Can we just take a second to note that this little nugget is almost six months old! You hear people say that they can't imagine life without their pups and it's 100% true. I don't know what I would do now without my fluffy ball of cheekiness. 

Back to the topic at hand, you know when life gets busy and you suddenly realize it's time to step back and look at things. I'm definitely guilty of saying "There's never enough time in the day." 

Uh oh, that makes me an adult doesn't it?

Says the same girl that almost cried at the Christopher Robin trailer this morning. Never mind, I'm still safe. 

But seriously, life moves waaay too fast and it's time to make some priorities. I'm talking about the fun stuff, the times you remember five years later. 

Taking Enzo on adventures
Now that our little spoodle is getting bigger, it's always fun to take him to new places. Sometimes he still gets scared and will jump into my arms (which I secretly love) but I really want to focus on getting his confidence up. While his bones are growing and we can't take him far yet, I'm gonna come up with some adventures that I know will make our little family happy.


Going through my Pinterest boards
I've spent the last three days going through one of my boards and putting them into categories. It's a bloody good time for someone like me who finds it so satisfying. Although I realized there were 2500 pins to go through, but oh well! It's been time well spent and I'm planning on doing the same for more boards too.


Writing a goals list for the day + setting a reward for when I do
I was actually watching Cherry Wallis on YouTube (love that girl) and someone asked her in a Q&A how she stayed organized, and this is what she said. I'm starting to think I need to have a list on my phone or a whole notebook dedicated to my daily goals. Things like cooking meal prep or getting a new blog up. I always need a good list to keep me on track, so this is a great habit to start.


Working on my recipe book
Or just trying new recipes in general. I love to cook, and to bake, and to eat. Especially the eating part. I always go through phases on being inspired, then end up focusing on something else for a while. But I would love to start trying a new recipe a week and trying to perfect the ones I have already come up with.


Making Memories with loved ones
Even if it's just taking our dinner to eat at the beach or going out for ice cream. I wanna make sure we don't get to comfortable and forget to have fun when we can. I'm really lucky that Steve and I have the same days off so we always have that chance of doing something together.


DIY Projects
Taking it back to Pinterest, who else wants to live more creatively? I used to love spending my Sundays getting stuck into a project. I wanna stick cool patches on a jean jacket and make old frames new again for a photo collage. I'm definitely gonna be setting some stuff up because it can be so fun!

I know there are never enough hours in the day, but it's all about making priorities and doing things that make you happy. Hopefully I can come back to this post and remind myself to slow down and make time. 

BTW, does anyone want a six month puppy update? 

Have a great week everyone! 

Steph x. 

My Strategy For A Better Instagram

I absolutely love that Instagram as a way of micro-blogging, even when we don't realize we are doing it. I've always felt satisfied being able to take cute pictures that I'm proud of, taking far too long to come up with a witty caption, and adding it to a feed that keeps getting better (hopefully.) 

I think we have all be colossally stuck on a particular number of followers and even if engagement seems good, that damn number never moves more than a few figures either way. It's a burden we all must face, but nevertheless I stay loyal to Instagram as I pathetically couldn't live without it. 

I've been rather uninspired for a while, as you do, but lately I've had that wonderful spark of creativity and motivation that has me running to Pinterest for ideas. 

I started brainstorming all the ways I could not only grow my Instagram naturally, but to also feel less lonely on the app too. Will it work? Only time and maybe some magic fairy dust will tell. 

1. Post Everyday

Even if it's a throwback to my vacation last year, I want to make sure content is going up on a daily basis. The people I remember most on Instagram are the ones that post stories everyday and pictures to go with it. The effort is there and it seems to be paying off for a lot of people. My life isn't that exciting for me to be going out everyday for lunch to take food pics, so I will be planning each day in a notebook and keep weekend photos/ideas at the ready. 

2. Be Proud Of My Content

Who doesn't enjoy that satisfying feeling of clicking onto your icon, seeing the pictures you've posted lately and absolutely loving it? 

