Launch Day!

Welcome to my new site! I can’t believe that this day is finally here.  All of this has been such a long and challenging process, but one that I know was well worth it.  I’ve made so many new changes all at once and honestly couldn’t be happier about it.  After blogging for almost 5 years, this transition was definitely long overdue.  There’s so much to discuss and explain, so let me just get into it!

For quite some time, I felt as though I had outgrown A Love Affair With Fashion.  The name did hold significant meaning to me in the beginning, but I got to the point where I felt it was no longer the right fit.  I started out in 2011 as only fashion focused and that was great for awhile, but eventually I wanted and needed more. I slowly started incorporating other content and topics and realized that in the end, I wanted this to become more of a lifestyle blog.  When I would introduce myself and tell people the name of my site, I noticed that I felt as if I was sharing a part of my past and not my present.  You guys know that I love connecting with all of you and sharing different parts of my life that include the struggles, not just the highlight reels, so what’s more personal than my own name?  I’ve honestly wanted to make this switch for about 2 years now.  I was hesitant in the beginning because I knew that rebranding would not be easy, but at the end of last year I made the choice to go for it and I was all in.  That included not just changing my name, but switching platforms from Blogger to WordPress and creating a completely new design that would truly connect with who I am today.

I thought so much about what I wanted the visual to be and how I could ensure that this new design would be the best reflection of me.  We went back and forth on tons of different ideas and this ended up being the third, final and best design.  It’s completely different from what I had before and I think it looks super clean and chic.  I wanted to make sure that I had a user friendly site and mobile version that was still engaging. We tried to incorporate little details, like the icons for each category, to add in a more personal touch.  The coffee cup is my favorite, obviously. 🙂 If you take a look in the browse section, you will see I’ve added some sub categories to make it easier to search for specific topics and this will also help me to expand on my content further.  Ultimately, that’s my goal.  I want to push myself to create new and different content for all of you to enjoy.  I want this to be a space that you will continue coming back to for more and I hope that it will fill you with a bit of inspiration each time.  As I continue to grow as a woman, it’s only right for the site to follow along on the same path.

Switching platforms was a huge challenge for me and honestly one that I was not fully prepared for.  I would love to do a separate post on this with my designer for anyone looking to make that switch.  It was a lot of hard work because majority of my images from over the last 5 years did not transfer over and she had to import them all manually.  I didn’t want to lose anything because it’s all part of the journey that I took to get to where I am today. And what a journey it has been!  I started looking back on really old posts and am still stunned at how much I have changed and how far I have come.  I’ve put a lot of dedication, passion and love into all of this and it feels pretty amazing to take a new direction at this point in my life.  In addition to changing the name of my site, I have also changed the name of my social media handles.  After being @natybaby on Instagram since 2011, I officially said goodbye and switched over to @natymichele. It’s like the end of an era! lol A fun fact: naty baby is a nickname that I was given back in college and it just stuck.  I created that Instagram account before I had started blogging and never imagined I would grow an audience on there.  I ended up sticking with the name, but for the sake of this rebrand I really wanted everything to be cohesive and consistent with the new site.  Just make note that my twitter account is the only one I have not been able to change yet. So for now, natybaby lives on. 🙂

I need to give a million thanks to Vanessa for designing this site and putting up with me this entire year!  I know it was not easy, but I am so appreciative of her doing everything in her power to help me bring this vision to life. All of the setbacks and obstacles were worth it in the end. She did my last design too so it’s been great working together and growing together throughout these last few years. She’s so creative, so dedicated and really is the best. By the way, she’s offering 30% off for anyone who books their website design with her this week. You can email her at hello@vanessacabrera.com and put N30 in the subject!

I hope that you continue on this journey with me and that you love the new site as much as I do.  Grab a cup of coffee, take a look around and stay awhile. I hope you come back.  All my love. <3