25 Of My Favourite Blogging Resources

Getting started, designing your blog & making the moolah!

• How To Start A Blog You Love: Yup, I wrote that. BOOM!


• Blog Loving: When I had my blogger training wheels, my go to girl for blog advice was Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess. I read her 5 tips for bloggers + start your blog with a bang + Blog Love eCourse and gobbled them up like lollipops.


• 10 Blog Tips: This babe wrote the Blog On, Babe series that I just couldn't get enough of. Fellow kiwi (woohoo!) Gala Darling wrote these beautifully written visual posts for budding bloggers like you and me. :)


• Lifestyle Blog Dreams: My faaaaave blogger Rosie who IS The Londoner came out with a post (lifestyle blogging 101) on how she built her little lifestyle blog to an audience of 2 million per month in less than 2 years. Yeah, I was pretty inspired!


• Crazy Blog Life: Oh yeah, when most people start their blogs they have jobs, commitments and like you know, a life! It can be chaotic trying to juggle life + a blog. Kinsey Mhire wrote an awesome-o-3000 post on productivity with her 5 tips for blogging on a busy schedule.


• Blog Design 101: If you're a bit confused on how to make your blog more attractive, I got some quick tips for ya!


• Food Bloggies: Pinch of Yum does this awesome thing once a month where they blog about making money from their food blog, their income they made & how they made it. They made $21.97 in their first month and most recently they made $17,735.97 in one month!!


• The Skinny on Blogging: Even my girl Lauren over at The Skinny Confidential says how important it is to be yourself when blogging. And she was meticulous when she was starting out!


• Kick-Ass Inspiration: Gary Vaynerchuk is one crazy ass mofo who just happened to give this awesome talk on branding in blogging. I think you'll love it.


• Legendary Blog Advice: From no one other than the incredible Tim Ferriss. You wanna know how to build a high traffic blog? Make sure you set aside an hour or so!


• Have Fun, Don't Suck: Man vs. Debt taught me how not to suck at blogging, it's a damn good read! Especially if you don't wanna suck.... :S


• Bringing Home The Bacon: At some point I'm sure you're gonna be wanting make money from your baby (not a real baby, your blog baby). Steve Pavlina wrote a SENSATIONAL article that you'll LOVE on how to make money from your blog he explains exactly how he makes money and all the ways you can do the same with your own blog (and holy crap is it a looong ass post).


•  Overnight Success! Chris Guillebeau wrote a free downloadable guide on creating a successful blog in less than a year. He did it himself and he's just an all around great guy. C'mon it's free, what else do ya want!? ;)

• Marie Forleo: Marie is my go-to woman for serious biz advice. Her video's are in-depth and super actionable.


• Sarah von Bargen: I only recently discovered this incredible lass. Her biz & blogging advice is a breathe of fresh air and her personality shines through her writing. If you like me, you'll LOVE her! :)


• Problogger: Yup, probably the best place to start when you want legit blogging tips. Make sure you bookmark these guys because they'll be your go-to resource for years!


• Nathalie Lussier: This girl is as sweet as a button! I love her vids & even her sign up is awesome.

Free Printable: The Happiness Schedule

Happiness, I believe, belongs to those who define it. Because without stating precisely what it means to you, it becomes an elusive esoteric god-like feature that only the special among us ever get to taste.

Because even if you had it sitting right there in your sweaty little lap, you wouldn't see it. Because you'll already be looking for the next "thing" to make you happy.

But when you define it as clear as the Mediterranean sea - it's yours for the taking.

Happiness is really simple if you let it be. So for now while your complexly beautiful infuriating mind is off calculating how many lattes you need to stop drinking and thank you's you need to start saying. Just start here.

Because this is happiness and it's most simplistic.

(Click image to enlarge & save to desktop)


Save it as your desktop wallpaper, pin it to one of your boards on pinterest or share it on twitter and facebook. Let this be a reminder of how simple happiness can be.

Elise xo

Live your dream

Most of us go through life pretending that we don’t have any special goals or ambitions or desires when really deep down inside we do really want more. 

