Unplugged.

I just finished a month without social media on my phone. [I survived, who would've guessed?!]

The night of November 1st, I came across Essena O'Neill's video announcing she had deleted all social media & it struck a chord with me in a major way.

Contentment in your 20's, I've found, is a hard thing to rest in. We are always striving for more, for better. Sometimes not for a sense of personal achievement, but simply for the pleasure of sharing those successes. I think social media fuels this.

This drive has the ability to be the most positive breeder of success or the polar opposite. It can generate insecurity while pushing the need to keep up with whoever you deem as "goals".

After looking at the amount of time I spent in a week on each app in my Settings,
(Settings >> General >> Battery >> Battery Usage. It's an eye opener.)
I decided to make a change.

No Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or my true weakness, Instagram, on my phone for one month.

Here are five things I learned about myself, my relationships & my generation:

1. Physical presence does not a relationship make - Accepting that I spent more quality time with my phone than with people hit me hard. Screen time even trumped down time with my friends. Without realizing it, I had let so many of my relationships fall into a place of passive friendship. I was paying more attention to my phone & social media than to my relationships. Not having the ability to look at anything on my phone forced both reflection & interaction. Time off allowed me to audit [see Bo, I know what you do] my close relationships. It's easy to see where communication gaps are when social media stops being a factor. Now, when I am with my friends I am not just physically present, but actively engaged in both conversation & whatever we are doing. 
2. Twitter is not the news - Replacing scrolling through social media in the mornings with reading The Skimm [go subscribe now. seriously.] & several newspaper apps opened my eyes in a big way. It allowed me to not only form an opinion on hot button issues, but to constantly test my stance & viewpoint by reading papers I both aligned with & disagreed with. Reading things you vehemently oppose don't agree with is the best way to challenge yourself & broaden your worldview.
3. Social media does not actually make you social - It never occurred to me that I use my phone as a crutch. It has always been my safety net in social situations. If I didn't know anyone I would sit & scroll through Instagram, my Facebook newsfeed, event Pinterest if the situation was dire. Being forced to interact - especially when uncomfortable - has had a permanent impact. I look at the new friendships I have developed & people I have met this month knowing I would not have interacted with any of them in the same way before this twisted little experiment.
4. I care way too much - This was the hardest one for me to accept. I realized that I cared more about how strangers on the internet perceived me than about my personal relationships. The first week my mind drifted nonstop to a stream of worry about what people were thinking. [I went radio silent without warning, what would people think about me not posting at least once every few days? Would my friends think I was mad at them because I wasn't liking their posts? Would people unfollow me?] 
5. The real world is fun -  I think as a generation we're so consumed with putting perfectly edited clips of our lives out there & packaging them just-so that we end up losing out on the experiences we're having when they're happening. It's great to have pictures & videos to look back on, but at what point should we sacrifice the actual experience for a captured image? 

Today is my 30 day mark & I'm questioning re-adding my apps. A happy medium exists, but there is a freeing feeling involved with not feeling such an attachment to your phone. So for now, I'll stick to checking for Doug the Pug updates from Facebook on my laptop.

Judge me or join me.

xx, Natalie

Break Up

Flannel: Rails LA | Shorts: Milk & Honey Boutique | Bag: Cloister Collection (call to order 706.395.6377) | Shoes: Dolce Vita (similar) | Sunglasses: Nordstrom

The break is up.

I'm jumping back on the train after a liiiiittle blog hiatus.

Okay, hiatus is an understatement. I haven't posted in two months [insert monkey covering eyes emoji here], which is not what I wanted to happen when I started my little creative brainchild.

With the boutique opening I've been trying to use every ounce of creativity I have towards our social media, merchandising & window displays, leaving me ready to sleep & binge watch Friends relax on my days off. 

Basically, I've been less than productive with my personal time.

Now that I'm more settled in my teensy bungalow apartment & the store is taking off, I'm working on being intentional about adding time for the things I love to do, but have put on the back burner. 

[AKA finally unpacking my closet, making time for blog shoots again & trying my hardest to to just wake up & throw on whatever's on my floor]

Why The Lord didn't make me the kind of person who loves running or cooking amazing meals for my friends is beyond me. But I keep shoes in my kitchen cabinets. He is so funny.

