Tuesday's Topic: Why I Started my Blog

Who doesn't love a good alliteration? 

I talked about last week just throwing more random posts together, like the good ol' days, and this is going to be my tag line. For the next four Tuesday's Topic:____ I'm going to cover the following....

 

Tuesday,  7/28: My Functional & Pretty Storage 

Tuesday, 8/4: 10 things I learned from College

Tuesday, 8/11: Favorite Hostess Gifts 

Tuesday, 8/18: Mix'n'Match - wear 1 piece 5 ways....(maternity version over here)

And then let's see where we go from there! And, if you're looking for some blogging mojo too, feel free to join me! 

---

Why I Started My Blog

 

If you're so inclined, this was my first post, back almost exactly six years ago to the day. 

I was living in Iowa City, IA taking summer classes at the University of Iowa so I would graduate on time with my degree in Elementary Education. Joel and I went to different colleges, but that summer, he came to Iowa and rented a room from my friend next door so that we could spend the summer together. He played tennis in college, so he got a job pretty quickly as a tennis pro at a club in Iowa City. 

 

 

One of the classes I had to take that summer was a "Methods of Writing for the Elementary Teacher" (or something like that). If I remember correctly, the professor wanted us to use an online tool to increase parent/teacher communication.  

Since we didn't have our own classrooms at the time, she told us we could all start blogs about anything, but that we had to commit to writing everyday for 20 minutes a day.

So for that four week course, I got used to blogging about whatever, for twenty minutes a day.

Honestly, not to age myself, but this was really before blogs were a big, professional thing. I don't think anyone besides my mom looked at my blog for a solid two years. 

But I kept up with it, because I enjoyed it. I liked having a little creative outlet to look forward to after student teaching, and then I really started to like the fact that I had chronicled memories with stories, not just pictures. 

After I graduated college (that next summer), Joel and I moved in together in Chicago, and I had a ton of fun putting together my apartment, sharing it online for my friends that were moving into their first apartments across the county, and from there Tea Time with Tess just stuck.

Six years later, I have no intentions of letting this little corner go. Blogs are MUCH different than they were six years ago, but I try really hard not to get caught up in all of the hype. I don't know how to use Photoshop, and I don't really have a desire to rStyle outfits or get commission on a pair of shoes that I like, but I like meeting friends on here, I like looking back on where the years have taken us, and I like the inspiration it gives me for cooking, organizing, putting together nicer outfits, and trying to do new things. 

So that's why I started my blog, and that's why I keep blogging. There are things I keep off my blog, but overall, I think it's a pretty accurate representation of who I am and what I do (or what I want to do & be), and I hope that you enjoy checking out my little space every once and a while.