If there’s one thing I struggle with more than a lack of inspiration, it’s ironically, too much inspiration. It sounds silly but since returning from my trips to Spain and then America, my mind has been a buzz with ideas. So much so that it’s been hard to know where to start. I’ve been back home for exactly two weeks now, yet I only just feel like I’m getting back to normality (whatever that is).
I guess for me, my normality is having a daily routine of creating content, working to my schedules/deadlines, and replying to emails from brands etc. I’m usually quite good at keeping self motivated. Since working on my self portrait project since late last year, that has been something that has kept me thinking up new ideas and pushed myself to try and capture something creative almost everyday.
Recently however, I appear to have hit a stumbling block. It’s that old chestnut of feeling like everything you’re taking in is starting to look the same and in turn you feel like your own work is following suit.
One of the reasons I started my self portrait project was in order to improve my photography and editing skills and push myself to be more creative when I don’t have Damien at my disposal to help me get the shots…I’ve never really stuck to one set photography style, or way of editing, as for me it’s all been about learning and developing new skills. More recently however I’ve felt myself falling into a trap of feeling like I need to do things a certain way as a blogger and I know it’s an idea I need to quickly get out of my head.
I sometimes wish I could have a social media detox (as they call it) and start again. It’s so hard to escape the echo chambers that we’ve created for ourselves. We are often being fed the same type of images/information that we have once expressed we have interest in and so now the algorithms love to show us even more of the same type of stuff. This happens so much so, that you can have a skewed idea of what’s popular, or how things are ‘meant’ to be. If you’re being inspired by lots of the same type of inspiration, then how are you ever going to really create something that’s uniquely you.
These are some thoughts that I have been toying with and aside from doing a Kanye on the gram (and unfollowing everyone), I’m not sure what we can really do about it. But then I guess even Kanye ended up in his own echo chamber of just himself. So there we go…it’s a little food for thought I guess.
The month of June was a bit of a whirlwind and so much happened that I don’t feel I’ve been fully able to process it all yet. I’m now back home, sat at my little make shift work area, with my freshly poured coffee, my laptop open in front of me…and I’m not quite sure where to start.
I’ve been away twice in the past month (3 times if you include the weekend trip I took to Wales) and whilst I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, it’s left me feeling slightly off-kilter when it comes to my blog and work…and although I ended up working throughout my holidays, I still can’t help but feeling behind and somewhat overwhelmed by the amount I need to catch up on. So I thought I’d start here and cathartically share some of what I’ve been up to this past month and why the month of June has been such a momentous one for me.
The start
I really hit the ground running at the start of June (or should I say, hiking), as myself and some of my close girlfriends took a trip to Wales to climb Mount Snowdon. This was a pre-birthday celebration for my birthday the following weekend, and something we’d been looking forward to for months. I don’t usually do much for my birthday but this year I felt the urge to celebrate it doing something that was very me. It’s probably a sign of my age, but I’d much rather a long hike followed by a wine night in, than a night out clubbing these days. Times really do change and I joked with my girls at how we’d come a long way since our birthday celebrations in our early 20s. It couldn’t have been more perfect for me though and it was one of those girls trips where you find yourself laughing from start to finish.
The Snowdon hike also reiterated to me my love for hiking and the great outdoors. It’s something I don’t share much here on my blog but I’ve loved going hiking since I was young and it’s something Damien and I have got back into doing more of recently. I want to share more of that adventurous side and I’d love to plan some more outdoorsy trips in the future too.
My Birthday
I’m not someone who frets too much over their birthday, but then I’m not 30 yet, so we’ll see how things change when that one comes along…but for now I’m blissfully enjoying each year as it comes along. I could end up eating my words in years to come and long for the days when my tits were perkier and I saw a fresh faced 20 something year old staring back at me in the mirror, but for now I’m not too worried about getting (slightly) older.
