Banana Republic cashmere sleeveless turtleneck (Similar here in ivory)
Club Monaco Tonie silk accordion pleated maxi skirt
Banana Republic camel double-breasted wool blazer
Stella McCartney Ava dancing demi-black lace bra
Shanti Voorn Steps rose gold ring
Nine West Cardio black suede pointed toe pumps

Check out below for similar options!

Dear lovely readers,

You’re probably wonder ‘whoa, she’s finally back,’ or ‘oh cool, a new post to read while I kill time.’

It’s already the middle of February. With that being said, I thought it was time to show up and tell my story about my brief disappearance. It’s been truly a long yet solid two months of just sorting my life and making the necessary small steps instead of a big leap moving forward. No, I’m not declaring my leave from Pinch of Chic… I just took a much-needed break to do things not related to blogging and enjoying life without the social media lens switched on.

In the two months, I took the opportunity to spend quality time celebrating with family, sustaining my friendships, as well as preparing for one of biggest commitments in my life on top of work. Two months ago marked an incredible milestone— where I became a home owner. Talk about running quickly through my adulthood, right? In addition to that announcement, I have many people to thank for closely taking me through this strenuous process. I figured that all these events deserved to be mentioned at some point on the blog as Pinch of Chic is my public diary. It was just a matter of scrapping all the time I had left outside work to do own research and pave the path I’d like to live out.

I learnt that age doesn’t always define the level of superiority or capabilities you have. Turns out, it just gives you more experience to pass off and teaches you to make less snap judgements. 

There’s nothing more rewarding than assessing how I used my time away from blogging— seeing where all my efforts went. At first I thought I was beginning to loose interest in writing and curating content. I also thought that perhaps I was just being really lazy (didn’t even consider the time it took to work, move and settle) and that the gloomy season of winter was bringing me down. Stemming from the previous thoughts, I had also concluded that I was a failure and that consistency and time-management may not be my forte for this blog. Looking at these one-sided problems, I realized that I was so fixated on the idea of success or the idea of what was ‘better’ that happiness never came to me during that time frame to blog. Creating alluring photographs was much easier than sitting down and making sense of my candid thoughts. You know how it is…some days felt like I had to get it out the door and maintain a steady feed. However, I wanted to be honest and showcase quality work that deserves attention. Not merely aligning half-assed captions alongside pretty photos on a personal platform with no deadlines. 

We often think about the next place, the next job or next partner that we forget to appreciate what we have done or own. Until we give up the idea that something better is elsewhere, you then begin to realize where you are and how much more you do have. You really have to embrace the initiative you take to do things pertaining outside of work. Tell yourself that with all these things that you’re doing really earns you more recognition; naturally, you’ll start to walk away from the state of paralysis (referring to my blog break). I’ve been once told that whenever you feel so far deep in harsh, self-criticism: picture yourself in third person. Look at the third person and ask yourself if you would be friends with that person. You begin to see yourself, that third person, in a very angelic way where you appreciate the little bits about yourself and the work you’ve put in so far. I wanted to impact the change that didn’t happen before, in order to create inspiration for myself. To ignite that starting point. To avoid the feeling of being static, I had to stop thinking so much about what I haven’t done and think about what I have accomplished.

We are all on similar journeys. It’s a matter of thinking differently to shift that positive change into the direction where it’ll help achieve what’s important to you. x

Photography by: Artiese Studios