Just in case you’re new around here, let me introduce myself and tell you my story.
You probably already know my name, thanks to my handy little blurb on every page of the blog. It’s Kristan with an “a”, not an “e” or “i”. I like to tell people the “a” is for amazing, because my story of the things I have been through in my short 28 years of life would amaze you.
I was grown in the Midwest between the cornfields in Indiana. I spent a few short months on the east coast in Virginia, but despite my desire to leave the Midwest behind, I found myself homesick and came back. It’s true what they say; there really is no place like home.
Although I was in love with the nature in Bloomington and the city life of Indianapolis, I found myself settling down in my hometown of Terre Haute. Most people only know about it because of the movie A Christmas Story. If you’re one of those people, I get it. Terre Haute is nothing special. But it’s home.
A little bit about my life…
My husband and I recently purchased our first home where we live with our daughter, son, and our cat. Sebastian and I were high school sweethearts and ended things when I moved across the country for school, but we reconnected nearly eight years later. It’s a better love story than anything Nicholas Sparks could write, believe me.
Elsie will be three this year, and her little brother Teagan is a newborn; Percy just turned eight. You’ll probably hear me talk a lot about Elsie and Teagan. After all, my little ones are a huge part of my life! Although Elsie’s dad and I are not together, we remain good friends. Peaceful co-parenting is something I highly encourage, so you’ll likely hear that come up in some of my posts too.
My story begins when I started blogging back in the good ol’ days of Xanga and MySpace.
I’m talking circa 2008. I gave up on Xanga pretty quickly, but MySpace was my creative outlet throughout high school. I really dove into learning some coding basics (of course, ten years later I can only remember the super simple stuff) and I made my page look awesome. Well, awesome for a 15-year-old. Obviously MySpace began to die out around 2010, when Facebook took over the market and became the place to be. So my MySpace “blogging” turned into Facebook Notes, which in 2011 evolved into a Blogspot/Blogger page.
Blogging is just a side hustle for now. I normally sit behind a desk during the day, working in accounting Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. It pays the bills, so I can’t really complain. I’d like to eventually be generating enough income from blogging to quit my day job (you know, basically every blogger’s dream lol) or find a job working in a more creative field, such as online media.
I stuck with the free platforms for about five years, eventually switching over to a WordPress hosted site. Back then I didn’t think of blogging as a way to make money or to market myself as a writer. I just saw it as a way to publicly journal about my life. In 2016, I decided I was ready to put on my big girl pants and purchase my own domain.
So I started my first official website, Kristangible.
Looking back, I probably should have put more thought into my name. Most people read it and think my last name is Gible. (Spoiler alert, it’s Buck.) That blog was and still is a bit of a shitshow. Honestly, I didn’t have any clue what I was doing and wasn’t posting anything relevant to my audience. Hell, I didn’t even know who my target audience was! I’ve cleared most of my personal posts off of that site, and now it serves as a source of income by publishing posts for a copywriting company. In short terms, I don’t write any of the new content on there.
In 2018, I began to feel displeasure with my first website. I knew it didn’t turn into what I wanted, and I hated the name. So I started to brainstorm and low and behold, I came up with the name Belles & Bucks.
Initially, Belles & Bucks was meant to be a product based business.
I wanted to make and sell handcrafted products – which I have sold a few items since launching in October 2018. But overall, I really missed having a true outlet for journaling about my life. Because of that, I have been reworking a lot of the material on this site for the past couple of months.
Which brings us to now.
My story is long and convoluted. There are so many twists and turns that I’m surprised anyone really wants to keep up with me anymore. Then again, I think that’s what makes my life so interesting to read about. I have been through many dark times and painful experiences. I have felt things that no person this young should feel. But I have fought countless battles to stand where I am today, and I am thankful for every single one of them.
If you’re ready to get to know more of my story – of me – subscribe to my email list. Follow me on social media. Read the blog.
I’ve been through enough hardship in 26 years to last an entire lifetime. And I want to share those experiences with you. Maybe you’re going through similar hardships, or maybe you’re just going through the normal transitions of adulthood and womanhood. Whatever journey you are on, let me walk with you.