Blogs To Become Obsessed With

Deciding to start blogging seemed like a natural step after becoming obsessed with a number of exceptional, entertaining and inspiring blogs, while I trawled the internet not trying very hard to find a job after my move back from London.

Today, I will share with you the blogs I check everyday. Notice a heavy focus on DIY but don’t judge me for it, it’s beautiful.

A Beautiful Mess

Elsie + Emma from A Beautiful Mess

Elsie and Emma are sisters and co-authors of A Beautiful Mess, a blog focused on creating a beautiful life.

They share daily wisdom on making life a little prettier, with crafts, fashion, decor, and recipes.

In particular, their ‘5 Tips…’ feature is fantastic and covers everything from 5 Tips For Keeping Red Hair Bright, to 5 Tips For Small Business Owners. This is the blog that inspired me to try my hand at a little DIY action, which resulted in this (probably should have read their 5 Tips For Great Indoor Photos first) –

I Spy DIY

Jenni Radosevich (image)

I Spy DIY is a blog created by Jenni Radosevich. Working at a fashion magazine in Manhattan, she wanted to show that luxury looks could be affordable and provide inspiration for using DIY to add a personal touch to your style.

Her photo tutorials are amazing and super simple, check out how to add a neon strap to your ballet flats for an easy alternative to the ankle cuff trend. Or try these super cool colour wrap bracelets (that remind me a little bit of 90’s hair wraps but look way trendier on your wrist).

Daniel Kanter (image)

Manhattan Nest
Before you read on, I must warn you that reading this blog by Daniel Kanter will leave you feeling like the biggest dag/dork (depending on where you’re reading), because he is the coolest man on earth and I even felt lame writing that.

His blog, Manhattan Nest, is all about thrifty DIY, focused on making his apartment in Brooklyn a nice little home.

The best bit about Kanter’s blog is that he is hilarious. Read his post about restoring his dresser, which is long (like the rest of his blog), but so worth it. Also if you follow him on Instagram (which I do, @danielkanter) he takes a lot of cute photos of his dogs.

If you know of any other blogs you think I would enjoy, please let me know!

At Home With Julia

Looking fierce (images clockwise from top: 1/2/3/4/5/6)

An issue that I think has been shockingly ignored in the lead up to the 2013 federal election, is how banging Julia is looking right now. It’s a far cry from this cream wool skivvy with hounds tooth skirt-suit number circa 1990 (which I actually love). 

Julia has often copped ridicule for her outfit choices, especially after she wore what fashion experts (?) described as a cheap motel bedspread turn technicolour coat on day two as PM.

Since then, I think she has been going from strength to strength on the fashion front, wearing a variety of fabulous jackets and clearly outshining her entourage during the leadership spill on what most would agree would have been a trying day in the halls of parliament.

Ms. Gillard isn’t the first Prime Minister to take advantage of a strong public image. According to Parliament House ex-resident hairdresser, Elizabeth Scott, “John Howard wouldn’t allow me to trim his eyebrows — he was quite conservative.” And rightly so. Otherwise the world would have been denied these historic/badboy images.

John Howard & Bob Hawke (photo: Bryan Charlton)

John Howard (photo: Bryan Charlton)

Other Australian Prime Ministers of sartorial note:

Bob Hawke (photo: Peter Mars)

Gough Whitlam

Boredom a Blog Doth Make

Oh hey me! (on the right)

So, here I am with my first blog post. I moved back to Canberra from London four months ago, and as I’m still lacking any kind of job, I’ve decided blogging is totally where I’m at right now. It seems like a legit pursuit, and, if successful, will (hopefully) help me get to where ever I’m trying to get to.

With that in mind, I think it’s best to lay out exactly what I plan to use this blog for, and what it should do for me. List time! *air punch*

• First and foremost, I want to use blogging as a kind of directional diary, to organise things I love, things I’m good at and things I’m interested in, into some kind of cohesive inspiration board that I can use to stay focused and productive. 
• Secondly, I want to increase my confidence in writing and editing, and be able to use my blog to show off to potential employers or collaborators how goddamn creativefunnysmartproductive I am. 
• Lastly I want this blog to be fun! I want to enjoy producing it, and I (eventually) want people to enjoy reading it. 

They’re some fairly achievable ground rules, so in conclusion, I’m Lauren and here’s my blog Mum look!