We all go through blog breaks, life happens. Sometimes, whether it's life that takes over or simply you, as your own boss, hands yourself a holiday form, it's okay to take a break. But what happens when you get back? When I came back from my recent break, I remember looking at my blog and thinking 'it's just not how I want it'. So here's some ways for how to polish up your dusty blog:
BRING IT BACK WITH CAPTURING CONTENT
Don't come back and have your first post something boring that everyone has seen before. Discuss controversial topics that you experienced over your break or share opinions. Plus, if you've had a break, the chances are, you've done some pretty cool shiz (or maybe even some bad shiz), so write about it.
RECONNECT
There's no point in sitting, staring at your blog home page waiting for someone to comment on your post. Usually, when you take a break, views go down - especially if your break is a pretty long one. Reconnect and show others that you're back, get over to social medias i.e. Twitter, Insta, Pinterest, Facebook and share your links. Try setting 20 minutes aside everyday to go on your favourite blogs (or, what I like to do is, go on one the RT Twitter accounts and read the RT'd posts that catch my eye - I usually look at around 6-10 posts a day at the least) and comment. Oh also, while you're there, leave your link. I am more than happy for people to leave their links in my comments - but do avoid doing a full blown advertisement of yourself, many bloggers deny that as etiquette.
HAVE A REARRANGE
Sometimes, graphic and layout trends come and go. You're awesome header that you placed on your blog 3 years ago might look a bit shabby now and not quite satisfy readers the same way it did. On top of that, having a bit of an adjustment can help give your blog a fresher face and look generally cleaner. At the same time, don't go too drastic on the image changes because then you're stepping into re-brand territory (which isn't bad, it can just confuse some readers).
FIND WHAT'S HOT
At the end of the day, you're probably writing for an audience and usually their opinions and styles change over time. Find out what audiences are wanting to read now, then reflect that in your posts. One of the best ways to do this is looking at posts on Twitter and Bloglovin - Bloglovin' has the 'love' feature which is handy for gathering this sort of information. Then there is the awesome Poll feature on Twitter which is fantastic for this; simply ask what people what to see with a few options - readers love nothing more than reading content that they are actually interested in.
MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME
If you've missed time on your blog, then it's suggested to put up a few posts quite frequently in the first few weeks of coming back to blogging just to get you're self re-planted and keep people reading. I have been doing this since my break. I came back to blogging on June 22nd and, since then, I have posted 4 posts in 2 weeks. Yes, it's far from the daily blogging that some people do, but it's still a lot more effective than no posts at all.
VERY VARY
Maybe don't just spew out all of your beauty post ideas if you're a multi-topic blogger. If readers have forgotten who you are, then bring them back and show them that you have something to offer everyone. Whip out your top lifestyle post (i.e. a post of what you did in your break), then maybe a top recipe (i.e. what you've been cooking in your break). See? It's very doable.
DON'T FORCE IT
If you come back to your blog and still don't know what the hell to write, then you probably aren't ready yet. Blogging shouldn't be a chore so if you don't feel ready to come back yet then accept it and wait until you are. Sometimes, people can tell if a post is forced and it's not good.
What are you're tips for a blog 'bring back'?
My first bake (and blogpost) of 2017 had to be one of the delicacies that I only found love with in 2016: blueberry muffins. I feel like 2016 brought lots of great new foods into my life, and this is definitely one of them. So, this week after turning the kitchen upside down with flour and icing sugar, I snapped a few photos of my final product and decided to share the recipe.
I reckon that the only way I could make up for not blogging in a while (which was actually justified by my extremely busy schedule and mock exams over on my twitter), was to give you this recipe for these ultra delicious muffins.
Firstly, I'm going to comment on how easy these are to bake!! The most time consuming thing for me was cutting the greaseproof paper and folding it a few times - and even that is completely optional.
My ingredients were (for 12 muffins):
130g Golden caster sugar
220g Plain flour
4 eggs
220g Unsalted butter
3 tsp Baking powder
220g blueberries (or fruit of your choice)
Nutmeg
Vanilla flavouring
Full Fat cream cheese
Royal Icing sugar
1. Firstly, I preheated my oven to 200C (Fan) and cut out all of my muffin cases which I made out of greaseproof paper. I just simply did this for the traditional and rustic muffin look, but you can buy muffin cases from almost anywhere. I had a muffin tin (recommended because cupcake tins can be too small) and, I placed a muffin in every other pot - so I put 6 muffins in the oven at a time. I did this because I was aware that the greaseproof paper might be affected by over crowding.
2. Next, I creamed together the butter and sugar using an electric whisk. After lightly beating the eggs, I gradually added them into the butter and sugar and went back in with the whisk for a few minutes. The mixture doesn't look gorgeous at this point, but hang in there.
