2023 Black Friday sales to shop

November 23, 2023

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Here’s a comprehensive list of the best Cyber Week sales of 2023.

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Easy, everyday outfits: no. 1

September 25, 2023

I’m back on the blog with easy outfits for early fall!

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What I Wore: Oct. 11 – 18

October 19, 2022

The weather is cooling down and the outfits are heating up. Here’s what I wore last week.

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Essay – Skirt The Rules | NYC Style Blogger http://skirttherulesblog.com NYC Style Blogger Wed, 03 Mar 2021 04:29:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 When Did We Feel Ready to Start a Family? http://skirttherulesblog.com/2021/02/18/when-did-we-feel-ready-to-start-a-family/ http://skirttherulesblog.com/2021/02/18/when-did-we-feel-ready-to-start-a-family/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2021 12:00:00 +0000 http://skirttherulesblog.com/?p=20390

To this day, I wouldn’t say I’m ready – but I’m ready as I’ll ever be.

My husband and I are 34 years old, turning 35 in March and July respectively. We’ve been married for five years and since the day we said “I do,” we were often at the receiving end of this perennial question: when are you going to start a family?

On top of that, sometime early last year, my mother told me I better start having kids before I get too old (oof).

If you’re of childbearing age, regardless of your relationship status, you’ve probably been confronted with this question. Most of the time, it probably comes from a good place with curious intentions. But quite frankly, it can be annoying as hell!

I think that’s where the pressure to have kids stems from. It’s as if only a singular timeline for life exists and if you’re not hitting those big milestones, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do.

But the only timeline that really matters is the one you set for yourself, or if you’re in a relationship, the one that you and your partner should set together as a couple.

James says he probably felt ready to have kids about two years ago. Many of his close childhood friends have children of their own, and I actually love watching James with them – he has always been so good with kids! But did that make me want them right then there? Nope!

Over the past few years in particular, I’ve really enjoyed our life together. I landed an incredible job in the airline industry in 2017, which enabled us to travel to places that we would’ve never been able to afford when we first moved to NYC. We were both focused on growing our careers, enjoying new experiences, and spending time on our marriage and our friendships. Our lives were constantly on the go, but it also had been really good. I wanted to enjoy that for just a little bit longer.

When the pandemic hit, life came to a screeching halt. Then, as we socially distanced and stayed at home, I began to find joy in other things. Like decorating our apartment. Taking care of plants. Learning new recipes to cook. Snuggling on the couch and sleeping in on weekends. On the few occasions that we got to see our families, it really made me cherish the time we spent together. And so just like that, my priorities began to shift and after a few months of having fun being an at-home cocktail mixologist, I finally felt like I was ready (at least as I could ever be) to have a baby.

Of course, I would be lying if the thought didn’t cross my mind: If I’m 34 now, I’ll be 52 when my kid graduates high school, 68 when they’re my age now, and so on and so forth. But in the end, I’m glad I was able to prioritize my needs and aspirations first, and feel incredibly fortunate that I have a partner that could appreciate that as well.

Remember to savor whatever season of life you’re in – it’ll make the next chapter even sweeter.

And let me tell you – it feels good that we’re both very ready and excited to welcome our sweet babe into the world! We can’t wait to meet him!

]]> http://skirttherulesblog.com/2021/02/18/when-did-we-feel-ready-to-start-a-family/feed/ 1 What I Love & Hate About Blogging http://skirttherulesblog.com/2018/03/14/what-i-love-hate-about-blogging/ http://skirttherulesblog.com/2018/03/14/what-i-love-hate-about-blogging/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2018 12:48:15 +0000 http://skirttherulesblog.com/?p=15845

Skirt The Rules

Streets of NYC T-Shirt (only $39!) / Ripped Skinny Jeans / Leopard Flats / Rosegold Eyeglasses / Sony Camera / Sony 35mm f/1.8 Lens / Red Lipstick

Seven years ago today, I sheepishly shared my first ever, very cringe-worthy blog post. James and I were in California on spring break, I had just bought our first DSLR camera and I made him take photos of my outfit as I awkwardly stood in front of some tropical-looking greenery. With the click of the “publish” button, I made my debut to the world (please don’t judge how horrendous this blog post is!).

