Welcome to tangents and whims!

Hello! I'd like to use this first post as a sort of introduction, both to myself and to what I hope this space will become. Setting an intention, as it were.

So first, about me: My name is Heather. I am in my late 20s and currently live in Washington, DC, with my boyfriend and our two cats. I have a 9:00 to 5:30 type day job, but I spend most of my days dreaming of being either at home and creating or being in the mountains and wandering/wondering. I am a big fan of hot tea, Burt's Bees classic lip balm, washi tape, lambs, Andy Warhol, and peanut butter cookies.

Now, about the blog: I am very much a hobby generalist. Some people find one thing - embroidery, traveling, decorating cakes - and fall in love and run with it. I am not one of those people. Every time I tell myself I'm going to focus on one specific thing - crocheting, quilting, baking - I get bored thinking of the repetition. I'm usually very much a creature of habit, but the thought of spending every day redoing the same project is maddening. Most blogs about blogging will tell you that to be "successful," you have to pick a niche. You have to visualize a target audience and research their interests and cater very specifically to their needs. And maybe that's true. But some of my favorite blogs - A Cup of Jo, Elise Joy, A Beautiful Mess - keep their content broad and, to me, that's much more engaging. My life isn't only about crocheting scarves; I find it deeply satisfying to explore different media, to go outside and walk slowly down the sidewalk taking pictures of flowers, to listen to the Planet Money podcast. To me, blogging only about sewing or only about baking seems to be omitting so much more about life that I'd like to capture and remember. So, I say, let's just forget the current conventional wisdom about what makes a successful blog. Maybe it's selfish to not be focused on how to cater to an audience, but what I'd like to offer you is this: I am going to give myself permission to buck conventional wisdom, and I want to encourage you to do the same. By being (and I realize this word is completely overused, but I suspect it's for a good reason) authentic to my own interests, I hope you, the reader, will also feel emboldened to just do the project you've been dreaming of without worrying so much about how it might fit into some bigger "self-branding" story.

I'm sure I'll stumble and struggle with always blogging openly and consistently, but I'm looking forward to the challenge nonetheless. As long as I keep going, I think I'll be satisfied. I hope you'll join me.