Caitlin Moran Has Changed Me Forever

I've had a bit of a blogger epiphany this week, mainly thanks to the great and mighty literary powerhouse that is Caitlin Moran. I've been on a mission recently to re-read pretty much everything she's ever written and I came to the conclusion halfway through Moranifesto that I've been approaching blogging all wrong since I finished University. 

First and foremost, it was my need to write my way out of my ME/CFS-induced misery and frustration that lead me to start this blog over 6 years ago but I started worrying that nobody wanted to hear about my spoonie life and struggles. I was brought up on the premise that one does not express one's feelings, values, or insecurities, should they upset or offend anyone else or come across as a little bit loopy. So I quickly fell into the blogger/PR trap of thinking that I had to have companies throwing products at me in order to produce valuable content that people would actually want to read. 

That side of blogging dried up for me when I took an extended pause during my final year of Uni and then moved out of London back to Derbyshire after graduation. No posh events, no exciting launches...  no more free Prosecco and macarons, for heavens sake!! I felt very uninspired and out of the loop and have never quite recovered. 

I've been operating under the assumption that my day to day life is pretty boring and that, unless I've got a specific project or product to write about, I have nothing much else to offer the internet and, as a result, not much blogging has been happening at all. Nobody wants to hear about my mundane, day-to-day, 30-something neuroses, right? Apparently wrong! I hadn't got much further into Moranifesto than page 46 - 'Printers are Evil' - when an atomic bomb went off in my head; 'OMG I'm actually relating so hard to this! I am no longer alone, going through life trapped in a box in my own head, feeling like a complete oddball! Is this actually what people want to read about?' 

If that really is the case then I am suddenly bubbling over with inspiration. The limits have suddenly fallen away and I am staring out into a vast wilderness of possibilities. Much scribbling in notebooks and wide-eyed grinning has happened since then. I'm going to be embracing the randomness and having a good old chuckle at myself in the process. I vow to shout from the rooftops about my pathological fear of YouTube, my ongoing battle with stress-eczema, and my unhealthy obsession with kimchi.

Don't get me wrong though; this blog will still contain more of the usual. I'm still going to be rambling on about carbs, veganism, makeup, office furniture, and anything else exciting that I discover on my awkward amble through daily life. It'll just be peppered with random thought-nuggets from inside my head from here on out. I do hope that's alright with you lot.

So, thanks a bunch Caitlin. I remain, as ever, your loyal and humble disciple.

Pinspiration | Office Goals

I've been working for myself from home for almost a year now and I absolutely love it. Granted, my current living situation is a little 'unfortunate' and I don't have complete control over my workspace yet - I'm still working on boosting my finances since graduating from university and currently bunking in with my parents - but I've managed to carve out a little office space for myself in the guest bedroom and am currently trying to make it my own. I'm also dreaming of the office I'm going to have once I've finally got the deposit for my own house together. As always, I've turned to Pinterest for ideas and inspiration and thought I'd paint you a picture today of my dream office using Pins...

(Note - embedded pins may not show up on mobile devices so switch to web-view)

Colours

My dream office is full of flowers, books, efficient storage and lots of natural light (which my current dark space is seriously lacking). As a general rule in my home decor, I like a combination of white, wood and neutral, soft colours, mixed in with metallics. I find bright colours really distracting in an office environment, and I'm very easily distracted when I'm writing. The slightest thing can throw me off and make me lose my thread.

Desk

My current desk is the IKEA Micke. I chose it because it also provides me with a white backdrop for blog photography when I need it. In an ideal world I'd probably choose a pale wood finish for my desk-top, but I love IKEA for their affordable, functional options, and the drawers in the Micke mean that my surfaces don't get cluttered and plenty of room for my hoard of office snacks.

Storage

I love shelves. Historically I've always favoured floating shelves in either white or pale wood (see above), but recently I've started coming around to the idea of shelving units and bookcases. Eventually, I'd like my home office to also be a place where I can come to relax and read, so all my books will be kept there and I believe books should always be on display. Although drawer space is important to me, and I detest a cluttered workspace, I'm not keen on having too many drawers, so well-organised shelves are a must.

Lighting 

In my head, the windows in my office of dreams are going to be huge. Due to chronic fatigue syndrome, a dark room makes me sluggish and drowsy and no amount of vitamin D is going to compensate for lack of natural light. While I know in my heart of hearts that having my desk face out of a window will seriously affect my productivity, it's nice to dream. My current office lighting is a bit slap-dash, as the room gets almost no natural light whatsoever, but I've put a himalayan salt lamp* in there for a soft, pink glow while I work because I find the artificial glare of most desk-lamps too harsh.

Decor

I love the idea of having a feature wall in my home office, with interesting prints or art on it, while leaving other walls more minimal. I'd love to do a DIY job or giant pinboard, using various prints and quotes, but I also really love the idea of a large world map canvas. I'm working with a client at the moment that makes the most beautiful wall maps and murals (they made the map wallpaper featured in this pin - although I'd style it completely differently myself) and I just know I'm going to cave in and buy one as soon as I've got somewhere to put it. That wasn't a shameless client plug by the way, I genuinely love their products, which makes my work even more awesome.

I could go on forever about all the things I *need* for the dream office I don't have yet, but if you want more office Pinspiration, you should definitely follow my board. I've been going mad on office pins lately! Once I've got my current little corner the way I like it, I'll probably follow with a photo-tour post.

I also love sneaking a peek into others' home offices, so if you have an office tour on your blog or channel, do link to it in the comments, and it'll probably end up on my board!!

What's in your dream home office?

