Welcome to The Life Styled!

I never considered myself the blogging type. Not because I don’t love a great blog – I’m the first to distract myself from the day’s long To Do list by catching up on all my favorite sites - but because I’m not much of a writer. It just doesn’t flow out of me the way it does with some. What brings me here is my love for all things style related. As much as it pains me to admit it, perhaps the main reason I have yet to read the Harry Potter and Twilight series (gasp!) is because I always reach for my Elle, InStyle, or Vogue first. Whoops! I’m that girl that brings a fresh copy of the latest read-it-in-a-day hit novel on a week long beach vacation, and never cracks it open as long as I have the mags that will give me countless new things to drool over. I can admit it!I know what you're thinking. "Ugh - another twenty something girl talking about how much she loves fashion." Don't we all? And yes - the reason I decided to start this blog is 50% the need for an outlet of all my little thoughts on fashion, beauty, and décor – and 50% wanting to share them with you! But one thing that might set my blog apart is that it's not about posting a bunch of runway pictures of next season's trendy pants we've only ever seen on the likes of Aladdin, or a price-upon-request "It" bag that'll be out of style by the time I finish this sentence. It's about the kind of style that can be a reality for anyone - even if they're jobless and broke.

There’s a lot that’s been going on for me over the past 12 months. This time last year, I was living in New York for the 8th year and had just made the decision with my fiancé to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career opportunity for him. I had just been laid off from my job as an events manager for a nonprofit organization, so this big life change was now or never. Since then, we moved on out to LA, and I made the outlandish decision to get certified in Fashion Feng Shui, which I’m proud to say I recently completed and could not be happier about! More on that later... It’s been a whirlwind of applying for countless jobs in the worst economy ever, trying to get to know a new city, and planning a home town Minnesota wedding for this June. This blog will surely reflect all these aspects of my life, and how they influence my take on fashion. After all, personal style is made up of who we are at the core, what our life demands of us, and who we want to be… not just what the industry leaders tell us it should be.

In the midst of all the madness, I have been learning a lot about myself. When you’re unemployed in an economy that has no promise of improvement in the near future, you have a lot of time to think about your life and what makes you happy. It’s a time to stop and reevaluate the path you’re on and do your best to make sure all the hard work is helping you towards your ideal life. I like to think of these hard times as a challenge at first glance, but also an opportunity that forces you towards the path you really want. When the jobs you’re “supposed” to be chasing aren’t biting, those in-an-ideal-world dreams start to seem more like possibilities – what do you have to lose? I have realized how important it is to make your life into what you want it to be – have the job you want, live in the place you want, create the home you want, and of course – wear the clothes you want! It’s not just your life. It’s your life – styled!