With age comes wisdom, as they say and I do believe that. Not necessarily that just because you’re old means you’re wise, but with each year comes new lessons. I definitely know a lot more than I knew a year ago and I’m grateful for that knowledge I’ve gained and the lessons I’ve learnt. We all live and we learn, and birthdays can be a good time to reflect on what we’ve learnt during that particular age. For me this birthday coincided with lots of changes and things being ticked off, so it was a reflective one for sure and one that made me feel grateful for where I’m at right now.
Trainers – Adidas | Shorts – Uniqlo | T-shirt – & Other Stories (sold out, similar here) | Bag – DVF (sold out, similar here) | Necklace – Pernille Corydon | Sunglasses – Taylor Morris (same style in different colour, here)
The End of An Era/New Beginnings
I decided to make the (not so easy) decision to leave my agencies and quit modelling after 6 and a half years of doing it as my full-time job. It’s crazy to think that it really is the end of an era for me, even as I type these words it still sort of feels strange to be saying it. I’m no longer a model and I’m now solely a full time blogger/creative…and this is the first time I’ve properly announced it anywhere.
For me it’s something that has naturally been transitioning over the past eight months or so. As my work load as a blogger/Youtuber/creative increased, I was finding less time for modelling, and it was like a tip of the scales one day where I just thought, something has to give. Modelling was a dream I pursued for a long time and got to fulfil so many goals through it. It gave me some incredible opportunities that I’ll forever be grateful that I got to experience, and through it I met some of my best friends. I think there comes a time in many life chapters where as much as you’ve enjoyed it for a time, yourself, your life and your goals change so much that you know that it’s time to move on.
It wasn’t an easy decision to make but if I’m honest I felt relieved once I’d plucked up the courage and decided to make it final. I no longer had to keep wasting anyones time when I wasn’t available for castings and modelling jobs, or try to juggle it all as my workload outside of modelling was increasing…and I instantly felt free to put 100% into my creative work, which is what I feel most passionate about.
A big Tick off The List
In March I decided it was time to finally start having driving lessons. It’s something I’d put off for years and I’d never really been that interested in driving in the past. Only when it felt like it would be really beneficial (like when I’d get booked on a modelling job in the middle of the country side), did I really wish I could drive. This year I made a personal list of things I’d like to achieve and one of those was to finally learn how to drive. I still don’t particularly need to be able to drive, however I finally felt ready to take on lessons and had the mindset that I wanted to get it done and pass!
I’ll be honest, I didn’t love driving lessons. I had an amazing instructor who was very patient and such a good teacher but I still found myself feeling incredibly anxious before every lesson. Sometimes I’d actually be filled with dread the night before a lesson and although I knew I was being irrational, I just couldn’t help but worry about having to get into the car. It’s funny because as soon as I’d be in the car and driving about on my lesson, (aside from the obvious minor nerves) I felt fine, yet still it was like a cycle and before the next lesson I’d be feeling anxious all over again.
I can’t say it was easy breezy for me, and so I did have to work at it. When it finally came to the date of my test I knew deep down I could do it but I was worried that my nerves would get in the way. It was a surprise to me that I passed first time, so much so, that I burst out crying as soon my test examiner said the words ‘you’ve passed’. Not the usual reaction I’m sure, but I was just so overwhelmed and I couldn’t believe it was over. Thank goodness I don’t have to do that again, that’s all I can say.
To add to it, two days later Damien and I went to pick up our new car and that afternoon I drove it on the road for the first time as a newly passed driver. It still feels quite strange that I can now say I can drive and that there’s a car on the drive that I’m actually legal to drive about in.
New Hair, Who This
I got box braids for the first time. This might not seem like the biggest thing ever but for someone who has had near enough the same hair style for the past 6 years this is quite the change. Obviously box braids aren’t forever and my afro is sitting tight, having a much welcomed rest whilst in these plaits, but I’m seriously loving this style more than I expected. It’s just nice not having to worry about doing my hair, which I now realise is actually so time consuming. I feel very me with this style, which is strange because I didn’t think anything could feel more ‘me’ than my afro. But it’s nice to have a change once in a while and settle in to something new. I’ll actually be sad when it comes time to take them out but this is a hairstyle I will be returning to for sure.
