What’s your A-Z?
A summer of Instagram and meeting some photographically minded friends last weekend have inspired me to get out and about with my camera. If I’m exploring a new area, I love doing an A-Z challenge alone or with people.
Decide on a theme, and then fill it in before you leave or as you go along, and use as a shot list. You can do it solo or with friends, collaboratively or as a competition.
You can also use the list for gratitude lists, blog or article series ideas, places you want to visit… anything that’s alphabetical really.
You can download your own copy of my blank list here (no sign up required!) or by clicking on the image. And don’t forget to show me how you’ve used it on Instagram! The more inventive, the better…
Wishing you unicorns and happiness,
Why living on your own isn’t lonely
If you live (or have ever lived) by yourself, chances are you’ll have heard the following at least once.
“But don’t you get lonely?”
“I couldn’t live on my own, I’d get so bored”
“What about the creaks and strange noises? You can’t automatically dismiss them as the other person in the house – I’d find it creepy”
“But you must miss having people around you”
“How antisocial!” (usually followed by a fake laugh)
With the very occasional
“I wish I could decorate my house however I wanted”.
Since I’ve lived by myself, in my little house in my riverside village, I have come to recognise that you can more or less split people into two camps: those for whom living alone is a Wonderful Thing, something to aspire to, luxuriate in and enjoy; and those for whom it is The Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen.
The two camps do not understand the other’s point of view, though in my experience, the older the people, the more they are likely to live and let live, and not evangelise their preferred way of living.
I think it is partly linked to introversion and extroversion preferences, though I won’t go into that in any more detail here – there are umpteen books and courses and blog posts on the subject written by people far more knowledgeable than me on those traits.
I want to share my own experience of living by myself, and how it happened, and why I love it, and I don’t think lonely really comes into it.
Back in 2008, when I finished university, I was at a bit of a loose end. I’d never particularly planned to live anywhere other than with the boyfriend, but as our seven-year relationship dissolved at the end of 2007, clearly that wasn’t going to happen.
To complicate matters, my parents had moved from my hometown up to the north of Essex, where my family were. So I packed my life into a storage unit and trundled to my new home, finding solace in my extended family’s horses and hens and dogs, and space to mend my broken heart in the North Essex countryside and woodland.
A little slice of vintage heaven
A jaunt to Greenwich with my parents for Dad’s birthday, led us to stumbling across two amazing shops side by side. Retrobates Vintage and Casbah Records share frontage, and all three of us were drawn to the windows.
On venturing in, Dad turned left to the records, and was soon engrossed in conversation with the owner about 60s music and his own collection. Mum wandered through the arch and found kindred spirits in the girl with 60s hair, selling a green minidress she wore when she very first knew Dad.
While they chatted, I mooched with my camera…
Note the wallpaper, and the leopard print faux fur ceiling. I didn’t think they made shops like this any more – I’ve not been into even a vintage shop with so much personality for a long time – and with both records and clothing reasonably priced (especially for London), I shall be back… probably with Louise Contrariety Rose in tow!
August Break Day 25: Little
(no, I haven’t got another kitten – this is another 2009 throwback, and my oldest friend Claire’s cat when he was small. He’s not remotely little any more!)
Day 15: Blue
Ahh, my favourite colour. There is blue all over my home and my life, and I’ll share some photos on instagram today (a day late, but no matter). But this one made me smile 🙂
{work happy} To blog or not to blog?
When I started blogging back in 2005, relatively few people were doing it, and I kept it very separate from my actual life. So separate, that it took me until 2009 to start blogging for business as well!
However, nowadays it seems like everyone and his dog has a blog (no rhyme or pun intended).
So do you need one for your business?
Well, I’d say it depends. In the social media & blogging workshops I used to run, I always emphasised the fact that just because a platform exists, doesn’t necessarily mean you need to use it.
A blog can help to drive traffic to your website, but a blog alone won’t – you’ll need to promote your posts and perhaps guest post elsewhere to raise your profile in that way.
If you’re a prolific writer, you can add a sprinkling of keywords to your posts and you’re sharing valuable information with your target audience, then blogging could be a perfect way to get your name out. It certainly adds a sense of you to your business, and people often love a behind-the-scenes look at how a business they like runs.
As with all marketing, the more a potential client gets to know you, the more they’ll know if you’re a good fit – and you’ll become the definitive and obvious choice when they have need of your type of product or service.
If, on the other hand, the idea of writing regularly makes you want to run far, far away, then perhaps you’d be better blogging just photos, or using one of the myriad other social media platforms out there.
Some require only short updates, and allow you add photos if that works for you. But for blogging and social media, the best combination of all is the one that works for you. If you hate a particular type of platform, or find updating it intimidating, it’s never going to reflect you in the right way.
So you don’t HAVE to have a blog. Look at all the options for promoting your fabulous biz on this wonderful thing called the internet, choose the ones which appeal to you most, and focus on those.
It’ll make your message stronger, more you and so much more compelling!
xoxo,
[A version of this post first appeared on sister site, The Website Beautician]
I'm Carla, a quirky thirtysomething with a penchant for unicorns and glitter. I believe in magic and make-believe, and the gorgeous rebellion of making your life absolutely your own. And I'm a proud multipod!
I am a photographer and catalyst for small business owners, and a real life mermaid. I photograph people as they truly are, help women see and step into their brightest and best selves, add a sprinkling of magic to the mundane, and am a happy ambassador for stationery and slow living.
Proud to be both girly and geeky, when I’m not writing, photographing or daydreaming, you can find me dancing burlesque, riding my bicycle Bluebell, growing herbs and collecting typewriters.