So, hi. This is us.
Just a little blog, a few opinions, and many feelings about throw pillows. Here’s a tiny bit about who we are and what we’re doing in the first place.
How this blog actually started
This is probably embarrassing for me, but I’ll tell it anyway. So for context, I was sitting on my kitchen floor (I promise there’s a good reason for this, but it’s a long story) with a cup of tea that had gone completely cold while I scrolled through a blog that I’d been following for like, three years. The blog post I was reading was titled \”10 Easy Ways to Refresh Your Bedroom\” and I have to admit, it was very pretty. The photos were great, and the author even had a Le Creuset situaiton that made me jealous.
While reading it, I imagined this woman has never really had a tough week. I know that’s unfair; I don’t know her. Maybe she did have a bad week. But the blog felt like it didn’t have room for that. Everything seemed fine, the sheets were always linen, and nobody ever, you know, had a little cry in their car.
I wish there were blogs where people would say, \”Yes, the sheets are from Target, and they’re great, actually.\” Blogs that give relationship advice that don’t sound like they just lifted them from some self-help book your aunt got in 2008. Blogs where people describe how to decorate a rental like an actual human who can’t paint the walls.
I think I started writing this, wow, about three years ago now? Probably? My memory is a little blurry. But the idea hasn’t changed over the years. I wanted to create a space that felt like a friend was talking to you. Not trying to sell you anything. Not curating some perfect life. Just sharing what she knows, what she is still figuring out, and the random good lipstick she found at Target. (I love Target. Not sponsored. Just being honest.)
Initially, Outside My Nest expanded at a glacial pace, primarily due to women sharing posts in their social circles, which is an incredible honor for any author. Then, we started inviting other women to join us in writing. Women who approach things differently than I do, care about different issues, and see things I don’t. Instantly, it made everything a hundred times better. So now there are a few of us. And we don’t always see eye to eye. (You should have seen our internal Slack channel about “are area rugs over a carpet okay” that got HEATED, you guys.) But all of us share this singular conviction: women deserve to have writing that is respectful to them.
This is essentially the entire story. A kitchen floor, cold tea, a blog, some friends. And here we are.
A few things we are, like, very serious about
We’re not going to pretend we have some massive manifesto. (Honestly, who has the time?) But there are three things we keep coming back to, every time we sit down to write something.
Real over Pretty
Pretty is great and we love pretty, but we will always choose an honest version of a story over a polished version. Always. We trust you to handle this, you’re a grown woman, you know.
Useful, Actually
If a post is going to be 1,800 words, it had better leave you with something. An idea, a feeling, a thing to try, a thing to stop doing. Otherwise, we just wasted both of our afternoons.
Soft, Not Saccharine
It’s possible to be warm with out being syrupy. We can be kind without being a doormat. We can be caring without being weird. There is a balance in there and we are always trying to reach it. Sometimes we miss it. Mostly we don’t.
The other women who make this place go
A handful of authors I trust completely. They’re smart, they’re hilarious, and frankly they make me seem like I know what I’m talking about. (I don’t, not usually. But they sort of assist.)
Margot Ellery
Margot writes most of the home posts, which is for the best, since she is the only one of us who has any taste. She has a small apartment that somehow gives off country house vibes, and she knows where to get good sheets.
Nadia Okonkwo
Nadia has ample experience writing about relationships and love. She’s married, divorced, and married again (to the same guy, with different problems, it’s a long story) she has the collective wisdom of four women. Also she has great book recommendations.
Rosalind Vega
Rosalind takes care of the soft, slow stuff. Routines, books, beauty, the quieter things. She used to be a yoga teacher and then a nurse, and now mostly is a writer. She has the calmest energy of anyone you will ever meet. Genuinely.
A few quick promises, since you’re here
We don’t want to create an entire editorial standards document because, to be honest, who reads those? There are a few things that we simply won’t do. So, to be clear, here it is.
Okay so if you made it this far, we kind of love you
If anything we said sounds appealing to you, you should definitely grab the newsletter. It goes out about the same time there’s something to say (no spam, no fluff, no schedule we don’t keep). You can leave anytime, no hard feelings.