Confessions of a Blogger - Inspired Living SA

Confessions of a Blogger Kari from Lovilee

This weeks Confessions of a Blogger features one of my favourite creative minds and local bloggers, Kari from Lovilee! We have never met but I feel like I know Kari so well! I was featured on the Lovilee Website last year, in a Kitchen Feature, after the mini kitchen makeover we did 🙂 Hopefully some day soon I can meet this lovilee lady in the flesh!

Hi I am Kari, a creative at heart, who loves pretty things and sharing pretty things with others. Even thought I have a BSc in Mathematical Sciences and a background working in corporate, I have always loved to create things and make little handmade things. I am so privileged to be able to run lovilee and share what interests me with others. I believe that if you do what you love you will love what you do!

When did you start your journey as a blogger and why? I started lovilee in 2010 as a place where I could share my thoughts and DIY projects of my wedding. It later became a space where I shared the projects of the house we had just moved in. A friend and my sister joined the blog and we formally added the Wedding + Kids sections. They later moved on to pursue other projects and I have been running lovilee myself for just over two years.

If you are not blogging where will we find you? Probably at the Wimpy down the road where my little man can play on the jungle gym 🙂 But if I have free time I love to create handmade products that I sell in a little on-line store on Hello Pretty . I also enjoy planning styled shoots, we roughy do one a quarter and this keeps me busy for weeks. Some of my favourite ones include the Delft Christmas table {above} and the Glitterazzi Wedding shoot{below}..

Tell us a little about your space on the interweb and what you blog about? My blog caters for a wide audience, staring with brides + brides-to-be, aspiring home decorators and mommies, and mommies-to-be. I aim to keep inspiring lovilees past their special day to where they move into a new space or later on have kiddies. Spreading the lovilee one article at a time.

What do you think makes a blog successful? Being passionate about what you write about. If you just blog to make money you will soon lose interest in what you do. I find that when I blog about topics that really interest me the words just flow and other people enjoy reading the article and comment on it.
Being a blogger is not always easy – what motivates you and keeps you going? I’ve met some of my best friend in the bloggersphere. I try to surround myself with positive people and know who to chat to, to get me motivated when I feel down. I also have to remind myself that I do not have to measure my success against others’, I am privileged enough to do what I want and enjoy.
What have your biggest blogging challenges been? I try to do as much as possible of www.lovilee.co.za myself. I did the current design, most of the coding and then most of the articles. The biggest challenge is to remain calm when something goes wrong! Especially when you think you are busy upgrading something to find that the whole blog has vanished.
What do you love most about being a blogger? I enjoy meeting other lovilees that are more creative than myself. It challenges me to set higher standards for myself and become a more lovilee me. I also appreciate that I can spent time with my family on a daily basis and am not tied to a 9-5 job.
What has your journey as a blogger taught you {about yourself or in general}? Has it changed your life in any way? It has showed me that your dreams are not as far out of reach as you believe them to be. I never thought that more than 10 people would read what I posted every day. It also taught me perseverance. There were many a time that I wanted to press the DELETE button on the blog, but positive feedback and friends were always there to keep me from it!

What are your top 5 SA blogs? I love The Saltbox, That Little Blog, Wedding Friends, Troukoors and Inspired Living off-course! I also follow quite a few local wedding and lifestyle photographers.
If you had to give a newbie blogger any advice, what words of wisdom would you impart? Wow, there is sooo much that I have learnt that I actually started a blogging series at the beginning of this year entitled Blogging 101. In the series I aim to try and give some advice on what I have learn’t in this journey of mine of just over 3 years now. http://www.lovilee.co.za/tag/blogging-101/

Thanks Kari for sharing a bit more about your life and blogging journey with us! You can find out more about Kari and connect with her here:

Blog link: www.lovilee.co.za

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovilee.inspiration

Twitter: @LovileeDsigns

If you would like to be featured on Confessions of a Blogger or would like to see a blogger featured here, then please email Fiona or leave a comment below.

Image Source: Lovilee, Delft Photoshoot ~ Photographer Duane Smith, Glitterazzi Wedding shoot ~ photographer Melanie Wessels

Be Inspired, Blogging, Interviews

Confessions of a Blogger Clerissa from Fancy Pants

In today’s Confessions of a Blogger we say a hello to the lovely Clerissa, from Fancy Pants Blog. Lets find out a bit more about Clerissa, what she blogs about and what keeps her motivated!