The hardest part about moving to a college town postgrad is resisting the urge to revert back to how everyone dresses. Don't get me wrong; I love a good XL Comfort Colors tee as much as the next Southern sorority girl but there's not a lot of creativity in that "outfit" (I use this term very lightly) choice other than what color Nike shorts will match your AGR date night shirt the best.

Inspiration changes everywhere & re-discovering that in Athens has been surprisingly challenging. 

If y'all have anything you'd like to see me feature or just want to chat about: 

a. styling 

b. clothes

c. life

d. queso 

e. all of the above

I'd love to help (& talk!)

nataliemeynell@gmail.com 

Thanks for reading!

xx, Natalie

Galentine's Day

Valentine's Day is in my top 5 favorite holidays. 

Any excuse to dress up, really & today is no exception. I lived for making valentines for everyone when I was little & still love giving presents & candy to anyone I come across today.

Seriously, I brought a million donuts to the store today so come by if you're in Athens!

[hello, who can say no to Little Mermaid valentines & Jolly Rancher heart shaped lollipops at Kroger? Clearly not me.]

But instead of being super cliché festive & wearing head to toe red & pink, I think it's a great chance to have fun with texture. 

{a jacket like this is perfect if you're going out with the girls. Bo thinks it looks like I skinned a Muppet...}

Mixing textures makes the outfit eye-catching & playful, which is the perfect combination for any holiday, but especially for y'all hosting GNO with your #girlgang.

Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO, Natalie

Lazy Sunday

I’m on a sweater-buying rampage.

The store is about 50 degrees inside on a good day (the downside to being in a super adorable historic building is that there is zero insulation) & I’m temporarily staying with Bo where it’s freezing until my apartment is ready.

 [this is really dramatic I am one of those people who is always cold & boys seem to always be warm no matter what. Do you know any girl who keeps their house at 65 degrees? I don't think so.]

Bundling up has been necessary for me the past few weeks, but with my entire closet packed away in a storage unit my options have been non-existent limited. Cue the new Show Me Your Mumu shipment & adios first paycheck. Seriously, the new sweaters were too cute to choose just one. So naturally I got three. [#aggressive]

Since one of my resolutions was to shop less [then I immediately started working in a boutique again…go me] I will be wearing these on rotation with just about everything in my closet. They’re the perfect transitional sweaters because of the material & you can throw one over anything from a dress to boyfriend jeans (my perfect lazy Sunday look). Not to mention they fit the Spring/Summer ’15 trends in every way.

Hello the new bohemian.

Or at least that’s how I justified buying all of them. Sue me.

{Shameless plug the store opens 2.12.15 come party & shop & let me style you!}

XOXO, Natalie

What to Wear

In trying to keep with my resolution to post at least twice a week, I’m starting a new series on the blog! I’ll be putting together looks for different events & occasions to show [& maybe prove to myself] that going out & buying a new dress for every event that you will never wear again wear once or twice is not necessary. 

{Thank you social media for documenting our closets so we can't wear the same dress to two different weddings/parties/any occasions a camera is present}

Helping pick outfits & style my friends has been one of my favorite things since playing dress up in my mama’s closet when I was little. When I lived in the sorority house one of my roommates had to make a sign out sheet for my closet because girls would come borrow things so often I would lose track. It was like the library, but for my closet. I didn’t mind though, I always loved having options for my friends to wear, not just for me.

With so many big events happening in my friends’ lives, there are all kinds of parties, showers & weddings to go to. Buying a new outfit for each of these is so impractical because you wear it once and then it sits in the back of your closet for years. Its almost a waste of money. Buying separates & investing in them means they will last you longer & you can mix & match to wear on any occasion.

First up is a bridal shower. My sorority sister Kayla had the cutest UGA themed shower last weekend in Atlanta.

Events like showers are a great place to have a little fun with what you wear. Mixing prints, patterns & textures dresses up a basic outfit. You look more festive & they make the outfit more appropriate than just throwing on jeans & a sweater.

 

If you have any special occasions you would like me to style you for, send me an email! [nataliemeynell@gmail.com] I would love to help go through your closet & pick the perfect outfit. It makes me happier than if Gossip Girl came out with another season.

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO, Natalie