3 THINGS THAT I'VE LEARNED SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING | 2 YEARS

BOTTOMS // FOREVER 21

2 years... I've lived in Toronto for almost five years now, and as much as my life has changed since I moved from the west, the past two years have been so incredible and while many things have happened throughout the years, I attribute a lot of the change to the blogging community. I have technically been blogging since 2009, starting with a food blog, and a half-assed fashion blog, and then a beauty/DIY blog on Tumblr which I kept during my Youtube days. Finally, I decided to settle on this little self-named blog in June 2015. So to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of this blog, I thought I'd recap a little bit of my blogging journey and how things have changed since I started blogging.

BEING MISUNDERSTOOD BY OLD FRIENDS

It's true that in my two years of blogging, there's been a shift in focus of my everyday priorities and lifestyles. Even though I don't hyper-publicize my life on social media, what you see on Instagram is definitely different from how I am with my circle of close friends.

I've often found myself standing up in the restaurant to take a picture of my food, or take several shots of my coffee to get the right angle and I'm aware of how it may make my company uncomfortable or even embarrassed because it really isn't normal for them.

However, I am also grateful that I have friends who while may not blog or be an "Instagrammer", they understand and just get it. In addition to that, I have also made friends with people who share similar interests in content production which is also amazing. 

One thing I am constantly trying to balance is my relationships with my main core group of friends and the new ones I have made as a result of blogging. I never want my core group to misinterpret and feel like I'm leaving them behind for new friends. I have such supportive friends though, and even though it may not be of interest for them to understand the life and behaviours of a content creator, I am just grateful that they see that I am still the same person I was before blogging and social media.

TOP & PURSE // OLD NAVY

THE PRESSURE OF TESTING OUT BEAUTY PRODUCTS

One thing my other fellow bloggers will totally relate to me with is the pressure of loving and testing out products. Especially when you have a backlog of products that you need to photograph before trying out, then testing the product for a decent amount of time to form an opinion, writing a blog post and editing photos, and then ultimately moving onto the next product on your list even if you did like the first product because you have to keep testing and writing.

Sometimes I get a bit burnt out because it's a constant cycle of trying out new products and listing what I like and don't like about it, but at the end of the day, I will keep going because I know somewhere out there, someone is looking for information on a product and my blog post might help them out!

SHOES: JUSTFAB // MIN $39.95

INSTAGRAMMABLE MOMENTS

Something I've realized is how I've started assigning a value to every moment in regards to how "Instagram Worthy" it is. 

Examples: Making an effort to go to restaurants with cute floors and cute decor, taking a flatlay with my freshly ordered latte before all of the foam disappears, posing casually but not so casually for a cool pic of my outfit (the photos in this blog post say it all)... 

My favourite moment this year thus far has been me waking up to make a turmeric latte, then proceeding to find a cute quote on my phone, the right magazine page for a flatlay, and rearranging my bed sheets to make it look like I had "just woken up" and am now reading a magazine while sipping on my latte. Reality: My boyfriend hovered above me with his phone taking several different shots of me holding my latte different ways with half of my body off the bed. The L-O-L moment was when I spilled my yellow latte all over the sheets. Yup, fun times!

I've also come to terms with what I like to share with all of my followers, and what I would like to share privately, predominately with my friends who aren't in the blogging industry. I love having a public space to share my creative work, and a private Instagram account to share my more intimate and personal events with those who know me best.

As much as I love my Instagrammable moments, I also love to enjoy my experiences wholeheartedly, so instead of fussing over how the food isn't arranged aesthetically or how that was a missed opportunity for a photo, I've learned to just let it go. The right moment will come again, and for the time being, I can just turn off that feeling of whether or not that photo would be great for Instagram and enjoy my time.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my little blogging journey! It's been a blast, and I can't wait to see what year three has in store.

- Nancy