(think: a parody of the Vanessa Carlton song, ‘Ordinary Day’)

THIS Ortolani day has been a dream of mine for the last couple of years. I’ll admit, when I decided to start a blog, the decision was heavily influenced. The idea for this blog was plagued with misguided intentions. Point blank: I saw beautiful women with beautiful homes, children, and clothes flooding my Instagram feed as full time bloggers and influencers and I could not stop thinking, “If I could just be a blogger or influencer, I will be happy just like them.” 

What I didn’t realize then, and I know now, thanks to a couple really A+ women on Instagram (specifically Nina (@balkanina) and Brittany (@bosstofe)) is that EVERYONE on Instagram is an influencer. What we choose to share with others invokes a feeling in the viewer, even if it’s just for a millisecond. It goes far beyond social media presence, and into the realm of real life intentions. 

My mindset was that fixing my own unhappiness was a one stop shop. Be a blogger, be happy, the end. ‘They’ say hindsight is 20/20. I am simply grateful I let my own concept for a blog marinate, because over time, I came to find that yes – I can be a blogger but I don’t have to have “all the things” to do it. An important distinction is that I still WANT “all the things” (for goodness sake, I’m only human), I just know now that I don’t NEED them to chase this dream. I have intention, the real life kind.

I made so many excuses not to start this blog. Here are some: 

‘Nobody cares about me, I have brown couches. That’s not chic.’ 

‘I’m not in an interesting enough season of life, who cares about a girl struggling with mental health? Aren’t we all?’ 

‘If I don’t have cute designer clothes or baller outfit building skills or all the money to spend on new makeup and outfits, what good is my content to anyone?’

‘People are going to make fun of me for thinking that I have something of value to share with the world.’

News flash! *I’m the only one who has hindered me from seeing this through.* And I’m finally here to say, it’s my life and I’m driving. If nobody wants to read my blog, I’ll make my husband. If just one person gains something from my blog posts, that is good enough for me. And yes, that one person could in fact be JUST me.

This is a space for me to share my life with you. We’ll dive into all kinds of topics ranging from what it’s like to be a COVID bride, starting a family, my favorite affordable clothing brands, to beauty and self care products I’m loving. I hope for this space to become a community. People who want to engage with one another, and open up dialogues about “all the things”.

My relationship with insta-bloggers and influencers has been an interesting evolution. These women are crushing it, and it’s because they followed their dreams. Through hard work, smart marketing, and I’m sure a ton of other efforts, some of them make full-time salaries. HATS OFF to those women for hustling. I no longer want to follow THEIR dreams, it’s time for me to follow my own and I’m so glad you’re here for it. 

So welcome!! Welcome to my newest adventure. I have so much to say, and I can’t wait to share it with you. This is a creative outlet I have been longing for and I hope it serves you in the process. I hope you’ll find my content to be refreshing, relatable, honest and enjoyable.  

Thank you for being here with me as I embark on this truly exciting journey. I cannot wait to see what the future holds with each ‘Ortolani Day’.  

xo, Taylor