Since then, I’ve been blessed with some incredible opportunities, but also cursed with self-inflicted anxiety. This hobby-turned-side-hustle has changed my life in a lot of great ways, but it ain’t always easy. So in honor of the fact that I’ve been blogging now for nearly a quarter of my entire life (woah), I’m sharing all the glamorous, fun, stressful, and stupid things that I love and hate about blogging.

Love: The Creative Process

I started blogging as a creative outlet. I was a second-year law student that was slowly dying inside from the monotony of legal research. Here I was, in the middle of lectures, online shopping and browsing through Pinterest for inspiration.

Today, my blog is still where I go to get my creative juices flowing. Sure, I enjoy putting together outfits, but I really love editing photos and writing long form posts (like this one). I’ve always considered myself a better than a speaker and taking the time to sit down and put my thoughts to paper really feels good for my soul.

Hate: The Self-Inflicted Pressure

Thanks in part to the building pressures of social media to share the perfect shot that captures the perfect little slice of a perfect life, I’ve started to feel really silly, completely self-inflict angst whenever I’m out. Like, can you not eat that before I take a downward food shot? Or we need to take this outfit photo before we start to enjoy the day, because my hair is going to go flat and my clothes are going to get wrinkly. It isn’t until I get that coveted “money shot” do I physically and emotionally feel a sense of relief lift away. It’s sickening and it’s something that I’m constantly trying to battle and be better at (any tips on this are welcome!). I want to enjoy experiences as they’re happening in the moment, because they’re more memorable than any photo could ever be.

Love: The Opportunities

Over the past eight years, I’ve been able to do some really cool things thanks to my blog. Well, to be honest, the opportunities didn’t really even start coming until after four years of blogging. Since then, I’ve collaborated with Cosmo and People StyleWatch. James and I have gotten to go on an all-expenses paid cruise with Royal Caribbean. And I’ve worked with some brands that I truly admire, including Banana Republic, Lilly Pulitzer, and most recently Ann Taylor. I’d even like to think that my blog has opened up doors in my professional career. Having put my blog in my resume, it was a talking point when I interviewed for my past two jobs and maybe – just maybe — it was one of the things that helped me stand in sea of an applicants.

Hate: The Numbers Game

One of the first things that people ask me when they hear I have a blog is “How many followers do you have?” I know it’s just out of curiosity, but it’s also part of this innate belief that size is the key metric of success. I mean, I’d be lying to say it wasn’t. But suddenly, I revert back to the sheepish twenty-some year old Jen who was shy about launching a blog and is even more shy that after eight years of blogging, has yet to go “viral” or “make it big” or whatever. I watch other bloggers who have been in the game for only a year or two and they’ve got tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of followers. They’ve all quit their jobs and are blogging full-time (something that I don’t have the constant income, let alone courage to do). I constantly get wrapped up in all of those feelings of disappoint, but then I remember this is not my full-time gig. In fact, I’ve got a job that I absolutely love and running a blog on the side is just the icing on the cake. In that moment, I remember that I’m not blogging to compare myself to others and hitting certain metrics – I’m blogging for myself. And for you!

Love: The People

The absolute best, number one, most incredible thing about my experience with blogging has been the people I’ve connected with over the years. I’ve met some pretty inspiring and driven women – like Krista who also juggles a full-time job along with her blog. There’s Megan, who is a mother of three and is killing it at blogging. There’s Jackie, who I can always count on for a good time, whether we’re at a blogging event or on a trip together. And there’s Tracy, who was my very first friend in NYC and later became one of my bridesmaids. There are ladies I’ve never met, but are friends with online that I adore like Jess, Nancy and Kerrie. Blogging is an incredible community of movers, shakers and influencers and I really am thankful to be a part of it.

Every now and then, James will ask me how long I plan to keep blogging for. The truth is – I have no idea. There are days that it feels like a chore. And then there are days that it leaves me feeling inspired, thankful and fulfilled. Today is one of those days.

Thanks so much for following along!

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