A fancy hello! I’m Clerissa, a 25 year old born and bred Pretoria Poppie! I have been living in the lovely Joburg for 7 years now and I have a quaint little home in Morningside which I share with Gucci & Chanel. My cat daughters. I’m addicted to cappuccinos, passionate about animals and have a slight shopping problem. I love fancy things, hence Fancy Pants, but I also believe in the little things… because in the end all you need is love!

When did you start your journey as a blogger and why? I started writing down my thoughts about 4 years ago on a personal blog of mine. It wasn’t really for the public eye; it was my private outlet where I could express my thoughts and document my feelings. Sometimes writing down how you feel is the perfect remedy for dealing with life’s issues. At the time I was still studying and starting my transition from student to career woman and we all know how scary and daunting that can be. And I needed to write. It was my therapy. Fancy Pants was always at the back of my mind, a when-I-grow up-kind-of-thing. And I was all grown up in January of this year and Fancy Pants was born.
Do you blog full-time or do you have a regular 9-5 as well? I do indeed have a full-time job. I’m part of a Digital Team at a PR Agency and I do all things social media. I love what I do. I’ve always wanted to work in social media and then it just happened. I studied Marketing but I always knew that my creative mind was meant for something else and then this opportunity came around and I was ecstatic. That is why I am a firm believer that dreams do come true.

Tell us a little about your space on the interweb and what you blog about? Fancy Pants is a Lifestyle blog with my main focus on Travel, Beauty and Fitness. I love discovering new places whether it’s a cute Coffee Shop, Hipster Market or a hidden Getaway spot. If it impresses me I blog about it (and it has to be fancy :)). Skincare is also a passion of mine as I take great effort in caring for my skin, which I hope all ladies do! If I find a product that I love then you will read about it. And then I’m also on a fitness journey because I believe a healthy body hosts a healthy mind. My goal is to get into the best shape I can this year and blogging about it keeps me motivated.

Being a blogger is not always easy – what motivates you and keeps you going? Fortunately I am in love with the Digital world. When something is your passion it makes it easier. But of course there are days where working and blogging can get challenging. On those days I make a cup of coffee or pour a glass of wine and say tomorrow is another day, this too shall pass.
How important do you think it is to have a niche blog? I think it is very important. By having a niche you can differentiate your blog from others. It also helps you being better targeted by Companies for review opportunities. A Company would rather choose a niche blog that focuses on specific categories and perhaps are more advanced and educated within those categories than a blog that just covers everything. I f you can establish your niche and have decent quality content then you have the potential to do well.
What have your biggest blogging challenges been? WordPress. Oh my word. Look I know my social media stuff and all but when it comes to the technical side of setting up a blog and creating tabs and widgets I want to lose my mind! I do not like to utilise the left side of my brain, it is only there to look pretty. Only me and the right side play nice together.

What do you love most about being a blogger? Learning. By reading a million blogs and blog posts a day I get to learn a lot about a lot. Each day you discover a new blogger, a new story, a new product, a new trend or a new place. I like to know things and being a blogger helps with my little curiosity problem.
If you had to choose a favourite social media platform, what would it be and why? Tough one but I would have to say Instagram. I love pretty pictures. Its food for my soul and Instagram has got LOTS of soul food!
What has your journey as a blogger taught you {about yourself or in general}? Has it changed your life in any way? It has definitely taught me how to multi-task and how to be more committed. Working and blogging is tricky because we all know blogging takes time plus you still have to have a life. So I have learned if you really want to make something a success you will find the time or make the time. Commitment is key and Fancy Pants has taught me how much I actually enjoy writing and how much I love being a blogger.
If you had to give a newbie blogger any advice, what words of wisdom would you impart? Be resilient. Write what you believe and be authentic. Don’t be scared of taking chances and most importantly, don’t be afraid to start! We all have start somewhere, someday.

Thanks Clerissa for sharing a bit more about your life and blogging journey with us! You can find out more about Clerissa and connect with her here:

Blog link: http://missfancypantsblog.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fancy-Pants/181255988594464

Twitter: @missfancy_panty – https://twitter.com/missfancy_panty

Instagram: @missfancy_pants – http://instagram.com/missfancy_pants

If you would like to be featured on Confessions of a Blogger, then please email Fiona or leave a comment below.

