5 Things I’m Taking into Summer
Maybe it’s the weather getting warmer in Dallas or my craving for a salad with strawberries, but I’ve got a good feeling about this summer! This summer is marked by a lot of new and exciting things for me and my husband. We will finally get to move into our house, the renovations will be complete, friends will have their babies, continuing to grow and create with What’s Em Style, and the celebration of one year of marriage!
As I was on my morning walk this morning, I started to scroll on pinterest for my moodboard for the summer. I posted some of these photos on TikTok as a visual to the energy I am hoping to carry into the summer. I felt so inspired to think through things I want to take into the summer - some of which are tangible items and others are skills I want to develop! Nevertheless, this summer will be one of growth!
Atomic Habits by James Clear lays out an idea that we should strive to become 2% better weekly. These are small deposits made over a period of time that after a year, you should look back and see 104% growth in yourself. I hope this inspires you to think of ways you want to improve this summer.
5 Things I’m Taking Into Summer 2025 ~
Summer Staples |
Summer is all about the simple things! The style staples of summer are necessary when you are on vacation with your family or make a spontaneous decision to go get ice cream with your friends. I feel like my style has evolved over the last year from “College Emily” to “Summer Camp Emily” to “Young Professional Emily.” In my journey to find my style, I went back to the basics, and this summer shall be no different.
When dressing during the summer, it should feel effortless… especially when you have your staples. My first staple to have in my closet this summer are dresses! I have declared this summer to be a dress summer! Functional, stylish, flowy, and easy. Some of my favorite dresses are from ASOS and Amazon! I have linked a couple on my wishlist on my Amazon Storefront. In the same vein of feeling effortless, I feel like a summer staple needs to be a throw-on-whenever pair of shoes. For me this year, I have decided those shoes will be my Birkenstock Boston clogs. Simple & easy… perfect for summer!
Lastly, I feel like it is important to have your summer go-to outfit for if you and your friends are going out to dinner, you and your spouse are going on a froyo date, or you have a game night! My go-to outfit this summer are my jean shorts and classic white tee. I feel like I feel the most myself in this outfit, and as a bonus– I can just throw on my clogs!
Summer Stripes |
While we’re on the topic of style… STRIPES! Stripes everywhere please!!!
The pattern for this summer… well year round for me… is stripes. I have been eyeballing some striped dresses on Amazon that I can’t wait to purchase! Additionally, I have loved incorporating more stripes into my home decor in our new house (more content to come on that soon)!
When we’re talking stripes, I’m talking about the quiet luxury stripes… you know the ones–the pin stripe, thin, classy ones. Stripes feel effortless and chic! They shouldn’t be too dramatic and loud, but quiet and gentle.
Summer Simplicity |
Next thing I am taking into summer is a clean and simple makeup routine! If you follow me on Tiktok, you have seen my makeup routine. I love my clean makeup products! This summer I want to lean more into simplifying it.
Currently, I am obsessed with Merit’s minimalist stick in dune, flush balm in cheeky, and bronzing balm in quince. Additionally, I love using Saie’s tinted moisturizer and glowy super gel – all of these products are linked in my storefront under “Summer Essentials”.
I feel like summer is also all about simple jewelry. I have always been a simple jewelry girl, and my go-to places to get jewelry are GLDN, enewton, and a small business called Shop Jenna Brooke.
Summer Sundays |
In the hustle & bustle of my everyday life here in Dallas, I feel like I have lost the art of resting and slowness with the Lord. This summer, my goal is to set aside my Sundays to intentionally rest with the Lord. I don’t just mean sleep in and go to the late service at church, but to truly take time to enjoy being in his presence. Psalm 16:11 has popped up a lot over the last couple of weeks reminding me that “In His presence, there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This is a truth I want to experience in more depth this summer.
Some practical and tangible ways I want to do this is to start memorizing scripture. I used to be more disciplined in this area, but I have lost some of my steam here. Additionally, I want to continue journaling my prayers and inviting God into all that I am dreaming, desiring, and thinking–he cares! Lastly, as I already mentioned, I want to prioritize and capitalize on Sundays being my day of sabbath and slowness with the Lord.
Summer Specialty |
Objectively, this is the thing I am most excited to take into the summer! I have never really been a hobby girl, but I am determined for this summer to be a hobby summer!!! Starting strong with this blog, I want to grow and develop this blog more this summer. I have always loved writing, but now I just have so many creative juices flowing, and I am eager to keep creating. Same goes for TikTok, I have loved having my TikTok as a creative outlet for me!
In the general theme of slowing down this summer, I want to read more. I received a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas last year, and I have so many books I am excited to read on it. I also want to get into embroidery. I love the classy look of a monogram on everything, and I am craving the art of learning a new skill. I’m thinking towels, wreath sashes, cocktail napkins, you name it!!!
The common theme in all of this is evident, I crave slowness and simplicity. This summer is all about that for me. Whether it's through learning hobbies that naturally create slowness or styling clothes that feel effortless, I am all about it for this summer. If you want to join me in this journey, follow me on TikTok, come back to this blog every Friday, and visit my Amazon Storefront for a list of all the essentials and staples I mentioned in today’s blog.