A Long Overdue Girl’s Holiday
I love girl time and girls holidays are my fave. I went to my friend’s villa in Spain and had such a fun four nights away. We laughed, we drank, we ate, we chatted, we even made up a dance routine and it was just what I needed. Sunshine, sangria and girl time.
Exciting Collaborations
Although this month has been my month for going on holiday, it’s ironically been one of my busiest work months. Out of office unfortunately doesn’t always mean much when you’re self employed and as much as I tried to step away from the work load, it’s hard to completely switch off from it when important emails need to be answered and content needs to be shot.
Luckily I really enjoy the creative process and shooting (can’t say the same for emails), so I didn’t mind taking some time out of one of my holidays to shoot some collaborations, but it has all been rather non-stop. I’m definitely not complaining though as I’ve got to work with some of my favourite brands during June and one of my biggest blogger collaborations so far, that I shot with Oasis, went live at the end of the month too. I’m feeling incredibly grateful for the opportunities that have been coming my way and June was a month of seeing some of my hard work paying off.
First Time a Bridesmaid
I’ll end on the most prominent part of June (although it’s hard to decipher what’s been most prominent during this crazy month)…but my trip to America was definitely a highlight. Damien and I went over for my friend’s wedding and it was my first time not only being a bridesmaid, but a maid of honour too! I felt so honoured (pardon my pun) to be a part of our friend’s special day, I think I’m as excited to see the wedding photos as the happy couple are!
The trip overall was so much fun. The wedding was in Oregon city, just outside of Portland and Damien and I flew to San Francisco for four nights, then to Portland for four nights for the wedding. We then flew from Portland to San Fran for one last night, before returning home. I plan on chatting much more about our San Fran and Portland trip in a separate blog post but for now I’ll just say that we both had a brilliant time and it was great to be reunited with my friend and see her walk down the isle on her special day.
And that’s about it. It’s been a full on month. I feel like I’ve gone through a range of emotions and took on so many different experiences that my brain is only just starting to process everything properly now. June has been quite the stand out month for me and in more ways than one. It’s funny how it’s mid-way through the year too and it’s been quite the momentous half way point. It’s a prime example of how sometimes everything can come at once, and a lot of things have paved the way for the rest of my year to come.
Welcome back to another instalment of my Five Things series here on my blog and actually my first of 2018. If you didn’t know, this is basically just a post where I chat about five things as they pop into my head, so here goes…
One
I feel like I’m off to a good start this year. January is often a bit of weird one, it’s half filled with motivation and a fresh outlook and half filled with January blues and a desire to emigrate to somewhere with a warmer climate. I’m happy to say that I seem to have beat the January blues this year and whilst I still wouldn’t mind some slightly warmer weather right now, I’m still quite content and feeling really motivated whilst keeping busy with work.
Two
I’m feeling much more work focused this year. I feel like each year sort of falls into a personal theme. For me, last year’s theme was definitely that of travel, exploration and having fun, and whilst this year I still definitely want to enjoy myself (self confessed hedonist over here), I also want to priorities my blog and work a lot more. I’m feeling focused and organised which is a good way to start.
Three
One thing I’m really enjoying right now is my routine. Being self employed it’s often hard to to stick to a particular routine and you have to create your own kind of structure. I think I’m finding this slightly easier right now as it’s January. The party season is behind us and I haven’t had to venture too far for work just yet. So right now I’ve been able to create a routine for myself and I’m actually really enjoying it, not to mention it’s doing wonders for my productivity levels. Of course I know as we move further into the year, this is bound to change and be disrupted, as travel plans arise, events occur and the social calendar hots up once again. For the time being however, I’m fulling making the most out of it and I’m massively appreciating the early nights, productive work days and party-free weekends.
Four
I’m making more of an effort to keep up with my content over Winter this year. Usually my blog posts become somewhat sporadic over the Winter months and style related posts become less frequent. This is of course due to the awful weather we tend to get here in the UK over Winter. This year though I’m making no excuses. As you’ll know if you follow me on Instagram, I’ve got into the habit of shooting self portraits, which is something I’m really enjoying right now. Along with that I’m making more effort to shoot outdoors too, no matter how cold it is. Sharing my day to day outfits is something I miss and so I’m making a concious effort to start doing more of it again.
