Dear Mummy, you’ve been to a couple of parenting blogging events since you started blogging and have always had mixed feelings about them. So when Blog On Winchester landed on our doorstep last week you just had to go. You’ve … Continue reading
Dear mummy, last week I posted a list of reasons why I think you might be turning into a blogging monster.
This week’s post is about helping you out of the blogging hole you’ve got yourself into. I’m giving you some pointers on how NOT to become a blogging monster mummy!!
Yes you have ambition, I get that mummy. But this constant striving to be the best at everything that you do must get you down.
I’m not saying have low expectations just don’t measure yourself on very successful professional bloggers!
A) you don’t have the time to be like them and B) this is a hobby that you enjoy. Not a business, not your livelihood.
So here’s my ten tips to STOP yourself turning into a blogging monster:
1) Stick to you guns mummy, you don’t have to be on every social media channel. Don’t spreads yourself too thinly. We’re not on Instagram you see…so what.
2) Take time out. For at least one day during the week don’t check your phone or computer.
3) Turn off notifications after 9pm. Don’t be a slave to notifications!
4) Limit your Twitter and increase your life balance. You don’t need to be online all the time! Leave temptation at the door. Hang your coat up and leave your phone on charge for the evening.
5) Blog for yourself. Do as much or as little as you want to.
6) Don’t compare yourself to other bloggers (they are travelling their own journey) it’s good to be different.
7) Only take your big camera when it’s a very special event – you don’t need it for a trip down the shops!
8) Be supportive of the blogging community. Show this though likes, shares and comments on other people’s blogs.
9) Have fun, when blogging becomes a chore it’s time to cut back or quit. Don’t feel that you have to do everything. When you don’t worry about followers and joining in every single Linky then you won’t feel the pressure to make everyone happy.
10) Don’t forget about family (especially in the evenings) disconnect from you phone and reconnect to daddy. *hubba hubba* 😉
Heed my words of wisdom mummy! I want to see you put this into practice soon….and if you don’t…. I’ll take control of EVERYTHING! Hehehe!
Lots of love Bella (your lifestyle guru and blogging buddy)
Ten signs you’re turning into a blogging monster…RAHHHH 1) Every moment has to be captured and recorded. Everything is a blog post waiting to happen. 2) Sometimes you over-share with the world. What a dirty word ‘over-sharing’. 3) You have … Continue reading
My mummy doesn’t usually have the opportunity to treat herself so imagine her delight when she was invited to a bloggers networking event at Festival Place Shopping Center!
Her ‘Mummy time’ mostly consists of a 20 minute bath with a cold cup of tea! So a full 2 hours of hobnobbing with other bloggers, gaining style tips from Melissa Murrell and being treated to a manicure from Shear Beauty was utter bliss!
The new networking event was organised by Festival Place as a way to engage with local bloggers and showcase stores and services within their shopping center. They did a fantastic job and drew in a range of diverse bloggers from around Hampshire.
As soon as my mummy walked into Giraffe restaurant, where the networking event was being held, she recognised one of her local blogging friends NorthHantsMum (NHM) however there were a lot of new faces too. Canapes and drinks lined the tables along with goodie bags for the attendees.
Beauty and fashion bloggers were eagerly chatting to one another, commenting on the clothes rail that was set up at the end of the hospitality room.
A stylist and personal shopper called Melissa Murrell was presenting her business and giving us some style tips on how to dress for our body shapes. Move over Gok Wan, you may be the local boy (Winchester) but you’ve got some serious competition in the shape of this blonde bombshell 😉
Melissa was great putting the non-fashion bloggers (AKA my mummy) at ease by explaining that ‘it isn’t all about the numbers’ while presenting her with a tape measure to record the 3 points on her shoulders, tummy and hips to determine her body shape.
This is quite daunting as my mummy’s shape has changed quite dramatically since having me two years ago and she’s uncomfortable about the way she looks now. However Melissa put her mind at ease and could easily relate after have two children of her own. The majority of her clients are in fact mummy’s who have lost their style mojo.
Earlier my mummy had picked up 2 illustrated cards off Melissa Murrell’s demonstration table. A pear drawing and rectangle drawing of her possible body shape…and she wasn’t far off! After calculating her proportions she was a very healthy pear shape.
Melissa then ran through how to dress for her shape.
Here’s a quick run through of the tips and tricks she picked up. But we don’t want to give everything away. Visit Melissa Murrell’s website and see for yourself.
Style tips and tricks.
It’s all about ‘broadening’ (not adding pounds but changing your shape by optical illusion).
Balance is key.
Try and emulate an hourglass figure.
Straight up and down is easy to dress but make it a bit more interesting by adding detail either at the shoulders if you are pear, or shoulders and hips if you are boyish.
A lot of the fashion and beauty bloggers were a dab hand at this, but the mummy bloggers in the crowd (my mummy) didn’t have a clue, so found her little style talk invaluable! We’ll be checking out her website for more style tips! A very educational and enjoyable hour.
Festival Place have always been good with their shopper and community engagement. They explained during the night that more events are being held this year to give shoppers a unique experience when they visit in 2015.
