Sheinside coat (similar)
Le Chateau sweater (c/o) (similar)
Mavi jeans (c/o)
Christian Louboutin heels
Massimo Dutti bag (similar)
Zara belt (similar)
Anine Bing sunglasses
& Other Stories necklace (similar)
Urban Outfitters earrings (similar)
Location: Vancouver Art Gallery – Vancouver, BC
I loathe over-used and cliche buzzwords, particularly ones that are used to speak about lifestyle – wellness, clean living, mindfulness… They all make me cringe, and I could continue the list. Every one of them smacks of privilege and worse, of judgement over people without privilege, who can’t afford to make luxurious lifestyle changes.
Intentional is a word that has long been on that list. The very idea that people float through life without putting thought into their decisions, that this is something we need to learn to do consciously as adults, sounds very much like a snake oil sale to me. But with that said, I’ve started giving more thought to being more intentional in one area of my life recently: blogging.
For years, I’ve published three posts a week virtually without fail. I’ve taken no breaks, blogging on vacation and during public holidays. And I’ve done it all without soliciting any help – I think the last time I asked anyone to guest post was some time in 2013. I’ll be honest and say that mostly, it’s worked for me. There have been stressful moments, but I’ve always recognised that stress as self-imposed and known I could stop if I wanted to. But in Vancouver, that schedule depended, largely, on our ability to rush out and take a set of photos in twenty minutes if we needed to, just to have content prepared. For our first year in Winnipeg, we relied on a backlog of Paris photos to get through the long cold winter. Those photos ran out earlier this year.
Initially, I told myself I would just have to come up with a new strategy. Perhaps embrace indoor photos. But the more I’ve considered it, the more clearly I’ve realised that the photos we rush to take in twenty minutes, just to have photos taken, are never ones I love. Those photos wind up in posts like this one, where I talk about how cold I was when we took them, because I recognise my compulsive desire to create content sometimes borders on ridiculous. And because, really, what else is there to talk about? The story of those photos is that I was cold. Beginning, middle and end.
In life, I always focus on quality over quantity. So I finally asked myself why I haven’t done that on Coco & Vera. After all, it seems to me, when I step back and consider it seriously, that it would be better to share two really great posts a week – or even only one – than three that I slapped together in a hurry because I felt I had to. After all, no one is demanding three posts a week from me except me. So from now on, I’ve decided to take the pressure off. If we don’t have time to take photos, we won’t. The same goes for if the weather is miserable. I don’t just want to share content. I want to present content that is beautiful and meaningful, the product of reflection and inspiration. For me, that’s what intentional blogging looks like.
I still hate the word intentional. In fact, after I finish this post, I hope I’ll never feel compelled to write it down again. But in this context, it was the only one that made sense. This will be a new chapter for Coco & Vera, and I’m excited to see what it will look. Happy Monday, my darlings!
I’m not a big fan of the concept of intentionality either but I do like the way that you’ve translated it to what you’re doing with blogging – and I think it will be a meaningful shift. I’ve altered the way I approach my blog a lot in recent years in that I’ve tried to focus more on the outfits that felt photo worthy for me, in the moment, as I wore them, rather than set piece outfits. And what that often meant was rushed photos and bad lighting but also something that felt more tangibly real to me because I was deciding to photograph it in a particular moment because I was genuinely pleased with it and with myself in it, if that makes any sense!
Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines
I always love your style so I enjoy each and every one of your posts. But what matters is that you should enjoy what you’re posting, rather than worrying about the audience. I look forward to this new chapter!
Love seeing this outfit again!! You looked so lovely when you visited and those jeans are absolutely gorgeous on you. As for being intentional about blogging?! It’s so important but can be so hard to give ourselves permission to ease up when we need to. Glad to hear you’re exploring this though and can’t wait to hear more about how it develops for you. Funnily enough, I’m increasing my outfit schedule, can you believe we shot four looks this past weekend?! Having said that, hoping to stay mindful / flexible with it. I’ll report back too! 😉 Hope your week is lovely!! xo
http://www.girlandcloset.com
I always love your style so I enjoy each and every one of your posts. I look forward to this new chapter!
Ashley Stewart Coupons
Yes, I want to smack anyone boasting about clean living or detoxing. and while I mostly get the intention behind using the word intention, you are right to call it out as well. I know all about the self imposed blogging rules, and over the last six months I embraced letting that slide. Though the word embraced isn’t right either, because I felt guilty about it all the while. Letting yourself take the time to create the content you want is a great thing. This is your blog at the end of the day, and why we make it feel like it has to be a job instead of something fun is beyond me. I hope the new Coco and Vera lets you have more fun.
https://www.iamchiconthecheap.com
I am admittedly quite guilty of using lifestyle buzzwords in posts (and even more sadly, usually in sponsored ones where I’m sometimes forced to in exchange for income to pay my bills), but have often thought about the privilege factor that goes into them. Which has led me to “deep thoughts” about my blog and the huge groups of people I’m eliminating from relating to my posts when I’m talking about things like clean eating or clothes shopping as a means of personal therapy. That said, I do think there is something to say for being intentional (though like you, I choose not to use that word), and for quality over quantity. In fact, I have been so overwhelmed by committing to sponsored content over the past few weeks when my husband has been on work break to help with the kids that I had to sit myself down last night and question whether paychecks (even necessary ones) are worth this. And now I’m rambling. I look forward to your posts Cee, no matter how frequent they may be. xo
Quality Over Quantity Cee! Always do what is most comfortable for you. The quality of your work speaks for itself.
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