blogoversary

did you know Style at a Certain Age is celebrating a blogoversary this week? that’s right. 2 years ago the first photo was snapped and published on tumblr. it was titled: step into spring

at the time, i had no idea how to start a blog. zero. there was only a spark of inspiration to share my ootd (outfit of the day) with… well, i never expected more than a handful of lovely ladies would tune in.

the first step: originally, the blog existed exclusively on tumblr as it was a user-friendly space. the only skill necessary was uploading a photo and hitting the post button. easy enough for this less than tech-savvy girl. and that’s just what i did, consistently, five days a week. until three months into my new venture, i received a phone call from my husband asking, “have you been paying attention to your tumblr account?” back then, i rarely checked my blog. all of my attention was focused on coordinating a daily outfit and squeezing in a photo session before i headed off to work each day. but after my husband’s call, i grabbed my phone and quickly logged into tumblr. this is what greeted me:

wow! my blog was splashed on the front page of tumblr smack dab in between ellen degeneres and nbc nightly news. this was the photo that launched the blog into unchartered territory. thanks, tumblr!

when i returned home that evening two of my kiddos were camped out on our sofa glued to the computer monitor, spewing advice, and scratching their heads as to how the momster’s blog had suddenly gone viral. you can read more about it here but all i could think about was what was i going to wear the following day? suddenly, i had a captive audience that was growing by the second. and i discovered to my dismay i had absolutely nothing to wear… i finally decided on one of my go-to outfits. can you guess what i chose? that’s right, a blazer and a sweater. two of my all-time favorites.

after a few days, all the hub-bub died down and my husband and i quickly settled back into our day-to-day routine of picking out outfits and snapping photos. although our children were quick to point out the photo quality was, well, in their humble opinion ‘it sucked’ so they pooled their money together and bought my husband a brand new canon rebel for his birthday. thanks, boys! in those early days, our english bulldog, buster, joined me from time-to-time on our photo shoots.

but tragedy struck our family one day late in october when buster suffered a fatal heart attack, and we lost our faithful companion. i’ve always been thankful i was home to say goodbye before he slipped away. we still miss you, buddy! as we all know, life has its ups and downs. good times and bad. our hearts were broken for many weeks. and our apartment was absent of wiggles, and kisses, and daily walks up and down the hills of san francisco. when christmas rolled around, i thought it might be a good idea to adopt a dog from the pound. it was time to heal our wounds with a new addition to the family. a friend of mine from work suggested i contact the milo foundation, a bay area rescue organization, and that’s when oscar walked into our lives and stole our hearts. you see, oscar along with his brothers and sisters found themselves homeless after their mother suddenly died. here was a dog who was in need.

i have to say that oscar is one of the best christmas presents ever given or received! and he immediately bonded with each one of the djalali’s. but mostly my husband. originally, oscar was never meant to be a part of the blog. but in those early days of puppyhood, he would tag along with us on our photo shoots and my husband would snap his pic so we could chronicle his growth. one day, i floated one of those early photos onto instagram, and people started asking for more. the rest is history. we now have a weekly gig that many of you love called fridays with oscar. i’ve always said he’s my best accessory.

early 2015, i had been toying with the idea of transitioning the blog to the main blogosphere but was still hesitant as there were many technical aspects of running a blog behind-the-scenes i didn’t have a handle on. the decision was finally made after the lovely deb boland from fabulous after 40 contacted me for a style blazer interview. thanks, deb! it was just the sort of nudge that was needed because now there was a deadline involved, and if i didn’t meet it i wouldn’t have been able to meet all sorts of new readers that didn’t have a tumblr account. initially, panic set in as i didn’t know the difference between a link and a plug-in let alone how to operate either one… a big thank you to all of you who have faithfully stuck by me as i’ve navigated one learning curve after another this past year. at least, i somewhat had a handle on my daily outfit decisions, and my husband was becoming a more proficient photographer.

i’m certain you’ve noticed my hairstyle has changed several times the past two years.

and my hairstylist has changed once or twice. now, i’m on the hunt for stylist number 3…

the shade of my lipstick has also changed up. even our address is different these days, having recently moved from san francisco, ca to athens, ga. i guess nothing in life is ever meant to stay the same.

but the one consistent factor over the course of the blog has been me putting together a daily ootd, and all of you lovely readers tuning in each day. i think we’ve bonded in ways i  could never have imagined two years ago. it’s such a joy reading your emails that find their way into my inbox. sometimes, it takes me awhile to answer due to the volume. but i do try and say hello and am touched that you’ve taken the time from your busy schedules to write! and i love all the comments you post on facebook, pinterest, or instagram.  i am truly overwhelmed by the love and support coming my way. i’ve even had the distinct pleasure of lunching with you now and again. the one aspect i never considered when i started on this new adventure called a style blog was the people i would meet along the way. and the doors that would be opened. oh, the amazing and talented women i’ve met through blogging. from pr reps, to blog buddies, to my amazing readers from brazil to canada to germany and back again to the states. each of you has enriched my life in ways you will never know. it’s been a wild and crazy ride these past two years, and i suspect these next twelve months just might be as crazy. there are so many exciting things transpiring behind the scenes! but here’s my promise to you – i’ll keep on picking out outfits of the day if you keep tuning in. and as a way of saying thank you with more than just my words i have a surprise for all of you. so be certain to scroll on over to styleatacertainge tomorrow morning as the blog is hosting its first giveaway. i hope you’ll think it was worth the wait.

much love to all of you!

xoxo

Beth Djalali

is the Founder and CEO of Style at a Certain Age. She writes Sundays-Fridays on all topics ranging from fashion, health, wellness, home design and more.

She’s 65, 5’8, and size 8.

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