3. My plain flour was added gradually, along with the baking powder and nutmeg. With the nutmeg, you can add as much or as little as you like - I was a bit generous with it in my bake just because I LOVE the taste of it. You could also add a pinch of salt, but I left this out.
4. Gently fold in the blueberries.
5. The muffins can then be spooned into their cases and placed in the oven for around 20 minutes, until golden brown. At this point, the mixture should be thick, not runny. I always like to check a cake with a metal skewer too to check that it's baked through.
6. When the muffins are done, leave them to cool right the way down to room temperature. It's important that they cool because if you put the frosting on whilst they're warm, the frosting will melt.
7. For the frosting, I didn't measure my quantities because, again, I did it by preference. I roughly did around 100g of royal icing sugar and three teaspoons of cream cheese (I used full fat for full flavour). I whisked them together until the consistency was nice and thick. (It's optional to add some vanilla flavouring to the frosting, it can help take away any bitterness from the cheese).
8. Using a piping bag (or you could just use a spoon), I piped a good old dollop of cream cheese frosting to the muffins and topped it off with a little blueberry.
I'm really happy with how these went! They are very, very delicious too and I can't wait to bake more of them in the future.
How do you like your blueberry muffins?
This has been the month of baking. The first bake was a carrot loaf cake with cream cheese frosting which ended up being under baked. Then I started creating hand embroidery designs for my art work which I think are just the most adorable things ever.
If you read my last post you'll know that I've been loving 'space buns'. I tried wearing them to college this month and just fell in love with how funky I felt and how easy they were to create. Definitely one of my fave hairstyles.
Autumn kicked in too with my autumnal bedding, hot cross buns, gingerbread hot chocolates, and crackling WoodWick candles.
I produced one of my best art works this month which I'm really happy with. It's a tonal shading of a
hand which took about 5/6 hours.
Around this time I also did another bake of chocolate orange marble loaf cake which went down well.
On 24th, my boyfriend and I took a trip to the local Rose Gardens. We had a delicious hot lunch with drinks and a halloween themed hunt in the gardens. We then took about two hours to explore the hidden parts of the estate and it was so, so exciting - I had an amazing day.
I practised doing a decorated drip cake in preparation from my christmas cake, the drips didn't go as perfect as I wanted, but I definitely learned for my final cake. With this I went for a carnival theme with pastel colours (which are a bit more vibrant in this picture).
I did some nail art on my friend's nails. After not doing nail art in so long, it was nice to re-visit it. We kind of decided on a subtle hint of halloween 'drip' nails with a gorgeous rich pink colour from Essie: 'Big spender'.
My last bake of the month was Cherry Bakewell Tartlets which are a family favourite in my house. They were gone after two days - and I even made a batch of TWELVE. As well as them, I used the left over pastry for some cute little jam tarts, which also lasted just as long as the Bakewell tarts.
Overall, I had quite a good month and I'm excited to get more baking done next week.
What have you been doing this month?
So now, after a year at college, I can share my advice on how to prepare for 1st year for any 16-year-olds heading up to the next level of education.
EQUIPMENT PREP:
Notebooks: You will probably need a notebook for every subject. Therefore, if you're doing 4 subjects, you'll need 4 notebooks. Personally, I took art as one of my subjects, so I only needed 3 notebooks as there wasn't much to write down for art.
At my college, they prefer A4 lined paper with a left margin. This paper makes things look neater and easier to mark.
Pens, pencils, ruler and other basic equipment and suitably in a pencil case. You don't need a pencil case, but they do help collect all your stationary together. Also, for exams, you can take a clear pencil case.
Folders: Again, you could need one of these for each subject. However, I wouldn't advise that you buy one of these before college. It's more sensible to keep your notes all together in their own notebooks and, as you get used to your subjects a few weeks in, re-evaluate whether you think you'll need a folder. For example, I didn't need a folder for Media Studies because we weren't given many handouts, and all notes could be made in my notebook. However, for Literature, I studied many different texts which meant my notes needed sectioning. Lastly, I got a lot of handouts for Language which needed to be collected and sectioned into a folder. This is a great way save oneself from unnecessary spends.
Bag: You will need a bag! And it will need to be a decent sized bag. I recommend a bag that will fit A4 paper in, as well as lunch and other stuff. I have a little bag inside my bag which includes a bunch of emergency 'lady goods'; from lipstick, hand cream, sanitary towels, painkillers and moisturiser. These things definitely don't come in wrong and it's handy to keep them all in a little bag/purse.
CLOTHES PREP:
I'd recommend that you look at your wardrobe and collect together a handful of staple pieces that are suitable, quick, and easy for college. For me, it was dungarees, a few pairs of shoes, jeans and casual tops, a few dresses and skirts. These items could be matched together in all different ways to form all different types of outfits.