On April 3rd – 4th (Easter Weekend) Eat Street is back which is a weekend event allowing shoppers to taste from local stores and stall food, immerse themselves in cookery demonstrations and enjoy the easter weekend with treats from Hotel Chocolate, perfect for when my mummy finishes Lent and can start eating chocolate again! There will be entertainment featuring top celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli too. Woweee mummy! Sounds good.
It’s nice that the stores within Festival Place shopping centre get onboard with the seasonal activities and offer competitions and discounts to shoppers during the events the shopping centre hosts.
While the Festival Place team were talking, my mummy noticed that two beauty technicians had turned up to offer us complementary nail manicure from Shear Beauty. Woweee, now you really are being spoilt mummy. This epitomizes the way that Festival Place treat their customers and my mummy felt very pampered. This is a lovely feeling when you are rushed off your feet at work all day and being a mummy to a mad toddler.
My mummy had a great couple of hours and it was one of the friendliest blogger meet ups she’s had so far. Well done Festival Place.
From your local ‘shopping family’
Bella and her mummy x
P.s No serious blogging event would be complete without the goodie bags. And they were amazing! BlogFest and BritMums take note! 😉 We can’t wait to explore the products and showcase the beauty products in the next couple of weeks 🙂
Dear mummy, eek! I’m so happy for you! A lovely fellow blogger over at MiniTravellers won a ticket to Mumsnet BlogFest via a competition online and gave it to you! This doesn’t happen to us, it’s like something out of a dream. I’ve known for quite a while that you wanted to go to BlogFest, but you couldn’t justify the price to daddy and yourself.
You’d rather the ticket money go on a family day out or for me to be treated to something special. It’s not cheap you know! At £95 a ticket, a lot of fellow bloggers can’t afford it either. However, it’s well worth the price for what you get in return… A chance to meet fellow bloggers in person (all together) when you wouldn’t ordinarily meet your online friends, attending specialist talks which will help you learn ‘the way of the blog’ Yoda style, listening to guest speakers such as Nick Hornby, whose books and films you grew up with and hobnobbing with large national companies. It’s the biggest blogger networking event on the planet (well in our world it is).
Until yesterday you were down in the mouth, trying to dodge happy and overjoyed bloggers which managed to grab BlogFest tickets, thinking how lucky they were…..now you are one of them. I know part of you feels guilty for going away to London and having a day to yourself to immerse yourself in something you love so much. I know you will talk a lot about me, well, I am the reason you blog aren’t I? Unfortunately I’m too young to attend, I am the youngest blogger I know at 1+yrs, surely that’s an ice breaker. I don’t want you to be nervous as a newbie blogger going to your first BlogFest, hold your head up high, everyone is in the same boat, nervous about meeting strangers… Some of them you’ve chatted with for months!
I know you will be looking for one blogger in particular, your fairy godmother, the one that made your BlogFest dream come true…Karen from MiniTravellers. There are many other people you’d like to meet too, it’s just finding out what they look like and chatting.
I recommend take a photo of me and some business cards, until I’m old enough to come with you I trust you with my reputation and to act like my PA.
One word of advice….enjoy yourself and let your hair down…and remember to come back home to me and Daddy! I don’t want you getting too big for your blogging boots and staying in the big smoke! Remember humble beginnings and why you are blogging, not for commercial gain or sponsored posts but because you love sharing what we get up to and showing the love to people, stuff and places we meet along our adventures. Our blog will always be an online scrapbook of memories to look back on when I am older and you are gone.
I love you mummy, I know I can’t verbally tell you all the time but I can write it.
Your daughter Baby Bella x
Dear mummy, I know what you did last summer…..*cough* I mean last Halloween.
Everyone that knows you, knows you LOVE Halloween, it’s a big thing in our house and you’ve been attending Halloween parties since you were a little girl.
Even when you were pregnant with me you were out in fancy dress, partying, drinking ginger beer!
Our first Halloween as a family last year was spent carving pumpkins with close family friends, decorating the house and getting ready for a fabulous children’s party. Over the last eight years you and daddy have dressed up as, Dog soldiers, pumpkins, witches, vampires, Sweeney Todd, Corpse Bride, Morticia Adams, the White Queen, Star Wars characters, zombies and the list goes on! I hope you like the flash-back photos I found off your computer! There are so many photos so I picked the best ones.
While I was browsing through your photos I also found our first pumpkin carving attempt, we had such good fun that day and can’t wait to try it again next week.
I love the fashion that’s around too, dark autumnal colours, neon greens and oranges and creepy spider and bat tops and leggings.
My favourite is my little ghost jumper from Bonnie Baby UK and the great selection from NEXT.
We hope that everyone has a lovely a Halloween this year, we’ll be prepping by baking spooky cupcakes, lighting candles for the carved pumpkins and going to parties.
love Bella x
Lemur Linkup for Bloggers in Dorset and Hampshire At Lemur Landings Soft Play, Tower Park Poole on Monday 6th October. Entrance £10, early birds £5. Dear mummy, you ventured out on Monday night to attend your first ‘proper’ bloggers networking … Continue reading
Dear Mummy Blog 