I was going to come at you today with a good old fashioned outfit post. By that I mean, in the old style of doing a blog post where I literally just share an outfit and ramble on a bit about it…but then something almost stopped me. I feel what sometimes deters me from posting more frequently is the feeling of not having anything very insightful or eloquently interesting to say.
As my blog has evolved (like many others), so has my writing style and the topics I like to discuss here in this space. Whilst I love my style content and sharing outfits, I now turn to my YouTube channel as a place to frequently share my outfits and styling ideas. It’s meant that over time, whilst I do continue to share style content visually here on my blog, the text has changed a lot, with the writing becoming slightly more topical and hopefully much more engaging too. With that being said, when I don’t feel I have anything very interesting or insightful to write, it puts me off writing at all. I think there’s a saying (I forget who said it), ‘you’re only as good as your last piece of work’. Whilst this can be a great quote to help motivate you to do your best and work harder, for me, I find it has the opposite effect. I often find this one niggling in the back of my mind as I sit down to write and then it puts me off sharing anything at all, if I don’t feel it lives up to what I put out previously.
It’s a silly dilemma to be in, I know. Like I often say about a lot of silly things that people get their knickers in a twist over, ‘it’s not that deep’. I’m well aware this is just a blog but for me this is the little space on the internet that is all mine, and because of that I tend to feel more particular about what I put out on it than on any other platform. However, one thing that I do say a lot is, ‘don’t strive for perfection, instead strive for consistency’. I should really practice what I preach here on my blog too, and remember that it’s okay to keep it simple. So sod my own silly standards that I’m unable to consistently live up to. The reason I started this blog in the first place was to do just that…blog. Be it long meaningful pieces, or just your bog standard light-hearted outfit post.
So I’m taking things back to basics. This space is just as much for me as it is for anyone else reading. When I first started this blog I’d happily type away to my hearts content when I didn’t think anyone was reading, so maybe now that’s what’s the problem (I now know that there is) and I just need to remember why I started blogging in the first place. I’ve always loved writing and sharing content here on my blog but I enjoy it so much more when I ease the pressure off just a bit. So this is just a reminder to myself that not every post has to include my most eloquent piece of writing and sometimes I should still just share the simple outfit posts with a bit of basic chatter, even if it is just for my own cathartic ramblings…and if you enjoy reading that, great, and if not, well, you can always just look at the pictures.
I always say, as long as your intentions are good and you’re not hurting anybody, or yourself, then do what makes you happy. This of course can be easier said than done, as sometimes in order to create or find the happiness we desire, we may have to step out of our comfort zone or take risks. Sometimes we can even find ourselves being discouraged from doing certain things that deep down we know we truly desire. Sometimes the dissuasion can come from others, or other times it can come from oneself. It’s important to not let these ideas of doubt get in the way and you should allow yourself to pursue the things that make you happy.
Your life is yours and not anyone else’s
Relationships, be it family, friends or a partner can sometimes be a conflicting factor in focusing on ones own happiness. We can often convince ourselves that the happiness of our loved ones is the most important thing, and whilst I am in agreement with this to an extent, I also have the opinion that focusing on someone else’s happiness is lesser justified if means making yourself miserable in the process. There needs to be compromise and balance, and if someone else’s happiness compromises your own, then you have to consider if it’s really worth it. Of course there are times when it’s necessary to put the needs of others before our own but when it comes to your long term happiness, just make sure that when making decisions that affect you, remember that it’s your life and nobody else’s.
Circumstances and situations can change so rapidly that where you are today might be very different to where you are in a day, a month, or a year, and so on. As they say ‘life is short’. It’s an overused phrase and with good reason, because most of the people who say it have had some sort of life experience to help them put things into perspective.
Whatever stage or place you’re at in life, if you have the opportunity to make choices to do the things that make you happy, then go for it. Who knows what may happen tomorrow. With that in mind, it’s important to seize opportunities whilst you can. Take that road trip with a friend, apply for that new job, end the unhappy relationship, go on that dream adventure, take that dance class, learn that new skill and most importantly just remember to do you, for you!
It’s your responsibility and not anyone else’s
Lastly it’s important to note that choosing to do what makes you happy is inevitably down to you. We can’t rely on others for our happiness, nor can we expect other’s to take care of things for us. It’s solely down to you to go after what you want, don’t wait around for someone else to make things happen for you. Perusing the things you want in life isn’t always easy but if in the long run it’s what will make you happy, then what are you waiting for?
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. 🙂
Through January and February I managed to purchase only one new item of clothing and that was a much needed, very practical, padded coat for my trips to Hamburg and Oslo. I guess you can say that purchase was more out of necessity than being an actual style choice, but I was definitely glad of it when I was out in below minus temperatures.
Whilst I had been quite happy with my wardrobe over winter, living mostly in a selection of roll necks and go to layers, I’ve been feeling rather eager to have a bit of a wardrobe update recently, ready for Spring/Summer.
Now you’ll know I’m not often one to jump on trends, longevity and wearability are always factors I take into account when acquiring new pieces. However I’ve been wanting to inject a bit of ‘fun’ into my wardrobe lately, as I feel I’ve exhausted my outfit combos over the winter period and have been feeling a desire for something new.
When Pinko reached out to me asking if I’d like to pick out a few pieces, it was perfect timing. When I spotted this new Pinko Love bag in their SS17 collection, it was just the sort of thing I’d been looking for. It’s fun and a bit out there, whilst still fitting in with my colour palette of muted tones. Most importantly I knew it would go well with denim, which means I can wear it with about 90% of my wardrobe.
You’ll likely be seeing a lot more of this bag in my future outfit posts as you know I like to wear things to death, plus it says ‘Love Me Tender’ on the side, which is very fitting considering I’m a big Elvis fan! I think I’ve made it clear that I love this bag (no pun intended). It’s trashy and fabulous at the same time, whilst still being very me and it’s nice to add a new piece to my wardrobe that I feel excited about.
The second new addition is this jacket which is also from Pinko. I love a good denim jacket and the fact that last summer I wore my black one almost everyday meant that I knew I’d get plenty of wear out of this one as it begins to warm up. I also love that the jacket is in this oatmeal shade, which I think is a nice contrast to my blue denim jeans and I think makes a great combination.
Now I’m on the look out for a few tops to add to my wardrobe, as I feel a decent selection of light weight spring/summer T-shirt and tops is what I’m seriously lacking at the moment and this grey Asos T-shirt you see here gets worn A LOT. I’d also like to incorporate a couple of dresses into the mix this coming summer, as although I’m sure my love for jeans will never die, I’m keen to change things up and bare some leg as the weather hots up too.
All in all I’m very excited for the change in seasons. Lighter mornings, longer days, milder weather and lighter layers, what’s not to look forward to!