We block ourselves and we use these words almost like we’re in a trance, like we’re sleep-walking through life, that we find ways to cancel out our dreams, that a lot of things that we want to do, a lot of places we would like to go, a lot of things we would like to experience, and we just stop at "but."

But will cause you to hide out behind fear, but will cause you to come up with all types of excuses that you can validate your inaction and not acting on your dream. ”But” is a dream-killer.

But most people, you know what they do? Most people go through life quietly and safely tiptoeing to an early grave. 

We’ve been holding back, we have ideas we that don’t act on, things that we want to do, we’re afraid to take chances. A lot of people say no to things and they don’t even know what they’re saying no to! Don’t allow but to keep you in the corner.

A lot of people say, “But I tried once,” or “twice,” “and it didn’t work out,” and so they use that as an excuse not to ever come out again. Even if things don’t work out, even if I experience defeat or failure, that does not make me a failure. There’s a difference between failing and being a failure.

If things don’t work out, if you don’t produce the results you want, that’s all, but don’t confuse who you are with the results that you produce. Do what you can where you are with what you have, and never be satisfied. 

Yeah, don’t get satisfied with yourself. Always know that wherever you are, you can enjoy more, that you deserve more. Why don’t you decide now that you can expand your world, that if other people can learn you can learn, too.

If you’re working on you dream, sure they’re gonna be times when you’re gonna want to give up, sure there will be times when life will knock you down and catch you on the blind side, but the challenge is to hold on.

And if you hold on tenaciously, I say the universe is on your side. If you don’t decide to act on your dream, if you don’t decide to make a decision to live your life, if you don’t decide to step into your fears, if you don’t decide to say yes to your life, it will never work for you. You’ve got to live what’s in life, life is too short and unpredictable.

But what do we say? ”But there will always be tomorrow.” Oh, no. There’s no guarantees that you’re gonna show up tomorrow. Always something there, the reason you can’t move on, the reason why you can’t grow to the next level, why you can’t being to manifest your greatness, why you can’t begin to live life on your terms, that you’re gonna say “it’s not worth it.”

Yes, that’s going to be right there for you, it’s going to be in your face, telling you to go back. So if you want to do something, if you’ve thought about something you want to do, take it head-on. Life will never be the same.

Live your dream.

5 Tips For Happiness In Your Workplace

In my teens having a job was really about surviving city life - and being able to afford a ridiculous party addiction. In my early twenties it was about exploring industries, figuring out my passions, trial and error. Now that I'm in my - gulp - mid twenties, it's all about 'Am I going to be happy here?'.

Because what is the point of renting out 80% of your life to a place that you have panic attacks about attending every single day?

After all, being a stay-at-home-whatever isn't a luxury for the middle class anymore.

Yuck, I know.

So what if you're not happy in your workplace, and as much as you'd like to be dramatic and resign tomorrow, you can't leave?

This is what you do.


1 // create a game plan

If quitting by the end of today is off the table, unfortunately - and I do hate saying this because these exact words are what my mother told me, and swallowing them was like downing a shot of car battery fluid mixed with razor blades and salt - you have to change how you feel about your workplace.

What worked like a charm for me was producing a game plan. A simple month-by-month type of game plan.

For instance, this month make a project to crush your previous monthly sales history or to arrive at work 10 minutes earlier than your start time. Next month try up-skilling your product knowledge or make an effort to learn more about another colleague you're not that close to yet.

It is a known fact that if you have more purpose for something, you're more likely to create more feelings of engagement and enjoyment.


2 // design a happy work space

Those who sit at a desk, I don't know what's up with you shifty folks but you never seem to do anything with your space. Where's the photos, the magazines, the organised mess, the personality, the arrangement, where's the soul of you?

We do better when we're surrounded by colours, visuals or objects that inspire us. It's a security thing. If you surround yourself with things that make you feel more comfortable, work becomes easier, you feel safer, more open, more cheerful.

Embellish your desk with colour, photos, quotes and glitter. Sprinkle you, all around the office. Get chummy with those colleagues who look like they're good people to hang around with.


