It's Simply Lindsay

03/21/16

The Post I Never Wanted to Write

This is the post I never wanted to write. Why? Because I’m going to open up about a topic that is profoundly personal, troubling to me, and unpleasant. It’s my deepest fear and uncertainty, one I don’t have the answers for. I never wanted to write about it because it makes me incredibly emotional, and showing my strangely strong emotions about this makes me feel so…weird. I know that’s not the best word, but it describes the strangeness and high level of discomfort I feel about being emotional.

I’ve always been a writer and have found that writing is my best outlet. It allows me to get out my thoughts and feelings in a safe way. I can hide behind the words as I type the letters instead of confronting them by speaking them out loud. At the same time I’m hiding, I can also reveal my most intimate feelings in a very public way.

I enjoy writing about hope, positivity, and answers. I don’t like complaining for the sake of complaining – I think when you have a problem, you should seek a solution to it. In this post I never wanted to write, I don’t have a solution.

03/18/16

March Fashion Challenge (part 2)

Do you ever struggle to pick out an outfit? Do you ever look through your closet, get exasperated, and resolve that you have ‘nothing to wear’? I did, until I started dressing with purpose through daily theme challenges on Instagram! It’s so fun to read and interpret the themes and connect with others online to get inspiration from. You can see March’s part one of the challenge here, and here are the themes from part 2:

• All tucked in
• Sneaking around: my students were telling me that it’s hilarious to call shoes “sneakers…” am I old?
• Spring forward: decided to bust out my white jeans earlier than normal; they’re not just for summer, right?
• She’s my cherry pie: I desperately wanted this red skirt to work in non-winter seasons and had no idea if I could see past Christmas. So happy I tried it!
• Shoe the world
• Fringe benefits
• Emerald City

03/17/16

What is the NoFollow Tag and Why Bloggers Need to Use It

If you are a blogger, you may have heard about the “nofollow” tag but aren’t necessarily sure what it is, if it applies to you, if you actually need to bother with it, or how to add it. Let me break it down for you in the simplest terms possible.

When your blog or website includes external links, little search engine bots crawl all over the internet searching for these to include in a website’s page rankings. The more your website appears in external links, the better your page rankings, which generally translates to more revenue and traffic for your business. As bloggers, we often link back to businesses we love naturally because we want to share our excitement for great products and add value to our readers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this!

However, when you provide affiliate links or links from sponsored posts, it becomes a problem. Google wants to protect the integrity of organic searches of websites and ensure companies are not just paying others to link to their site, thus boosting their rankings and revenue.

03/15/16

Adult Acne Treatment

*This post contains affiliate links; I also received an Aveeno product. Any products I recommend, I stand behind 100%.

There are many things I am blessed with in my life, but smooth, clear skin is not one of them. For me, I didn’t have skin problems until my college years and am now quite familiar with the horrifying realm of “adult acne.” Why, for some reason, does putting ‘adult’ in front of ‘acne’ make me cringe from the inside out? No matter, I have accepted my skin for what it is, and instead of feeling sorry for myself or hiding out in moments of blemishes, I decided to figure out what works for me.

Before I had my daughter, I could use normal, topical acne spot treatments without any problem – for me, it was the stronger the better. Now, my skin has completely changed. One tiny drop of my old spot treatments, and my entire face breaks out in a hot, splotchy, itchy rash – sure, it’s one way to detract from the blemish, but it’s not a wonderful alternative. After trying various products and regimens, I’ll share what has worked for me.

03/11/16

March Fashion Theme Challenge

Happy March! I’m incredibly excited for this month’s fashion theme challenges because the snow has finally melted and it’s beginning to feel like spring. In case you’re new here, each month I participate in daily fashion themes from Instagram. It’s a great way to connect with people, have purpose to your fashion, and find new ways to style and wear your clothes. Part of the fun is finding ways to interpret the themes. You can see the last few challenges here: February, January, December.

I was terribly sick for several days earlier in the month, so I missed a few days, but here are the themes I’ve participated in:

• Laws of layering
• Mirror me metallics
• Darling dusters – a long cardi was the closest I got to a duster
• Blazing the way – wore a bold blazer to celebrate International Women’s Day
• Salt & pepper
• Piggy bank purchase – so glad to resurrect my mom’s MCM bag from the attic; seriously, what is such a beautiful bag doing up there? I decided to borrow it…permanently.

03/8/16

Travel Themed Playroom

Ginny’s playroom makeover is a long time coming, and I am thrilled to reveal her travel themed playroom transformation. When we first bought our house, we had the perfect little room for a home office, and once Ginny came, we knew it would be ideal for a playroom – so out with the desks and in with…all of the “stuff.” My first attempt at her playroom was literally just using the space as an overflow for all of the lovely items people bought us for our shower and when she was born. It was perfect – Ginny was too small to play with most toys anyway, and the room is tucked away where I would never have to see it if I didn’t want to. But then, as things tend to happen, Ginny grew up and actually had a need for her own space to play.

I knew I had to face that dreaded room, stashed with “stuff” and “things.” I knew I wanted an adorable space for her to learn and play and grow in, but the room was little and didn’t look like the extravagant rooms I saw on Pinterest. I’m happy to share with you that if you have a “regular” house like me, you can makeover your playroom, too.