Five
I met up with Rosie last week and between catching up over coffee and lunch, we managed to take some shots for our blogs (you can check out Rosie’s blog here). At the time I really wasn’t in the mood to shoot my outfit but in the end I’m glad we did because like I said, I have missed snapping and sharing my day to day looks here on my blog. I think I just need to remember that even when I’m not quite in the mood to shoot (especially when it’s cold), I should always just get on with it because I’ll thank myself later.
We each have our own individual things that we want to achieve and focus on this year, be it wanting to save, reaching those work goals, or working on our own happiness. Whatever your focus, it’s always good to have a little reminder or prompt to go to in order to help keep you on track. That’s where mottos come in handy, you know, those cheesy little lines that we tell ourselves to give ourselves a boost of motivation.
Maybe you don’t have a motto, maybe you already have several that you like to remind yourself of frequently. I myself have drifted in and out of having my own mottos over the years but more recently, I’ve found myself thinking of certain mottos in my head and often they have given me that little motivational push when I’ve needed it most. So in this post I’m sharing three mottos that I intend to live by this year…
It’s okay to think it over but don’t overthink it
This is one of my own quotes that I actually came up with last year, or the year before (I can’t quite remember when). Whilst I agree it’s wise to think something over before going ahead with it, there’s a point when you need to draw a line and make a clear decision, to avoid overthinking it.
It’s funny, I can decide to book a trip, with not much thought or planning, yet I can find myself overthinking something as simple as what I write in an email. This year I aim to put a cap on my overthinking. I’m going to give things a second thought where a second thought is due but I’m going to try and worry less and not overthink things that really don’t need overthinking…So if you’re like me, then this might be a good one to add to your mottos too!
Your dreams don’t work unless you do
I couldn’t do this post without having a really cheesy one in there and admittedly this is one of the most overused, cliché quotes out there. But when it comes down to it, it’s actually a pretty good motto to live by.
Now in terms of dreams I’m talking about things that are existent or within our own realms of possibility. No matter how hard you work, it’s unlikely you’ll end up living on the moon, not in this lifetime at least (if that’s your bag anyway). But the realistic goals we want to achieve and the things we want to do in life, are things that we can work at/or towards, a little bit each day.
I like this motto because it’s simple, to the point and it’s great for someone like me who is a self confessed procrastinator. I almost picture me giving myself a lecture as I’m saying it, ‘girl, stop wasting time, come on, you’re dreams don’t work unless you do’. So maybe this cheesy motto isn’t such a bad one after all.
Do not strive for perfection. Strive for consistency
This next motto in some ways flows on from the last, in the way that it once again relates to working towards goals. This is another one of my own motto creations and if you watched my most recent YouTube video about how to achieve your 2018 goals, you will have already heard me mention this one.
Firstly, as we all know, perfection is something impossible to strive for, because in reality it doesn’t exist. The problem however, is that many of us quite frequently dismiss this, myself included. For example, if your aim for this year is to eat healthily, by putting pressure on yourself to constantly eat a restrictive ‘ideal’ diet, it’s more likely that you’ll eventually fall off the bandwagon and slip back into old habits. Whereas if you plan to consistently eat well and make better choices but with less pressure to ‘be perfect’ all the time, then it’s something that you’ll likely find easier to maintain and in the long run you’ll actually see the difference and feel the results from.
For me striving for consistency over perfection is something I need to apply more with my work. As a creative (and I’m sure many will be able to relate), it’s easy to have thoughts that our work or what we produce isn’t good enough at times, or that it needs to be better and the reality is that the more we create and share, the more we are able to improve and grow. Improvement comes with practice and time. Whilst things may not be how you want them to be right away, keep at it and in the long run you’ll develop and growth.
So those are three mottos that I’ll be trying to live by this year. They are just friendly reminders to myself to worry less, work hard and be consistent. Maybe some of these were relevant to you, or maybe it even inspired you to think of some mottos of your own. Are you into mottos? If so what’s a motto that you like to try and live by?
