Meet Carrington Barfield: Fashion & Lifestyle Blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carrington Barfield and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carrington, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Work/life balance has always been something I value, especially since starting my own business. I’ve never wanted to be someone who can’t “leave the office” so to speak. I think it’s important to have family time and to be able to put away the work while you’re at home. When you have a blog especially, it’s often difficult to do that, as most weekends I have to spend time shooting pics or finishing up sponsored posts for the following week. I really just try to not spend more than a few hours each weekend out shooting and when my boyfriend and I do go out shooting, we try to incorporate elements of fun into being out and about as well. Blogging is a part of my life now as well as a business, so my work life and home life are easily intertwined. I just try and do my best to make sure I set aside specific time to work on blogging and once that time is up, I make myself set work aside and focus on being home and being present with my loved ones.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I first entered the blogging scene, it was already an extremely saturated market. It was difficult to set yourself apart from the hundreds, even thousands of other bloggers who had already established their place in the blogger scene. It definitely wasn’t easy starting out; it’s discouraging to put hours and hours of work and preparation into a blog post, only to have 10 people read it. It’s hard to post pictures of yourself on social media, subjecting yourself to scrutiny and judgement from others who are waiting to tear you down. I think that was the hardest thing I had to overcome – the fear of what people might think of me. I had to learn to accept that some people might have hurtful things to say about me and the pictures I post, but what really mattered was that I was building a brand and following a dream I had. It takes time to get to that point and even still, I sometimes will get my feelings hurt by something someone says. But now I’ve also met so many wonderful girls in the industry who are supportive and who strive to lift one another up with what they say. That really changed things for me and I will forever be grateful for the people I’ve met and friends I’ve made through blogging.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Oh goodness, so I’ll be honest… I actually just moved to Austin a few months ago, right before COVID-19 hit and we had to self-isolate, so I haven’t really been able to explore the city as I would have liked! However, I did grow up coming here every once in a while to visit family in the area so I do have a few favorite places I’ve gone to over the years. I would always encourage people to visit Barton Springs while they were visiting Austin. It’s especially fun in the summer months when it’s super hot outside since the water is always around 68 degrees year-round. If you’re looking for some good shopping, The Domain is such a fun place with great restaurants around. Although my personal favorite place to shop is the Round Rock Premium Outlets! They have great deals and it’s fun to walk around outside with an iced coffee in hand. Lastly, for food I would recommend visiting Chuy’s! It really embraces the “Keep Austin Weird” mentality and they have really delicious Mexican food. If you’re craving dessert afterwards, I would swing by Andy’s Frozen Custard. Get the James Brownie… You won’t regret it, I promise!!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There have been so many people who have helped me and supported my blogging journey since the beginning. I would like to take the time to shoutout one person in particular who has always been my biggest fan, biggest advocate and my photographer for 90% of the blogging posts you see on Chaos and Coffee. My boyfriend, Jordan, was really the person who encouraged me to start blogging. He’s gone out with me to photoshoots, he’s helped me lug around piles and piles of clothes, shoes, accessories, etc to different locations in the Texas heat when it’s 100+ degrees outside, and he’s given up his own free time to act as my photographer and help me meet tight deadlines, which without him, I probably would not have met. There aren’t enough words to describe how much I appreciate him helping me and supporting my dream!