Friend Friday: Success!

Hi guys! Happy Friday! It's really hot here in Melbourne (AGAIN), so while I write you another Friend Friday post, I've got some HOT photos from around my town!

Here's the post from Katy at Modly Chic:

As I was reading through everyone's new years resolutions and where they want their blogs to be I got to thinking how easy it is to become discouraged by some of the very successful blogs out there, or the ones we perceive as successful. We compare ourselves and suddenly find that we are lacking. So this week we are going to be talking about that.


1. Have you ever looked at someone's blog and thought yours will never measure up?

Oh man, I look at a lot of blogs: crafty, fashion, food, flowers, writers, photography, illustration (and that's just the past week). I get inspired and I love heaps what I see, but I don't really care where my blog 'fits' into all this, so don't really ever consider that I 'measure' up. We're all different, in style, as people, as personalities: there's no way I feel less or more than any of you bloggers; you're all different, individual and amazing because of that.

 2. Do you (did you) feel pressure to meet some kind of undefined standard for fashion bloggers?

Nup, I choose my own standards. A couple years ago, I was like: I need to take better photos, I'm too lazy. So I practiced and took heaps of photos (and have a Husband who's a photographer/cinematographer/film colourist) and then got better with critique. But I thought I needed to get better for me, for myself. I like to set my own standards and challenges.

 3. Many established fashion bloggers are also extraordinary DIYers, bakers, and crafty people. Do you think you need to combine all of these things to be successful at blogging?

I can recall a conversation a while back, and I think it was on a fashion blog (and Outfit a Day type blog - sorry I can't remember which one!) about how there was a need to 'define' blogs, and especially to define what type of fashion blog you were (vintage, rockabilly, girly, or whatever else). I'm not really into calling myself a fashion blog or a craft blog (I did have 'crafty adventures' as my title initially as I knew I needed a focus to blog - it's a long boring story, but I was once an academic who wrote about hypertext theory, so blogging for me was very dry and formal... I needed a different angle) so to be many things online (bakers, crafty, DIY stuff) is just who I am in real life. I'm not just a girl who works in radio for a day job. I'm someone who loves radio, loves narrative and storytelling, loves making clothes, loves making foodz, loves decorating the house, etc etc etc. We are all different things. And we are all also successful, so I think the best success is to be true to you. (PLEASE DON'T READ THIS AS A SELF HELP BOOK, I'm starting to think we need to call the Buddhist or Taoist Police as I misquote philosophies all over the place!)

4. The most successful blogs are the ones that have their own personal voice - how are you developing your voice or how did you find yours?

Oh this is a GREAT question! Awesome! Now I'm kinda excited about the topic, and promise no more snarky self help stuff! I found my voice by having a goal to blog about the stuff I make. I was sewing for about 4 years before I started blogging, and everyone would always talk about my clothes to me at work and when I went out. So after googling some sewing techniques, I saw heaps of you guys were starting to blog about sewing too, or fashion and fun things... so finally I had a purpose to write about and through this, I found my voice.

You could probably sift through some of my earlier posts (and I've left them there because I can't believe how much I've evolved online! I did think to delete them, and I was like 'who cares if I was kinda fucky and dorky at the start?', it's kinda funny now! I have always been very self conscious about what I write online (because I studied writing online, and had my own philosophies and theories about what 'electronic writing' was and meant in the world)... but now because I had a purpose and a focus on talking about clothes, it just kinda evolved naturally. I'm comfortable now.

5. Toot your own horn... what's one thing you do that is unique to you and your blog? What gives your blog an edge?

TOOT! YAY! Ummmmmmm, these days I like my photos (because they've improved so much) but as for 'edge' ... maybe I'm a DIY fashion blogger who's focused on being sustainable and green conscious in the world. (I've just read a great blog post from Zoe over at 'So Zo', so quite inspired at the moment)

I don't know, and perhaps I don't really care. Is that bad? I'm really silly at these questions! Perhaps I'm offering a different angle on things (like these questions)? I don't mean to be arrogant (like, I don't care about anything), but I just think I'm not 'In it to win it'... I'm not here to have heaps of fun, and hang out with like minded people... if that's cool with you! Speaking of cool, I'm so not cool... it's still freaking hot (and it's 8.30pm!) and let me check the current temp... it's freaking still 31 degrees! ICK!

After just eating my salad for tea and listening to the AMAZINGLY voiced guy from The National (going to see them on Monday night!), I'm going to watch some Project Runway episodes and maybe even sew something! YAY!

Oh! Almost forgot the next hot dog photo, wearing matching scarves dipped in cool water: