We talk about a lot of different topics at Apartment 34. Even though I started this site to chronicle a home renovation (that never even happened!), in eight years its turned into so much more. Fashion, food, travel, decor, life in San Francisco – really anything’s on the table.
But I’m the first to admit that over the last eight years the heart of blogging has changed. A lot of blogging has become a little vanilla. It’s easy to simply focus on all the pretty. Everything is wonderful, fabulous, gorgeous! We love everything!!
While I feel confident we always speak from our hearts at Apartment 34, we don’t always share everything that’s in there. There are some strong opinions, some serious sass and in some cases, doubts, fears and struggles that I”m the first to admit haven’t graced the site in quite some time. I’d been struggling with this for a while so I was delighted to learn that blogger extraordinaire and my dear friend Jeanne of Shop Sweet Things had been having similar thoughts! While blogs have remained a great resource for shopping, design inspiration and fashion ideas we both felt we were craving something…more. I recently read an article on IFB that said if you’re not taking a risk then you’re not being truly authentic with your blog. So today we’re introducing you to our risk – we’re calling it The Kind of Woman.
what I’m wearing: Podolls Overlay blouse // 7 for all Mankind jeans // Coléoptère rings & necklace
This will be a monthly column where Jeanne and I partner to tackle tougher subjects surrounding modern womanhood; relationships, careers, family, finance, health…any and everything that a modern woman faces in her daily life will be on the table. Each month, we’ll both share our experiences and as well as a photo shoot with talents that we feel really align with our vision for this series.
For example, for our inaugural shoot we partnered with two lovely designers and savvy business women whose work we greatly admire: The Podolls & Coléoptère. Not only are both of their designs stunning, both lines’ concepts and craftsmanship are impeccable. We consider both Lauren and Vanessa the Kind of Woman!
So who is The Kind of Woman? In our minds she’s all of the following:
> Confident with her choices
> Not afraid to push the boundaries
> Cultured and open-minded
> Willing to accept her weaknesses and use them to make her a better person
> Understated with elegance
> Embraces her femininity and her strength
> Doesn’t let others define her
> Able {and willing!} to have an honest conversation
We see this series as a chance to cultivate and nurture these qualities both in ourselves but possibly in you too. We’re hopeful these thoughts will resonate with like-minded women who, like us, are juggling so many things but who seek a bit deeper meaning even in the middle of a day’s frivolities and strive to maintain a mindful approach to life.
I’m thrilled Jeanne asked me to join her in this series because she’s someone I’ve admired since the day we met. Her calm and methodical approach to her life (along with her impeccable taste!) made us fast friends. I also see her as someone I can learn so much from. I appreciate her pushing me to address some of the thoughts I’ve been struggling with head on. I hope this series might inspire you to do the same.
For now, be sure to check out why Jeanne decided to take us on this new adventure – and be awwed by her stunning portrait HERE. I love it when someone proves to be just as beautiful on the inside as they are outwardly.
I’m curious – what do you see as modern womanhood? What challenges do you regularly face? Are there nagging worries that bother you? Struggles that seem insurmountable? We want to make this a conversation that you enjoy, find meaningful and truly helpful!
For now, be sure to follow our Instagram accounts @shopsweetthings and @apartment_34 and #thekindofwoman for next month’s sneak peeks!
We’re excited to go on this journey together.
photography by Ashley Batz
I’m looking forward to #thekindofwoman monthly dialogue. If you aren’t taking a risk, with or without a blog, you aren’t being authentic. I’ve been working on this myself this year. Opening myself up to life and allowing myself to be vulnerable. It isn’t easy for a control freak like myself but I’ve slowly been making strides.
We’re so glad you’re excited, Isabel! With the new series we hope to inspire others to take risks and live fully, with the support of each other!
Very excited about this you two!! Can’t wait to see this take shape and grow. One of the things that I see shaping modern womanhood is that we are *finally* beginning to define womanhood in a broad way, where love and passions can be followed and words like ‘feminine’ can be broadly defined to mean anything from powerful to romantic, sweet to strong.
I found myself nodding along to EVERYTHING you just said. I’ve been feeling this void in blog world myself. As much as I love the pretty, there’s more to me than that! I swear! I can’t wait for this series – it’s going to be great!
Thrilled to see this series! This is a topic I personally think about a lot as someone who works at the crossroads of fashion and tech, where being a modern woman is not always easy. And my friends and I often talk about the idea of embracing femininity while being a strong person, especially a person in leadership. THANK YOU for opening this conversation!
Thanks for your support! It’s a conversation we think women shouldn’t be afraid of, but rather embrace.
I like it. I’m excited to hear more.
I’ll be 30 in January and I have no idea about womanhood and what my life is all about. Somedays I feel so young and others I feel like like “where did my youth go?!”
Cool idea! Interested to see what topics you all come up with to discuss, and the perspective you share in those discussions.
This sounds fascinating….love the photos you have used too. I look forward to following along 🙂
HEAR! HEAR!
this should be interesting. i cannot wait. to me, since becoming a mom (a working one , that is) there’s only one question/challenge : can we have it all? raise the child well, provide for the care and affection you family needs, a nice, clean, well pulled together – design i mean, house, great back yard parties, rewarding job , exercise, hair dresser, nails…and the energy to pull all this of.
Hey Erin,
Glad I popped into to see what’s new. This series will be hugely popular, and one that I will personally be sure to follow. Hope to see you again soon!
Great topic! I can’t wait to see what you ladies have in store. I love the pretty, and blog about that, too, but I also block about having a career and working and building all that goes along with that.
It’s great to see this area being focused on- there’s so much substance that we can share with one another! We’re so much stronger when we can share out experiences and talk about these subjects. 🙂
I want to thank you and give you a blog hug for this new series! I’m a long time reader of several major blogs and they’ve just made me so miserable the past few months/years. There’s a lack of authenticity and personality that’s so off-putting. To be honest, I stopped reading your blog about a year ago, but in the past few weeks I’ve come back to being a casual reader. This new series really has me thinking it’s time to read daily again.
P.s. I love your look in this shoot!
Erin, hooray – and congratulations! I can’t wait to read along! The title “The kind of woman” reminds me of one of my favorite Diane Von Furstenburg quotes –
“I wanted to be a certain kind of woman. I became that kind of woman.”
I also wanted to note I love the head-on shot of you. While I can imagine all the other shots you had to pick from, I think that one says a lot. There’s something in your face- I think it’s a strength, and a vulnerability, that’s perfect for this moment.
i really look forward to this. people need to be authentic! that is how we connect.
This seems to come at such a great time for me. I am battling with some sort of ‘quarter-life-crisis’ at 32 years old. I recently started a new job, I’m transitioning apartments, learning about what it means to be in a serious/loving relationship and it all seems so overwhelming at times. As women, we put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect and we often don’t share our struggles! I can’t wait for this series and to connect with women going through the same daily self-doubts!
Very much looking forward to this series! I have to agree with Alexandra’s comment above. I’m 29, working a full-time job in automotive marketing, launching my own interior design business on the side, caring for a lovely home, maintaining a healthy relationship with my husband/family and friends all while 6 months pregnant! I have so much on my mind this summer – how to maintain my relationships once baby arrives, how to maintain two jobs, how to juggle being a parent while still taking care of myself and my interests (hair, gym, nails, clothes, home trends)…and still be able to financially save for our future (travel, children’s college, retirement). It can be overwhelming.
I am very much looking forward to reading this series. Although I am considerably older than the majority of your readers , I believe being ” The kind of woman” can be any a woman at any age. Always learning, always being open .. Thanks