July 20, 2014

Essie Minimalistic + Update


» This post contains affiliate links «

Hi loves! I hope you all have been well and that you've been enjoying your summer so far! I've really missed you!

In my last post, I mentioned that I would be back in June but it's already July! Oops, it looks like I underestimated how long it would take for me to incorporate blogging back into my schedule. 

Life took a hard turn at the end of May when my grandpa passed away, and I needed to take some time to disconnect and be with my family and loved ones. My grandpa was the first close relative I've lost and it was tough taking it in at first. His funeral was the Friday before Father's day and on Father's day, my dad, two uncles and our families took Grandpa's boat out and went fishing. Grandpa used to take us to the beach to fish while we played in the water and sand. I only recently realized that he is the reason why I enjoy spending time at the beach so much. I miss Grandpa, but am glad he had a fulfilling life surrounded by loving family.

My grandpa's passing was one of the main reasons I took a blogging break, but I enjoyed having time away from my computer. Sometimes blogging feels like a second job and it's nice to step back and enjoy other things in life too. During this time off I decided that I would come back to the blogging world with a little more than nail polish. I added an "INKCITRA" section to my blog to share my love of calligraphy and typography. I've always loved the arts and my interest in calligraphy in particular has sparked up again after 14 years when I was first introduced to it, and I thought it would be fun to incorporate it into blog posts.

Another interest that may be incorporated to my blog is the concept of minimalism. It seems ironic as I have an extensive nail polish collection, but I'm hoping that this concept will slow my wanting of such quantities. My fiancé and I have slowly been going through our possessions and donating items we don't need. It's been a long, ongoing process, but it feels good to think about living a simpler life and focusing more on our needs than our wants.

In the spirit of becoming more minimalistic, I picked out Essie's Minimalistic to wear on my nails this week. I also took this opportunity to practice a bit of calligraphy (please bare with me as I learn and practice!). I used a Speedball oblique nib holder with the Brause 361 Steno Blue Pumpkin nib and J. Herbin's Gris Nuage ink.

If you stuck with me until now, thanks for taking the time to stop by and read this! Here's to more blogging and more connecting! ♥

26 comments :

  1. Oh, I love how delicate and subtle Minimalistic is - they name seems so appropriate... <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love this Essie! The name is very appropriate :D

      Delete
  2. I'm so sorry for you loss.

    The polish is beautiful and perfect and your calligraphy is very good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely post and lovely polish too!

    Sam xo sjmcdf

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely to have you back Traci, I'm glad time away did you some good. So sorry for your loss, I hope with time it can get easier for you. xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so sorry for your loss, though you seem to have some amazing memories that you are left with. I love your background for choosing this polish, I sometimes feel life has so much unnecessary "stuff" that we don't really need. I'm glad you are back :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Erin! ♥ Yea, I couldn't agree more :D Feels good to be back!

      Delete
  6. I missed your posts Traci! And I'm glad that you are back! I'm going to check out the inkcitra section! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw thanks, Denysia! I missed all of you guys! ♥

      Delete
  7. I'm so sorry to hear your grandpa passed away Traci </3

    I think we all need a break from blogging sometimes... it does get overwhelming... especially for me right now I'm trying to do a 31 day challenge and I think I'm going to get burn out :/ definitely slow it down if you feel like you aren't enjoying blogging anymore... blogging should be fun it shouldn't start to feel like a chore or second job!

    the polish and calligraphy are beautiful too! my writing is honestly really ugly lol I've never tried calligraphy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Stephanie ♥
      Yes, I most definitely agree; breaks are good. omg props to you for sticking with a challenge like that! Those 31 day challenges are definitely hard! Yea, blogging should be fun! And it is :D hehe maybe you can try out calligraphy sometime!

      Delete
  8. I'm sorry for your loss. Grief is one of the hardest emotions to process. I'm glad you took a break to take care of you, though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather, but I think that it's wonderful that you're embracing minimalism. Best of luck during this new chapter in your life!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Stephanie! ♥ I'm excited to see where it takes me

      Delete
  10. Aw sorry to hear about your Grandpa, Traci. It's always so dang hard to lose a loved one, I'm glad you took some time for yourself :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Julie! ♥ It really is! I'm glad to be back though :)

      Delete
  11. oh traci, i'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your grandpa. i'm glad you were able to take a break to be with your family... sometimes social media is exhausting and it helps to take some time to disconnect from online networks so you can re-connect with loved ones. love this focus on minimalism... i too am really trying to let go of material possessions but it's an ongoing process. "inkcitra" is such a great idea - so clever! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw thank you, Lesley! ♥ I'm glad too. It was great being with family during that time. Yea, social media can definitely be exhausting! I commend those who can manage it so well! Hehe thanks again, Lesley! See you on YouTube :D

      Delete
  12. I'm so sorry for your loss!!

    I love the minimalistic idea and I try doing tiny steps towards it but for me it's a hard thing to achieve :D I'm looking forward to seeing more calligraphy from you! I love how you've written Essie Minimalistic! And InkCitra!! It's just so perfect!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Ina! ♥
      lol yea, this minimalism idea will definitely take time. Aw I'm so glad hehe. Thanks again, Ina!

      Delete
  13. I am so sorry to hear of your grandpa's passing. I know things have been really busy for you these last few months and taking a breather is totally normal. I will email you later with what's been going on with me and why I now blog once a week and want to cry the other 90% of the week. I look forward to your INKCITRA section! I have had a domain name for a second blog picked out for more than a year now that is supposed to be dedicated to EVERYTHING stationary called Pen Envy, but I have not had time to even write one post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jayne ♥ Yea, it's been a busy few months. Aww ok I'll look out for your email. I hope you're doing ok!
      OMG that is toooo awesome! I hope you find time to move forward with that! I would love to read your posts there!

      Delete

I read every single comment that all of you lovelies leave. Please don't hesitate to leave one, I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting! ♥