girl-ish
By Kiley Shuffett Lovely Readers, This Sunday afternoon marks the beginning of what is sure to be an amazing week! I almost hate to say it out loud because I am very superstitious and fully believe in "jinxing" things, but the weather should be getting warmer here in NYC (hopefully staying warm and beautiful everywhere else), my mom arrives for a visit on Wednesday (I absolutely CAN'T WAIT), and we have an excellent week of content scheduled on Girl-ish (as always). What's extra special about this week's content is that we are featuring three guest writers. Christie and I LOVE guest writers! Not only are they a lovely addition to our schedule, but they always provide something fresh and new for you, our devoted readers. It has fast become a goal of ours to include a guest writer or two every week in order to continually mix it up and keep it interesting! But we can't do that without you! The purpose of Girl-ish is to be part of a community full of young women in the same season of life as you. And, I might be biased, but I think this community is pretty freakin' great. Sure, there are 20 of us on the "team," but there is always room for more at our table. Whether you are a contributor or a reader, we want you to be involved in our growth! A sure-fire way to do that is to become a guest writer. I figured this could be a bit of an invitation for any of our readers that are unsure of how guest writing for Girl-ish works. If you have an idea for a piece you'd like to write, a DIY, a cute look of the day, or anything else under the sun, send an e-mail to [email protected] with the idea for your piece! It's truly that simple. We are always looking for young women wanting to share something special with our community, and if you're interested, you may become a new regular contributor! Our favorite thing to see in the Inbox is an new inquiry! It always brightens our day to talk with you, get feedback about what you want to see in the future, and help bring your pieces to life on Girl-ish. I hope this will encourage you incredible ladiez to share your wisdom and talents with us! Love love love,
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Happy Easter, Girl-ish loves! The sun is finally out in Chicagoland (though apparently not for long if this week's forecast comes to fruition!) and it's amazing how this nice weather betters my mood, motivation, and attitude. I'm lucky to be able to spend this Easter weekend with my family and I hope that you are all having a wonderful weekend with your family, friends, and loved ones. Kiley touched on the loveliness that is Sunday last week and I wanted to throw my own two cents in. To me, the weekends are a time for fun, relaxation, and "self-care". I like to keep at least one day of the weekend (typically Sunday) completely plan-free so that I can spend it however I want. This usually involves me working on Girl-ish, taking long walks with my dog, watching a few episodes of a show on Netflix, writing, and doing something beauty-related, whether it's painting my nails or spending a few hours out in the sun. As I type this, I am doing today's version of beauty self-care: wearing a brightening face mask that makes me look like a terrifying serial killer! I love these masks because they leave my face all plump and glow-y and FRESH. I'm currently using the sheet masks that my bestie Mel bought me in Korea but I've used and enjoyed these ones from Target and I know Sephora sells them as well, though I haven't tried theirs yet.
All this to say, it's so nice to save a day all for yourself to do whatever you please. I love to use Sunday to rest and renew before the work week starts again. How do you typically spend your Sundays? What type of self-care do you practice? Leave a comment below! I'd love to hear from you. xoxo By Kiley Shuffett Dear Readers,
I love Sunday mornings! I'm writing this letter to you on a bright and beautiful Sunday morning. The curtains are drawn back, my bed is flooded with natural light, I have my sassiest mug sitting to my right (s/o Brim Papery), full of steaming hot coffee, and all the worries of the impending work week are not yet at my attention. On Sunday mornings, I am so inspired to create things; drawing, writing, painting (I don't paint, but I want to), I just want to make something pretty. No matter how hard I try, that feeling dissipates by the afternoon, and I start to feel the tug of responsibility; to clean, to go to the grocery store, all that grown-up stuff. I so wish I could hold on to that wonderful Sunday-morning feeling throughout the day...and I wish I had enough will power to wake up earlier on weekdays in order to grant myself some valuable peace and quiet time before the day work day begins. (I've never been a "morning person," and I've always been skeptical of those who are [especially those that can work out at 5:30 am...like, wut?]) Since bringing Girl-ish to life, I've had more of a creative purpose than ever. I've been writing more, designing more, and learning how to make a business out of my own creativity. So, Sunday mornings are pretty vital to me. I need those bursts of inspiration to at least get ideas down on paper, in hopes that I can find the same inspiration to bring the ideas full circle during the week. What is my point in telling you all of this Sunday morning business? Because, I'm going to challenge myself to find more "Sunday Morning" moments this week. I think we all have those moments when what we truly love to do in our soul becomes so real and so vibrant to us, and we feel so sure of ourselves that we MUST get to work that very moment. Well, I'm guilty of rarely taking advantage of those vibrant moments because "life" may be happening at the same time. I'm making a deal with myself to harness my creativity and put it to good use. Will you promise me to do this same? Have a lovely week, Girl-ish-ers! I sure do love ya. Hello everyone!
