I HAVE MOVED TO A NEW BLOG!

  W I L D B L O O M

[formerly under the oklahoma sky]

be sure to follow along via:

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a new direction.

beauty in humble places was my first real blog. i started sharing my photography, daily happenings, random thoughts, and life lessons with the world, not really sure what to expect. as i reflect on all the time & money invested, new friendships, and a few tears, i'm so grateful. along that journey, i found my voice. i discovered that it's okay to have strong opinions. i learned that blogging isn't just a hobby, it's a community of women who are going though life just like me. we share our lives (the good & the bad), while walking in the grace of our mighty God.

i will always cherish beauty in humble places, but it's time to move forward. after two years of blogging, i know exactly what i want to share, write, and post. a new direction. a new blog name. in some ways, a new me. while everything will be new, there's one thing that will stay the same: my straight-forward, no sugar-coating attitude. i'm still gonna tell ya how it is and what i think. and that's that.

so without further ado, my new blog is    under the oklahoma sky

oh mylanta, i'm excited! the name randomly came to me one day at work, and it's been stuck in my mind ever since. so head on over and check out the new blog! there is a new blog lovin and facebook page, so make sure to follow one or the other.

should i stay or should i go?

i've been thinking about this little blog. where i started; how far it's come; what i've learned.

i'm debating on how to move forward.
do i continue on with BIHP and leave well enough alone?
do i delete some of the content that i don't really care for?
or do i completely start over, new name, new design, and all?

i've put in two solid years of blogging. i've "met" some really wonderful ladies. blogging has blessed me more than i could have anticipated. in all honesty, i want to start fresh. i have a new name picked out. and i lurrrve it. but all that time i put in to this blog, is that wasted? i know now exactly what i want to post, write, and share. so this is the crossroad i'm at.

i'm not worried about losing readership. and i'll save this blog and keep it up to remind me how far i've come. but i'm just not sure.
any opinions?

three things.

one // the last post i wrote was quite vague, but for those wondering, i am okay. just some tough family stuff going on. 

two // if you'd like to sponsor or swap ads, i have my page set up. free ad swap code is AMBERDAWN

three // with google reader shutting down next week, i wanted to give updated social media links: 

blog lovin' || instagram || small town fashionista ||  twitter || tumblr || pinterest || facebook

new blog design!

for months, i have been searching for a blog designer who is affordable, yet knows their stuff. after browsing through some blogs, i came upon the kinch life designs. aubrey's portfolio was stunning, her prices were the best i've seen, and she loves Jesus. score!

after stalking her blog for days, i finally decided she was the one. (in a non-creeper way, y'all).

YOU GUYS. i just have to say that i was blown away when she sent me the finished product. the result was far beyond what i had hoped for. isn't it beautiful? i feel like it's totally me. if you have a chance, check out her design blog and her personal blog. girlfriend knows her stuff, lemme tell ya.

tell ya kids, tell ya wife, tell ya husband that {beauty in humble places} got a new design!

create in me a clean heart.

when i started {beauty in humble places}, i wanted a place to share my thoughts, photography, life, and ultimately: my heart for Jesus. somewhere along the way, i lost focus. instead of writing to glorify the Lord, i started blogging to glorify myself. i became obsessed with how i could get more readers, more comments, more pageviews. more, more, more.

one day last month, i scrolled through my blog. it was like God had taken the veil off my eyes and revealed a blog that should be titled {beauty in prideful places}. whoa. where did i go wrong? what am i doing? i prayed right then and told God to take this blog -- my words -- and make it His.

pride is destructive. you give it one glance and suddenly it has invaded every part of your life. i can't tell you how many times i've prayed, "God, please take my pride and crush it. crumble every last bit. and if that means i crumble with it, i know You can turn ashes into beauty."

i love blogging. i love the blogging community. i have met some wonderful women who challenge and inspire me. my hope is that i will be hidden behind the cross and Jesus will shine. i want to make Him famous, not amber. the pageviews, the comments, the amount of readers... they're just numbers. what matters is #1: Jesus.