When my alarm went off at 6:45 this morning, I wasn’t ready for it. I rolled over and reset it for 7:30am…I just needed 45 more minutes. Then 7:30 came around and I still needed a little bit longer in bed and so this routine continued until I eventually forced myself out of bed at around 9:20am. Being able to ‘sleep in’ is what you might class as a perk of working for yourself but it can also be a pitfall. Being your own boss you really do have to manage yourself and your time.
For someone who is mostly an early riser, 9am is a late get up for me and usually only a luxury I reserve for lazy weekends, or hangovers. It’s safe to say that these holidays have well and truly exhausted me and now I feel like I’m on a slow reboot getting into 2018.
Although it’s the second day of the new year, it actually feels like the first for me today because I’ll be honest, after one very boozy, yet fun NYE, yesterday was a write off for me – as I’m sure it probably was for many others. Today however, is the day that I get back to work after two weeks off and having taken a break from uploading to my social media platforms during that time.
I’d had hopes to get ahead of myself during the holidays but aside from planning content for a brand I’m working with this month, I didn’t get much else done in regards to work throughout the end of December. Sometimes it’s good to completely take time off but when you work for yourself it can often be hard to reboot again, get back to managing tasks, time and working to a schedule.
Once I did manage to drag myself out of bed this morning, after cleaning the house and about a thousand glasses that had still been left over from the New Year’s Eve celebrations (I told you yesterday was a write off), I pushed myself back into work mode.
The lighting has been pretty horrendous today plus it poured it down for a time. Luckily, as I’ve mentioned, lately I’ve gotten into the habit of shooting from home – because honestly if I waited for good weather I’d likely be seriously lacking content. Anyway, I managed to get a decent bit of lighting to capture these self portraits this afternoon. My outfit pretty much reflects my mood today, smart casual but still a bit undone…and as for my shoes I didn’t bother to try and get these in the shot as I’m wearing slippers, as I have been doing for the most part recently.
So here we are, getting back into it, getting into 2018 and getting back into work mode. I hope you’ve had a good start to the year so far. I’m looking forward to having a continued productive week and I hope the very same for you too!
At the moment I’m enjoying my weekends more than ever. Being self employed it’s sometimes hard to strike balance between when the working week starts and ends because let’s face it, for a lot of self employed folk, it never really does. When modelling was solely my full time job, I found it easier to get to Friday and go into full weekend mode but now that blogging and creating content is a job for me too, I constantly find myself thinking about ideas and what my next piece of content will be.
A good thing about what I do in the realm of blogging, is that all aspects of life can inspire me and sometimes I do love utilising my weekends to think up ideas and create new content.
At the moment I’m really enjoying capturing my shots more candidly. Most of the outfits I share here on my blog are things that I was actually wearing on that particular day, however I often tend to shoot quite statically, which doesn’t give as much of a vibe of my overall day. Obviously depending on who I’m with or what I’m doing, it’s not always possible to shoot this way but I really like this style of capturing different moments from my day to not only show what I was wearing but what I got up to whilst wearing that outfit too.
Last Saturday was one of those really good, not overly planned days. I headed out with Damien and other than having a meal booked in for the afternoon, we didn’t have any particular plans and so we decided to wonder around town and go for a few drinks.
For our meal we went to Mr Cooper’s in The Midland Hotel and had a delicious three course meal. I had the calamari to start and it was some of the best calamari I’ve had in Manchester for a while. Damien went for chicken wings and then for our mains, I went for the snapper and Damien went for the steak. We both really enjoyed our mains and then for our desserts we shared chocolate salted caramel slice and elderberry pavlova. All three courses were really good.
After our meal we met up with our friend Cameron and after a few drinks a couple more friends joined us and before we knew it we were dancing the night away. Impromptu nights out like that are my favourite and all in all, it was a pretty perfect Saturday, creating content, spending time with Damien, catching up with friends and having fun.
I hadn’t intended this to be a home/interior post but I’m going to start by talking about it anyway, because as I look through these images I realise that this is actually the first (although small) look into our house, here on my blog.
