Hey guys

Let's give this a go!

I’ve been staring at this blank page long enough to start questioning every other choice I’ve made this week. Does that new coverup fabric we selected have enough stretch? Was a french manicure the right choice for my trip to France? Did I brush my teeth this morning? You’d think after sharing so much of myself online for so long (13 years to be exact), writing a simple “hello” would be easy.

There’s something different about this platform. It feels quieter. More intimate. A place where I can’t hide behind a cute photo or a bouncy fresh blowout. It’s just me and my thoughts - which is either refreshing or deeply alarming, depending on the minute.

When I started thinking about what my first post here should be, every version of myself lined up like they were auditioning for the lead role:

1. The content creator who built a career sharing her life, many times oversharing it, and making millions of mistakes in front of millions of people.. online.

2. The brand owner who wakes up at 3am thinking about inventory, emails, upcoming launch strategy, and whether she remembered to reply to that extremely important production message (she did not).

3. The leader who’s still figuring out how to be one without pretending she has all the answers.

4. The “I can do it all” multitasker (that takes on too much at once) - and is juggling planning a wedding, gut renovating an apartment, running a business, and twenty other things I can’t even think of right now.

5. The family girl who loves a quiet night in and great trash TV, playing sports with her brothers, and a competitive game of scrabble.

6. The NYC party girl who loves a dirty martini, summers in the Hamptons, and keeps her social calendar very full.

7. The human being who has felt the sting of online hate, being misunderstood and, yes, still takes it personally sometimes. A girl who appears strong while feeling her weakest.

And then there’s just.. me. The Danielle trying to balance all of the above while remembering to drink enough water.

Each of these identities has something to say. Each could easily be the headline of this first post. But choosing feels like trying to pick a favorite between Bleecker and Brooklyn (RIP Bleecker) - impossible!

So here’s the honest truth: I don’t know exactly what this Substack will be and how often I’ll write one. And instead of pretending I have some grand editorial plan and a way to scale this as my next business venture, I’d rather admit that.

What I do know is that I want this to be a space that feels real and random. Mainly unfiltered. A little messy, sometimes brief, sometimes like a novel, occasionally funny (even if unintentionally), and always evolving. Kind of like me. And probably like you, too.

Some days I might write about running a business and how I’m learning to let go without losing my mind. Other days I might talk about growing up online, or how weird it is to be “known” and still feel misunderstood, my imperfect relationships, or the mental gymnastics of staying grounded when the internet is trying very hard to knock you down. And sometimes I’ll write about nothing profound at all - a passing thought, sex and fashion, a small moment, a lesson I learned the hard way because of course I did.

If you don’t know already know, my career started with “blogging” and that blog was surprisingly word heavy. Writing has always been a passion of mine - which is why I enjoyed writing my first book so much………. and my second.

If you’re here - hi and thank you. Truly. I’m excited, nervous, and maybe a tiny bit unhinged in the best way.

Until next time, whenever that is.