Miss Casual is changing!

miss casual / blog post / summer outfit / chelsea / london / asos dress

Long time, no see… because of me, of course. I was feeling for some time like we are doing things out of routine without necessarily enjoying them as we used to when we started. So I took a naughty full month off from writing on the blog to think things out. And man, that’s exactly what we did.

For the longest time I was stuck in the habit of posting daily on Instagram. That is something that we’ll not do anymore. You can still expect to see 2 to 3 posts per week, but better thought out. I need more time to put more soul in them and you know what they say – quality over quantity. Also, you might have noticed that we started toying with the idea of doing videos. That is something that we enjoy tremendously and who knows – maybe I will get over the fear of talking to the camera and actually do it!

The truth about Miss Casual

Now, for the moment of truth. I would be very curious if you don’t know me, what is the impression that you have of me only from what you see on social media. Do you think that Miss Casual is something that I do full time? Because it certainly is not:D

Both Paul and I work 5 days a week – the jobs that pay the rent and everything you see is done in those 2 days off a week. And that is exactly what I want to focus on. What can an absolutely regular person do in those 2 days off?

For the longest time I was tempted to work even harder on those 2 days off, but then so many questions arose: when am I just enjoying life, when do I enjoy the company of my partner (without him being behind the camera)? So that very productive work-wise period has left me longing for a simpler life. I want to feel like I am resting, I want to travel, I want to make videos and actually have the time to edit them with a beer in my hand, not right before I go to work.

Buckle up, enjoy the ride

I was a strong advocate of working in your free time for the life that you want to have in a few years. I always said work smart, not hard…but 2 years later, it all back-fired – I was not working smart. As much as I wanted it to be a marathon, I was reacting as if it was a sprint. I felt like I lost myself and that I was starting to lose the passion that I had for Miss Casual.

So my new solution is so obvious that you probably figured it out a long time ago: enjoy the ride, not just the destination. While we are still thinking things out so change is probably still to come, ever since I took the decision to take it slower and enjoy it more, I feel much more motivated.

What can you expect from Miss Casual?

First thing that comes to my mind are videos. I want to make more of those and actually, the moment I make this post public, I will post a video to Instagram as well. We are going to share more of those 2 days off every week and within our possibilities, travel as much as we can. You will still see personal style content, of course – that is still the main theme of Miss Casual, but put more in a lifestyle context.

I promised that I will be dancing more. If that is something that you are excited to see, head to my Instagram – the video that I mentioned before is a dance one. A complete improvisation, shot in one on the most windy pier – Southend-on-Sea.

When it comes to the blog, I will set a very modest goal for myself – to post once a week. However, I will keep an open mind and in case something comes up that is so exciting that I can’t keep it for myself or an Insta Story, you will definitely see it here.

That being said, buckle up and let’s enjoy the ride together!

Kisses

miss casual / blog post / summer outfit / chelsea / london / white outfit

August 9, 2019 0

Monthly round-up – car edition

white suit / office outfit / summer outfit / neon rose / h&m / london / miss casual

I am the kind of person who doesn’t know how to talk about her problems. Didn’t know. Well, I am forcing myself to talk about them because at the end of the day, they are part of life as well. If you are starting to frown, relax those eyebrows, this monthly round-up isn’t going to be depressing, I promise! That is also because I kind of cheated when it comes to this car issue, because I waited for us to solve the problem before telling you about it.

For everything to make sense, I need to give you some background info about Paul. I have actually checked with him whether he is comfortable with me sharing more about both our personal lives and especially in this situation, his work life.

Background info

Paul has started working for Uber in September last year and because our car only had two doors (aka much, much more affordable than one with 4 doors) it was not appropriate for Uber-ing. I already know that WordPress will want to correct “Uber-ing” but I won’t, because it makes sense to me. So because of this (2 doors), we had to hire a car that was accepted by TFL (Transport for London).

Needless to say that a big part of his earnings went on the rental because you’re not only paying for the car, but for any unpredictable issues you might come across. To be frank, you are overpaying in case you have an accident.

To sell, to buy?

It was clear that we didn’t need two cars and it was even clearer that it’s not worth doing Uber on a rental. The only option was to sell our own car and buy one that we could use both for Uber and personal trips. Easier said than done! It took me a few seconds to write about it, but it took us a few months to actually do it.

Finally in March we were able to sell our own car and started looking for the Uber-appropriate one. I can not emphasise enough how time-consuming this is. How many times did the car that we wanted sell right from under our noses. One time it was as literal as it gets!

We had an appointment that we got to 1 hours early, just in case. It’s only that the “just in case” happened despite our precautions. When we arrived, we saw somebody test-driving it and by the time we got to park the car and got inside to speak to an agent, it was sold! Literally from under our noses! I imagine that buying a house will make buying a car seem like child’s play, but we are not there yet.

The starts have finally aligned…but did they?

It was the 14th of April when we finally found the one! Now, you might be wondering – how come did you not read about this in the April monthly round-up? That would be because we took it for our second ride ever (the first one being from the car dealer, home) when the Emissions light came up in the dashboard. I, of course, did not know what that is, Paul knew a bit more so just to be thoroughly informed, we decided to consult the technical book.

To explain it in a simple manner (not because I knew how to get into technical terms) there was either a problem with the engine or one with the sensor. Keep in mind that we have just bought this car and we took it for our second ride when an issue already came up. I didn’t know how serious it was, but even the calmest person (which I’m not), would go bonkers and paranoid when the technical book says something along the lines: Refrain from driving the vehicle, it might cause serious damage to the engine. Contact a garage immediately!…Bonkers

The light at the end of the tunnel

After endless emails, two garage trips – 17 errors later, I am happy to (finally) say that this is actually like a fairy tale – all’s well when it ends well. We had a hell of a ride – pun intended – but finally, at the end of June our new car is on the roads Uber-ing.

I know I usually make a more general monthly round-up of everything that has happened, but our car issue is something that I have challenged myself to share with you so I hope you don’t mind that I’ve picked a subject and that I went in depth with it.

P.S. If you have Paul as a driver (and you like his driving), first say “hi” from me and then rate him nicely:)

Similar post: May round-up – Holiday edition

monthly round-up car issue / office outfit / summer outfit / neon rose / h&m / london / miss casual

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July 2, 2019 0

5 books that blew my mind

books / top 5 book / neon rose dress / safari print dress / summer outfit / covent garden / london / miss casual

I know that not everybody is into books and fair enough, so this is not a post for those who fall asleep when they try reading. I never understood that, but they probably don’t understand how come I don’t have the patience to watch every single movie that was released. Some of the 5 books that I am going to mention, I have read recently, but there is one that I read when I was a teenager and still stayed with me. That was a shock and a lesson to keep my mind opened to possibilities (4).

Kafka on the shore – Haruki Murakami

I will try to tell you what I liked about each book without spoiling it. This is one of the more recent reads but I knew of the author because my parents have almost his entire collection…well, the books that were translated in Romanian. I also knew that this is one of dad’s favourite writers, but he is a bit dark for mom’s taste. For me it is just perfectly interesting.

Especially in “Kafka on the shore”, but even more in 1Q84, he uses magical realism in the story. You never know what is truly from our day to day reality and what is not. Another thing that I like about this author: none of his characters is just “normal”. All of them are flawed in a really interesting way to read about, but maybe you would not have them as friends. All in all, a very good read!

James Potter – Norman Lippert

Surprise, surprise! This is not about Harry Potter’s father, it is about his son and it is not written by J. K. Rowling either. If reading Harry Potter was not enough for you and you want just a bit more of some of your favourite characters but a lot about your favourite world, you need to read this! The author has continued in the beautifully descriptive way that J.K. Rowling has so it is very rarely that you can tell that it is not by the original author.

Even though it is just as magical as the Harry Potter series were, these books, especially from the second one, have something for the SF lovers. Just a little spoiler: we might learn about the American version of Hogwarts and we might or might not breach the subjects of telepathy and time travelling. Btw, you can find all the ebooks online for free on the official site.

The Chemist – Stephenie Meyer

When I bought this book, I have not realised that it is the same author as the one who wrote Twilight. Even though I guiltily enjoyed the books when I was in high-school, I remember how one of my colleagues bought the book and then we all waited in line to read it…I am glad I didn’t make the connection. I was expecting a crime fiction and I was not sure she can deliver – Omg, judgemental much? But she did!

The main character is a woman, but has the abilities of a James Bond…I would personally say that she is even better trained and has better discipline like any of the James Bonds, but feel free to contradict me. I remember being amazed by the tools/ gadgets that she created even thought I barely remember the story line now. I just remember that I would read it again!

Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides

This is a book that I read when I was a teenager and stayed with me all this time. I had to google it to remember the author so I saw that he was given the Pulizer Price for the novel and that it also features in Oprah’s Book Club. The main character is a teenager as well but what shocked me and educated me at the time was the fact that he was intersex. I never heard of it before at the time of reading, but the book is a good depiction of the anatomical changes he went through, as well as the challenges of a Greek family who moved to America.

I definitely need to read it again with the mind of an adult.

Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The moment I finished this book, I told mum that she has to read it as well. And she did and loved it. The main character is a Nigerian woman who moves to America for her studies but finds herself not fitting in. Her observations at how different these two cultures are, are both hilarious and smart. I remember laughing so hard at the blog that the main character is writing on this subject.

Does the name of the author sound familiar to you? She is the one that had that now famous Ted Talk “We should all be feminists” that you can hear in Beyonce’s song as well – Flawless. Also, when Dior appointed Maria Grazia Chiuri as their designer, the brand has gained a loud voice among the gender equality activists with the collection with the same name “We should all be feminists”.

And these would be the 5 books that blew my mind…at a first thought. I decided to write this posts and didn’t let myself overthink things, I just wrote the first 5 books that came to my mind as books that changed my way of thinking or simply made me enjoy a few hours of mental action.

I am so curious which are your choices for books that blew your mind and you think I should read. I am still in my devouring mode since the year started and I even set myself a challenge on Goodreads, but there are still so many books that I didn’t manage to get my hand on so next year I might write another post like this with the newly read 5 books that blew my mind.

Kisses!

June 15, 2019 0

You don’t always have to do your best

do your best / dancer life / national opera / london / miss casual / editorial / london blogger

What?! Say that again? This is not something you hear too often…to be honest this is something that I only heard once in my life and it stayed with me. This is a story that I don’t remember telling anyone else. Have you ever had the impression that certain people appeared in your life with a “purpose”?

Now I see how this might sound far-fetched and self-centred and it probably is, but there are certain conversations that you have with these people that are almost strangers that stay with you for years. These are the conversations that make something “click” in your mind.

I am telling you about that time, that only time when I was told that I don’t always have to do my best. There is a catch to this phrase of course, but before we get to that, I need to give you some background info.

Background – going back in time

A few years ago, if my blonde mind can calculate well we are looking at 5 years ago, I was just admitted into the University of Arts in my hometown. Right before that, I studied Environmental Sciences in a bigger town that is around 2 hours away from home and in parallel worked at a Dance Company in the same town.

Like all transitions, things get unpredictable, we still hold on to old ideals and in my case, I thought that my new Uni of Arts will leave me as much time for myself as the other Uni did. Because of this, I continued working with the Dance Company from 2 hours away from home. Let me explain: this meant that Monday to Friday I would go to courses in my hometown. On Friday, because the system was nice like that, we only had half day of courses so by 1pm, I was free like a bird.

By 2pm I would be on a bus and by 5pm in the studio, rehearsing. I loved my schedule! I was on a high! I did exactly what I wanted to do my entire life – dancing all day. So Friday afternoon, Saturday all day and Sunday until midday, I was in rehearsals and Sunday evening, back on the bus and then at home, ready for another week of Uni.

Does it sound like I am complaining? I am totally not! I loved what I was doing and how I was doing things it’s just…it turns out, even if you do something you love, apparently you get tired…that if you’re human like me.

A clock is ticking

I kept it up for a few months, September to December to be exact and right before Christmas we had the show at the National Opera – still love that place! Everybody loved the show, but I felt like it was a failure. Why? I was so freakin’ tired, I did not give it my best.

After a show, everybody is on a high so we would hug and congratulate each other right behind the big red curtain, still on stage. This time, the show was a bit more complex: we had the dancing part, but there was also a really well know Soprana singing and two Tango musicians who were in charge of the live music. The thing is, these 3 departments did not really rehearse together until the last week when we had access to the big stage at the National Opera so we didn’t know each other that well.

However, putting on a show together, going through the nausea before, the adrenaline boost, the enthusiasm – the catharsis – brings people together (I almost added like any other traumatic experience but then I remembered that this was my passion).

The words that you don’t expect hearing

This is when I got to hug the Soprana who made my whole body vibrate with the pleasure of listening to her…and then she asked me how I liked the show.

When somebody asks you this, it is a bit of a tricky one. You see, what we feel from the stage might be completely different from what you feel from the audience. There is a theory that says that if the show is constructed well, even if the artists that are putting on the show are not really feeling they are giving it their best, the audience will still enjoy it.

From being on the stage, we immediately feel it if somebody has low energy and is dragging the show down. You might call me crazy after this, but we feel if the audience is low energy and can even feel the switch when they start enjoying what they see. Ok, before you call me coockoo – I will go back to answering the question.

You don’t always have to do your best, but…

What the Soprana really asked me was “how did I feel about my performance in the show and of how the energy flow was”…just not in that many words. And that is when I started telling her that I don’t understand why, because there was nothing that any of us did wrong, but I did not feel like this was a good show. I did not do my best.

Now the answer: queue the Ta-da-da-da! It’s been a few years since then but the answer went like this: “You don’t always have to do your best. The trick is to rehearse and improve your art so much that even when you don’t do your best – it is still amazing”

Mind-blown!

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June 8, 2019 0

May round-up – Holiday time!

may round-up / holiday / Romania / countryside / Neon Rose outfit / miss casual

It’s holiday time, baby! Well, it was for us, I know that the regular seaside holidays only start in July/ August, May is too cold for that, but we went to my favourite place, the place that feels most like home. Especially because it actually is home- Romania. I want to see the world and all, but I needed a recharge of my parents, my friends, my cats, that entire place! And man, did we receive it!

Even though we’ve only spent half of the month in Romania, the month of May is completely overpowered by the holiday. I can hardly remember what I did before that – actually I do, but it’s the same old routine : work, home, blog. I can hands down say that I now think of things as something that happened before holiday, and something that happened after – it was that good!

Jaw-numbing time

It was the month of catching up – not the Heinz type, but the one where you don’t know if your jaw is this sore from talking or laughing. It was the best idea to invite my friends over to our house, ready with beers and a ping-pong table. The rain came one hour into our game so we had to move inside, but even so, it was such a good catching up time.

At some point I felt like they do in the movies. Each one of your friends is already married and you are still climbing the ladder of success. Something similar happened – not all my friends are married, but half of them already have very charming children. I love it how we can have our own life, but once we get together, it feels like we are still schoolmates, like time has not passed over our friendship at all.

Cats galore

If you have ever met me, you know that I love cats. I grew up surrounded by cats and since my parents moved outside the city in a cute house, they have been a cat magnet. Living in the UK, and renting your flat, kind of keeps you from having a pet so I went home not only wanting to play with the cats, but needing it!

We knew at the beginning of May that the black cat that it’s pregnant, but we were surprised by another one of the neighbourhood’s cats who gave birth first – we didn’t even know she’s pregnant! Then, a few days into our holiday, the black cat gave birth to 5 kittens, as big as the palm of my hand. Can you imagine the high octane that I reached every time I played with them? Aawww!

It might be a little late to say, but if you don’t like cats, you might want to skip this whole bit of the post. The only cat that is actually my parents’ is the Siamese. Yes, this cat is as moody as you imagine it. We had another cat that we sterilised and became lazy and unhappy so our vet suggested that we give the Siamese their version of anti-contraceptive pills. Which we did for many years. Last month when my parents took the cat to the vet, he said that it is too old to go into heat so there is no point to giving her the pill.

Surprise, surprise! The cat is old when she wants to be old! As expected, she went into heat and miawed all day and night until she managed to lure in male cats. Then the male cats started verbally fighting for their territory – and entire cat drama. All in all, let’s just say that our old Siamese is not a maiden anymore.

Spa in the woods

This spa trip included some of my favourite things: roadtrip, pruning in a pool and laughing our posteriors off with my family…and a bit of unpredictable May weather. We went to a place in the Hungarian part of Romania that is known for their treatment baths. So that is exactly what we did – treated ourselves to a long bath, went into the different saunas that they were providing, my favourite being the Hungarian one where they had Christmas tree branches on the walls so you can imagine how good it smelt.

In between the hot saunas there was a small pool of cold water for whoever wanted to cool down quickly – nope, not my cup of tea. But it was the most entertaining sitting in the closest sauna to the pool and listening to peoples’ reactions. Did I mention that we saw 3 bears? Not in the zoo, but roaming around the touristic areas – we actually had to stay in the bus until a ranger came to “convince” the bear to go back into the woods.

All in all, it’s not even worth telling you about the part of May that we’ve spent in London. It has no spark compared to the half that we spent in Romania. However, I can tell you this: because we didn’t have an actual holiday since September, we were already so tired and stressed that we became worriers instead of warriors. This trip home helped us disconnect and come back with a fresh view of the world and much, much calmer.

Kisses!

Similar post: Monthly round-up – APRIL

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June 1, 2019 0

Amazingness of the week |Nespresso coffee

Nespresso coffee | miss casual / amazingness of the week

It is no secret that I love coffee. I am now at a point where I actually need coffee in the morning to turn from a grumpy cat to a decent human being:D One morning the coffee machine broke down and you can ask Paul what happened…I am to ashamed for my actions to be able to write anything about them here. We are still in Romania and Mom has made a point of pampering us…which is more than fine with me. Ah, I love being home! Food that I know and love, friends that I missed and surprisingly, new coffee: Nespresso coffee.

I never though I’ll be one of those who have their coffee come from a pod, the smell of ground coffee is part of the experience for me, but the taste is priceless. By now, I have my favourite (Master Origin Ethiopia), but it was such a delight trying out a new coffee every morning… and afternoon and even a decaff in the evening. Also, first time I saw the pod system I started thinking of all the plastic and aluminium I am using for one single time, but then I found out that they actually collect all your used pods and recycle them – win!

At some point, I made so many coffee mentions on Instagram that a friend had to tell me that she wants to hear more form me…not just about my coffee habits. Regardless, who knows me, knows how much I love it…without me mentioning it on Instagram! I promised I will make Wednesdays’ posts short so I will stop here with the amazingness of this week which, if I may mention it again is my newly discovered Nespresso coffee (salivating while writing). Thanks, Mum!

Nespresso XN100140 Inissia Coffee Machine – White • Nespresso • £89.99
BITOSSI HOME Tea and Coffee • Bitossi • £18
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DIESEL LIVING with SELETTI Tea and Coffee • Diesel • £30
Kitchencraft KitchenCraft Rotating Coffee Capsule Dispenser • Kitchen Craft • £15.99
Scion Spike The Hedgehog Travel Mug, Multi, 480ml • £15

May 22, 2019 0

New series on the blog & Michelle Obama book

Hi, there! I took a short break last week to think things through and it seems it was fruitful. Except the fact that I slept like a baby which seems I needed to do (who knew?), came home to Romania, ate Mom’s food and played Remi into the night, I came up with a few new ideas for the blog and Instagram. One of the ideas is to create a new series on the blog about what was terribly exciting for the week and I couldn’t help myself and share the info with you. For this week, we start with a book – Michelle Obama “Becoming”.

So now, if you come to the blog, on Monday and on Friday, you can still read my longer posts about fashion, travelling, social observations – well, anything that tickles my fingers into writing a long post. Whereas shorter blog posts will be on Wednesday about anything exciting that happened in the world that week or to me: books (I am a book worm), TV series, events, skincare and makeup, anything really.

Now that I’ve set the rules for myself, let’s break them and start telling you about the book that I recently read even though normally, this kind of post (a shorter version) will go out on Wednesday from now on…guilty smile:)

Michelle Obama – Becoming

This is an “Oprah Book Club” find and you might remember that I mentioned that I was the 22 in line to wait to borrow it. Yuppi! It’s finally here! I asked Mom if she’s read it and she has, but her feedback was quite contrasting. She said that she went through all kind of ups and lows when reading the book.

At that time, I had no idea what she is referring to, but after reading it, I understand it perfectly. There are parts that are so warmly and kind-heartedly written that you feel like hugging Michelle Obama. Other parts are just summarizing things that happened without much insight into them and this is when your patience might be challenged.

This kind of reminds me of Game of Thrones. I just happened to be reading Michelle Obama’s book between episodes 3 and 4. Episode 3 [spoiler] with the war against the Undead was a a cinematic masterpiece where they created so much tension with slow motion and chill music whereas in most movies, on a similar scene, your speakers would probably yell like crazy. I digress…let’s go back. After this amazing episode 3, episode 4 felt like a transition one, where they started building a different plot, but all in all, it feels much lower than episode 3.

This is how the book is written as well – really high moments, followed by chill or full of information, that I only realised later that is more for her to show how much the people that she has met then, still mean to her today.

Fav part

My favourite part of the book is “Becoming more”. Now this might be a very subjective view, and probably is, but it seems I am more interested in the politics of her life even though I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her humble beginnings, determination in school and time at Princeton.

I think I was too scared that “Becoming us” will be too lovey dovey and I read it with prejudice, but if you feel anything like I did, give her time. At some point, she will slip into your heart as well and win you over. This is a book that I definitely recommend reading…and if you are a borrower like I am, libraries seem to have it.

P.S. Bloody hell, I cried! Several times!

You might be asking yourself if I’d tell you if I didn’t like the book. Because it’s from the “Amazingness of the week” series, I would simply not write about it or I would have told you that it wasn’t for me and that I couldn’t appreciate it. I think many things should be much more transparent in this world than they are, so I plan on keeping them crystal clear over here on the Blog.

Have you read Michelle Obama’s – Becoming book? How did you find it?

For the audiobook type: Michele Obama – Becoming

For the physical book type: Michelle Obama – Becoming

Similar post: How we plan for a photoshoot

michelle obama / book club / book review / pink maxi dress / mango dress / pergola / london / miss casual — DRESS – Mango
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May 17, 2019 0

Why the Blog turns heads when Instagram doesn’t

instagram / blog / social media / denim jumpsuit / pergola hill hampstead / spring outfit / miss casual / mango

Hi, there and welcome to the battle of the social media platforms. No, not really! It wouldn’t be fair – the Blog is a fossil platform already whereas Instagram is shooting for the stars and quite frankly, reaching them. Since you are going to soon find out which of the two is my favourite, I would be so curious to know which is your personal favourite and of course, the reasons for it.

I know that we are comparing two very different social media platforms, one more interactive, one that can be interactive, but is more informative than screaming for that “like”. By the way, Instagram is seriously considering dropping the like button for the reason that chasing likes is affecting our mental health, however it is a social media platform as much as an advertising one so I personally doubt this will happen. Or the “save button” will become the new like…which reminds me of a platform I love and have been using for almost 10 years, Pinterest. Remember when they had the like button?

Instagram rocks

I am not surprised at all that Instagram is still keeping us in it’s magic bubble. I am in it, my cousin who is 10 years younger uses the platform and my parents use it also. Ok, they might have started using Instagram when I moved to London so that they can see what I post…also called stalking (my first supporters), but at the end of the day, they are on the platform. Hats off to Insta for keeping 3 generations and counting, on it.

They say that a product is truly successful when it helps developing the vocabulary: Are you an Instagrammer? Let me Instagram this first, and then I’ll tell you the story. Is this cafe Instagram-worthy? And so on! It’s like thanks to this social media platform, new jobs have been created, a new style of escapist photography has been born and most importantly only because it’s about coffee, new cute, take-my-picture kind of cafes have started sprouting.

I personally have a bunch of girls I’ve been following for years, for the only reason that, if I were to judge after their Instagram pictures, they seem to have the life I wish I will have. Over the years, I started getting more invested in their personal life, the little they share about it, but for me, the connection stops right there.

The platform seems to be made to convey short pieces of information, something that can serve as a quick distraction, a short text, 1 minute videos (now with Insta TV more), but it personally leaves me wanting more. I don’t feel I get to know somebody by scrolling their feed as much as I get to know them from a long video or…and this takes me to my next point, a blog.

But the Blog rocks even more!

Let me start by saying that I might be biased, and I probably am. I much prefer reading to watching videos, so it is natural that I prefer my social media of choice to be text-heavy. Going back to the girls I follow on Instagram – if they have a blog, I get more curious about their almost instant life updates that they do on Instagram. However, at least with me, they have built the connection on the blog.

Looking at it from another angle. I have both an Instagram profile and a Blog. Instagram is ideal for daily updates, but I feel like I can never say it all. Whereas on the blog, I feel I can say many more, share more about myself, my thoughts, my fears, things that inspire me and things that make me happy. For me the Blog is for stories and stories take patience both from the one who writes them and the one who reads them. I do agree, however, that the way things are evolving, the first thing in this automatised world that we lose, is patience so you might consider me one of the fossils who still likes the oldies but goldies.

I promise this is not for cross-promotion purposes, but I’d be really curious to know if you feel you can get to know me better on Instagram or on the Blog? This will only help me forward, to find a way to introduces the qualities of one platform to the other one, so that this gap is smaller and smaller. So tell me the truth: are you an Instagram aficionado or a Blog one?

Curious kisses!

Similar post: How we plan for a photoshoot

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May 7, 2019 1

Things I did in my first year of blogging that I am not doing anymore

blogging / spring outfit / neon rose top / mini skirt / london / miss casual

Only two years into blogging and there are things that I look back at and cringe. When I was in high-school I used to write a lot, much more than I do now, in fact. Then one day I read what I wrote before and again, I found myself cringing. This all might sound as a negative, but it is not. This is the best way for you to compete with yourself and the healthiest way to compete in my opinion. We want to constantly better ourselves, don’t we? So me cringing at my writing from a few years ago, it means I know and I can do better now (hopefully)…but back to things I did and I am not doing anymore.

Violets are blue, peonies are rosy…

Granted that our camera and our computer that we used to edit our photos on were not very good, I had an idea in mind so we didn’t want to wait. Before I started blogging, I thought I needed the perfect camera, the perfect laptop, the perfect everything until I realised that I am the one holding myself back. So we just started.

I wanted my photos to have two sides: the outfit inspiration one, so the main attention was supposed to be on the outfit and the second element was escapism. For this reason, we used to go to all London’s landmarks, far enough to have them in the background, and add this violet filter that I though will make the world rosy. Only that it didn’t. If you are an OG subscriber on Instagram from when I started my blog, you would probably remember what I am talking about. I hope you are as glad as I am that we ditched the violet filter 😀

Early birds do much…but tire easily

I can’t wrap my head around where did the motivation come to wake up at 5 am sometimes to put on a full face of makeup and go shooting. Blogging made me do it! I know I was much shier then and I wanted to take the picture before what I call the “tourist hour” came so that we were practically alone on the streets. Now it’s either that we got lazier or we stopped avoiding having people in our pictures. 5 am though? That was not something I could keep up with a full time job on the side of blogging.

Stress ball

I used to stress about everything. My expectations of what I needed to do were so high that I would get these brain-freezes. Because I am close to a perfectionist, I still overwhelm myself from time to time, but then my logical mind kicks in and reminds me that this is a journey. I can’t expect to excel from the first try. And looking back, our style has changed so much. Writing, the way we take pictures, how we edit them, everything has evolved into something that I feel is more and more “me” and it’s likely to continue evolving. So I need to accept this and not stress which I am getting better at, promise!

Building up my immunity

Mom will read this with a frown and that is how I am writing this as well. How silly! We used to shoot silky soft dresses in the winter. What exactly went through my mind? I remember always connecting taking pictures to being cold and I knew things need to change. In the beginning, I was silly like that. If I had something I wanted to shoot, I would do it regardless of the weather. Now again, it’s either that I grew a brain or I grew too lazy to torture myself.

