The last #BWB breakfast (which I sadly had to miss out on as I was sick) was themed stars and stripes so we were challenged to do nail art themed with the iconic red, white and blue.
I am might be artistic but nails are so not my forte unless it’s a single colour application but I will admit I had a bit of fun with this. Just a bit ;)
Here’s my submission…

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Frightening how speedily time passes us by, on Saturday we had our 2nd #BWB get together which means it’s been 6 weeks since the last one already (holy purple socks on a rooster!) and it was lovely seeing all the faces behind the blogs and tweets again as well as some new ones that have joined to make up the 15 that is the Cape Town “branch”.


The deli was gorgeous and despite the food not being my lifestyle edible it looked really good and the ladies seemed to enjoy it so I’ll take their word on that but I will also not be putting strange foods into my mouth after receiving a safety go ahead from Femme Lifestyle hahahaha < I pointed out something and she said it was just spiced rice wrapped up in a leaf… a bit revealed it was pesto and that odd yogurt cheese (a napkin and plate was passed my way really quickly)

The goodie bags are always an added bonus and there aren’t always any because that’s not what it’s always about but the one that was put together for Saturday was just lovely, so many goodies in it! And as with last time momma got to pick out what she wanted as a thank you for watching master Fysh while I had a bit of kid free time with the ladies.

In our bag: Rain Africa, Hey gorgeous, Nimue, dermatologica, Ritzis chilli, bath oils, oh so heavenly cream and spray, original iced cocktails, and a heap of other goodies that I’ll be reviewing for you as I test them out.

Highlight of the day for me was something rather small… Heather and Fi gave each of us 3 strips of paper and we were to write our names on the back and then pick out three ladies there to each write a small motivational something to. Then they were handed back, sorted out and slipped into our goodie bags while we were all chatting. I’d actually forgotten about them until the lipglossed ninja tagged me on instagram with a photo of one she’d written to me (it was accidentally given back to her) letting me know what she’d written.

Words are such powerful things and we should start realising that before it’s too late. So take a leaf out of the #BWB book and go tell someone something nice – let a stranger know they look good, smile at the carguard, tell your momma you love her, let your kids know how brilliant they are or compliment your sister on her beauty and intelligence. Just go out there today with the intent of saying at least one nice thing to someone you meet…

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I never ever dreamed that I would become a blogger, I am after all almost 40yrs and well we had those really old typewriters in my day ...You know, the ones where you has to slam your fingers down and risk personal injury , yep those ones. The electric typewriter only arrived on the scene as I was about to hit Grade 10 (Standard 8 in my day,) and well computers only made an entrance in my last year of schooling.

I studied to be a Beauty Therapist which required no computer skills whatsoever and so my learning curve with technology only really started in about 1996.

I have since then mastered many a program by forcing myself to work through it , when I get stuck I 'Google' it. I have refused to stay in the archaic and outdated times that many use as an excuse. How? Well by stretching my boundaries and forcing myself to learn and grow.

Here are the 5 most important lessons blogging has taught me...

#1 CREATING A BLOG
You need to plan and have purpose when doing this, but firstly you need to choose a platform from which to work. The two most common FREE options are WordPress and Blogger.
- Research and check out blogs on these platforms
- Most blogs can be deleted so I would even say venture as far as trying them out and see which of the platforms you prefer to work with
- Remember as you grow you will change and so will your blog.

#2 PLANNING
You need to plan the following...
- What is my genre ie. Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle and/or food. You can have more than one focus.
- Who is my audience?
- What am I going to blog about? How personal am I going to get?
- How often am I going to blog?

Here are some free planning calendar templates

#3 IMAGES
Some of my first images on my blog make me cringe , but we all have to start somewhere right? WRONG! If you do one thing for yourself checkout PicMonkey.

It is an image editing App that allows you to do limited corrections and enhancements. You can add labels and fun fonts too.
GREAT IMAGES ARE IMPORTANT.

http://www.picmonkey.com/

#4 TWITTER
Open a Twitter account and build a network , find people, brands that share your passion and build a presence out of relationship. Tweet your latest posts and don't forget to comment back. I personally have found Twitter to be invaluable tool in building friendships , in sharing and just to sometimes plain 'putting it out there'.

#5 BRAND YOUR BLOG
If you don't have the resources to have a Blog developed for you it is not the end of the world. Do try and use the same pictures/images across all your Social Media and on your Blog. This helps people to identify you and know that they are following the right person.
- Always add a picture(image) and/or logo to your blog and Social Media.
Here are some helpful guidelines on sizes
- Always add a means of contact , such as email.
- Link all your Social Media, this enables you to do automatic updates (it makes life a lot easier).

There is actually so much to share, I could go on for days.... however the above are the most important initial steps. Majority of the above was found by floundering in an arena where I had no one to bounce ideas off and/or even share my frustrations.

I do hope these proved to be helpful and would love to hear your comments.

x x x H
Femme Lifestyle

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