A Letter to my Readers:
This post has been a long time coming.
In truth, I've been letting you readers down for some time, almost keeping the reality at bay. As hard as this is to say, I think I'm finally in a head space to allow my self to type this all out.
I can't blog anymore.
Fortunately, it's not because I'm being forced to stop posting, but simply because it doesn't serve it's original purpose any longer - I can't justify keeping this blog going when I'm not able to contribute to it's content. This feeling began with me shutting down my public health blog, Well Aware, several months ago, admitting to myself that I didn't have the time to write two blogs. How silly of me. Only now have I really understood that I don't have time to dedicate to write a blog at all.
In the beginning, A Dash of Spectacular was an outlet for me to talk about the comings-and-goings of my life, nothing too intense. Brief posts about my week, a spectacular dish I'd made or an update on my beloved car's repairs. Readers were folks I knew. When we moved to Pittsburgh, it melded into a way to meet new people {mostly food bloggers} and still be in touch with my family and friends in Texas. And, I got to call myself a lifestyle blogger. Ooh, fancy.
There are so many things that this blog has done for me over the years.
It's served as a creative outlet for my ideas and discussion points.
I have met some great people all over the country.
I've added countless restaurants to my 'to dine' list.
Sheepishly, I admit it was also a venue to let my emotions loose.
But now, life has changed.
I'm not an out-of-work job seeker anymore. I'm not just working a full-time job, but have chosen to take on a master's degree plan, part-time. I'm not in a new city anymore, but, as of December 2, have lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years.
It's all about time. As selfish as it may sound, I want to concentrate my free time on bettering my understanding of my industry, and this blog takes away much of that free time. Even if I'm not posting, I'm worrying about how I'm not posting. Then, when I do post, I start to think about the next one almost immediately after hitting the publish button. It can't go on if I want to achieve my long-term goals.
THANK YOU so much for reading, especially those that've been with me over the past 5 and a half years. Your support, comments and emails have been such a source of joy for me. Please don't lose touch - I'll still elusively be on Instagram, Twitter and Goodreads.
Life has changed so much during these past 5 years, and it continues to change all the time. It's almost too fast for my heart to catch up. I hope to one day return to blogging, but for now, these words will be my last.
Love,
Ashley
This post has been a long time coming.
In truth, I've been letting you readers down for some time, almost keeping the reality at bay. As hard as this is to say, I think I'm finally in a head space to allow my self to type this all out.
I can't blog anymore.
Fortunately, it's not because I'm being forced to stop posting, but simply because it doesn't serve it's original purpose any longer - I can't justify keeping this blog going when I'm not able to contribute to it's content. This feeling began with me shutting down my public health blog, Well Aware, several months ago, admitting to myself that I didn't have the time to write two blogs. How silly of me. Only now have I really understood that I don't have time to dedicate to write a blog at all.
In the beginning, A Dash of Spectacular was an outlet for me to talk about the comings-and-goings of my life, nothing too intense. Brief posts about my week, a spectacular dish I'd made or an update on my beloved car's repairs. Readers were folks I knew. When we moved to Pittsburgh, it melded into a way to meet new people {mostly food bloggers} and still be in touch with my family and friends in Texas. And, I got to call myself a lifestyle blogger. Ooh, fancy.
There are so many things that this blog has done for me over the years.
It's served as a creative outlet for my ideas and discussion points.
I have met some great people all over the country.
I've added countless restaurants to my 'to dine' list.
Sheepishly, I admit it was also a venue to let my emotions loose.
But now, life has changed.
I'm not an out-of-work job seeker anymore. I'm not just working a full-time job, but have chosen to take on a master's degree plan, part-time. I'm not in a new city anymore, but, as of December 2, have lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years.
It's all about time. As selfish as it may sound, I want to concentrate my free time on bettering my understanding of my industry, and this blog takes away much of that free time. Even if I'm not posting, I'm worrying about how I'm not posting. Then, when I do post, I start to think about the next one almost immediately after hitting the publish button. It can't go on if I want to achieve my long-term goals.
THANK YOU so much for reading, especially those that've been with me over the past 5 and a half years. Your support, comments and emails have been such a source of joy for me. Please don't lose touch - I'll still elusively be on Instagram, Twitter and Goodreads.
Life has changed so much during these past 5 years, and it continues to change all the time. It's almost too fast for my heart to catch up. I hope to one day return to blogging, but for now, these words will be my last.
Love,
Ashley