My fondest memory of being cold is when we shot the most gorgeous silver dress from Mango in Greenwich. Everybody who went to that beautiful place will know that it is skirt blowing as well…meaning that it’s always windy and being by the Thames, you don’t even have the protection of the high buildings. But I did it – pointe shoes on, silver dress on, we took the picture. I like to think that you can’t tell how cold it was just from looking at the picture but it seems I like to learn the hard way. I need to burn myself or ice myself – to know it’s time to make a change.

I am sure there are a few other things that I used to do in my first year of blogging that I am not doing anymore but my lesson from this is: change is good. For one, our pictures are not so dark anymore. I had my pastel period as well, but I noticed that I like vibrant colours the most. No more high contrast, no more adding black, just give me colour, Paul! (he is editing the pictures)

Kisses!

Similar post: How we plan for a photoshoot

April 29, 2019 0

Monthly round-up – APRIL

april round-up / red dress / spring outfit / alexandra palace / london / miss casual

Another month has passed and I don’t feel a second older. The only reason I started talking about time in general, instead of just talking about April is because I had my high-school headmaster’s speech in mind. We would crack up laughing and trying to guess how his speech would start: it was always something about time, and something about the weather…then, we’d loose interest so I have no idea how his speeches ended. Oups:D

Drive me, baby!

I have all respect for people who have bought a car, and even more a house, keeping cool as a cucumber. Most time I was as cool as a volcano! I can’t believe how time consuming the first faze is – to search the right one on the internet. Sounds so easy – you’re just clicking…yep, but you’re clicking your day away sometimes with no result. And I am not the most patient person when all we had to do was wait for the right car to pop up.

We’ve been looking to buy a car for some time, but now, for reasons that are way too boring to write about, we needed to buy a car. So one Sunday afternoon, after many weeks of searching for the car with the right specs and right price, we found the one. Like every other decent man, booked a viewing immediately after it was released, but the first slot available was 3pm. As somebody who has more experience than us suggested, we just went earlier than our booking…an hour earlier. While we were looking for a parking spot, we see that somebody took the car for a test drive.

Little was our surprise when we actually got to talk to a sales person about the car that we found out that it was sold…minutes ago, maybe second ago, right from under our noses! Fine…it wasn’t ours to be. And fair enough, next day after this incident, another similar car was released on the market, and this time, we made it ours. For some reason, Beyonce with her “Single Ladies” lyrics has invaded my mind: “If you like it…put a ring on it” more like – if you like it, put your name on it:D

Retail gems

Working in retail is a job that allows you to observe people…a lot – I mean you have 8 hours a day to stare at people and talk to them, and from time to time, to sell them something. April on the other hand was special this year. The moment spring comes to London, so do the tourists…and so do the celebrities. My very first celebrity that I happened to cross paths with on a gloomy Sunday morning was none other than David Beckham.

The surprises don’t stop there though. Last summer we saw John Snow (Kit Harington) and his lovely wife whose name I will not Google right now, but I can tell you that Winter was not coming. Another GOT cast member and it seems I was the only one to notice her even though she has such an imposing presence: Gwendoline Christie aka Brienne of Tarth or should I address her with her new title? I will not say anything more for those who have not watched the second episode of the last season.

Biggest surprise I had watching celebrities pass in front of my work place was not even the back of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s neck (I got there too late to see his face), but only a few days ago, on a hot April afternoon – Mr. Valentino Garavani. Ah…the little pleasures in life.

Napkin or cake?

Continuing with my headmaster’s speech, let me tell you a thing or two about the weather. Don’t trust it! It might say 18, but in the shade your posterior will still freeze…mine did. So I caught a cold right before the big heatwave. Can you imagine building a napkin castle while 24 degrees outside? People were sunbathing it was that hot this Easter.

Well, I guess things balance out because the month for April, is the month of many birthdays in this family. I don’t know what you think when you think of birthdays, but I personally think of cake. And to be precise, 4 cakes in the month of April plus Easter. Have I told you that we celebrate both Easters? Maaaan, how sweet life can be with cake.

Sweet kisses!