Dress // Shoes (sold out, but similar ones for $35!) // Rattan Purse

It’s been a few months since I turned 30, and even though it’s just a new decade, I’ve already felt a bit of a shift start since February. It’s not a ground-breaking shift by any means, but a shift none the less in how I feel about myself, and being clearer on what it is I want in life. A few of my slightly older friends told me that your 30’s are the time where you feel more comfortable with yourself, stop giving a shit about the things that don’t matter, and actually put your energy into the things and relationships that actually do. And I’ve started to feel that, and other things change in the past few months.

One thing that’s happened (and been more relevant recently in my life) is letting go of the things that I can’t control, and focusing more on the things that I can. I’ve never really been one to sweat the small things in life (Traffic? NBD. A parking ticket? Ehhhh. Getting stuck in the L for 40 minutes? Could be worse!), but I’d freak out over where I was going, what life choices I was making, and where I should be by this point in my life (you know, married, kids, the whole thing). And turning 30 has both made me feel like I’m 100% where I should be (and am on the right path to get wherever I finally need to end up) and also equally terrified that all my ex-boyfriends are almost married (truly, I woke up in a sweat about it after seeing another one got engaged on Facebook, WHY?!?!) But despite the panic, I’m doing a better job at trusting the universe and letting go of the things that I can’t change – because at the end of the day, it makes life a little more bearable knowing that there has to be some method to all the madness. At least, that’s what I’m hoping 😉

This shift has also come with a change in priorities, which is both freeing and absolutely terrifying all at the same time. If you’ve been following me for a long time, you’ll know that I try to balance everything – blogging, work, relationships, friendships, etc. – and usually end up kinda sucking at all of them (except for work, I usually don’t sacrifice that aspect of my life in favor of other things). I used to be happy spending the whole weekend working on freelance projects, running around like a maniac, and feeling completely dead by the time Monday morning rolls around. I’ve had full on panic attacks/cry-fests because I’ve been overwhelmed on the weekends – and didn’t manage to see any of my friends or do anything relaxing in the process. These days, my weekends have become sacred, give or take a few hours in an afternoon I devote to a shoot or getting work done for my day job. I’ve been saying no to more things, not stressing if I don’t have a ton of posts up for the next week, and spending time with the people I love vs. freaking out about deadlines. And honestly, I’ve lacked the motivation – and creativity too. Maybe it’s turning 30, but when it comes to the things that matter – and extra paycheck in the mail isn’t doing it for me. It’s a relaxing Sunday dinner at home binging Netflix vs. staying up ‘till Midnight to work on a blog post. And I’m OK – and honestly, pretty darn happy, about that.

As I’m sure you’ve probably gathered if you’ve read this far, you’ll see that this post has nothing to do with this outfit – but that’s okay, usually the posts that don’t suck don’t. But if you do care, I got this dress from Anthropologie for a wedding in Greneda, and it actually is the best. Your 30’s are also about wearing your actual size vs. the size you think you should fit in, so I’m wearing a size 6 vs. a size 2 and feeling really good about myself 🙂

 Anyways –I’m trying to embrace this new season of life, as gracefully and as boldly as I can. We’ll see what happens, but hopefully it’s a shift for the better. Did any of my other 30-year-old-something friends experience this too? I’m hoping this is just the beginning, and even better things are still to come.