YOU MADE IT! Welcome to the ABB community, a blog where I, Mimi, share my sometimes boring, sometimes stressful, always real life.
I live in Florida with my husband, 2 dogs and a chinchilla named Cosmo! I’m half Italian but I hate raw tomatoes, and sometimes I make brownies just to eat the batter. I love Stephen King novels and horror movies, and I think fresh flowers are stupid. Chocolates all the way baby! I’m so excited to launch this blog, I’ve been wanting to do it for years, but Impostor Syndrome is a bitch, let me tell you. So, it’s time to take the trust fall off the stage, so nobody Gretchen Weiners me, ok???
I started my Instagram page casually about 5 years ago, posting personally along with the amazing animals that I care for every day.
I’m an Orlando based animal trainer, and yes, a well educated and informed one.
It has always been my dream, and I feel so fortunate to be employed by one of the top facilities in the world. The job requires me to work holidays, weekends and wear the same wetsuit every day.
Because I have no opportunity to express my individuality at work, I love dressing up for special occasions and going shopping for fun outfits. I thought this would be a great transition into social media influencing on a small salary. I began working hard on my page, hoping to break into a fashion niche with new clothes every week and a different background for each photo. I wanted to show people how to create a diverse, trendy wardrobe on a modest budget. I connected with tons of mommy bloggers, fashion influencers, and those fixated on “get rich quick” schemes; building their numbers with meaningless robot followers. I compared myself to those prolific stay at home moms, spending 8-10 hours a day on my precious days off taking photos, ordering poorly made products and stressing about keeping my content at 3-5 posts per week. I found myself as the ultimate consumer, ordering clothes online and wearing them only a few times before donating them. I was becoming exactly the opposite of what I was trying to achieve. It really messed with my head, and it wasn’t what I stood for. I wasn’t being financially responsible, and I certainly wasn’t purchasing from sustainable, ethically sourced companies. What I was trying to accomplish didn’t even align with my values.
So I made a switch.
I focused more on the things that were actually going on in my life and the things I was personally trying to change.
The planning process became way easier because I was creating from the heart, from experience. I had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, began talk therapy, followed then by anti-anxiety medications. I tentatively opened up about my journey on my Instagram, and was flooded with support and praised by those going through similar struggles. I was overwhelmed by the response, and chose to continue sharing my individual story. Not only was I healing, but many followers reached out for advice on how to begin finding support. This was the community I was trying to create, it only took me 3 years to achieve it!
authentic | imperfect
Since then, my Instagram page has really thrived. I’ve grown over 6 times my original following, developed long lasting partnerships and created a tight knit community of bloggers and influencers committed to mental health and wellness. They’re an authentic group, and I want to invite you all in! That’s why I’m starting the Anything But Basic blog! No multi-level-marketing ploys, no hidden agendas, just a community of generational healers willing to better themselves and our Earth.
Just your average person, not letting the world damage me while trying not to damage the world.
If you're still reading...
I promise to always be completely open with you. My journey with my mental disorders is not always a linear path, and I want to show you that I have bad days too. I have demons, but I am better equipped to work through them with therapy, medication and acceptance. I now have the tools, and I want to help you all find your wellness potential just as I have.
My additional passion has always been our Mama Earth. She provides so much for us, but as the habitual consumers we are, we damage her constantly. Anything But Basic wants to combine the mental health and eco-friendly missions into a holistically sustainable life! A life where our mind and our planet stays healthy. My aim is to show you how to make small, manageable changes in your life to help reduce your carbon footprint. Show you how to reduce waste in your household, without making a huge lifestyle shift. Slow and systematic, that’s the goal. I actively began that journey myself about 2 years ago, so lots of what I share will include do’s and don’ts. The products I use and review may be sponsorships, but they may not. I will only advocate for what I use in my household, or an honest review of something I’ve purchased.
I do very few collaborations with brands, because full transparency is rare amongst large scale influencers and bloggers. I want to be different. Those partnerships have included sustainable cleaning products, skincare, sunglasses, and even a portable personal alarm. You’ll never see that trendy candle or that five day juice cleanse. Promise.
If nothing else, my page is a reflection of my life. It’s not just a highlight reel, it’s a rollercoaster full of peaks and valleys. There will be a few corkscrews in between, it’s about to be a wild ride, but one we’re all on together!