It's Sunday night and I'm feeling so happy (though not rested!) after a weekend out of town with some of my closest friends. It's amazing how invigorating a little weekend trip can be, even when you're only going to a city a few hours away. Between singing along with the radio on the way there and back, indulging in AMAZE food allll weekend, and spending time with three of my best friends, I am one happy little clam. As we prepare to take on Monday, we have an especially stellar week of content for you all! Kiley and I are both super excited about tomorrow's Manicure Monday, which is an amazingly creative take on nail art by Ciara. This week we are also starting a new fashion series that Kiley and I worked on while we were together in New York City, as well as a guest post from Casey Low of "My Whole Sexy Life", another installment of "Favorite Female TV Character" by Hannah, and an especially touching Coffee Date from Jesse. Be sure to check back every day to see what's new! It will be worth it. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Comment below and tell us what you've been up to these past few days. Enjoy you last few hours of Sunday and relaxation. We're back at the grind tomorrow! Everyday I'm hustin', By Kiley Shuffett On a day like today, International Women's Day, I am extra proud of Girl-ish and the community we have created--which I didn't even realize was possible. I brag on our writers every single week, but I think it's time to brag on our readers. When Christie and I were in the beginning stages of brainstorming what the site would even include, we were sure of only one thing: In Real Life. We wanted the "IRL" section to represent the good, the bad, the ugly, and the humorous parts of being a young woman in today's world. Automatically, our writers had unlimited ideas for pieces they wanted to write for the "IRL" section, and the ideas have never stopped coming. We have SO many pieces sitting in that section of our Google Drive just waiting to be posted! We are overflowing, if you will. The IRL pieces we post have ranged from heart-wrenching to absolutely laugh out loud hilarious, to extremely useful life hacks and tips for things we can implement into our daily lives. Although our site features fashion, beauty, and pop culture topics, it is a FACT that our readers gravitate most to the posts that talk about real issues and the real trials and triumphs we all face. It is always exciting to track the posts have been the most successful/most viewed amongst our readers...somehow, I'm always surprised to see those pieces are within our "IRL" section. So, this is a big S/O to the all the ladies in the Girl-ish community: our writers and readers of present and future, and to my partner in life, crime, and business, Christie. Building this community is a team effort in every shape and form. We couldn't do it without each other, and we certainly wouldn't be successful without the strong, independent, hilarious, and real women writing for us and reading our content every week! Shout out to our readers for proving to us that we care about one another, and we support one another by reading each other's stories, sharing comments of support, and simply "liking" what we share on social media. Every comment and "like" shows our readers that they are being heard. Celebrating International Women's Day just solidifies why Christie and I wanted to create this website. We are a small community, but are growing every day. Each e-mail we receive with positive or negative (yes, we get that too) feedback, helps us to understand what our peers are feeling and wanting to see from us. It is so easy to only talk about the "fun" things like Spring Fashion trends, nail polish, and Netflix, but we truly empower one another when she share the things that are hardest to share. There are so many things I want to write about that I have dealt with in my own life, but am too scared to share for fear of how it'll be received. Today, I feel like I owe it to women around the world to share those things and I want to hold onto the feeling of confidence and power that International Women's Day brings with it. I'm always excited for the future. I'm always proud of the women of Girl-ish. Whether it's today or next month, visit this post to see ways you can lift up the women of the world and share your favorite organizations with us in the comments or via e-mail at [email protected]. Everyday should be International Women's Day in spirit, and we should always strive to lift each other up in any way we can! Love ya, Hi everyone! I'm writing from Kiley's