blogging intentions + the diary days

i've been blogging since i was 11 or so. i started out on livejournal, writing my private, emotional and tumultuous fifth grade thoughts (lol lyfe is so hard guyz) into my online diary that not a soul cared about or read.

and then my friends and peers joined livejournal. and looked at my journal. i started to make 'friends only' and 'private' posts. i mean, i can't have the entire world knowing about my middle school drama, can i? certainly not.

over the years, blogging intention has changed. blogging has changed. to talk about sharing yourself online in the way it existed 10 years ago in comparison to today is largely unfair - the entire premise of blogging, sharing, etc. has evolved to be something else. for many, a blog is no longer a place of musings, sordid life details, conversational tidbits and woes. internet presence has become about community, connecting and offering bits of your world that build friendships.

i haven't written a diary in years. the internet was my diary. and now, the internet is an outward facing, primped, styled and polished reflection of my life. no qualms about that - we all do it. but the carefully arranged photos and instagram shots are not my life. and they're not yours either.

i appreciate beautifully crafted food photography, glamorous product reviews, carefully photoshopped photoshoots styling valentino shoes... it's all gorgeous and dreamy to look at, and i am all about the visuals (i mean really, look at my photo that goes with this post...) but will blogging ever just be about the raw stuff again? will the diaries ever come back in full swing? more importantly, should they?

i can think of many reasons why not. in 2001, we weren't worried much about what our internet presence said about us if it was pulled up on a a job interview. i don't want an employer to google my name and have my relationship drama come up. everyone is more guarded now, crafting their words and images. i think it's smart, but i suppose i miss the internet of old. livejournal, xanga and diaryland anyone?

what do you think about how blogging has changed? how long have you been blogging?

bag love: truly, madly, deeply

 my bag collection is small, but it means the world to me.

sometimes, collectors don't have reasons for collecting. and after all, what constitutes a real reason anyway? aren't all collections a little silly and frivolous, be it stamps, shoes or old movie tickets? i revel in the frivolity of my handbag collection - but at the same time, it's very near and dear to my heart, and i'd be lying if i said i wouldn't try to grab them if my house caught on fire.

it started in highschool, near graduation. i fell in love. there was a skip in my step and a spark in my eye. all because of one man - marc jacobs. the classic q baby groovee was the light of my life, fire of my loi- err, you get the idea. i read reviews. i constantly searched for photos of her in action (pre purse forum knowledge, y'all) and longed to feel the leather beneath my fingertips. and then, i finally got her as a gift.

i thought that would quench the thirst, but it started an outright obsession. and it was then that i discovered no bag would ever be my "holy grail", my collection would never be complete, because a new bag would always appear on the horizon, filling me with a completely incomprehensible and totally irrational need. a handbag monster, if you will.

they're a constant companion, an outfit maker, a sturdy tool and something gorgeous to glance at in my passenger seat. it's the little things, y'all.

and you know what? i'm totally ok with it. we all have our vices. mine is leather handles and gold hardware.

what do you collect?