Don't go overboard. You don't need to go out and buy tonnes of fancy clothes because, once everyone is stressing about their work, nobody actually takes notice of what you're wearing. You probably need a minimum of 7 outfits. But, it's all entirely up to you - if you want to splash out, then go ahead!
In my college hair dye, nail varnish, makeup, earrings and mobile phones are all allowed to some extent however, make sure you check on this. In the first few days of college you'll either be told or just pick up from the people around you whether these things are allowed. My advice would be to ask others and be prepared to be told what is and isn't allowed.
MENTAL/SOCIAL PREP:
Anyone like me who struggles going into new situations and places with strangers, will inevitably be apprehensive about starting 6th form. If you can mentally prepare yourself appropriately, you can make this easier.
Firstly, use all the above prep to make your life more organised and simple; this way, you won't have to worry about your equipment or appearance. Once you've done that, recognise that you'll be meeting new people and undertaking 'ice breakers' and team building exercises.
Luckily for myself, I went to college with a lot of others from my secondary school, but not everyone does. In both cases, you should prepare for making friends. For example, write down 5 things that you know about yourself. Perhaps: 'I have a cat called April', or 'The last holiday I had was Iceland'. Setting these things out helps you prepare for new conversations with new people.
And of course, you have to remember that everyone is in the same position as you. You may believe that you will be the most nervous, or struggling the most; in that case, take things slowly, listen to others and be yourself.
If you're struggling at college: TALK! There is staff there, parents/carers at home, and friends around you. Everyone is allowed to make mistakes and everyone is allowed to not know everything.
As with friends, be prepared to make and lose. My advice is to stay with positive people who make you feel secure and happy. Whether that's your current friends, or a fresh new set - let yourself flow into the right friendship group. And you can achieve this by ultimately being yourself.
Lastly, be patient. I struggled a lot in my first months of college. I didn't like the difficulty of the work, the fast pace, and sheer responsibility. But, I persevered and used a lot of patience. Eventually, after Christmas, I was fortunate enough to make a fantastic group of friends, feel more confident working around college, and easier to hold responsibility.
I'm definitely not saying that college is easier, a joy, or my favourite place - it just seems more bearable with a clear mind of feeling settled and comfy due to patience and perseverance.
I wish I was given this information when I was starting college, because it would've definitely helped me.
Let me know how you feel about college in
the comments
Guess who's back?
Random favourites are back this month! Whoop! Whoop!
I've been really enjoying watching the IT Crowd. It's something I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy but it's actually hilarious. I've decided to really pace myself, so I'm currently only just starting the third and final series. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an easy-to-watch comedy this summer.
I've been constantly wearing my Penhaligon's Elizabethan Rose perfume since Christmas and I adore it. I get plenty of compliments when I wear it and it can most definitely stay on my clothes all day. I am a sucker for a rose scent and this one is almost like wearing rose water. I'm in love with it.
My nail varnish love this month is the Rimmel 60seconds Super Shine in the colour Rose Libertine (is there a bit of a rose theme going on here?). This is a dusty coral/pink shade which I've been loving as a subtle colour just to add soft details to my hand.
In June, I was mostly using the Makeup Revolution E102 Angled Shadow brush to blend out eyeshadow pretty much all the time. It's super soft with a great handle for grip. The angled style makes blending from the crease of your eye so easy and fluent. I'd love to try out more Makeup Revolution brushes eventually.
After trying out a couple of Matte Lip Creams, I've come to decide that my favourite is the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade Stockholm. Matte and Me don't really like each other, my lips exist as dry 24/7 and Matte Lip creams desire to gather and stick to my lips. However, I seemed to find a suitable way of making this one work. I apply a thin layer of creme then cover my open lips with a split tissue and dust over a translucent powder, this does the trick and I can successfully wear the lipstick. The shade of this is also a shade that I don't already have: an orange-y nude.
I rekindled a fancy for Nutella in June and discovered that I quite like raspberries (I know, it's taken me this long).
The app 'Swing' has got me hooked recently too. It's an app made by Ketchapp who make the most amazingly simplisticly designed yet challenging games. I have the urge to just buy every one of their apps. At the moment, 'Swing' seems to be my thing; it really makes you think and there's the opportunity to collect 50 different characters.
In June, I started up my first Depop shop. I am selling clothes that I no longer want and offering personalised greeting cards. Head on over to my page and take a look at all of the cheap items that I'm selling. So far, I'm really enjoying Depop, feel free to follow me. If you follow me from here, let me know and I'll follow back.
June was a good month in general. I finished my first year of college and exams, I discovered new recipes and enjoyed multiple days out with my friends and family.
So, that's what June brought.
What did you enjoy in June?
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