I’m making this post quick because, to be honest, I’ve been working on building this site for more than a month now and just need to send it before I drive myself and my family crazy (or even crazier).

If you already know me, first of all–hi!! Second of all OMG YES, I did get kind of carried away with what started as a simple “maybe I should just do a quick refresh of Chic n’ Geek” and ended obsessing endlessly over every single detail of a site that literally nobody but me even cares about or will likely visit. Apparently going on 10 MONTHS of COVID isolation manifests differently in everyone and I guess there are worse expressions of insane loneliness than cute clipart addiction? Oh well–hopefully at least someone other than me is cheered up during these dark times by the total extra-ness of the header and the other extra that I’ll probably be posting here for the foreseeable future. And also if you need styled stock images, I I bought enough for the universe over the past month, so I got you if you need any : )

Ok, so moving on…if you don’t already know me–hi and welcome to Chic n’ Geek!!

What is Chic n’ Geek?

To be honest, I’m not quite sure yet. I mean, obviously, it’s a blog. Originally I intended it to be a lifestyle blog about home decor, fashion and I guess some stuff about tech/blogging/social media stuff since those are the things I either do for a living, know about or just like. But the more I thought about it and started building it out (I should actually say rebuilding, since Chic n’ Geek had a previous incarnation from 2014-2017, which I decided to just delete when I revamped to have a fresh slate; here’s the archived site if you’re curious), the more constrained I felt building out yet another one-dimensional online representation of myself.

Yes, I love home decor and clothes and shopping and pretty things; yes, I’m also a nerd and spend WAY too much time online or otherwise immersed in some aspect of digital life. But I’m also not just those things or interested in only those things and it just felt weird thinking about creating this airbrushed, fluffy version of myself when it’s not really at all who I am as a person.

As I designed the site, it was like it somehow became less about the destination and more about a random journey of/through creative expression, if that makes any sense. I agonized over stock images for weeks (that was after learning that “styled stock images” are even a thing), finally deciding to try my totally amateur hand at graphic design, spending weeks creating version after version of the images throughout the site now. I also–in parallel–obsessed over learning more than I ever knew before about WordPress and web development–go figure. It’s probably weird that I’m even writing about it but yolo–that’s the beauty of personal blogging in the age of podcasts and video–probably nobody’s reading anyway, so may as well ramble, right?

So who knows–maybe my new obsession with graphic design will stick or maybe it’s just a pandemic thing–I guess time will tell.

One topic that felt important but also weird including here is mental health issues, particularly ADHD. I have lived with both for 52 years and know I’m far from alone struggling with; I also know that it’s a little weird (or maybe not?) to mix “light” stuff like fashion and home decorating trends with “heavy” stuff like depression and loss. But at the same time, it’s really not IMO.

So I guess right now I see Chic n’ Geek as part blog, part curated stuff to look at/listen to/watch and part digital garden to share and maybe explore the tons of things I’ve been obsessively bookmarking over the past few years.

So there you have it, at least for now. Chic and geek; sad and glad; light and heavy–these are the things I plan to showcase here. Guess we’ll see where it leads.