Questions I Ask Myself When I'm In a Slump & The J. Crew Maxi

How is your week going, lovelies?  I'm hard charging the week with optimism, sprinkles of determination and faith that whatever I can't control is in good Hands! I was discouraged this weekend about the blog, my abilities and life in general. Tis sad, but perhaps necessary as a little dip into solemnity pushes me to reassess. I believe it can a good thing because like all humans, my priorities get out of alignment. My motivation is drawn from the wrong source, which leads to insecurity and I begin to look around at what others are doing, instead of working on my own God-given purposes.

So if my engagement goes down, followed by a dip in creativity because somehow that leads to thinking that I've nothing to offer the world, then I'm believing a lie. Simple as that.  There are options as this point. I can continue to believe the lie, complain that social media has unfair algorithms and quit, or I can reassess my "why" (vision leaks!), and focus forward. Here are questions I am currently quizzing myself with in regards to the blog, but I believe some of them can be applied to whatever your area may be!

• Why am I blogging?
• Who am I trying to reach, and how does Granola & Grace add to their day? 
• Am I trying to be like everyone else? 

Aka, am I checking other's posts to see how they do it or am I reading their post to find something to write about. (Of course we gain inspiration from each other, but there are times when I doubt what I'm about to share, so I hop over to see if other's are doing it that way. I know. Bad!) Maybe this is a good time to break away from the computer and go live life for a bit. Get outside, interact with my boys, etc.

• Am I staying true to my "why" or am I collaborating just to collaborate?
• Am I getting stuck in a pattern and need to dig deeper for fresh ideas? 
• Do I have a plan at all or am I just posting whatever? (Ok, I fall into this a lot!)
• When I plan, am I focusing too much on what I think others want to read? 

I find that, for me, this leads to writing posts that aren't what I'm about. I need to trust that what I have to offer will bless, interest, inspire, or apply to some readers out there!

Asking myself all of these questions, also helps me work out my "why". 

Alright, enough about that! Let's get to the fun outfit details?

Outfit Details

I found this striped maxi at Clothes Mentor with the tag on. Yay! It was $20, which is more than I like to pay at thrift stores, even if it's J.Crew but once I tried it on, I was in love. It's soft and lays perfectly, giving me shape while not hugging too close. My only complaint is that I had to pull it up a throughout the day, so next time I may try a chunky bralette with it.

Once again the heat persists, so I am keeping to open-toed booties for a fall "feel", all the while permitting the toes to breathe. These booties were an Altar'd state semi-annual clearance sale find. I recently learned that Tampa has one so i think I may be checking out their sale this year!! It would be worth the hour drive!!

Also pictured is my fringe vest from LOFT. I found this ages ago on their final sale rack. I sure do miss those days when I had the time to peruse the racks!

The bag was a gift from a few years back and the Ernesto de Barcelona jewelry set was scored from an IG style challenge back in January. I love the fall color and print on this bag from Target, and I love the chunky, natural style with bold, beautiful colors from Ernesto. Click here to view some of their latest pieces.

With all that being said, my only new closet addition is the J. Crew dress! I haven't much to link for you, but I found similar pieces on Shopstyle and am adding that to the bottom of the post!

What questions do you ask yourself when you're in a slump of sorts? And have you determined your "why"? And what do you think of this maxi?

Until next time! :)

Chrissy