It's been a week since I've visited blogland. Eeep!

I'm taking a break from writing to write this. Well from writing a novel to writing this blog post. Believe me, there's a difference. And I'm currently 4,000 words behind :\ Also, is it still 'taking a break' from writing if you're actually not writing? Clearly, NaNoWriMo crazy has reached my brain. Pray for me.

All this writing has got me thinking about what I want my little corner of internet to be. I've struggled for a while in determining that. Not necessarily because I didn't know what I wanted but because I came to realize that having it all when it comes to blogging is difficult.

Let me back up because I'm not making much sense (again, my braaiinn!). With a single lap about the blogging track, it's easy to see that it's a land full of product reviews, weekend wrap-ups, weekly confessions and favorites. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I want to make that perfectly clear before I go any further. I'm not throwing any shade on those blogs/bloggers. Some of my favorites are those blogs/bloggers: I follow multiple beauty blogs, I binge watch monthly favorite videos on YouTube, I like peaking into someone's weekend occasionally, and some of those confession posts really make me feel closer to said bloggers. Hell, I myself flood The Kari Diaries (TKD) with beauty things and book reviews! But that's not the kind of blog I want TKD to be. At least not entirely. I want to be more than lipstick swatches, picture dumps, and embarrassing confessions.

It's probably the writer in me (and I'm sure this month's writing frenzy is adding fuel to the already burning fire). I want to feel like my blog is adding something to the interwebs, to the people who care to read my entries. And even though my weekends are very important to me and posts made entirely of gifs make me incredibly happy, I want TKD to mean something more than that, something more than just my personal enjoyment. I'm not expecting to change the world, but I want to talk about real things, about real issues. I want to make people think.

So I know you're sitting there saying: Ok Kari, just do it then. Here's the weird part about blogging. Blogs like that, they don't garner much readership. And I want TKD to be a successful blog as well as a conduit for conversation. I want TKD to be equal parts light and heavy, funny and serious, beauty and the beast. But just like any other blogger, I want readers. I repeat readers, not followers. Sure, followers are nice. "Oh no, please don't follow me!", said no one ever. But readers... as an aspiring author, readers are my JAM. As a writer and an avid reader, I desperately want to interact with others over the words we write, the things we think, the purposes we ponder.

I've rambled on long enough (and my manuscript is not so gently calling my name), so I'll cut to the point. Soon, hopefully very soon but I can't make too many promises with the craziness that is NaNoWriMo, I'm going to start heading that direction. Despite fears of turning certain people off, The Kari Diaries will be a better representation of me and my thoughts, and I hope to post more regularly, on a MWF schedule, if not more. There are plenty of blogs that I think accomplish this well (The Florkens, The Grits Blog, The Happy Type, She Is Fierce) while retaining readership. I have no idea how they do it, but I'm hoping that I can do that as well. Because what good is sharing your thoughts if you have no one to share them with?

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Quick Note: November has been a very busy month for both Kay and I. So busy that we totally forgot to announce November's book of the month! We've chosen Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins! For more information on the book as well as the review date, check the "Books" tab above or the Goodreads page.

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What do you think  your blogging personality is? Do you prefer to operate a more lighthearted blog or a serious one? Would you ever stop reading a blog that changes its personality?

Balancing Act

A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc.

Photo Credit

I feel as though I touched on this topic in this past Friday's Blogtember post. Generally, I'd say I'm a bit unsettled yet entirely motivated. I've decided to view my life as a  sort of "starting over" moment. Of course, I'm not starting over exactly. I have my J.D. and, hopefully, will receive the news that I passed the Bar (Cross your fingers for me!). And although I'm very much dedicated to becoming employed as a lawyer in the field that I want, I also find that I've really enjoyed blogging and writing these past few months. It's made me feel important for lack of a better word, which makes sense because writing is the only thing that I've ever felt 100% confident in.

But for the past couple of weeks, I've felt quite conflicted, wondering how I can possibly balance these two things that I really do love. And in my search for balance, I scoured the web, desperately seeking someone who is employed full-time and operating a successful blog (whatever that means!). And what I've found is that a majority of the blogs that I've come to follow and admire are run by beautiful, intelligent, very busy women. Some women are teachers, professional photographers, financial analysts, computer technicians, design businesswomen, full-time mothers, and even attorneys. They all blog multiple times a week, contributing useful and interesting information to the blogosphere. It's given me a hell-of-a-lot of hope for my future because I've realized, and it's been demonstrated, that I can be an attorney and a blogger; that I don't have to choose just one, because, well, I'm not just one.

So, to respond more succinctly to the prompt (I have a tendency to get off topic), my life lately has been about figuring out what I want and "tidying" up my life. I've spent the past month: searching for the perfect employment, whipping my butt back into shape, learning new recipes, revamping my wardrobe, writing and developing characters I had long forgotten, organizing and redecorating my apartment, exploring the city, reading book after book and blog after blog, and last but certainly not least running my blog (hence, the new layout created, yet not completed, over the weekend).

Shredding on the elliptical!

Chili Pasta recipe from Better Home Cookbook.

Book I found full of stories/characters I've
been working on since I was 14!

Newer book I found with a few short
pieces written within the year. My writing
style has changed so much!

              

                       Can you see that the taxi trunk is WIDE open in the top photo? I was terrified it was going to fall out!

Turtle Pond, Central Park. Tons more pictures to come!

How has your life been lately? I hope stellar!

Great Expectations

Today's topic: Discuss ways that blogging or social media has changed you.

Since I've only been blogging for a short time (barely two months I think), I'm not sure I can answer that just yet. But I can say what I hope blogging will become.

When I began my blog I didn't really have  any expectations for it. One of my friends has a blog that she uses as an outlet to deal with her long-distance relationship and the stress of law school. I'd say the enjoyment she got from her blog was part of what inspired me to begin mine. The other part would have to be my love for the act of writing. I love the process of it: mulling thoughts over in my head a million times, putting those thoughts down in the form of scribbles on some random piece of paper, tucking that paper away and making a silent promise to yourself that you won't lose it, and then rediscovering those thoughts, struggling to decipher the illegible symbols on the page and writing around it until you have a complete piece. Oh and rambling like I am right now (Sorry!). Anyways, I began this blog with the excitement of going through that process every time I created a post. To hone my writing skills and to rant and rave about books, beauty products, fashion, theories as well as the ongoings of life at the same time. 

Now that I write this, I realize that, in a way, blogging has already changed me. I've struggled for a while to find the inspiration to write something. With the stress of lawschool, I could never find the time, and when I found the time, I could never figure out what to say. But the thought that there might be someone out there, who either checks my strange little corner called Lipstick Stains and Coffee Cups or stumbles upon it in the search for something else - that thought makes me want to have something posted for them to read. I hope to find inspiration in many places but, in a way, I've found some inspiration to write in the possibility that someone will read it. And that's exciting.  

Thanks for reading! Tell me how blogging has changed you so I have something to look forward to :)