apartment in New York City on this lovely Sunday morning! This has truly been one of the best weekends ever for so many reasons, the first being that I got to spend it with Kiley. We saw each other briefly in December, so it was so great to be able to spend time with her, running around New York and working on our baby, Girl-ish. We worked on some upcoming fashion posts (!!!), talked about everything Girl-ish, and what the future holds. We are so excited for what's to come and where Girl-ish is going. That's all I can say for now, but there are many cool and exciting things to come! While this was a very Girl-ish- focused weekend, Kiley and I had so many great life conversations and had so much fun being in New York together. I love this city and everything there is to see and do here. We had a delishhh Thai dinner last night with Amanda Paschal, one of our amaze contributors, and some other friends and it was so good to see them and catch up. Even though I've been to New York multiple times, I still view New York as a wonderfully magical place. Everytime I'm here, I feel like anything is possible. I'm so sad to think about leaving tonight but am already excited to plan my next trip. Being in New York makes me think about the future and my next steps in life. It's scary and exciting and nerve-wracking but I can't wait because as Kiley said last week, the best is yet to come. Whether my future is New York or LA or something completely different, it's out there waiting for me. Love, My Favorite Folks, Looking at this week's schedule, I am so proud of the content we're able to share. I know Christie and I say that LIKE EVERY WEEK, but srsly, I mean it, guyz. Each week gets better and better. And that's one of the reasons why this week's theme is "The Best Is Yet To Come." No matter how crazy amazing I think this week's content will be, I know our writers are going to top themselves because they already do that every single week. In the past few weeks, Christie and I have seen the amazing reach of Girl-ish. We have made new contacts, heard incredible stories, and are planning new and exciting things for our readers and writers. The best is yet to come. Another reason that I have chosen this specific theme for this week is because....I am getting married! I can hardly believe I'm typing that. I always knew I would get married, but it's not just a "someday" thing anymore. The day I got engaged has been one of the most amazing days of my life...so far...the day we start our life together as husband and wife will be even better than that. I'm a little too overwhelmed to think beyond that, but I know that our happiness will not pique on our wedding day. God, I hope not. LOLZ. I guess my point is, there is always something great on the horizon. There are always things to look forward to. There are always ways in which you can grow. The best is yet to come. Love, Dear Readers, It seems that everyone has an opinion on Valentine's Day, opinions that range from over-the-top sharing of how doting your beloved is to full-on detestation. (Is that a word? I know it's used in a song from Wicked, so it has to be real, right?) I've always held the belief that Valentine's Day is awesome, whether I am single or in a relationship. I mean, it doesn't get better than Valentine's Day chocolate from my mom, who is the best. To those of you who celebrated V-Day this weekend with someone special, I hope you had a wonderful weekend filled with love and fun. To all my single ladies, I hope you also had a wonderful weekend filled with love and fun! I hope everyone took some time to show someone how much you care, whether it's a significant other, best friend, or family. That's what it's about, after all. Now that I have enough chocolate to last me a few weeks (okay, fine...a few days), I am looking forward to what this week will bring. We have a bunch of cool things happening this week at Girl-ish! We are REALLY excited to share the next installment of our "Girl on the Move" series. Hannah Henriques shares her inspiring interview with Jennifer Silver, a brilliantly creative woman working hard to make a name for herself in the film industry. This week we're also previewing Stella & Dot's spring jewelry line and sharing some more original art from Ciara. SO MANY FUN THINGS! We're halfway through February, you guys, which means we're almost to March, which means IT'S ALMOST SUMMER! Too soon? Okay, fine. Until next time! Dreaming of summer, By Kiley Shuffett Lovely Readers, I hope your first full week of February has been nothing short of wonderful. 