Image Source: Clerissa From Fancy Pants Blog

Be Inspired, Blogging, Interviews

Confessions of a Blogger Roxy from City Girl Searching

In today’s Confessions of a Blogger we meet the gorgeous Roxy Hutton, from the inspiring blog City Girl Searching.I was recently featured on CGS, in Roxy’s series Life After the Dress, a fun interview series exploring life after marriage 🙂

Hello. My name is Roxy Hutton and I am 25 years old. I currently live in South Korea with my Farmboy hubby where we both teach English to cute Korean kiddies. We have been here for just under a year and plan to be here for the next couple of years traveling and seeing as much of the world as we can before we start a family.

When did you start your journey as a blogger and why? I started blogging in 2010 when I came over here to Korea the first time. Blogging was a way for me to keep family and friends updated with my life. My first blog was terrible (I guess it wasn’t that bad) but it was nothing like CityGirlSearching is today. It was called FarmboyandCityGirl. When we returned to South Africa after a year I realized I couldn’t really continue to write about Korea, and so CityGirlSearching was born. I was searching for something that would keep me out of mischief and my blog became that for me. But it has grown into so much more in the last 3 years.

Do you blog fulltime or do you have a 9-5 as well? I wish I blogged full time, but I still feel like it’s only me, my mom and my husband who actually read what I write. I work as an English Teacher here in Korea. But blogging part time is a lot less stressful than going full time. Everyone wishes they could make a living off their blog, and very few of us will ever be able to do that. But I think that might be a blessing in disguise. There is a lot of pressure to blog, and sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel when I don’t receive a single comment on a blog post that takes hours of time to put together. It’s in those moments that I try and remember why I started blogging in the first place; I like to create pretty things and make other people feel inspired. If you pop on over to my blog and feel happy because of my photographs or graphics, even for one moment, then my job has been accomplished.

Tell us a little about your space on the interweb and what you blog about? CityGirlSearching is a lifestyle blog. I used to struggle with the idea of boxing myself into a particular category, and I get distracted so easily I don’t think I could ever just blog about one thing. Making it ‘lifestyle’ means I have room to post whatever I like, beauty tips, photographs, recipes, DIY and fashion. I hope that every time you visit my blog you see something new that either inspires you, or makes you smile (or possibly makes you hungry enough to go and try it in the kitchen!)

Being a blogger is not always easy – what motivates you and keeps you going? Like I said above, most of us blog because it’s a passion, not because we are getting any kind of financial gain from it. Bloggers live off comments (we would prefer the positive kind but sometimes the nasty kind inspires us to change and grow in different ways). When you like one of my pictures on Facebook, it makes me happy. It makes me feel appreciated, like you took time out of my day to say “Hey, that’s nice. I like that” and that makes me happy. When you share my work with your friends I get an even bigger kick, and I really feel special. So now you know a little bit more about how you can show your favourite bloggers some love. The love we get (whether in comment or like form) is a way of making us feel that all the work and effort and time (and often money) that we put into our blog is being appreciated by someone other than our husbands and family.
What have your biggest blogging challenges been? My biggest challenge has been the feelings of inadequacy I get when I start comparing my blog to others. When I compare the number of comments, the number of likes, the number of followers, then my little space on the interweb starts to feel rather insignificant.

What do you love most about being a blogger? I love the people I’ve met, from bloggers half way across the world to photographers to new service providers to friends I’ve made. I love that I feel like I am adding to the pretty-ness that this world has to offer, and that people might use my blog as a way to escape from a bad day and leave feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world! 🙂
Do you have any blog related or social media pet peeves? {things that other bloggers or social media peeps do, that really annoy you} Not really. A part of me wants to say that people with fake personas are terrible annoying, but then I think maybe they have a horrible life and use their blog as a way of escaping. I think perhaps the one thing that does upset is nasty comment’s I really believe that if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all. All your nasty comment is doing is making someone feel bad about themselves. So please, only nice (or constructive) comments!