XO,
Em
As seen on Pinterest!
Making a Dream into a Reality
It all begins with an idea.
Hi there!
Thanks for stopping by! Welcome to What’s Em Style – my little corner of the internet to explore my more creative side. With what began as an idea, led to a dream, and is now launching into a reality. I am overjoyed at the opportunity to write and express, in words, all the things I love.
This blog is for the girl who enjoys the finer things in life, who relishes in the Nancy Myers aesthetic, who could spend hours scrolling on Pinterest, who finds joy in taking care of her body, and who finds life in Jesus.
Ever since I was a little girl, I enjoyed writing. I would write short stories for my parents in elementary school. I wrote personal narratives, poems, and short stories in high school (I even won some awards - my claim to fame). In 2020, when the world shut down, I took to the internet to write on a different blog than this one, another blog named Grace Abounds to encourage others in a time where there was so much uncertainty and fear. I stopped writing in college out of a lack of time, not desire. Recently, the desire has been stirred more as I have been seeking to find an outlet to be creative as a young adult, newly married, trying to navigate post-grad… how hard could that be? Well, as I continued to crave creativity, I began to dream about writing for a personal blog again, and this is how I turned my dream into a reality! And you can too!
Here are 5 practical ways I made this dream a reality:
01. Capture the dream
Start big or start small, but just start! I began dreaming of What’s Em Style during a season of immense stress and drain in my life. A friend pointed out a craving for slowness and creativity in my life that I hadn’t yet recognized. Upon this revelation, I sat down to journal out my thoughts, prayers, and desires.
I am a visual person, so I began to draw out my thoughts with circles and arrows and squiggly lines. I noticed patterns in my time of journaling all pointing to a creative platform to express my thoughts about topics that I love. Thus, the idea of What’s Em Style was born.
What was once started as a silly Instagram page for posting my neutral outfits, became a place to post content that I found joy in as a creative outlet, which is not developing into a dream of having a space to write about topics that I love!
02. Cast a vision, direction, and goal
There are a lot of things I could say here. When I started dreaming, I had many squirrly thoughts about what I could do, where I could go, how would this work, etc. I could see the potential, but not the direction. I went back to my journal, to my prayers and to my dreaming thoughts to develop a vision and goals for What’s Em Style.
I knew I wanted this blog to mean something to people. I thought to myself, “what do I enjoy reading?” and “what content do I enjoy seeing?” These questions bred my direction and vision for this platform. Think of it like a cupcake. I wanted to create a space for people to read simple blog entries that would be sweet and rich simultaneously. Rather than choosing a niche to write about, I am choosing to write for myself on topics I love. This would be the base of the cupcake. My personal life and faith would be the sprinkles on top. My ultimate goal in all of this is to use a gift that I have, writing, to communicate to others my joy for life, homemaking, design, health, and style.
03. Consider those who have gone before you
Naturally, I didn’t even know where to begin… I mean I kind of did, but not on the scale that I was dreaming of. So, I went to Pinterest (as one does) to seek out advice from those who have gone before me in creating a digital media platform. What I found was more than just the “how to’s” of starting a blog, but the heart behind why you would start it. Sure, it’s nice to have the best website and growing platforms, but that means nothing if your heart isn’t in it fully.
I read so many blog posts on starting a blog, developing a brand, what to do & what not to do, how to invest your time to promote growth etc. Purposeful Dreamers, Taylor Stanford, & PHMillenia were only a few who inspired me to take the next few steps in making my dream into a reality.
04. Create a platform
Now it’s time to get practical. I had the dream, the research, and the direction I wanted to go with What’s Em Style, and it was time to bring it all together. When creating this blog, I looked into multiple different blogging platforms, what they offered, and ultimately, I decided to use SquareSpace as my platform.
As I developed the website, I also wanted to consider the brand I was creating as well. I considered what colors to use, the fonts I would stick with, and the style of the website. I wanted to make sure every detail was streamlined across every platform. What I mean by this is that I wanted my blog to match my Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, etc. I used Canva to streamline all of these platforms to create my branding for What’s Em Style.
I found a lot of joy in this part of the process because I was able to see all of the pieces coming together… finally! I loved playing around with blues and greens to find the shades I was looking for. I cared deeply about which fonts I used to communicate the feminism, sophistication, authenticity, and approachability of this space for all readers alike. I learned that there can be a lot that is communicated in the colors, fonts, wording, and images I chose to use on this blog. Every decision and detail was intentionally made to create a platform I am proud of & eager to share!
05. Cultivate your reality
Post. Publish. Promote. This is the final step in making this dream a reality. Its as simple as just doing what you set out to do. What this looks like for me is simply writing. Planning blog posts. Creating matching Instagram main grid posts and stories. Publishing to Pinterest. All the above to cultivate this reality!
I hope this blog meets you where you’re at everytime you visit this page. Whether in your drought of life or your wellspring of creativity and wellness. Let’s be friends and take on this dream together!
XO,
Em