2015 is already flying by and I don't know how to feel about it. For Christie and I, February is a big month because we will be IN THE SAME CITY for a short amount of time! Christie is coming to New York City in about 19--yes, I'm counting--days and we couldn't be more excited. We will only have a weekend to paint the town red, but all we can talk about is Girl-ish. All the photos and videos taken, celebrities stalked (but, really), and plans made will be for the benefit of our beautiful readers and incredible contributors. It is such a gift to work with your best friend. This week marks our 10th week online, and Christie, the statistics Queen, shared with me that we now have over 8,000 different visitors reading Girl-ish. This just BLOWS. my. mind. I don't know what to say except THANK YOU and that doesn't even begin cover our gratitude. A particular quote has been on my heart this week, so I made a graphic in Illustrator (practice, practice, practice) so I could share it with you today. Hopefully, it'll resonate with you in the same way it has with me. Of course, the kind of success I hope will follow Christie and I is related to this website, but it's important to remember that success comes in too many different forms to try and pick just one. So, I vow to work hard, be kind, and trust that success will follow--whatever that means for us.
Wishing you all the best at the start of this new week, Dear Readers, I was so inspired by Christie's most recent letter, where she revealed her fears and doubts about the future. It's something we talk about a lot; on the phone, on G-Chat, or in long late night text messages--we are quite literally constantly in communication. When it gets heavy, it's easy to make a joke, send a funny .gif, or quickly change the subject to something less intense. But, when you read those same words in the form of a letter, it just seems final. You're left to think about it, whether you want to or not. In true copy-cat fashion, I want to take this week's letter to spill my guts a little, and come to a conclusion about something that's pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but weighs very heavily on my mind. This summer, I was gifted the opportunity to start anew. My whole "Life Plan" changed, and by changed, I mean that I realized it was ridiculous to have a life-plan because things never, ever work out the way you think they will. I had to start over. And I did it by moving to New York City. In the process of starting over, I made a list of things I didn't want to leave behind. I didn't want to lose touch with my friends in Kentucky, I didn't want to lose my Kentucky accent (Heaven Forbid!) and I didn't want to lose my blog, Kiley in Kentucky. Obviously, when I say "lose my blog," it's not like someone was trying to take it away from me, but, Kiley certainly wasn't in Kentucky anymore, so..... I decided to try and make my blog about life in New York. But, the problem was that I just didn't care about my blog anymore. Clearly I didn't learn my lesson about "planning" things. I couldn't find one ounce of passion for writing for my blog. I tried for about a month, but it felt so fake and I felt like I had lost my voice completely. Living in Kentucky provided a completely different lifestyle from which I pulled inspiration so easily. Here in New York, there's no shortage of creative energy, but I have been lead to channel it into a completely different avenue. Which brings us here, to Girl-ish. My passion for my own blog had vanished into thin air....right around the time Girl-ish came to life. This website is so exciting, ever-changing, and time-consuming in the best way. The prospect of creating and managing an online community was exactly what I wanted and needed when I came to New York. I still get to write, I still get to explore, but I am sharing the spotlight with 20-some other incredible women. I feel so much pride in sharing the stories that others have written, sharing ideas, making suggestions, and growing a legacy with these women. So, for now, Kiley in Kentucky is no more. I have toyed with changing the name (Kiley in New York is literally the worst name ever), changing the theme, changing the content....and I still am--so far, none of it feels right. For now, the blog that I once looked forward to posting every Friday is over. I have no doubt that I will one day live in Kentucky again, and for that reason, I'm not getting rid of it completely. I'm just taking an indefinite hiatus. I do own the rights to www.coffeewithkiley.com so. That could be a thing in the future. Love, |
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