Update and new directions.

Today, more than ever I needed to get this off my chest. You might have noticed that things have been slower than usual the past couple of months. I realized that while I did make an announcement on my social medias, I never dedicated a post to it here.

Last March, the Peridot Mag was launched, and I’m immensely grateful and humbled to be one of the founding members. I currently officiate as the editor of the Beauty and Life sections which, as you can imagine, takes up a lot of my work. Since it’s an independent magazine, we’re working tirelessly to develop it, but our vision is to be mindful and sustainable at all angles. The idea behind the Peridot is to accompany you on your green journey, like a friend, without a peremptory tone. The world is filled with eco-gems and we want to let them shine. No “must-haves”, no “IT thing”, no guilt-inducing articles nor judgments from our side, we welcome and celebrate you all, as you are. Sustainability is not a temporary trend, it’s part of our human destiny, which is why the Peridot also strongly focuses on the “community aspect” and wants to create as much interaction as possible, by doing live Q&A’s, interviews, collaborations, etc. You make The Peridot. Our Network is there for you as well as our Facebook Peridot support corner which helps you achieve your health and wellness goal. The team is also growing which is the most exciting part, we’re looking for clear eyes, full hearts, and green minds. If you have a story to share and want to be part of an international team, reach out to the Mag (here).

Now, let’s go back to this little blog of mine because this is also what I want to discuss. As I mentioned previously, I haven’t been as active as I used to, blogging two-three times a month at best. I’m aware that I probably let down some of you, because compared to last year, the number of articles has decreased. I deeply apologize for that. It’s been painful for me to neglect it this way because I used to work almost daily on the blog and I wholeheartedly loved it. I still do. As we speak, I have over 80 drafts (the Virgo that I am, is desperate to finish all the posts) and I have a gazillion new ideas for the blog. Yet, I only have one brain and two hands, and things can get out of hands very easily, much to my dismay. Also, this year has been quite challenging, on all levels. I’ve faced some personal and professional setbacks (not from my blogging activities, but my daytime job). I did not feel quite like myself, feeling the joy and energy getting sucked out of me at times. I was drained and it took a toll on my health as well. So through all of this, I had to take several breaks to deal with everything because some situations required my full time and attention. Since The Peridot is a collective project that implies other people, the only option was to put aside this blog for a while until I found some peace and harmony again. Yet, I never ever thought of stopping (be it the blog nor the magazine) because when I research and write about sustainable beauty, wellness and fashion, I feel an unparalleled pleasure and excitement. So much work has gone into this blog and I did not realize quite realize it until others kept repeating it to me. Yet, because I enjoy it so much, I don’t see it as work, which is one of the best feelings in the world.

I used to chat regularly with my online (blogger) friends, which are friends to me. The past couple of months, I had barely or limited time for a conversation, had less time for blog readings, commented less and engaged less on social medias. All in all, I was losing track of things that mattered to me, such as relationships. Relationships are like flowers, you need to take care of them. I was not able to do that in months, and it hurts. Now, I’ve been slowly been able to reconnect with people and it feels amazing. There are a lot of emails waiting for a reply, so I apologize profusely for not having had the time to respond to each and every one of you, or for replying with significant delay. I am not ignoring nor forgetting about you. I’m back to prioritizing what matters the most: engaging with you.

If things look messy and all over the place now, it’s to prepare for a more organized and well-oiled future. What I’m trying to say is that everything will fall into place and soon the blog will be fully back up and running. Smells like a Green Spirit will carry on because this is my special corner of the Internet (where I can let loose on all the puns and jokes ;). It took me several months to keep the boat afloat so to speak, but now I’m determined to instill some life back into it. Which means more collabs, more talks, more interaction with the readers, more insightful articles with, always in mind, the idea of living a more mindful and sustainable life. There will be some changes, but this by no mean is the end of Smells like a Green Spirit. So if you have any feedbacks for the blog and/or the Peridot, do not hesitate to let me know. I need to hear your thoughts. I’ve had a few meaningful projects (including the 3-year anniversary giveaway) that I had to postpone to concentrate more on the Peridot. But I promise to make it up to you. (*pinky promise*)

If you have actually managed to read the whole thing, you’re a hero haha! Thank you for everything so far, this blog has brought me so much happiness and led me to connect with incredible and kind-hearted souls, and for that, I’m eternally grateful.

I hope you’ll still want to stay with me on this journey, both on Smells like a Green Spirit and The Peridot Mag.

I love you all <3