Blogger Profile: Cee of To Brighten My Day

I first discovered Cee of To Brighten My Day while reading PFC challenge entries and I remember being absolutely amazed by her styling and layering prowess.  Not only is she a master mixer and matcher, (check out below), she is also incredibly kind, helpful and sweet.  I am so happy to present her profile here and learn more about one of my favorite bloggers.  :)

Her beautiful wedding post

About You:
Tell us 5 random things about yourself:

1) I don't know how to change a tire. Every time the tire pressure indicator lights up, I freak out and rush to the nearest gas station to pump in more air. I know, it's not like that'd be of any help if I had a real flat.

2) I know DC by their metro stops. Oh, it's near F St. and 11th. *blank stare* You know, near Metro Center. Well, why didn't you just say so?

3) I sleep like the dead, anywhere, anytime (unless I've had too much caffeine). My first year college roommate likes to talk about the times she'd come into the room, turning on lights, talking to her friends, then realizing that I've slept like a baby through it all.

4) I managed to snag the coveted full_name with no random characters attached for my personal email. Sadly, I can't say the same for my Facebook ID.

5) I don't think I have a noticeable accent, but for some reason I have trouble pronouncing series. The word comes out sounding like SEE-WEES. And it's even worse when I try to say, sequences and series (any math nerds here?)

• Aside from blogging, what are your hobbies? 

Through blogging I've come to appreciate and enjoy photography. Like with most things, there are initial hurdles to overcome, but the more I'm learning and (hopefully) improving, the more I find myself really liking it. I'm also an avid TV watcher. My current guilty pleasure is Big Brother. Every summer, DH and I spend three hours a week glued to the TV watching the houseguests' next move. We're going through withdrawal from this latest season (Dan was robbed!), so to tide us over until next summer, we're watching reruns from Seasons 2 and All Stars.

• What are you looking forward to in the next year? 

Possibly starting to think about having a family? I would have to do a lot of growing up first though ;)

One of her amazing 30 for 30 posts

Your Blog:

• What inspired you to blog?

Back in high school I taught myself the ins and outs of building websites from scratch. I really enjoyed both the designing and coding aspects, so much so that I kept it up throughout college. I made some money along the way and even maintained a personal website (full of gasp sans sunglasses headshots) for a few years. I stopped doing both post-graduation due to lack of time and found myself missing my creative outlet. I decided to give it another go but with a few changes. I turned to Blogger as a platform because I haven't kept up with the continually evolving world of programming languages. Another, I value my privacy much more now, so that includes sharing limited information and photos.

• Where did your blog name come from?

At the time, I was going through an emo phase and needed some cheering up. I also wanted a generic enough name that could work with any topic I wanted to blog about. Brighten my day was already taken, so I resorted to adding a to in front. If I were to start over, I would've started blogging for a bit first before even attempting the name. That way, at least the name would be in line with the content instead of a random phrase.

One of my favorite posts - lace dress remixes 

• What is your favorite part of blogging?

Hands down, it has to be the friendships with both bloggers and readers. I've met so many interesting people over time and value every one of them.

• What is the most surprising thing you've encountered while blogging? 

There isn't one specific encounter per se, but through various interactions, I've come to learn a lot about myself. Things like ability (or lack thereof) to handle criticisms, or treating people the way I want to be treated. If I had known I'd be doing this much self-reflecting as a result of blogging, I'd have started much sooner.

• How has your blog changed from day 1 to now?

For the most part, not much has changed. I still have trouble coming up with topics to write about, but do try to give my best effort. I still enjoy sharing outfit photos and have slowly progressed from indoor/poor lighting/shy photos to ignoring strangers' looks when it's me and my tripod outside. Blogging is (and hopefully will continue to be) a fun hobby. When it's no longer fun, that'll be my cue to stop.

That original PFC post that left me awe-struck

Your Style:

• What is currently on your wishlist? Would any items change if you won the lottery?

I've checked off a good number of items from my wishlist this year. Some I've been wanting for awhile (riding boots) and some were more spur-of-the-moment (small crossbody bag). I'm still on the lookout for the perfect tweed jacket. If I won the lottery, I'd reach for the moon and buy a Chanel. Realistically, I'm coveting the blue Uniqueen Malang jacket as seen on Khatu/Jean/Wendy. I'm still kicking myself for passing it up to explore other options back when it was still available.

• What are your top 5 wardrobe staples for fall? 

Jeans, tall boots, scarves, lightweight jacket, and crossbody bag.

• What are your favorite purchases this year?

A striped maxi dress. I've stayed away from long dresses for so long because tripping over my own two feet is just embarrassing. Besides being uber comfortable, maxi dresses do make a person look taller. And who doesn't want that, right?

• And a random one - what was your style as a teenager? How (if applicable) has it changed today?

Can unkempt be considered a style? I wore mostly tshirts/sweatshirts with jeans back then and still do so today. I do try to accessorize more now and switch up running shoes to something more fashionable. I like to keep things simple and casual, so the overall feel hasn't changed.

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Even Baby E gets inspiration from Cee

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did :)  Stay tuned for more profiles and thanks for reading!