A note to my readers

In an effort to be genuine, in a world that’s seemingly becoming a little less authentic than I would like, I thought I would write a post to give you a better idea of who I am and what this blog is. You can read the ideas behind the blog on the About page, but I wanted to dive a little deeper and address what has been on my mind since officially launching this blog!

I have always loved writing and to this day keep a journal, so starting a blog seemed like a natural outlet to share my thoughts with the world. I also deeply value my relationships in life and am always open to helping my friends however I can. By starting a blog my biggest hope is that I can reach more people to inspire and share with. I want to focus on my passions (which are always evolving) and show you the world through my eyes. I tend to get excited by little things and notice the details that may be overlooked by most. Coupled with my ‘elephant memory’ (as my family likes to call my insane ability to remember things), I like to think of myself as a walking book filled with ideas and memories and places, all just waiting to be written down.

I’m not entirely new to the blogging world, as I started my first one three years ago, but felt like now was the time to rebrand and really get serious about it. Traveling Europe last year while I studied abroad in Florence, Italy really motivated the blog. Once I returned, I got so many questions from friends and family about places I went and what to do. I started making travel guides for people, customized to where they were going and including cultural tips I learned along the way. I realized I could spend hours doing that (and did, during class hah) and had so many ideas I wanted to expand on.

In addition to travel, I have always had a passion for Interior Design. I just graduated with a degree in it, but have also had people asking for advice on design long before I got my diploma. I love accepting that design is a never ending process, and argue that it is more fun to always be evolving to changing tastes. During travel, I am constantly amazed by architecture, and especially have loved the chance to see for real all of the different eras of design that I spent years studying in school.

A note on the name of the blog…

For me, there is a recipe to creating an ideal day, which is especially apparent during travel when I lay out all I’m going to see, do, and eat, and the transportation between places. Then the day unfolds with its share of spontaneity and setbacks, but by the end I am usually reveling in the feeling of satisfaction from exploring and creating an ideal day (wherever I am).

I think that even if your day is going to be ordinary, there are ways to make it special. Like using a pretty plate for your breakfast, or taking a stroll at sunset just to breathe. One of my favorite quotes is ‘escape the ordinary,’ because I like my life to be anything but ordinary. But what if we could live in a way where we were intentional about not being ordinary, or creating something unordinary out of what is normal? Essentially not escaping, but embracing the simplicity of life. That is how the name of the blog came about, and how I live my life. Our time on earth should be beautiful, and it’s under our charge to make it that way.

And finally…since this whole blog is new, I thought it would be helpful to break down the type of posts I’m creating, and the series that I’ve had such fun coming up with!

Travel: This section includes Travel Journals, which are my own reflections of a place with photos. Also included are Travel Guides with all my recommendations, and Travel Advice, which will be a wide variety of topics. Many of my posts will cover where I traveled while I studied abroad last year, and a wide variety of trips I’ve taken in the states within the past few years and months.

I always travel to find deeper meaning, and believe in seeing the world to become more open to its other cultures and people. I tend to escape the world through books, music, history, etc., but travel forces me to live and observe the present world. I can see life in a new way through experiencing someone else’s reality, another culture’s so-called ‘everyday.’ Traveling fulfills my desire to be in a constant state of discovery in life.  

Traveling is a brutality.
It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all
that familiar comfort of home and friends.
You are constantly off balance.
Nothing is yours except the essential things:
Air, sleep, dreams, sea, the sky.
All things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.
-Cesare Pavese

Discoveries: Overseas, Stateside, and Everyday. These series show another aspect I love about travel and life in general: constantly observing the world, always admiring and remembering and trying to describe the things I have seen and experienced. These series are lists I like to compile of observations I make, playful or serious.

Interiors: I plan to share decor ideas and realistic advice for making your own mark wherever you call home. I’ll be creating Mood Boards as well, to help stir up design inspiration for those who need it!

Life: This section is broad, but I have a few series I’m really excited about. Amateur Expat is a column for advice from living in a different country while I studied abroad. I hope to move abroad again, and love if I can help others adjust to life across the globe with practical advice. The Scenes series is a photo diary aimed to inspire, and Shorts are stories I’ve written that I want to share.

Thank you for reading and for being here! I hope this post helped you get to know me and the blog, and understand the ideas behind The Artful Everyday.

xx Maggie