Happy BlogDay!

I have just realized that as of yesterday, my blog is officially one year old!

Happy birthday, dear bloggy, happy birthday to you!

A lot of amazing things have happened since (and because) I started this blog - I've met so many amazing bloggers, developed a (growing) following of over a hundred feed subscribers, begun working at gotacrush.com, attended NY Fashion Week, attended Teen Vogue Fashion University, discovered Lula magazine, further developed my personal style, become more fearless in my fashion choices, and found many fashionable girlcrushes to admire.

So, thanks to all my amazing and incredible and infinitely stylish readers for sticking with me! I love you all, I love blogging, and I hope this blog will continue to grow and improve.

Goals for this next year of blogging: Find new and interesting ways to dress, meet more wonderful bloggers (maybe in person?), attend Boston Fashion Week, attend more than one show during the next NY Fashion week (perhaps?...this one is out of my hands), attend TVFU again, and find a truly unique blogging voice that people enjoy.

I started this blog for me, but now its also for my readers. Does anyone have any advice/constructive criticism they'd like to give for this next year of blogging? I will accept presents and virtual cupcakes as well. Seriously.

I will now gift my blog with a birthday card, 'cause if I don't, who will?

Ahem. Let's pretend that wasn't the dorkiest thing ever.

Happy birthday, blog!

Making My Day

Thanks to Alice Pleasance for making my day by giving me this blog award!

The rules:

"Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

Okay, then. How about I give this award to 5 people, not 10. I'm feeling a bit lazy.

You make my day:

♥ Style Bubble - This was probably the first fashion blog I ever read, and I still love it. Susie, I'm so excited to meet you on Friday!

♥ Daddy Likey - Always hilarious, constantly stylish (except when wearing an Ugg and legging combo...kidding, Winona), Daddy Likey is one of my absolute favorites!

♥ Kingdom of Style - Queens Marie and Michelle are the most creative, stylish queens in the kingdom. I bow to them.

♥ Strawberry Milkshakes - This blog is a bit of a newer find, but I always enjoy it. Stephanie has a great fearless sense of style.

♥ iCiNG never fails to make my day. Gala is my hero. End of story.

Pass it on, people. Make someone's day.

Le Business Card: Part Deux

I just thought you might want to see the final draft (so to speak) of my business card. It will, of course, be less blurry, but this is basically it. It's been shipped, and I should get it the day before I leave for Fashion U. Cutting it close, I know. But I'm still totally psyched. I mean, people my age don't tend to have business cards. It makes me feel slightly grown up and slightly foolish.

Actually, I think that the business card illustrates something I've been thinking about for a while. Blogging has really been so educational and valuable to me. I've written for an audience that reacts and responds to my work, marketed myself, learned how to gain traffic, and gradually honed my writing into something slightly more polished than it used to be. In the past, my writing has only been read by teachers, parents, and the occasional peer (as well as the lovely people at writing.com who comment on my fiction and poetry), so it's wonderful to have a different kind of audience to target my writing at. I don't take myself very seriously, but I still spend a huge amount of time working to make this blog the best it can be. It's so great to be able to interact with others who share the same interest in fashion and dedication to their blogs. I think this is an invaluable experience for an almost-eighteen-year-old, and one that will benefit me my entire life.

The reason the business card relates to this is that creating a business card and using it to market oneself is something that most people don't get to do at my age.

Just something I've been thinking about.

Well, I'm off to take a quick nap, and then I'm going shopping! Hopefully I'll buy some nice things to blog about later.

Painfully Hip

I have found the mother of all bargain-finding, cheap-loving blogs. www.painfullyhip.com, even though you haven't been around very long, I will check you again and again.

Blogging on the Cheap Stuff

There are some other fashion blogs that I really love to read. My favorite one is probably Style Bubble, but I find Daddy Likey hysterical, and I enjoy various other blogs, such as Do This Don't and Facehunter. My only issue with these blogs, in particular Style Bubble and Facehunter, is that they spur in me an inate desire to buy clothes I simply can't afford. As much as I love clothes, sometimes I would rather have money to go on vacation, or to eat for that matter. That philosophy just doesn't give me the budget to spend over $25 on a shirt. And as much as I adore shoes, I will spend a good $60 on a pair of running shoes whose life will span the style changes, and then $30 or less (each) on a select few pairs of shoes that I buy "just for fun." To do otherwise would deprive me of other neccesities. Also, I'm the kind of girl for whom more is more. I'd rather have a handful of cute, cheap dresses than one expensive one. Yes, the cheaper dresses will fall apart more quickly, but I figure that they will be out of style by the time that day comes. If I ever become rich and famous, I can splurge on the good stuff, but for now I'll have to satisfy myself with the glories of H&M, Forever21, Wet Seal, and thrift stores. This is why I blog about the cheaper stuff...It's what I know. There will be the occasional lust entries where I rant about my high fashion desires, but for the most part, I think I can keep those to a minimum.