These images were actually shot a couple of weeks ago now, one miserable Saturday when Damien and I didn’t fancy venturing outside to get outfit shots and so, we decided to capture this outfit inside instead. And although impromptu, I’m pretty happy with how the shots turned out.
If you’ve read my blog for a while you’ll know that a couple of years ago Damien and I bought our first house together and since then it’s been a long process of major house renovations, most of which Damien and his dad have done themselves between working full time (hence the longevity of this project). So now that things are finally begining to take shape, our house is finally feeling like a home.
I really love the vibe of our home now and I’m feeling so happy with how it’s all coming together. The interiors and the decor really reflect a combination of both of our personalities and for me, in a totally different way to how my personal style does.
I feel relaxed in this space and most surprisingly I feel inspired. And I think this has reflected in how I’ve been feeling when putting outfits together recently.
Whilst I haven’t added many new items into my wardrobe recently, I’ve really been enjoying playing around with my different pieces and mix and matching garments that I wouldn’t have initially planned to go together. I guess it’s stepping out of my comfort zone slightly whilst still being very me.
If you watch my YouTube videos you’ll likely know that I’m obsessed with the velvet blazer I purchased a couple of months back now from Topshop’s London Fashion Week collection (I seem to manage to squeeze it into nearly every styling video). Little did I know at the time that it would be such a trend piece but I feel the style of a tuxedo blazer is one that will never truly go out of style altogether and regardless, I’m pretty sure I’ll keep wearing it anyway.
I’m usually drawn to opting for a quite put together look when grabbing for this blazer but on this occasion I was in the mood to mix all textures and styles. Like I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve fallen in love with my & Other Stories flared denim jeans all over again and so it only felt right to try the two pieces together…and voilà we had a look.
I liked this outfit combination, I felt cool in it. It has a real, I’m really not trying to go for any particular look but this is now a look, vibe (that’s the only way I can describe it). So there we have it, that’s a low down on this outfit and a sneak peek look into our house so far. If you’d like to see more you can check out my home renovations/tour video below and of course, more home/interior related content shall be coming to the blog soon! But for now, I’ll say ciao!
If you’re someone who works as a creative/in the creative industry, it’s normal to go through periods of self doubt when you feel like your work isn’t quite up to scratch or not yet to the level you’d like it to be. Those feelings are natural and quite frankly something we need to all feel at times in order to grow and push ourselves creatively. The problem comes however when we get too entwined in these thoughts and being to look to those around us for examples of how our work should be. Yes it can be good to seek inspiration from our peers but when we start to use other people’s work as a tool to decipher the level of our own, this is when it becomes problematic for our own thought process and in turn our work as a creative. Whichever field you’re in, I’m sure you’ve likely gone through moments of comparing your work to others at times, I know I have, and so in this post I’m going to take you through a list of things that helped stopped me from doing just that…
Understand That We Each Have a Different Purpose
Once you understand that your purpose is different to someone else’s then you’ll inevitably realise that comparison is in the end, pointless.
Two people can do something similar but their purpose can be entirely different and at the same time, two people can do two things completely different but their purpose can be similar.
I’ll give you an example here: Two musicians can create the same genre of music and even have a similar style and overall aesthetic, however I might listen to one for their out of this world vocals (and as a backing track to my shower singing) and then to the other when I want deep thinking and a real connection with their awe-inspiring lyrics. Both can be great in their own right but for each person interpreting their work (and maybe even for themselves), they have a different purpose.
Think about what the purpose of your work is. Is it to educate, to entertain, to inspire, to help people…It could be a combination of things but whatever it is, focus on it and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.
Realise There is Room For Everyone
Do you think the second ever author on the planet stopped themselves from writing a book just because one had already been written prior to theirs? (okay that example was a bit silly but it still makes a point) In clearer context, imagine if J. K. Rowling had never sat down to pen Harry Potter because she thought there were enough fantasy novels out there and that she wouldn’t be as good as other authors. The point is, there is always room for someone else to interpret an idea in a new way, however big or small.
