Letting go of blogging

I started blogging around about 2009. I've been doing it ever since and I've never been more unhappy with it than I have been this year. Towards the end of last year I was thinking about giving it all up but my boyfriend bought me some camera lenses for my 'blogging' camera and I felt a bit like I had to carry on. I must admit after using the lenses I really enjoyed taking photos and I feel like they improved a little bit (despite finding out I'd been transferring minute size copies of the images onto my laptop for years) but this year I've just lost all interest.

I don't really care about the latest lipsticks and I even got a bit fed up of Manicure Monday's and felt like spending my money on nail polishes was a bit of a waste. I got fed up of pressuring myself on a weekend to get blog photos taken and posts written when I'd already spent a whole week working 9-5.30pm in front of a computer.

I'd taken multiple 'blog breaks' through the year but nothing really helped so I finally decided that was it a couple of weeks ago...so I'm not quite sure what I'm doing here now to be honest. I feel like completely taking the pressure off has allowed some words to just flow freely from my fingers. I don't have anything to review/promote this time and I'm just getting things out of my brain. I don't even know if I'll publish this but it feels good to be writing something down.

During the past few weeks I've had lovely relaxing weekends. I've spent an entire Saturday doing my housework without worrying about having to slot in some time to take photos. I even spent a Sunday or two on the sofa and I got through the entire new Harry Potter book within two hours. It was magical (lol, sorry!).

It's nice to say I don't have anything planned on the weekend. It's nice to pop out to town or if Vince has the day off from work it's nice to spend it together and go somewhere without having this nagging in the back of my head about having to get blog photos taken.

I don't think I'll go back to blogging like I was before on a regular basis. Sometimes I do get the urge to get all the pretty blog props out and start shooting away but then I remember I want to keep all the pressure off. I don't want to worry about comment numbers and who is or isn't reading and I don't want to keep comparing my blog to the thousands and thousands of other perfect ones out there so instead I think I'll just use this as my little space on the Internet where I can jot down thoughts and let words spill out spontaneously.

Until next time...

H&M Home blog photo prop haul

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about my New Look blog photo prop haul and I have say it went down rather well. It seems I'm not alone in seeing homeware products as blog photo props instead so when I was in London recently I just had to pop into H&M Home.

I was very good and quite restrained, just picking up three little bits in order to give my blog photos a bit of a makeover as I have to admit the copper props were getting a bit samey in every pic. I got myself a very pretty silver pinapple, which only when I got it home did I realise it was a candle, a geometric print cushion cover and a small porcelain plate with some really cute detailing around the edge. You can see the first set of photos I took with the new props here and I have to say I'm really pleased. I like the monochrome look and the plate in particular is fab for popping nail polishes on.




I'm starting to build up a bit of a collection of little plates, they're just perfect props for blog photos and I've seen lots of other bloggers using them too. I know that TK Maxx and Sainsburys have lots of cute ones so I may need to pick up some more. I love the detailing on the edge of this one, very pretty with the blank, white and gold colour pattern.

I also find that tea towels and cushion covers make fab backgrounds too, in particular monochrome ones with geometric patterns like this that I picked up. It looks nice just poking out of a photo and takes away the harshness of the fake wooden floor background. I definitely need to pick up more cushion covers, H&M had loads of different colours and patterns...I feel like this could be my new obsession.

So what are your thoughts on this mini H&M Home haul? What bits have you picked up recently for use as blog photo props? Let me know in the comments.

New Look blog photo prop haul

I was recently trying to think of some blog post ideas and wondered if people might like to see what blog props I used in my photos. I remembered I had recently bought a few little props that I'm loving so much at the mo and then I realised they're all from New Look and so the idea for this mini haul post was born.

You really know you're a blogger when you're browsing the home section of any shop and instead of seeing ornaments or bits and pieces for your home you instead see blog photo props. I have more than enough candles around the house but no tealights, so of course I bought copper tealight holders, but these aren't for holding candles, they're for my blog photos. I love the copper cage style holder and as you can see, it's perfect for placing a nail polish into for a really nice framed shot. It's also great for make-up brush shots. It can be a little difficult with focusing but it's definitely my fave prop at the moment, it's literally in every single photo I take!




