This is not a fashion blog (but I'm not sure what it is)


I've blogged more in the last few weeks that I have for months.
I have four fully-formed blog posts in draft and a list in my phone with over 40 ideas for content.
I'm blogging on my lunch break, planning posts on the bus, writing down ideas in the morning before work.

I'm writing about travel, about mental health, about food, about family.
I'm writing whatever I feel like writing.

The reality is that fashion hasn't been a part of this blog, other than in name, for the last three or four years.
In what I consider my "blogging peak" of 2011-2012, I was photographing my outfits every day. I was carefully curating my clothing, spending hours putting different outfits together and noting them down.

I was up-to-date with hundreds of blogs. I bought Glamour and Cosmo and Vogue and InStyle and Look and more! . I stuck photos of outfits on my bedroom walls.

I wanted to be a fashion writer. 

Now, while I think I still manage to look presentable most of the time, I couldn't care less about fashion. I don't know what's in style, and furthermore, I don't care. The only magazine I read is Runner's World and I rarely buy new clothes on a whim. I only read a handful of blogs, and never for the outfits.

I do still take the occasional outfit photo, if I particularly love my outfit, but I no longer feel that I need nice outfits in order to be able to blog.

Now I want to blog about everything.

I've been particularly inspired lately by two of my favourite bloggers. Michelle, who now posts nearly-daily articles on everything from motherhood to content marketing to body image to creative writing, and Amy, who has recently started her own newsletter, that covers so much more than just food.

Over the years I've come to find that I don't read blogs for the pretty pictures, I read them for the person, for their writing, for their story. I have absolutely no interest in becoming a Mum any time soon, but I read Michelle's motherhood posts or Amy's meat recipes with vigour. And that's what I want to create.

I'm not sure where this sudden re-engagement with my blog has come from. Over the last few years there have been times where I've considered throwing the towel in, when blogging has felt like work, when it's felt like a chore, when I haven't posted for weeks because I've worn the same outfit three times in a week. Some of the posts I've been planning lately have been sat in my "blog posts to write list" for a year without me even getting started on them.

Maybe part of it is to do with a lack of pressure. I don't have ads anymore and I rarely have sponsors, so this feel much more like my space. Maybe it's because I'm not writing quite so much at work and I need a creative outlet. Maybe it's because Phil has recently started a blog so we can both quietly sit and blog all evening, so posts aren't rushed before we put a DVD on.  Maybe I'm just working harder at it - making the effort to actually write down what's in my head rather than letting it drift off.

I'm excited. I'm writing so much that I'm scared to publish everything in case my creativity dries up. It feels so good to feel passionate and excited about blogging again, especially after almost 7 years.

I don't know yet how long it will last. But it's good to be back.

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