Hello, Again

Hi, again, readers! As I was preparing to write this post, I realized it has been just under three months since I last posted here while I was getting ready for my big adventure in Australia. If you had asked me just before that if I ever considered taking an extended break from my blog, I would have said, "No way." But life happens, and life was telling me I needed a break.

Not long after my last post here, I learned my grandmother, with whom I was very close, had passed away very suddenly. It ripped a hole in my heart that was too big and raw to share with anyone but those closest to me. Although it was difficult, Sean and I headed off to Australia not long after. I kept up the sunny, happy posts on social media, and I took some outfit photos while we were there, but I couldn't bring myself to edit or post them here. I couldn't seem to muster up even an ounce of creative spark, and looking at my blog made me tear up because my grandmother always enjoyed looking at my outfits and photos so much.

While we were in Australia, my family's sweet rescue pup, who was somewhere around 16 or 17, finally got to the point where he was very ill and in pain. My parents made the difficult decision to let him go. Even though I knew this was coming, it hurt my already-broken heart.

Then, to add injury to insult, I suppose, I suffered a serious injury while out diving in the Great Barrier Reef. As I was climbing back into the boat, the ladder I was using moved suddenly and crushed two of my fingers. Ending up in an Australian hospital needing surgery and wondering if I'd ever be able to use those fingers again was definitely not on the itinerary. With lots and lots of help from Sean, I made it through the rest of the trip and back home.

Okay, that was the bad part--good part is coming up next.



Now, two months later, post-rehab, I am back to typing with my bones healed and my fingernails growing back (pretty thrilled about all of those things). My heart is slowly mending, and I have learned quite a bit about taking care of myself.

So where to next? I want to share some of the things I've learned over the last couple months with you, and I plan to open the window into my life a little wider in my future posts. I already love sharing outfits, shopping, and travel with you, but I'm thinking I'll add some posts that talk about my exercise routine, my journey to eating healthier, my strategies for coping with anxiety and difficult times, and the tips and tricks I've found useful.

In the spirit of sharing more, here's the wide-angle view of the first pic in this post--a shot of my little sanctuary, my bedroom. It's my favorite room in my house, and most of this blog has been written sitting right here.

Tee: J.Crew (more on my love for J.Crew petite knits here) | Denim: J.Brand '620' | Necklaces: Theresa Mink, Kendra Scott via Rocksbox (review here) | Watch: Michael Kors | Lips: Stila 'Fiery'

Don't worry--I'd never leave you hanging on outfit details!

x, Tam

P.S. Thanks so much for reading, friends. This was a hard post to write. Tune in later this week for a much more lighthearted topic: how I survived a 16-hour flight and my tips for long-haul plane travel.