Know That It’s Okay To Be In Your Own Lane
Sometimes looking for comparisons between your own work and other people’s whom you maybe admire, can actually be a way of seeking a form comfort. If you know Joe Bloggs has been just been booked to photograph a big campaign and you feel that your work is quite similar, you’re onto a winner right?…wrong. Okay, not to shoot you down before you’ve started here but sometimes what works for someone else may not necessarily work for you and it’s always important to remember circumstance and timing (which, hardwork aside, can often play a huge part to a persons success).
If you feel like you’re the black sheep in your line of work, that can actually work in your favour. If you’re different you’re more likely to stand out right? And sometimes it can be the things that set you apart that make what you do truly special.
As creatives we have to be just that – creative. If we constantly compare our work to other’s it can easily begin to manifest in our own work. It can feel scary to be different and make you feel vulnerable when you’re the odd one out trying something new but the word creative itself means ‘the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something’. So go, do it, be you and create.
I’ve been feeling rather uninspired by my wardrobe over the past week or so. I think it comes down to the swift change in seasons and me not being quite ready for this colder Autumnal weather. I often find myself getting into this little rut around this time of year, which in part I feel comes down to my outfit focus shifting mainly towards practicality (and more so than usual). I find myself wearing the same outer layers and opting for that one trusty roll neck (seriously I have one roll neck that is trusty as heck) that I know will keep me warm.
I hate being cold, so layering is a must but I will admit that when pulling out my autumn/winter staples from previous seasons I do easily fall into the habit of wearing the same go to combinations (queue the trusty roll neck).
The other day I pulled out some of my favourite pieces, both from this summer and last winter and decided to mix and match a few items to see how different combinations could work. I don’t always find something new to be the solution for how I’m feeling about my outfits but instead I often just need to try something different with what I already have.
The first look I threw on – and I literally mean, I didn’t give it much thought at all – was this combination. Initially I’d thrown the blazer over the shoulders and thought it looked cool and effortless but when walking around today I put it on properly because lets face it, this is real life and nobody actually walks around with a jacket on their shoulders (do they?). Styling alterations aside, I felt pretty happy throwing this outfit on again to head out today. There’s nothing new in this outfit combination but there is definitely a different vibe to my usual combinations. I’m not a huge trend follower but I must admit I’ve surprised myself with how much I’ve been into the 70s vibes lately. These & Other Stories cropped flared jeans were a go to for a good part of the summer and it looks like that will continue into autumn and winter.
I feel I’ve found a combination that I love which is sort of minimal 70’s. I’m not sure if that’s a thing but that’s what I’m going with, so I guess it is now.
Speaking of changing things up, I’ve been doing so with some of my content too. As I mentioned I tried on a few different outfits the other day and after doing so I decided to style them up in a short lookbook video. Again I wanted the vibe to be different than my usual lookbooks and as I was at home alone at the time, I decided to do a self filmed lookbook which I then had a lot of fun getting creative with whilst editing. The video is at the bottom of the post if you’d like to check it out.
And last but not least, the shots. Onyi and I had a coffee shop working day today, which was great because I’m always left feeling super inspired when we hang out. She suggested that I take a more candid approach to today’s outfit pictures and I really loved the idea. Rather than standing in one spot and taking multiple images all at once, we causally just took a few shots here and there throughout the day and the results are something I really love. So I guess this post is a bit of a photo diary of my day as well as an outfit post and a waffling essay about clothes.
That’s my queue to wrap things up here. Thanks for stopping by. Ciao for now!
At the start of last week Damien and I returned home from a long weekend away with two of our friends. It was pretty much a chilled affair. We drank, we ate, we lounged in the sun and aside from the 60 mile bike ride that the guys did on the Saturday (the purpose of the trip in the first place), we didn’t really do much of anything else…and you know what? I really enjoyed it.
Many of my friends would be surprised to know that I didn’t even take my camera on this particular trip and in total I took about ten, rather candid (and certainly not Instagram worthy) iPhone photos. I put my out of office on and actually managed to block out all work related stuff for an entire four days!