What has your journey as a blogger taught you {about yourself or in general}? Has it changed your life in any way? Absolutely! You might not believe me when I say this but I consider myself the most uncreative person out there. ALL my ideas for my blog (even the name and the majority of my first blog posts) came from my incredibly creative husband. But, what this does show you is you can learn to be creative. If I see something that inspires me, I try and recreate it, and then that gets the ball rolling for my own ideas. I often feel stumped and like my head is a big blank space when I sit in front of my computer to write, so I try to find inspiration from the word around me; from other bloggers (always crediting them if I have used any of their ideas) or from nature itself. And as you probably know, Pinterest is a treasure trove! Blogging has also shown me talents I never would have thought I possessed. I never thought I would be able to take a picture that would ever be considered ‘nice’, and now photography is one of my biggest passions. People actually want to pay me money for it. I still pinch myself when people enquire about photo-shoots. Blogging has led me in a million new directions, and opened up so many more opportunities for me to dip my toe in.
If you had to give a newbie blogger any advice, what words of wisdom would you impart? Never compare yourself to anyone. I love this saying that ‘Comparison is the thief of Joy”. You might never be as good as that person at what they do, but you can be the best at what you do. Let your blog be a true reflection of who you are. I know not everyone likes pink and fluffy and glitter and pretty like I do, but all of those things make me happy and that’s what I want to do with my blog, let it be a place where I feel happy. Also, the best advice I can give you is to start today. Don’t think about it too much, there will always be a million different reasons why it won’t work, but you’ll never now unless you actually put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and start.
In three words tell me what blogging means to you: Inspiration, friendship, joy

Thanks Roxy for sharing a bit more about your life and blogging journey with us! You can find out more about Roxy and connect with her here:

Blog link: http://citygirlsearching.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityGirlSearching

Twitter: https://twitter.com/roxyhutton

Instagram: http://instagram.com/roxyhutton

If you would like to be featured on Confessions of a Blogger, then please email Fiona or leave a comment below.

Image Source: Roxy from City Girl Searching

Be Inspired, Interviews

Confessions of a Blogger Lauren from The Travel Manuel

Today on Confessions of a Blogger, we are featuring the lovely Lauren from The Travel Manuel! I actually know Lauren personally and we managed to connect in Koh Samui, while we were travelling in Thailand, last year 🙂 Lets find out a bit more about the blogger behind the blog!

My name is Lauren Manuel McShane and together with my husband, Vaughan, we form a travel journalism duo who traipse around the world telling stories through writing, photography and video. We are 29 year old Capetonians currently based in Mersing, Malaysia and loving life here. I don’t think we will ever stop travelling but we both agree that there is no place like Cape Town.

When did you start your journey as a blogger and why? When I first moved to Seoul, South Korea to teach English, I began to scribble all my thoughts, stories and discoveries of everyday life on pieces of paper, then notebooks and finally on a blog. I guess I always enjoyed storytelling, but together with a love of photography and travel, a travel blog became a great way for me to share my adventures.
Do you blog fulltime or do you have a 9-5 as well? At the moment, I juggle the blogging with a mentoring job. Luckily it’s a wonderful job where I get to mentor local teachers in rural Malaysia. Before 2, I am assisting them with their English and how to teach English and for the rest of the day I am writing and doing social media.

Tell us a little about your space on the interweb and what you blog about? Together with my husband, we run thetravelmanuel.com. We hope to inspire anyone and everyone to escape their comfort zones and explore the world either on short vacations or long term travel. We use various mediums to give people a glimpse of God’s beautiful creation all around us in South Africa and worldwide. We also give tips and guidelines on how to make the process and preparation of travel smoother.
Being a blogger is not always easy – what motivates you and keeps you going? Learning how to manage, fix and develop a website is the tough part as well as keeping up with social media and editing. The writing I love and while there are some days when I am not in the mood, most days I really HAVE to write.
What have your biggest blogging challenges been? When I first started, it was learning on how to build my own website and navigate my way around plugins and widgets when everything was so new to me. Also trying to regularly publish new content whilst marketing the site on social media was extremely time consuming. Luckily my husband and I now balance the work load and he is very technically minded and opts to do the things I really don’t enjoy. Team blogging is the best!

What do you love most about being a blogger? I love having a platform to share the lessons I have learnt through travel with others. It enables me to share the beauty of the world with people who may not have the chance to travel and it connects me with fellow travelers who are moved with the same wanderlust as I am.
Do you have any blog related or social media pet peeves? {things that other bloggers or social media peeps do, that really annoy you} I love most things about travel blogging other than the competition ~ everybody wants to be a travel blogger ~ And blogging cliques. But hey, a little competition is a great motivator.

What has your journey as a blogger taught you {about yourself or in general}? Has it changed your life in any way? It inspires and enables me to travel more which is the greatest education and mind opener of all. I often learn more about myself and humanity while travelling than I do at home. I have always loved variety and been repelled by routine, so travel blogging feeds my need to do something new and different with each day. It has open doors to a freelance way of life where I am my own boss.
If you had to give a newbie blogger any advice, what words of wisdom would you impart? The greatest advice I ever received about my blog was to just start. It doesn’t need to look perfect to begin with. Most great projects never do. Start small and slowly improve various aspects of your blog, making sure it is user friendly. However make sure your content is of a high quality. Keep posts short and impactful, readers of the web hardly linger for too long.
In three words tell me what blogging means to you: Travel, storytelling and expression.

