Last month I marked three unbelievable years of running She Is Melrose and what a journey it has been. The third year I can admit it is the most challenging year as of yet. My personal life has some impact on the blog. However, I’m not planning on giving up any time soon. On a positive note to embark the blogiversery, I let go of the tradition of celebrating with a  brunch and enjoy the gift of Green Tree Jewelry earrings instead.

If you’re a loyal reader or a close friend you might be shocked, of my decision of not celebrating with my traditional brunch. The huge reason is this year I’ve been flying mostly solo. The free time I have is scarce. This is due to the fact I obtain an additional source of income. Although I continue to withhold my position as a Sales and Merchandising assistant in textile for a bedding company it has taken a turn for the worst.The company I work for downsize twice. I notice the spiral before it officially happened. Honestly thinking to myself, let me give it up and do blogging full time. I wanted to pursue that dream then I said, “ok girl be real. I’m a New Yorker living with skyrocketed rent and is addicted to taking uber everywhere. The main reason is I want to be a homeowner one day soon, and I don’t feel comfortable living off of my savings.Instead, I came up with a crazy idea of getting a second job. Working overnights in the bar are killing a lot of my free time. However, that did not make me want to stop doing what I love. I still try to make posts on the blog and working on being consistent is key for any blogger. Without the help of my friends, I did have before and lack of time it’s been a struggle. Although the battle is real, I  push myself for striving to be better. I decided to invest myself in a ring light, a better tripod, a new camera lens. Seeing the improvement in the quality of my work is a reward in itself.With better equipment to shoot for the blog, I’ve been taking on more campaigns. The more I collaborate, the more I realize they’re much more jobs when you decide to add video. I did finally become a vlogger. Something I wanted to do three years ago when I started, She Is Melrose. Youtube is a whole another world if you just been blogging for a while it can be chaotic at first. The more you work on video editing the easier it gets. You can check out my three-year blogiversery video below:

Three unbelievable years of blogging quickly became the year where I had to figure out the balance between my own life and my life online and determine what was most important. With that, I started to do things differently. Instead of saying yes to every assignment that comes my way I began to decline. Knowing which one I can actually meet the deadline for since I am now a one person team. Other than my planner I honestly don’t know how I would have run another year without it. I’m going back to the roots of my blog, flying solo and all I believe teaming up with Green Tree Jewelry to celebrate the blogiversery is perfect timing.

Green Tree Jewelry is one of the first companies I collaborated with. They hold a special place in my heart as believing me as a blogger even when I had a few followers and was taking pictures off a smartphone and not my professional DSLR camera. The company is out of San Diego, and specializes is wooden laser jewelry. GTJ is eco-friendly and has a wide range of accessories. You can purchase steampunk inspire switch covers, necklaces, bracelets, and even ornaments. Which is excellent because Christmas will be coming up soon! I chose a pair of g-clef music note earrings. I wear them proudly. Not only does it shadows my name it also represents my brand. It’s a physical reminder of my blogging journey, and I want to thank the jewelry company for that.