I do!

It feels bloody amazing to be proud of what you're sharing with the world. Getting the right angle/lighting/editing it just right takes a lot of skill. I need to be putting as much effort into my photos as the poor fashion bloggers who are freezing cold in their gorgeous outfits to get the gram.  

Legends. 

3. Creative Food Photography

This is an area I have been wanting to dive in to for quite some time now and it feels like the right path. I used to love doing baking posts, mainly for displaying my final product and taking mouthwatering photos of it all. I have so many ideas saved on Pinterest boards for when I have the time to really practice my skills. I want to be trying new recipes and setting up beautiful pics to go with them. 

4. Start Sharing Recipes

This is one of the main reasons I will follow certain food bloggers on Instagram, as I feel like they offer you a lot of value for simply following them. They normally give you secret recipes you won't find in a cookbook, and it's almost always good for you. I love seeing what other people use to make protein pancakes, banana bread, or how they flavor different meats (obvs to keep the boyfriend happy.) I want to be able to offer my followers the same secret recipes, so look forward to lots of ideas in the coming future!

5. Engage More

I've always found it fun to surf through hashtags and see what other bloggers/food enthusiasts are posting about. I'll always go through and like a whole bunch, as well as follow new peeps, but I need to get better at leaving comments. I always appreciate comments on my own pictures, meaning they were good enough for someone to stop scrolling. Engagement is always up to you and I'm gonna work hard on it.

Who else has been hit with motivation for Instagram lately? It's a tricky app, I know. But I love it all the same.

Do you have any tips for a better Instagram?

BTW you can find me here! Steph x.

Why I'm More Than My 9 to 5

Hello, my name is Steph. 

I am a cook

a runner

a CrossFitter

a blogger

amateur food photographer

a dog mom

a house-keeper

a reader

occasional gardener

and a proud Hufflepuff.  

I work a normal 9-5 job that keeps a roof over our heads and food on the table. 

Am I happy? Yeah I am. Because I've found that success in life doesn't just come from your career. 

I am a believer that millennial kids have it harder these days than when our parents were our age. We are encouraged to go study at University, which is always great life experience. Especially for book nerds like me who weren't ready for the learning part of life to end. 

But after uni?

I think we all question whether we picked the right subjects. Especially when job hunting is an anxiety-filled black hole of scary stuff. And the number one requirement? Experience. How are we gonna get the job when no one hires fresh out of uni kids? Ah dilemmas. 

So when you're faced with the gut-wrenching question of "what did you do with your degree" and your stomach gets a knot while you scramble for an impressive answer. You have to remind yourself that you are more than a job. Adults don't always get it, but that's only because they probably haven't faced what we do today. 

I'll admit that I do become ashamed of my own failures career-wise. But then I open blogger, or Instagram, and I'm reminded of the possibilities I still have. 

Which brings me to a favorite topic of mine: Social Media. 

And I'm not talking in the bad influence, but in how creative and artistic it has made a good part of our generation, and those behind us, become. Just this morning I was scrolling tags on Instagram and admiring how much work goes into getting that perfect table spread for a restaurant flat-lay. Or that orange color-scheme that fits every picture uploaded, with different locations, poses, outfits, weather conditions etc. You can't tell me being Instagram famous isn't a job. 

That beautiful feed is art, man.   

I just love that people are creating beautiful images out of everyday delights. I know it's a highlight reel, but I find it so inspiring and a break from the mundane. My job isn't exciting, but the days I get to spend creating seem so much more precious because of it. It's always time well spent if you ask me. 

I think if you truly want to see a person's character, just look at how they spend their time off work. 

Do they go hiking, visit family, take the dog for a walk, scrapbook, volunteer, go clubbing, go to the gym, or just simply do nothing for the sake of it? That's where you'll see someones passion in life, not in the job they had to settle for because life isn't always golden. But we'll get there.

Some of us have learnt to dance in the rain while we wait for the storm to pass. 

Do you ever feel like this with your job?
Steph x.