Recently I was in New Look again and a lot of the home items were reduced so I picked up the two smaller copper tealight holders. These are super cute for blog photos and work nicely with the other one I have. They're great for holding rings/jewellery in a shot or to just place in the background to fill a space.



I also picked up a really cute white heart shaped light, which is probably not something I'd ever have in my house as I just have nowhere to put it but it makes a great photo prop. At the moment I'm using it to fill some space in photos so you can only really see it poking into the corner of a photo but it's also great for using as a white background for a little product such as a nail polish.

So these are my go-to blog photo props at the moment. I love seeing what other bloggers use in their pics so hopefully you found this semi-interesting. Do let me know what blog props you use in the comments.

My blogging routine

I thought this might make a bit of an interesting post, at least I hope so! I've been blogging for about six years and I've now got into a real routine so thought I'd share it with you so you can get a bit of behind the scenes info.

I'm not a full time blogger as I work during the week 9am - 5pm as a PR Consultant. This means the only time I really get to blog is at the weekends. I tell myself every week that I'm going to make full use of Saturday and Sunday for blog photo taking and writing, but usually it ends up that I start taking photos around mid-morning on the Sunday.

Most of my photos are product photos and are taken on my bedroom windowsil with those handy wooden floor tile samples from B&Q, however I popped in there yesterday and picked up the marble effect sticky back plastic so now I'm a 'proper' blogger. I am keen to try and get away from flat lays on these backgrounds because it's become so overdone now but until I can think of an alternative, I'll carry on.

I use a Canon 500D for my photograph taking and I am forever learning. Vince bought me a set of lenses and a small ring light for Christmas so I'm currently trying out all the different lenses and using the light to my advantage in these dark and dreary days. It's working out ok but I always feel like there's room to improve! I do my photo editing in Gimp or Picmonkey and it usually consists of brightening them a bit!

I tend to take all my photographs before writing any blog posts. As I write this it's a Sunday evening. I'll usually aim to write my posts on the Sunday evening or even write them once I get home from work of an evening. I'm currently going through a phase of scheduling posts on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I was previously scheduling one week on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday then the following week on a Tuesday and a Thursday but am happy with my current set up. I was finding scheduling posts every day far too much work to cram into one or two days and I was finding that comment numbers were down because before people had a chance to find a post, a new one was popping up.

I was previously scheduling posts for 5.30pm when people would be home from work and be logging on but have recently changed this to 8.30am so people can read my post before work, hopefully. I use Tweetdeck to schedule blog promotion tweets and these are scheduled for 8.30am, 12.30pm, 5.30pm, 20.30pm and 23.30pm. I'm not sure whether I should change this up a bit more but I guess these are key times of the day for most people.

During the week I like to reply to comments on posts, return comments and get involved with Twitter chats. I'm hoping once the lighter evenings start then I can get some more photograph taking crammed into the week. I feel like this would really help a lot and leave my weekends a bit free-er for general lazing around.

I am pretty happy with my routine but as I've mentioned I would possibly like to change it up a bit. Change is always good and I'd like to get a fancy new layout for the New Year so watch this space! I'm also aiming to have one non-beauty post per week and I currently have a long list of ideas jotted down in my notebook. I think it's going well so far...

What's your blogging routine? Do you enjoy it or is it time to switch it up? Do you have any tips to share? Let me know in the comments.

Blog goals for 2016

I'm trying to make sure this isn't too similar to last year's blog goals post but somehow I think it's going to happen whether I like it or not.

Reach 3,000 followers
I know, I know, a bit of a vain one but no matter how many people say numbers don't matter, well they do and I like to know how many are following me and reading what I've got to say. In 2015 I hit 2,000 followers so my next aim, naturally, is 3,000. It would be absolutely amazing to reach such a milestone, especially when I've been blogging so, so long! If you'd like to follow me, you can do so here.

Improve my blog photography
This was a blog goal for 2015 and while it has improved, I want to improve it even further. Vince recently bought me some new lenses and a light for my camera so I need to learn how to use them and really find out what my style of blog photography is. I'd also like to take lots more lifestyle type photos as well, which means I need to get up and go places, instead of sitting on the sofa infront of the TV.

Make more blogger friends
Scrolling through Twitter I see lots of bloggers who have all become good friends and to put it bluntly, I want a slice of that action! It would be nice to have some friends with a similar interest in blogging/writing/photography. Going to more blog events is a good place to start and I'd love to go to more in the future. Getting involved in more blogger chats is also a great way to meet new bloggers so I'd definitely be getting more involved this year.

