The holidays always leave me in an introspective state of mind. In between the celebrations and meals, the gift wrapping and days spent in pyjamas, you find quiet. For me, these long days help me to focus and define what I want out of life, what I want out of this blog, and contrast it with the year just past. And lately, I've found there has been a disconnect.

I've been blogging for eight and a half years but in the past year, I found a lot of sameness. A lot of blogs and a lot of Instagrams showing the very same things over and over. Each post propagating the image of what the ideal blogger looks like... a picturesque home with room after decorated room, everything painted white... a pretty young blonde with a photogenic toddler in tow... days spent sipping lattes in French bistros (oh, the patterned tile floors!) and nights lounging in rumpled bedsheets, the latest girl boss book and gold initialled mug close at hand. To be a blogger, one must have a rotating schedule of posts about home decor, food, travel, and fashion... one must morph from design to lifestyle and project a glimpse of home and motherhood and career through a filter of girl power and pink ethereal loveliness. Photos and feeds must be styled and curated. One must foster a healthy sense of narcissism with ample selfies and package their life as a brand.

Isn't that how it is nowadays?

But here's the thing... there is more than one way to live. There is more than one way to blog and instagram. And while I adore the beautiful images and visual stimulation I find in social media, it can also leave me feeling disengaged because the images I pin and double-tap bear so little resemblance to the life I have. Which is crazy because the life I have is pretty darned amazing.

For 2016, I want to simplify and focus.

Just like I've started to declutter our home for the new year, I want to do a bit of that here on the blog too. Bloggers talk about being authentic and true to your self on your blog, but I've found it's hard to do when you're bombarded by messages of what life "should" look like and conform to certain ideas of what is share-worthy.

So this year, I'm aiming to share more of what life as this 40-something wife and mom of one, really looks like. I'm a lady (not a girl) boss who spent the bulk of her career climbing the corporate ladder but now calls her own shots. I have the heart of a renovator but have lived in the same house for eight years and have no more rooms to renovate. I shop and I travel, but I also budget, plan, invest, and save. I work in social media but I don't speak Millenial ;)

There is a diversity in blogging that is missing. I hope to bring some of that back and I hope you'll continue to join me for the journey.