3 // make friends

When Scott had been working at his gym for a few months, I got really envious of the friendships he was building there. I loved being a Nanny, but I yearned to socialize, crack jokes, act stupid and chit-chat with adults again. I missed being part of a team.

Making friendships is one of the most important things about creating a happy workplace environment. You bond over menial stuff that only you really understand, you band together when shit gets interesting (A.K.A soul-destroying). Sometimes, the work-friendship crosses over into life-friendship. You never know what could happen!

You automatically gravitate towards the people who match you in personality. Get to know those people. After all, you do spend almost every day with them. They'll make it worth your while.


4 // spice up your lunch breaks

Are you guilty of doing the same thing every lunch break? Are you eating the same food as yesterday, txting your BFF complaining about your day or sitting in the exact same spot?

That was me several years ago. Meatball sub, cosmo magazine and the cold, damp staff room that would make your hair raise on the back of your neck every time a breeze floated by. Blegh.

Changing up your lunch breaks instantly gives you more zest to make it through the rest of your day.

For one whole week, try doing something different when you have your lunch break each day. Go for a walk, sit outside in the sun, go shopping, visit an art gallery, have a lunch date, go swimming, have lunch with a colleague, check a book out at the library or have a nap!


5 // avoid them haters

Haters gonna hate. No matter where you go, there will always be a parade of negative people taunting you to join the dark side.

They could be complaining about the boss one moment and the next they're bitching about you behind your back. Avoid them like the plague. Otherwise, that happiness you crave so much to have at your workplace, is never going to exist.

Bottom line: Stay away from gossip and unhappy people - and if you're one of them, fight for your happiness every. single. day.


xo

Elise

P.S - 21 self-love affirmations.

Highlights from The White Rabbit

I felt the nerves kick in as I parked my car. Of course I parked my car at the top of Mt Everest's cousin knowing that I would inevitably have to haul myself back up it afterwards. Call it blogger brain maybe?

In a fluster, I arrived at our venue stylishly early and found my seat ready for my second ever blogger meet up, run by the ladies at #BrunchClub. Here are my highlights for the event..

1 // The Company. Sitting next to the lovely Genie from Bunny Eats Design who was such a pleasure to converse with. We got talking about an assortment of topics; babies, bangs, blog guilt and the fact that we both went to the same primary school! If you're a hardcore foodie, you definitely need to hurry over to her blog. I can't promise you won't suffer from severe drooling though.. ;)

2 // The New Faces. Meeting the wonderful Corinne from Frock and Roll who was kind enough to let me ogle her adorable and super brand new 6 month old baby Charlie. We talked about many things from blog goals and anxiety to aussie bloggers and baby daddys. I've never met a group of people that I've felt so comfortable with so quickly, that we can start conversations about random topics. I love it!



3 // The Venue. I'm a huge black and white decor fan and the cafe reminded me of our family farmhouse we used to visit in the summers when I was little. Simple, homely, yet urban.

4 // The Coffee. You know it's gonna be a good day when your flatwhite arrives with a heart sitting in a crescent moon. You just know it!

5 // The Baby. I was one of the lucky ones who got to sit next to this bundle of cuteness. Meet Charlie. Daughter of Corinne. Well behaved, full of sweet gummy smiles and a little flirt when it comes to pirates. Be warned, if you get the chance to sit next to her, you'll be inclined to forget about everything you were meant to be doing and play with her for the entire event!

5 // The Food. Even though my first attempt at eating my scrambled farm eggs on rye sourdough with dry cured house bacon resulted in half of my sourdough shooting off my plate and onto the floor next to the pirates. These were the best damn scrambled eggs I've ever had.

6 // The Hidden Bar. Which took me to a fantasy of silver moustached gentlemen sipping brandy with one hand and inhaling a cigar in the other. This and the fact that the room was made from recycled materials.

7 // The Announcement. And of course the exciting new announcement Madi and Laura made regarding the direction of #BrunchClub. Find out more here.


Have you been to a #BrunchClub meet up yet? What have been some of your highlights from the events?

xo Elise