1.15.16 6

Link Love #42

So, I was restructuring the back end of A Touch of Teal the other day and realized I never did a link love, vol. 39. I’m in grad school, but I still can’t count apparently!

All that restructuring of the back-end was to reorganize my navigation bar. You’ll notice that outfits are now sorted by season and you can quickly access my new wear-to-work series, which I plan to add to regularly. Under the lifestyle tab, I’ve called out my favorite verticals that I plan to consistently post about—travel, cocktails, paper products, personal posts, and on my nightstand—and I’ve moved career and blogging to top-level navigation categories as I want to get back to posting about these topics.

Since this link love seems to be masquerading as a “blog goals for 2016” post, I also have three other ideas + tasks I want to implement moving forward and wanted to share them with you today:

IMPROVE MY PHOTOGRAPHY / I’ve come a long way in my blog photography considering I used to take all my pictures on an iPhone or point-and-shoot digital camera, but I want to keep improving. It’s been about a year since I bought my DSLR and I now have two lenses for it—a 50mm and a 35 mm. One thing that really frustrates me is seeing other blogs with great photography and knowing mine have the potential to be even better—especially around outfit posts. I want to ensure those photos are less blurry, less awkward, and have more interesting backdrops that my apartment complex courtyard. (I’m lazy sometimes!)

GET PERSONAL / Some of my favorite blogs these days—particularly Sequins & Stripes and Lemon Stripes—do such a fantastic job of giving you insights to their daily lives and what they are currently struggling with, elated about, or interested in. I love reading these blogs because I feel like Liz and Julia are great gal pals who I could invite over for a wine night, even though I’ve never met them in person—though I have sent them fan mail! This is something I want to get better at on A Touch of Teal, while still finding ways to keep some parts of my offline life private.

REDESIGN MY BLOG / I last redesigned my blog in September 2014. I love how it looks, but really want to take it to the next level and find ways to incorporate newer design trends into A Touch of Teal, while also improving the functionality of how you find and read my content since I now have nearly 400 posts!

Whew. Seems like my weekend to-do list just grew a ton! If you’re a blogger, I’d love to know what your goals for 2016 are. If you’re not a blogger, I’d love to hear what songs you think TI will sing (rap?) at his concert that I’m going to tonight. And either way, I hope you have a great weekend! x

Leave a Comment

6 Comments

  1. Rachel wrote:

    Love your goals for this year and the progress you’ve made on revamping your blog! Your photography is always really impressive to me. I want to work on mine as well! Which lens is your favorite/do you use the most?

    Published 1.15.16
    Reply
    • Katie wrote:

      Aw thanks so much! Your comment really means a lot as it is something I put a lot of work into. I love using my 35 mm lens, but I think the key is a low f stop! Mine both have f/1.8.

      Published 1.19.16
      Reply
  2. Good luck with your goals! My plan for this year is to really get serious about building my personal brand – I was neglecting the marketing part for way too long! For now I managed to launch a new website/blog for it and it’s a good start I think! 🙂

    Published 1.15.16
    Reply
    • Katie wrote:

      Thank you so much! Your personal brand is so important. I actually took a class on personal branding last semester, so let me know if you have any questions! xx

      Published 1.19.16
      Reply
  3. Kia / KTS wrote:

    I think you can definitely tackle everything on your goals list. Just focus on each thing one at a time and you’ll see success. I can’t wait to see more of your personal post as well.

    Kia / KTS
    http://www.houseofkts.com

    Published 1.15.16
    Reply
    • Katie wrote:

      Thanks so much Kia! You’re always such a great support system.

      Published 1.19.16
      Reply