*Affiliate link  (I purchased this product and absolutely adore it)

Why I Ditched my Blog for 3 Months...

Ever just feel like you need to step away and breathe a while? I have. I went into January 2016 determined to make something better of this blog, and it ended up overwhelming me so much that I steered clear of it entirely for three whole months. I'd written down pages of things I wanted to write and it scared the emojis out of me. I'm now determined to embark on a journey of blog self-love and positivity and thought I'd share a few of my wobbles with you...

The end of April marks this blog's 6th birthday. I've never been a 'full-time' blogger and I've never felt like I've been able to put as much time into it as I've wanted to. I thought that, now that I'm working for myself, I'd find a whole new energy to pour into amazing content and get endless inspiration from everything. The reality turned out to be that I'm spending so much time and effort on blog content for my clients, I'm becoming seriously uninspired when it comes to my own. I guess when you do something full time as a job, it's harder to get excited about it in your spare time, but I chose my profession because of my love of writing and I would not be where I am now without this site. 

I don't want this to come off as self-pity, but bear with me; my blog has never been what I'd consider 'popular'. I've always put into it as much as I had to offer at any given time, shared the hell out of my posts and taken an interest in other blogs, but somehow it's just never really happened for me. That's fine, I can accept that. I've had successes elsewhere and I love the content I've been able to create for my clients since I graduated from Uni and set out as a freelancer. However, this has meant that I've recently taken a "well, what's the point anyway" mentality when it comes to posting on That Lisa Clare. Blogging has changed a lot since I first came on the scene in 2010, and I need to catch myself up a little and get with the program. 

I'm also at a bit of a crossroads when it comes to my blog personality and branding. Since I went vegan and cruelty-free I've been kind of stuck between not wanting to alienate my loyal readers and offend brands I've worked with in the past, and being afraid to go for it with a more vegan-friendly audience for fear of slipping up, particularly with the beauty side (the vegan police are real and cosmetics are difficult to judge sometimes). 

So, what's the solution? I've come to remember in the last week how much I do adore this blog, and how I really need to pull my socks up and give it the love it deserves. The temptation was to ditch it entirely and start afresh elsewhere, but I just can't bring myself to do it. So I've come up with an action plan, and a list of promises to my blog, that I will do my very best to stick to in the coming months..

Write down ideas religiously - Whenever I get a spark of inspiration I will head straight to Evernote and jot it down before I forget it forever.

Talk to other bloggers - I had a gorgeous chatter with the lovely Gemma on Facebook recently, and it's done me the world of good (and probably inspired this post, so thanks a bunch, Gemma!) I think we bloggers can all relate to each others struggles and are in a great position to help and inspire each other out of a rut. 

Rediscover photography - I'm stuck indoors so much now that I work from home and, over the Winter months, I've had very little desire to get outside in the rain and photograph the world. Now that the days are getting lighter and longer, I'm going to force myself out of the door to capture the world. This goes for indoors too. I've invested in some studio lamps so that my dark, murky house is less of an issue. 

Not forcing myself to post - One way I've found to guarantee content that is half-hearted and 'meh' is to force myself to post. If I'm not excited about it, I'm not going to post about it. That's how blog resentment begins. It's not the end of the world if I don't get a post out this week. 

Don't try to please everyone - I'm understanding more and more that your tribe is out there and, if you speak to them, they will find you. I'm going to post 'me' and those who like it will find it, and maybe even stick around for more. I'm not going to be afraid of posting something just in case someone unfollows. 

Don't be afraid of PRs - Specifically, don't be afraid to contact brands for fear of coming across as cheeky. Now that I am a PR, I think I understand these relationships a lot better now and the idea of offering myself up to brands isn't quite as daunting. Yeah, so my DA and pageviews aren't off the charts... I've still got something to offer DAMMIT!

Never be disappointed in my blog - I'm stopping this entirely. I'm just going to burst with pride from here on out. I'm going to read my own blog regularly, reflect on how far it's come over the years, and plan future world domination (well... maybe). I owe my career to this blog and it deserves love and appreciation in return. 

I really hope this post didn't come off as a bit of a pity-party. It wasn't intended as such. I don't feel pitiful. I just needed to get all the gloom and uncertainty I was feeling out in the best way I know how. In a way, I'm glad I took the break to clear my head and gather my thoughts in order to move on to (hopefully) better things with this blog. I'm sure others may be able to relate somehow to how I'm feeling. I'd love to hear other bloggers' mantras and top tips for blog positivity. 

What do you do when you get stuck in a blogging rut?

Happiness Is...

I got to thinking the other day about how it's always those little things and moments in life that often make us feel the happiest; like a good book, a certain smell, a comforting home-cooked meal or a favourite place to go to for a bit of calm and reflection. So I decided to put together a short post, in pictures, of a few little things in my life that, no-matter how negative, or overwhelmed, or down I'm feeling about something, never fail to comfort me and put a smile on my face. 

Making unexpected new friends

Simple, home-cooked food

Fresh-cut Flowers (Tulips for me)

A sunny walk in Hyde Park with a dear friend

Daddy

Vegan Cupcakes at Greenwich Market

Afternoon Tea with an Inspiring Read*

This little nose in my face every morning

A subtle waft of something gorgeous

I loved putting these images together. Just compiling this post was therapeutic in itself. It'll also give me something to refer back to if I ever need a smile. One of the funny things I feel about life is that, even when it feels like you're being challenged or put through the ringer, there are always these little, beautiful things to help you along and make the struggles worthwhile. Now I'm definitely feeling inspired to go about the rest of my day.

Tell me your simple pleasures in the comments and let's spread the happiness...

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