hey there! for those of you who i do not know personally, allow me to introduce myself.  my name is kristin tappan but those closest to me call me one of a trillion nicknames they have created for me – the one that has always stuck is k.tap.

i am a 28 year old, sarcastic, well educated, los angeles based, plus-sized black woman who was finding that there were not too many blogs out there that not only represent women like me but offer a unique perspective on the topics i care most about.  that brings me to two important questions you would likely want the answers to:

why am i starting a blog now?

i met with my friend (since elementary school) hayley back in 2015 to discuss starting a blog.  she had an awesome blog (i would now classify it as extraordinary – you can find her blog here) and i wanted to know not only how she had grown such a following (that was truly authentic) but what kind of time and energy she was putting in behind the scenes.  hayley was incredibly candid and let me know that it was like having another job if it is something i was going to be serious about.  i do not halfway commit to anything.  at the time, i was in the middle of a graduate program to get my masters in counseling psychology and working multiple jobs (to both pay the bills and be able to afford the amount of concert tickets i like to buy).  i knew i could not produce a shit product just for the sake of having a blog.  as i often tell my clients, patience is a virtue.  i also talk to them about only getting out of something what you put into it.  i knew i needed to wait not only until i wrapped up my program, but until i was settled back in la (did both undergrad and grad school in the bay area).  now that i have been back for a little over a year,  am settled in an apartment that will likely be my home until i am ready to buy and am putting those degrees to good use working as a counselor, i figured i would go ahead and pop that cherry.

what can you expect to read about?

as of now, you can expect to read about seven topics:

beauty – everything from my 10 minute makeup routine to managing relaxed hair (i love the creamy crack – sue me!) to my favorite products

fresh + fitted – best places to shop that are size inclusive, my favorite athletic attire brands and how to buy pieces that are multifunctional

good reads – my favorite book at the moment along with the message to carry with me

head + heart – anything that is going on in my head and/or heart from thoughts of the week that resonated with me to appropriate boundary setting to love languages; you name it, i will cover it

home decor – where to find the best throw pillows and accent pieces for your space, how to create an inviting atmosphere, best places for a fresh bouquet (a necessity, in my opinion), etc.

travel bug – from concerts to weddings to weekend getaways, this will capture what i did, what i would recommend and how i believe traveling is truly the key to work/life balance

yummy – from my favorite recipes to my favorite restaurants, anything delicious (and not always nutritious), you can find here!

i may add more topics (if i feel this is not quite enough or if i get requests to write about something that does not fall under one of these umbrella topics) – we will just have to see how this journey goes.

special shout out to both hayley and gracelyn for being inspiring, encouraging, patient and motivational during this process.  and to my readers, thank you in advance for experiencing this with me.  it is definitely an experiment in vulnerability that i am praying goes well.

xoxo,

k.tap

p.s. click here for a few fun facts about me.

photo cred: gracelyn bateman – instagram: glynbman