Thanks Lauren for sharing a bit more about your life and blogging journey with us! You can find out more about Lauren and connect with her here:

Blog link: http://thetravelmanuel.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetravelmanuel

Twitter: @thetravelmanuel

Instagram: @thetravelmanuel

If you would like to be featured on Confessions of a Blogger, then please email Fiona or leave a comment below.

Image Source: The Travel Manuel

Be Inspired, Blogging, Interviews

Confessions of a Blogger Chicara from Lipgloss Kisses

Today on Confessions of a Blogger, we are featuring the gorgeous Chicara from Lipgloss Kisses, one of my favourite local beauty bloggers!

Hi, I’m Chicara and I’m a 30-year old (Eeek!) beauty blogger that lives in Pretoria. I’m a freelance web designer and some might call me a computer nerd, However, I’m probably not your typical ‘nerd’. I’m utterly obsessed with makeup, beauty, TV games, cupcakes, coffee, dogs and hello kitty. If it’s girly, pink or cute then chances are I love it.

When did you start your journey as a blogger and why? Almost 3 years ago. October 2011. I’ve always loved reading other blogs and decided to put my own experiences, personal views and creativity to good use. I remember when I first started blogging. I was worried nobody was going to read my blog and that I would be a laughing stock. Wow, look how far I’ve come!
Do you blog full-time or do you have a 9-5 as well? I’m supposed to blog part time, but seeing as how I’m a freelancer and I work at home the lines are often crossed. Oops! I sometimes find myself spending my work hour’s blogging. It’s just so much fun. I can’t help myself! I also have a slight problem with procrastination so I’m sure you can guess what I’m doing when I’m supposed to be working. *blush*.

Tell us a little about your space on the interweb and what you blog about? My blog, Lipgloss Kisses, is my own personal wonderland of pink, beauty & fashion. I blog about everything I love and all the things that inspire me daily. I share my personal thoughts on beauty products, what foods I currently love or even what I’ve recently spotted at the shops.

Being a blogger is not always easy – what motivates you and keeps you going? Blogging is really hard work. It’s not necessarily as glamorous as just being sent free stuff to test out. I usually have to take about 50-100 photos in order to find 2 or 3 that will work for a post. Can you believe it? I spend all day in pajamas without any makeup on. There ain’t anything glam about that is there. My skin sometimes reacts badly to a product and I often feel the pressure to blog every day. But I usually look at how far I’ve come and all that I’ve accomplished and that motivates me to carry on. Also when I receive comments and emails it totally makes me smile and sometimes I even do a happy dance. Internally of course 😉

What have your biggest blogging challenges been? I would have to say it’s a tossup between time management and competitiveness. I actually only discovered how competitive I really am when I started blogging. But I think it’s only natural to want to succeed at your endeavors. Blogging isn’t a walk in the park. There are so many good things that come with blogging but there are also a lot of not so good things.
What do you love most about being a blogger? I love chatting to followers and fellow bloggers. It’s just so amazing having all these people who share the same likes. I’ve met so many people and even made new friends. I love every second of it.
Do you have any blog related or social media pet peeves? {things that other bloggers or social media peeps do, that really annoy you} I think the biggest thing for me is when people create a fake persona on social media. It’s almost like they’re a completely different person. They only show the best side of themselves and this really irritates me.
What has your journey as a blogger taught you {about yourself or in general}? Has it changed your life in any way? Absolutely. It’s given me confidence and it’s helped me meet new people. I’m so shy and blogging has really made me feel more comfortable with who I am. Okay, I might be getting a bit too soppy now.
If you had to give a newbie blogger any advice, what words of wisdom would you impart? Be yourself. Don’t try and copy other bloggers in the hopes of being recognized. Your followers will value your honesty and they will appreciate you if you share your true self with them.
In three words tell me what blogging means to you: Passion, Happiness & Hard Work

Thanks Chicara for sharing a bit more about your life and blogging journey with us! If you would like to find out more about Chicara and Lipgloss Kisses please click the links below.

Blog link: www.lipglosskisses.com

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

If you would like to be featured on Confessions of a Blogger, then please email Fiona or leave a comment below.

Image Source: Lipgloss Kisses