Being the weekend before last and so much having happened since then, our little trip away now actually feels like it was ages ago and it’s funny because if you were to look at my social media, it’s as if it never happened. This makes me realise that I (and many of us) really do document so much of our lives online and even when we aren’t documenting our own goings on, we’re likely catching up on someone else’s. When I think back to our little trip the other week, I have such fond memories of the weekend away and although for once I may not have the beautifully captured images to show for it, it still happened and we still had a great time non the less. Whilst I love being able to capture, create and share moments online, for me the trip has been a reminder that it’s so important to also switch off from it all occasionally and here are a few reasons why.
To Help De-Stress
Modern technology and the invention of mobile phones and internet on the go have been brilliant in helping many aspects of our lives become more efficient. However on the flip side it has meant that we have become ever more reliant on technology, especially those like myself who use it as a large tool for their job. So for most people (myself included) our mobiles have become an extension of our right (or left) hand. Basically meaning we rarely ever get to fully switch off.
As a result an increasing amount of us are suffering from anxiety and stress related conditions. It’s hard to say technology in some ways doesn’t play a part. Everything is faster and we’re supposed to keep up and aside from that there is an ever growing pressure to always present our best selves online whilst having to look at everyone else’s. I don’t know about you but sometimes this can all get the better of me and I need a big fat time out. Whilst we obviously have to keep up with our work commitments and the social side of the internet can be fun, we do have to allow ourselves the time to occasionally step back and relax away from it all. Annndd breathe.
To Spend Quality Time With Loved Ones
I’ll hold my hands up and say I’m one of those people who will quite often have my phone out on the table when out for lunch or a coffee. It’s not that I’ll be on it constantly, however it’s sort of a (quite weird) comfort knowing that it’s there. Again going back to the topic of always being switch on, I feel I always need to be alert to check work related emails or respond to a call from my agency. Sometimes I hate it and my habit to check my emails has become an unhealthy compulsion (I kid you not I just checked on my phone then). I think it’s so important to try and live in the moment however and aside from my weird email checking habit, when it comes to spending time with loved ones I’m pretty good at keeping off social media. Unless of course I’m with a friend like L’Oréal, as we’ll quite happily have fun messing around filming each other being silly on insta stories or taking shots for the gram (you know how it is). With other friends however, it’s not always like that and so I will happily step away from the social media when handing out.
Quite frequently these days though I’ll be out and spot a couple or friends out together where one will be on their phone whilst the other stares into space. I guess for many of us it can be the excuse that it’s ‘work related’ although mostly when I see it I suspect it’s just mindless scrolling. If we think about it, if we seriously can’t spare an hour or two phone free to hang out with a friend, or enjoy date night with our other half, then maybe our work (or even online social) life is spilling over into real life a bit too much.
One thing I’ve found after returning home from trips where I’ve allowed myself to switch off is that I often return feeling really inspired. Now of course being out of my usual habitat can have a part to play in this, not to mention having time to relax and clear my mind. However I do find that when I spend too much time looking online for inspiration that I can wind up feeling less inspired than I did to start with. Everything starts to become the same and in the process my thoughts start to align with those ideas too. Now I’m not saying I’m ever able to be completely original because lets face it, there’s too much out there these days and likely anything you do, someone else has already done. But I do notice that as all of our interests, searches and likes are (quite creepily) logged with our online activity, we are constantly targeted with adverts, videos and images of thing we already like, so that we aren’t really seeing anything new. The same goes for news and political opinions but that’s a whole other discussion for another day.
Basically we get trapped in an ecco chamber and the reality is that the only way to get out of it is to switch off from the online world and go somewhere outside of our usual zone…but even then, are we really able to step out of the ecco chamber completely (hmmm, let’s not get too deep here). In a nutshell, before I digress any further, sometimes we need to get away from our online world in order to fill our minds with something completely and organically new.
Occasionally switching off can do wonders for the mind, relationships and life in general. Life online can be fun, an escape from real life and for some even a job. However just remember that although it may seem like it, you don’t have to be switched on all of the time and if you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed or just like you need some quality time with the people in your real life, feel free to step back, switch off and take some time away from it all. 🙂
