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Just Jo-Lynne Shane

As trite as it may be, there is indeed no place like home. I landed in here at 1am last night. Everything went beautifully with our flights yesterday (praise the Lord!!) and I took this one last photo of Costa Rica out of my airplane window. I adore how wild and untouched the countryside is.

Costa Rica countryside

I had a great conversation with two trusted blogger/friends in the airport at our layover. It was a conversation that sort of wrapped up all of the conversations we had over the 5 days we were there.

I’ve come home with a renewed commitment to produce quality content over quantity here on the blog and across all my social media networks, to write for myself first and my reader second and everyone else last, to say no more and be more selective about the partnerships I commit to, and my biggest decision… one I’ve been working towards for some time

I am ready to cut bait and drop Musings of a Housewife.

For a few years, I’ve been considering rebranding. I feel that my blog has grown beyond that title, and when people ask me the name of my blog and I tell them, I always find myself cowering just a bit. It sounds dated to me, and I feel that it doesn’t define what I do here anymore. I am not ashamed of being a housewife, I believe homemaking and motherhood is a high calling, but this site is more than that. Ultimately it is me, Jo-Lynne Shane, a woman striving to live my best life wherever my interests and passions take me, sharing my journey, and hopefully empowering you to do the same.

The problem is, I haven’t been able to come up with a blog title that I like better. Last night over burgers and red wine in the Atlanta airport Alison, Sarah and I hashed out possibilities. We thought of things like Just Jo-Lynne or Jo-Lynne Says or even Jo-Lynne’s Musings or Musings of Jo-Lynne (just to keep some part of my original branding in there) but everything we came up with felt too cutesy or trite.

This always happens when I try to brainstorm a new name. Nothing seems to fit.

Finally Sarah looked me in the eye and said, “I wouldn’t say this to anyone else, but I really think you need to be Jo-Lynne Shane. That’s it.”

And honestly? That just feels right. And sometimes, you’ve gotta go with your gut.

This will not be a huge rebrand. This will be a subtle shift. I already own jolynnedev.wpenginepowered.com, and the last time I had my logo redone, I intentionally made Jo-Lynne Shane bigger and Musings of a Housewife smaller. I knew I was slowly phasing out Musings of a Housewife, and I wanted to be ready when it was time.

It is time. 

I reached out to my talented blog designer to see how quickly she can make the adjustment to my logo, and I can’t wait to see what she comes back with. I’m excited about this. It feels right.

In other news, my head is STILL swimmy. It started the afternoon of our catamaran excursion in Costa Rica, and I thought it was just residual sea-sickness, but it continued into the next day. At that point, I thought maybe it was due to the extra sugar and gluten I’d been consuming. Now that I’m home, I’m hoping I can get it out of my system and feel better, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m starting to worry a bit. I hope it goes away after I get back to my normal eating and sleeping habits.

This morning I enjoyed my morning coffee on my front porch with the cool fall breeze and my glorious mums. As incredible as Costa Rica is, nothing compares to the familiar comfort of home.

coffee and mums

In fact, I do believe home may be the most beautiful word in the whole world.

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24 Responses

  1. I’m so proud of your decision and how quickly you are moving forward. “Just” JoLynne Shane is all you need sister! Hugs from Chicago as I try to get my system back in order too today.

    PS – Did you know it’s National Coffee Day? 🙂

  2. This is very timely for me, as I’ve been working behind the scenes on a re-brand of my own. It’s taking a bit of time and effort but I know it’s the right thing. Good luck, friend!

  3. I have been going through the same shift. I have had two blogs prior to auramae.com and I outgrew the title of each. I decided that no matter what my focus may be at the moment, I am always myself and that’s the brand standard I want to carry.

  4. Wow. I am jealous. You are able to make all these changes to your blog, and you will probably make it look super easy. Good luck with your changes, not that you will need it! I considered re-branding too, but I decided that I love what I have, and will work on promoting that!

    1. No reason to be jealous!!! As I told you, I love your blog title and your brand. I think it suits what you are doing perfectly. But if you want to rebrand, DO IT!! Don’t live with a brand you’re not happy with b/c you won’t be passionate about writing for it.

      This should be easy bc I won’t be redesigning. PHEW! 🙂 BUt I keep thinking of things I will have to change…. it’s more than I initially thought about. I’m still ready.