"create in me a clean heart, O God. renew a loyal spirit within me." psalm 51:10.

one.

happy birthday to my little blog!

on this day, last year, i started writing in my own little corner of the internet.

i feel as though i've found my voice, silent for so long out of fear of what others might think. 

but it's okay to have an opinion that's not popular. it's okay to be open and honest. it's okay to be me.

thank you so much to those who read {beauty in humble places}.

your comments and kind words mean so much more than you will know.

here's to another year of finding beauty in humble places.

what i've learned about blogging.

it's hard to believe that saturday marks the first "blog birthday" of {beauty in humble places}.
i had no idea it would turn into something that became apart of who i am.
something that introduced me to so many wonderful, diverse women.
something that allowed me to express myself and be me.


over the last year, i've learned so much about blogging -- the good and the bad.
although i'm no expert, i want to share what i've learned after a year of blogging:

• be yourself. when someone visits your blog, they want to read about you, not a second-rate version of yourself. people gravitate to those who are honest and real. through blogging, i've discovered my voice. for the better part of my life, i didn't give my opinion out of fear that others wouldn't like me because i disagreed, but we are unique and that's the beauty of it all. 

• write about what you love. whether it's a lifestyle blog, a fashion blog, or a food blog, write about what you love. write about what you know. your writing will reflect your passion, which in turn keeps your readers coming back for more. 

• blog regularly. this is a big'n. i'm not saying write a post every single day -- you'll get burnt out quickly. it's about consistency. i make it a point to blog at least four times a week.

• make a blogging schedule. this will keep you on track. it will also help you stay out those dreaded blogging ruts. 

• don't do it for the followers. lemme break this down for ya: when you start a blog, you aren't going to have very many followers. many people start a blog because they read other blogs and see how many followers they have. here's the thing: they didn't start out that way. they accumulated readers over a period of time. they have been writing and blogging for years. if you write openly and honestly, people will start following along. over time.   

• make sure to tag each post. you will thank me later. [also: make the tags basic. don't use tags like "chocolate" or "spaghetti", tag it "food"] 

• take good pictures. this is my number one rule. when i come across a new blog, this is where i either click the follow button or i move on. i'm not saying you need to go out and buy a dslr. these days, cell phones are fully capable of producing quality images. pictures give us a visual of what you're writing. we can be in that moment you're describing. (if you have blogger, another piece of advice: when you add a photo, click on it when you're typing out your blog. it will say "small" "medium" "large", etc. make the picture bigger so we can see it! i usually click "x-large")

• give credit where it's due. this is my biggest pet peeve. if you post a picture that you found from another website, CREDIT THE SOURCE. if you post a picture that you yourself didn't personally take, there's a name for that: it's called stealing. it's no different than shoplifting. if you read a post on a blog that you'd like to recreate on yours, credit that blog for their idea. [see example here]
  
  
• have a clean, clutter-free design. nothing is more distracting than clutter in our homes. same goes for our blogs. keep it simple. make it neat and proportional.
   
• comment, comment, comment.  comment on other blogs. plain and simple.
   
• have an 'about me' section. this allows others to learn the basics about you. it's very important, in my opinion.

• make a blog button. this lets others give your blog some love, which will allow their readers to visit your blog, which might make them want to continue reading. i've found a lot of great blogs from seeing their blog button on another blogger's page. [i found this tutorial to be helpful]

 

• participate in link-ups. link-ups are a great way for you to showcase your blog and find other bloggers you like. my biggest piece of advice when participating in a link-up is link the blog post associated with the topic of the blog you're linking to. when i first started blogging, i linked my blog, which is a no-no. (unless it's a blog link-up). example: a blogger has made a link-up for instagram posts. link your instagram blog post, not your entire blog. 

i think the most important lesson i've learned with blogging is to always be honest and open and stay true to myself.


here's to another great year of blogging!

p.s.: i made a new blog button. the link is at the bottom of the page is you want to grab it!