There are a million things I should be doing right now however, being the procrastinator that I am, I've decided to do a quick post before actually being productive.
I'm going to Australia ridiculously soon and so most of my head space is currently taken up with the question of what to wear in the scorching heat. Summer shopping in the run up to Christmas is probably the stupidest thing I have ever attempted to do (wardrobe-wise anyway). For a nation that goes out on the town wearing so little the current offering on the high street is surprisingly cosy. I just want a vaguely summery dress (ie. no long sleeves or lace) and a pair of shorts that leave something to the imagination, both of which seem largely unavailable in the middle of winter. I have ranted about this for weeks (largely to my family and over twitter) and so I think I may have to finally admit defeat and just hit the shops as soon as I arrive in Melbourne (at least no one at home will own the same outfit as me...).
There's also the usual fear of forgetting something (yes I know Australia also has shops but there's nothing worse than realising you've left your straightners on your bed just as your plane takes off). Similarly, I envision my last afternoon at work being spent ensuring I haven't left any important tasks unfinished before buggering off for a month.
Realistically I can't imagine any of these things actually stressing me out once I am lying on a beach halfway across the world however, being the worrier I am, I have a knack of focussing my energy on any possible negatives. Forget the prospect of a month of travelling, what on earth am I going to wear?!
I've also succumbed to the chocolate yet again (I think it was custard creams last week) which is more than a little silly considering the size of my recently purchased bikini. I blame this on living at home. If my parents did not insist on buying chocolate biscuits then I wouldn't end up eating quite so many. Although I also wouldn't have healthy home cooked meals and so I guess my living arrangements can't really be held accountable for any weight gain. Damn.
I think I'm going to call it a night now. I'm not feeling brilliant and so hopefully sleep is the answer. On a more positive note, tomorrow has good cupcake potential thanks to the presence of the farmer's market outside work. Some may see this as healthy eating sabotage however I'm just grateful that the guy on the cake stand still doesn't recognise me despite probably being one of his best customers.
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Monday 5 December 2011
Successful Blogging
I wish blogging came naturally to me. I would love to be one of those people who can just throw a few random thoughts together and have a readable post. In the same way fashion bloggers make their outfit of the day look like something they just threw on, a good blog has a certain element of effortlessness to it.
Over the last few years blogging has seen a surge in popularity. Everyone's in on it. Forget your brief affair with live journal or your stint on teen open diary (yes, I am guilty of both), blogging is the grown up way to express yourself. For rants you want to spare your friends from or anecdotes that would make your boss blush, welcome to the blogosphere: a place where you're pretty much free to say whatever you like (not least because, in my case anyway, no one is actually listening).
Blogging can introduce you to a haven of like minded people, especially if you have a particularly unusual hobby (or if your friends just don't understand why you insist on photographing everything you eat). Those who are good enough may even be able to make a bit of money through advertising and sponsorship (and possibly nab tickets to London Fashion Week if they're very lucky).
When I look at the kinds of blogs I most enjoy, it's not necessarily those which talk about exciting events or debate-worthy topics. Often I am attracted to the ones that cover the day to day workings of the blogger's life. I like to read about their outfits and what they had for tea last night. I like to see people's week in pictures, even when they include snaps of left over takeaway and their pet cat. I'm not alone in relishing the mundane details of someone else's day. When one of my friends first introduced me to the world of blogging, she told me how she loved those that let you peer inside the life of the writer and recommended a host of blogs which allowed me to do just that. Fast forward a year and I have accumulated an awful lot of knowledge about other people's eating habits, relationships and other such trivia.
Regardless of the writer's style, the general consenus is that it takes time (lots and lots of time) to become 'established' in the blogosphere. One of my favourite bloggers, Muireann Carey-Campbell, never hides the fact that it took a hell of a lot of hard work to gain her impressive following and the author of daisybutter even has a page of tips for those wanting to take a leaf out of her, beautifully constructed, blog.
Despite success often seeming like a near impossible quest, I love that it's a challenge open to anyone. Those who post daily outfit photos aren't necessarily six foot stick insects and the blogger I follow who posts her own mega-healthy recipes and workouts probably wasn't born with an appetite for superfoods and a love of the gym. Blogging allows you to reinvent yourself in front of people who don't know your flaws and the internet breaks down a lot of barriers leaving us free to showcase whatever we want (and to hide the not-so-good bits if we choose).
I may be rambling away to nobody for the next few years however at least I can take comfort in the fact that the bloggers I avidly follow probably weren't so different when they first started out. Plus there's thousands more like me who are just happy to blog for the sake of blogging.
Over the last few years blogging has seen a surge in popularity. Everyone's in on it. Forget your brief affair with live journal or your stint on teen open diary (yes, I am guilty of both), blogging is the grown up way to express yourself. For rants you want to spare your friends from or anecdotes that would make your boss blush, welcome to the blogosphere: a place where you're pretty much free to say whatever you like (not least because, in my case anyway, no one is actually listening).
Blogging can introduce you to a haven of like minded people, especially if you have a particularly unusual hobby (or if your friends just don't understand why you insist on photographing everything you eat). Those who are good enough may even be able to make a bit of money through advertising and sponsorship (and possibly nab tickets to London Fashion Week if they're very lucky).
When I look at the kinds of blogs I most enjoy, it's not necessarily those which talk about exciting events or debate-worthy topics. Often I am attracted to the ones that cover the day to day workings of the blogger's life. I like to read about their outfits and what they had for tea last night. I like to see people's week in pictures, even when they include snaps of left over takeaway and their pet cat. I'm not alone in relishing the mundane details of someone else's day. When one of my friends first introduced me to the world of blogging, she told me how she loved those that let you peer inside the life of the writer and recommended a host of blogs which allowed me to do just that. Fast forward a year and I have accumulated an awful lot of knowledge about other people's eating habits, relationships and other such trivia.
Regardless of the writer's style, the general consenus is that it takes time (lots and lots of time) to become 'established' in the blogosphere. One of my favourite bloggers, Muireann Carey-Campbell, never hides the fact that it took a hell of a lot of hard work to gain her impressive following and the author of daisybutter even has a page of tips for those wanting to take a leaf out of her, beautifully constructed, blog.
Despite success often seeming like a near impossible quest, I love that it's a challenge open to anyone. Those who post daily outfit photos aren't necessarily six foot stick insects and the blogger I follow who posts her own mega-healthy recipes and workouts probably wasn't born with an appetite for superfoods and a love of the gym. Blogging allows you to reinvent yourself in front of people who don't know your flaws and the internet breaks down a lot of barriers leaving us free to showcase whatever we want (and to hide the not-so-good bits if we choose).
I may be rambling away to nobody for the next few years however at least I can take comfort in the fact that the bloggers I avidly follow probably weren't so different when they first started out. Plus there's thousands more like me who are just happy to blog for the sake of blogging.
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