What are your blog goals for 2016?

2015 blogging resolutions...a look back

Recently I've been having a lot of fun looking back at my old blog posts from 2015. I came across a post I made of 2015 Blogging Resolutions and thought it would be fun to discuss them a little further and let you all know how I did.

Growth
At the start of 2015 I declared I wanted to reach 2,000 Bloglovin' followers...and I did! I can't believe it that 2,000 people voluntarily follow this blog, letalone read it! It's amazing to me. If you'd like to help me make it to 3,000, you can do so here.

Photography
In 2015 I aimed to improve my blog photography and I am certainly more comfortable with using my camera and I personally am happy with the photos I'm producing. I do tend to have 'off' days where things don't go quite right and there is the odd time I'm not overly happy with a photo but all in all I'm pleased with what I'm doing photo-wise, although there is always room for improvement.

Content
I also wanted to improve my blog content and include more fashion and lifestyle posts. Unfortunately I didn't do any fashion posts in 2015. I don't think they're really me, not when I literally live in black jeans and a top half of my life. I have, however, included more lifestyle content on the blog, which is still something I want to expand on in 2016.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how my 2015 resolutions turned out...keep your eyes peeled here for my 2016 blog resolutions, coming soon!

Current beauty blog favourites

There's nothing I like more than discovering new blogs. I'm a bit bored of the 'popular' blogs and have found myself regularly re-visiting others, which have quickly become my favourites, simply because they're more normal and relatable. In the spirit of sharing the blog love and after I chatted about 'making it worth it' for other bloggers in this post, I thought I'd share them with you so you could pay them a visit too.

Haysparkle
Hayley's blog is one of my current faves, which I keep coming back to again and again. Like my own blog, she tends to feature much more affordable highstreet products and reviews, so I really relate to this more than blogs that feature lots of high end products.

I've also noticed that Hayley and I sometimes have some of the same products featured and it's always really interesting to see another person's thoughts on a product I've written about also or am about to write about. There's always so much content throughout the week so it's one I check out every day!

HopeFreedomlove
What I love about Stephanie's blog is the constant stream of content. I don't know how she keeps up with it but she posts regularly throughout the week and her posts are full of gorgeous images, fab review posts and I particularly love her nail posts. They always look amazing. I am also absolutely loving her Thursday Tittle Tattle posts, which are all about the latest beauty news in the industry and new product releases. I love finding out which products are being released and what's going on at the moment.

Tales Of a Pale Face
I've been visiting Kat's blog alot recently and just sitting and flicking through all of the great photos. They're gorgeous! I'm also loving her blog layout at the moment as it just shows off her photography so well, it's difficult to know which post to click as I just want to read them all at once. I really enjoy Kat's mix of more expensive and more affordable products too.

Jodie Loue
Jodie's blog is actually quite a new find of mine. I'm not sure how I came across it, but I'm really glad I did. It's another blog that has some fab photography, I'm so jealous! I also love Jodie's content as she features lots of more affordable products and I think I may have mentioned that this is what keeps me coming back to a blog!

What are your favourite blogs at the moment? Let me know in the comments.

2015 Blogging Resolutions

It seems that last year I failed to officially document any blogging resolutions, but in the spirit of all things New Year, I've decided to put them down in type and share them with you.

Growth
We all say it's not about numbers, but I would really like to reach 2,000 bloglovin' followers in 2015. I do like to see how many people are interested in my blog and no-one can deny that it feels good to see that number continue to grow. Just being honest!

Photography
I mentioned this in my New Year in Review post - I would like to improve my photography. I want to 'dress' my photos a bit better and not just settle for your average product shot on a pretty background. I want to mix things up a bit and use different backgrounds, props and textures.

Content
I would also like to improve my content this year and include more outfit photos and more lifestyle posts so it's not product review after product review as it can get a bit stale. After all, this blog is an extension of me so it's only right that you should be able to get to know me a bit better and actually see my face from time to time.

What are your New Year's blogging resolutions? Let me know in the comments.

Fashion Union bloggers reveal their top tips

Recently I was contacted and asked if I'd like to take part in Fashion Union's infographic of bloggers giving their top tips. Check mine out below: