Let’s Catch Up, Vol.3 (*the BIG LIFE NEWS special)

~ Outfit Details: RUFFLE Shorts ~ Tank ~ Hat ~ Earrings c/o Baublebar for Target

Preface: if you are new here…welcome! This blog is usually a space where I share inspiring Empowering Women stories, adventures in travel and life, as well as style guides, shopping guides, and fun looks. However, since I LOVE cultivating relationships with you all and that’s what really keeps me going in this blogging journey, I started doing these little “Let’s Catch Up” features! Friends catch up with friends (ok, admittedly I could be better in this area with my real long distance friends…but I’m working on it)! Please reach out if you haven’t already, and thanks for stopping by! I’m SO glad you’re here! xoxoxoxoxo 

~ This time last year, I was still living in Milan. I was gearing up for graduating from my Masters program and any time one of my friends brought up the future…their flights home…or anything with the word “last,” I just about lost it. I should have been so excited about the future…so excited to what adventures lie ahead, but I was just too heartbroken over leaving a city that had become my home and leaving the incredible friends that I had made. It wasn’t a bittersweet life change…it felt like a wave of sadness and heartbreak (*omg I know this is the saddest intro of any blog post I’ve ever written…but this couldn’t be any truer!)

Isn’t it crazy how much can change in ONE year?

I never expected to find such amazing freelance clients and find a certain independence and growth of confidence in the work I was doing! I learned so many valuable life lessons this year, but most importantly,  I learned that each one of us possesses a certain amount of resilience, and if we can learn to harness it and strengthen it, than we can “sail through the changing ocean tides” with ease. Of course this year has brought ups and downs, but it’s certainly brought more positive unexpected moments than I could have imagined.

Which brings me to the BIG LIFE NEWS: In just a few weeks, I will be moving to Columbus, OH! I’ve accepted the role of Senior Stylist at Justice (under Ascena brands) and couldn’t be more joyful or more excited! So many friends have told me “you’ll know when you’ve found the right thing” throughout this year, and truly, this has felt so “meant to be” and so perfect since day one of the interview process.

Their team is wonderful and I feel so privileged to be a part of it and to be a part of the work they are doing to empower and inspire tweens! Those who know me know how I have such a heart for middle schoolers (*one of the greatest joys I had while living in CT was volunteering with the middle school students at FOCUS!) and to me, this role is a combination of so many things that bring me happiness and make my heart whole: empowering girls, working with middle schoolers, and STYLING (of course)! Oh…and did I mention that there’s also a lot of color, glitter, sequins, and amazing products?! And so YES, it looks like this has all the makings of a dream job for me!

There will be a lot of travel involved (to LA and NYC for shoots), though home base will be in Columbus. Of course, it’s a little terrifying to move to a city that isn’t on the east coast (IHYC, Martha’s Vineyard, Baltimore, Avalon, and Stratton are no longer options for weekend trips…), however, I am sure that there will be new special places found as well as new friends made. I guess if I can make a community of friends from different groups in Milan, than I can do it anywhere, right?! However…if you have any contacts in Columbus or friends of friends, I would so appreciate being connected with them!

The ONLY sadness I feel (besides leaving my incredible friends and family) is leaving the wonderful clients I have now, especially my HBC family. I really think these are friends I will keep for life. It’s pretty rare to absolutely LOVE a team so big…I mean really and truly love every single person (and often times, we work one-on-one all day long!)…and this is a team full of GEMS. They have been my biggest cheerleaders and seem to also somehow all have a future in stand up comedy (I’m not sure I laugh anywhere as much as I do with them)! I really wish I could bring them all to Columbus with me. They have made me a better stylist and a better person and I’m definitely shedding tears on my last day.

SO tomorrow my mom and I are road tripping to Columbus to see apartments in person. It will be my second trip there (and I was surprised how much I immediately loved it on my visit a couple weeks ago)! I have less than 3 weeks until I move (oh. my. goodness. gracious.) and so much to sort out!

You might be wondering “what will happen to the blog?” Well, there is a lot I want to do with this blog..STILL. I’ve been on the cusp of a re-branding for a few months, figuring out how this space can best serve you all! It will definitely changing, but it’s certainly not going anywhere! Blogging is my “passion project”….it keeps my busy mind WORKING and GROWING and LEARNING and feeds that little entrepreneurial fire I’ve always had. I’ll be back to my “blogger by night” routine, and will be getting creative about scheduling posts ahead of time. Work is always the #1 priority! But this blog has a big piece of my heart too, and it’s not about to get thrown away any time soon! Here’s what will be coming down the line in the blog future: more style guides, more wellness, more interior design, more EMPOWERING WOMEN features (since those have always been my favorite!), and a continuation of transparency and honesty, as has always been my policy.

Thank you ALL for continuing to follow along with this journey! Each of you reading and following along on social media means the whole world to me (especially now that there are MANY more bloggers to follow along with than when this was first launched)! Each of your comments and DMs seriously make my day everyday….knowing that this is somehow helpful and joyful for you makes it easy for me to continue pouring my heart and work into this space!

Gratefully with love,

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Rhiana

P.S.

As for the hat! Here’s the biggest thing I’ve learned about Columbus (other than that Jeni’s ice cream is basically LIFE)….I have NO CHOICE but to get down with the OSU Buckeyes if I want to make friends and have a social life in Columbus. PUT ME IN COACH. Already Pinned the football season appetizers. LET’S DO THIS. I am now a Buckeye! Good thing Washington College didn’t have a football team! SAD that their colors are Lawrenceville colors (*for those of you unaware of this reference…my boarding school, Hill, and Lawrenceville, have one of the longest standing high school rivalries in the US…so I basically own nothing with the red/black/gray combo).