and sharing some photos here! I feel like whenever I go through these health episodes I always come out on the other side looking forward to three things: getting dressed up, going to the grocery store, and eating pizza. So far I've done two out of the three (still giving myself another week or so of being back to normal before I take a chance on pizza!) As much as I *hate* how miserable I feel while it's happening, I'm always left with a new zest for life and appreciation for little things like leaving the house, going to the movies, waking up from an uninterrupted night of sleep, and wearing things that make me feel more human.
I'm notoriously bad at sticking to things and chances are this will be my last blog post until next February when I re-read this and feel incredibly disappointed in my ability to follow through on literally anything. But hopefully not! Hopefully this will be one of many entries in my digital life archive this year. Hope to see you around, and Happy Valentine's day!!
Dress - Lazy Oaf
Shirt - GAP
Belt - h&m
Earrings - Blush Daisy
Necklace - Blush Daisy