      1. LOL Jo-Lynne. I no longer have the desire to rebrand. I want to build my brand because it is who I am! I don’t want to be anyone other than me, and that includes blogging.

        And I know you will be able to handle it all in-stride, too. A few late nights or maybe a couple extra cups of coffee, but you will handle it.

        Can’t wait to see what is in store!

  5. It’s interesting that you are having this shift. Just this weekend, as I read your last blog post from your trip, I was thinking of your title and how you have grown beyond musings. You have accomplished so much and been such an inspiration for all of us.

    Wishing you well,
    Jenn

  6. Aw, I’m a little sad about the rebrand. I always thought “Musings of a Housewife” was tongue in cheek! I guess I always misinterpreted it! I always read it as if you were doing a top notch blog and then very coyly suggesting that it was just ‘musings of a housewife’. I thought it was a subtle little dig at a world that doesn’t value home and moemaking very much.

    Hmmm…well, if you aren’t using it anymore…can i have it? 😉

    1. Oh my goodness, I would ever want to devalue homemaking. Guess that’s another good reason to ditch it! And no, it is not for sale. 🙂 It will still forward to my blog so people can find me. 🙂

  7. Love the new name idea and the rebranding ideas. 🙂 As for feeling ‘swimmy’, I had a similar experience after my trip to Maui. I took Dramamine during a boat ride and it had some lasting effects for a few days. Hope you feel better soon, and welcome back home!

  8. I think your new blog name is perfect! And I love the fact that you are going to be writing for yourself first, your reader second and everyone else last. I’ve really enjoyed reading all of your coffee talk posts. Looking forward to seeing your new design!

  9. Bravo for you! I think the rebrand will be great. Also — I went on a catamaran for the first time on Sat., and I also was seasick — unusual for me. I think the catamaran produces this more than other mono-hull boats. Anyway, just a thought.

  10. I made this same transition pretty early on. I found myself sheepishly saying my blog name to people and I didn’t want to feel weird about it. When there is so much more going on, it makes more sense to make yourself the “brand” because that is what you are giving people – you 🙂

  11. It’s interesting reading the comments and hearing other people say you do more here than just musing. My thought when I read this post (that had never occurred to me before) was that you probably do too much work for me to think of you as a housewife, lol. I think in my head a work at home mom which I’d consider you is a different category than a housewife. Maybe it’s just that I was reading pre-coffee this morning, because I’ve always liked Musings of a Housewife when you’ve talked about rebranding before. I’m glad you’re choosing your name and not something else; I agree nothing else you’ve mentioned seemed to fit.

    1. Yes, I definitely consider myself a work at home mom these days. It’s a fine line when my business includes writing my personal thoughts and feelings and striking up friendships with strangers around the world, lol. But in addition to that, I’m committed to providing a resource for women who are looking for healthy recipes and meal plans, advice on fashion trends and sales and deals, and recommendations for travel destinations… plus the brand partnerships that have resulted from it. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I’m a working mom, and I really like it that way! It’s a bonus that I get to do it all from home and have the flexibility to make my own hours. 🙂

  12. Can’t wait to see your new name appear up there! ^^^ It’s been a long time since Musings of a Housewife really fit your blog. Maybe you should just name it MORE Than Musings of A Housewife!

  13. I think it’s a good decision. Your blog is much different than when you began. I know they say not to have your name in your url and then your title different (I do) but someday I might decide to go to Cyndi Spivey and then I’ll be ready. 🙂
    Blessings and glad your home safe and sound,
    Cyndi

  14. Argh! I hate my blog name, too. Like you said, too cutesey; too trite. I haven’t made the leap yet, but maybe you’ll pave the way and give me the push I need to make that change. (Of course, I don’t have the name recognition that you do.)

    So glad you had a good trip!

    1. It would be a natural transition for you too since you use Wild in your name… just have someone do a new logo, same colors to keep the branding, and have it say Shelly Wildman and in small font below, at Life On The Wild Side – and then drop that part in a few months or a year.

      I have decided that my logo can stay the same for a while since my name is already far more prominent than Musings of a Housewife. The first order of business is to get jolynnedev.wpenginepowered.com to be my home address and get my bios and stuff changed everywhere.

      Think about it. You are a true writer. I think you should write under your name. 🙂

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