Breakfast At Tiffany’s is my all time favorite movie. The first time I saw the movie, I swore to get myself a piece of jewelry from there and to be as classy and fashion forward as Audrey was. Audrey Hepburn was amazing in that movie and her fashion style was impeccable. The movie is a true classic that changed my life for sure.

This Tiffany and Co. bracelet, was a gift to myself for surviving the past six months. I choose a heart as a reminder to be patient, forgive myself and love myself as much as I can. This small piece of jewelry, symbolizes so much and means so much to me.

Anyway, this post is about the reasons I was M.I.A from my blog for the first half of the year. Sadly, I was only able to get three,… yes, three posts between January and June. Woah… It seems even worse putting it into writing. Unfortunately, life happens and some things have to be on the back burner while we try to survive whatever event is ongoing. For me, my blog is what suffered during this time. While it made me so sad to step away from the blog for a while, I was glad for the outcomes, lessons and growth during this time. I have grown in so many ways during the past six months and I am glad to share these experiences with you.

Home Ownership: You may or may not know, but I am a recent home owner of a two bedroom condo. YAY!!!. This is the biggest event that took me away from blogging as I had to focus on this very large, life changing purchase. Between providing the lender and my agent with required information, researching as well as touring properties took a huge chunk out of my weekends. I did not have much time to shot or shop for new fashion pieces to blog about. In addition, the first condo I put an offer on, turned out to be a disastrous experience, which left me drained and in need of a break from everything. Needless to say, things happen for a reason, and I ended up with a better and bigger condo.
A more detailed post on homeownership and my home buying experience to follow, with pictures of my new place 

Work: My job was the second biggest stressor. Back in September, I was promoted and transferred to my company’s regional office. While this was a great accomplishment and I am very thankful for the blessing, my hour plus (one way) commute and the added responsibility left me too exhausted to type up posts or think of looks for my weekend shoots. As of now, I finally feel settled in my position, I have adjusted and become familiar with my day to day that I can plan ahead and create time for anything blog related.

Love Life: This bracelet is my “promise ring” to remain “pure” until someone worthy comes along. At the moment I am taking my time with finding a companion that fits my personality, goals and has the same passion for life and someone that wants to experience something new through travel, food etc. as I do.
The first half of this year, taught me some very painful lessons hence the “forgive myself” reasons for the bracelet. I found out why being friends with your ex never works, not to drink and text especially while emotional and never crush on your male friend, (at least fight it by all means). I know it’s hard to control who you fall for. Next time a relationship fails, I promise myself to let it go and cut all ties. Right now, I am happy focusing and loving myself while growing every day to be a better woman for the right man. I needed a break from the blog and social media to get to this point in my life.

Photographer: This was the one aspect of my blogging break that was beyond my control. This year, winter seemed to never end. If it was not too cold to shot outside, it was raining the entire weekend. I usually don’t ask my niece or sister to take my pictures on cold days because I would feel so horrible if they got sick as a result of being outside and rainy days are out of the question. Thank god the sun is out and I am back in front of the camera… It feels so good!

Taking this break was so necessary and difficult because my blog is my escape. It was difficult not being able to use this as a distraction during difficult days. Nonetheless, I am glad to return to blogging and life feels “normal” again. Thank you for being patient and still being around.

Love you to pieces… XoXo Nia!!!