Welcome, friends! I have been so excited to launch this new site, and I’m thrilled that you’re here with me! This change has been almost a year in the making, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to finally be settling into an online space that I can really call home.
I started The Nested Nomad nearly two years ago as a way to reflect on my journey toward minimalism, share tips for living more simply, and write about the travel Dan and I were prioritizing. I also did a bit of creative, essay-style writing and began to branch out to other publications.
A few things happened in these last two years that have brought me to this place of change:
- I realized I love traveling but dislike writing about it.
- I had a baby and realized I really like writing about her.
- I began to see minimalism as my entry point to holistic, simple living, not just an end in itself.
I always thought that when I had Selah not much would change on this blog. I’d still write about travel and minimalism, but she would add another layer to my perspective. I had no intention of becoming a mommy blogger . . . and I suppose I still don’t.
What I did discover is that becoming a mother shifted my identity, my worldview, my purpose so profoundly that I can’t not write about my experiences.
As I’ve grown in my writing, I’ve grown toward other moms, and I see the faces of my peers when I write about motherhood and marriage and attempting to live a simple life in the midst of this intense season of parenting young children. I picture you as I write.
At first, I couldn’t quite settle on what The Nested Nomad was and where this space sat in proximity to my readers. As I’ve continued to find my voice, I’ve realized that I want to be as close to you as I am to a friend I’ve invited into my home for coffee. I want this space to feel and look and sound like me, like my actual home. I want it to be simple, easy to navigate, reflective of what I value.
I want you to feel comfortable here. I want to feel comfortable here.
Through all this, as I considered what I write about and who I write it for and where I write from, I came to feel that my blog’s name, The Nested Nomad, just wasn’t a great fit anymore (not unlike the pre-pregnancy jeans I can squeeze into but just don’t feel quite right). I’m erring heavily on the nested side for now, hoping to get back to the nomadic side someday but not committed to writing about it here. I also hope to continue evolving in my writing, so it only made sense to me to have my online home reflect an unchanging part of myself: my name.
Over the past few months I’ve been working with Madison from Grace and Vine Studios (and A Joyfully Mad Kitchen) to cast a new vision, create branding that aligns with this vision, and ultimately, design an online home for my content. (She’s an absolute gem and so talented at what she does. If you’re ever in the market for a custom web design, I promise you’ll be thrilled if you go with her.)
Despite the big design changes, not much about the current content of this site is changing. Rather, I see this new home as catching up to what I’m already doing and writing about. You’ll still be able to find all my old posts in the archives of this site, but moving forward, I will continue focusing on motherhood, marriage, relationships, and simple living; on finding the sacred in the everyday.
I’m so grateful for each of you, those who have been reading from the beginning and those who are reading this as their first post. I had no idea this blog would become such a haven, and I hope you’ll continue walking this journey with me.
