Why Pinterest is the best, imho

 

Hi, hello. How’s it going? I know it’s been a while.

Is it just me or has time seemed to have simultaneously slowed down and sped up? It’s May next week (!!) and yet I’m still very firmly in *new year, new start* mode. At least being five months brings with it a welcome change in weather. And beer gardens. What’s not to like?

Anyway, courtesy of the many hours I’ve spent unproductively on my phone, I’ve had a lot of time to look at (brace yourselves lads) clothes. It began with Instagram, but, due to it being a place which often leaves me feeling worse about myself than before, I’ve made the move over to somewhere much more peaceful. Pinterest.

I’ll be completely honest, until about a month or so ago, I never really *got* Pinterest. Scrolling through pictures and saving them to virtual boards? I always thought it was somewhere for DIY-ers and wedding planners, but now a few hundred pins later, I am hooked. The easy browsing, the 21st June outfit planning, the media without the social and the joy of looking at things purely to look at them. And categorise them so I can look at them some more. Pure bliss. I think the fact it brings back the childhood nostalgia of my Tumblr days may have something to do with it too. 

So why is it that I’m telling you all about my newfound love for Pinterest? Is this an ad? (If only.) To be honest, it’s really just a reminder that the internet isn’t always a horrible place. It can actually, sometimes, be somewhere to pause and be unproductive. And not feel guilty for it. 

It’s actually really helped me get back into a creative mindset and take pointless selfies for no other reason than, it’s 5pm on a Sunday and the golden hour light is *chef’s kiss*. 

I hope you’re doing well, and keeping safe. Happy Tuesday’s my loves.  

xxx

Being creative: missing the magic

When I was younger, I used to carry a notebook with me wherever I went. Shopping centres, supermarkets, the dentist or my weekly ballet class; no matter what the occasion, odds are I would have been clutching a notebook close to my chest. And probably a couple of scented gel pens - remember those?!

I would treat this book like a prized possession - and by 'book', I mean 'books', plural. I had stacks and stacks of them. Filled with absolutely everything and anything. Ideas, drawings, poems, lists, and perhaps most importantly of all, stories. To me, back then, stories were everything. I'd spend car rides watching the hills, streetlamps and bus stops streak past, telling my parents how fairies might be flitting between them. I'd dream of ways to describe the colour of the evening light streaming into my bedroom, and the patterns it made on my ceiling. For every fleeting moment of magic, I had to get it down on paper, because at the time, that's what those words truly felt like: magic. 

I know what you're thinking - why on earth has she gone off on this somewhat nostalgic/self indulgent tangent?

Because I miss it. I miss the feeling of being creative, just for me. Not to post on my timeline or share on my stories, but just because I want to. Writing was always incredibly personal for me, something I did for myself without the pressure of wondering what anyone else would think. When my last job relied on my ability to string sentences together, some of that magic got lost.

Over the weekend, I took these photos after watching a Tiktok tutorial on photography 'hacks' - I feel like the oldest person in the world typing that sentence, believe me.  I've been binging Hollywood on Netflix, and I'd just gotten a little carried away in the wonder and cinematic glamour of the show. Whilst the #BTS did not reflect this - phone torch and toilet roll holder anyone - I really had the best time creating something simply for the joy of creation. It just happened to be a bit of a fluke that I didn't hate the way they turned out.

If you take away anything from this, remember that productivity has multiple definitions, depending on what you're hoping to "produce". Whether that's a 10,000 page novel or photos that you took in your bathroom, taking that time to do something for yourself can often be much more rewarding in the long run.

Do you ever create things just for yourself?

Stay safe,

xxx