How to Blog

STYLE & SUBSTANCE: NUTRITION AND STYLE

by Catherine on April 16, 2013

This week I’m thrilled to share a fresh Style & Substance interview with my fellow Brisbane blogger and real-life buddy Jess from Nutrition and Style. Jess is a health coaching Nutritionist and personal stylist on a mission to make women feel great about their bodies, inside and out. Her blog takes a light-hearted tone but packs an informative punch when it comes to nutrition, fashion, fitness and wellbeing. My favourite series is Chic This Week in which Jess blogs about the benefits of a particular whole food (like pineapple or Greek yogurt) then challenges her readers to experiment with new ways to enjoy her healthy pick and connect by sharing their culinary triumphs with the hashtag #chicthisweek. It’s fun, motivating, and it’s made me definitely want to give dragonfruit a try! If you’d like to follow along, you can find Jess on facebook, twitter, and instagram too.

nutrition and style

// Style

Q: How would you describe your personal style?

Colourful, relaxed and unexpected.

Q: What item in your closet are you loving most this season?

I fell back in love with my navy suede booties, hard. They have gold
chains draped down the heel that make me feel a little bit Beyonce.

Q: What’s your biggest style challenge & how do you deal with it?

I believe style to be a reflection of your life. My biggest challenge is that
I’m constantly evolving and that’s reflected in my eclectic wardrobe.
At the moment, I’m focusing on filling my wardrobe with good quality
basics to balance out my print and colour-heavy wardrobe.

Q: What fashion/beauty/decor items are you coveting right now?

I’m on the hunt for THE most perfect faux fur vest and leather-look
skinnies.

Q: Do you have a signature scent?

Funnily enough, Coconut oil – I use it as a body moisturizer. I haven’t
worn perfume in years. Coco Chanel once said “A woman who doesn’t
wear perfume has no future” which makes me laugh.

Q: What are your go-to beauty products?

• I only wear Clinique makeup and have done so since I was 16
• Rose Hip Oil as a face moisturizer before bed
• Rosebud Salve for lips.

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STYLE & SUBSTANCE: BETTY MEANS BUSINESS

by Catherine on April 9, 2013

Kate Byrne Betty Means Business

I’m thrilled this week to be sharing a Style & Substance interview with Kate Byrne, the creative entrepreneurial force behind Betty Means Business. Kate is a roller derby-loving, green-juice-drinking, yoga-junkie, business strategist, coach, and blogger. One part entrepreneurial maven, one part irresistible super nerd, Kate has an insatiable appetite for life, art, nature, creative endeavour, women in business for themselves, making a difference and laughing out loud. Kate is a Betty on a mission to quench your thirst for bullshit free creative inspiration & business advice.

Thanks to a debilitating spinal injury, Kate was forced to take time out from her grown-up life as co-founder of a successful management consultancy and think about what she really wanted to do when she grew up. That inward journey spawned an online space dedicated to helping women with business yearnings become the kickass creative entrepreneurial trailblazers they’re meant to be. This year Kate set herself a big personal creative challenge: To set up and grow a successful business in only 2 hours or less a day. Can it be done? You’ll have to visit Betty Means Business to find out. I also recommend checking out Kate’s free eBook Kill Overwhelm + Make Shit Happen for practical advice on moving forward toward your vision when you’re not sure which step to take first.

Betty Means Business

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Style & Substance: Hair Romance

by Catherine on March 27, 2013

This is Christina, but since at last count 11,907,709 of you have visited her site Hair Romance, I’m guessing you’ve already made her (and her beautiful curls’) acquaintance. If not, you’re in for a treat because Christina is one of the loveliest Australian blogging superstars you could ever hope to meet. We used to live in the same neighbourhood and hanging out with this girl over a glass of wine and/or cup of gelato is one of the things I miss most about Sydney. Thank goodness for blogger conferences and living vicariously through instagram!

Hair Romance is all about loving and having fun with your best accessory: your hair. Christina maintains that the secret to good hair is a great haircut, so there’s a lot of information about getting the best from your stylist in her posts. She also blogs heaps of quick tutorials which she creates and photographs on her own hair, proving we call can master awesome braids, twists, and styles ourselves.

Hair Romance gained a huge following when Christina set herself the challenge of creating 30 different braided hairstyles in one month. The series went viral, an ebook followed, and now Christina has a second ebook of up-dos under her belt, launched two new blogs (here & here), and has established herself as a Pinterest pro who writes and speaks on the business of how to use Pinterest to drive web traffic. It’s an impressive resume, and an inspirational tale of a blogging-preneur from our own community living the freelance dream! So without any more ~~gushing~~ introduction from me, let’s hear from Christina in her own words:

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500 POSTS + WELCOME TO THE SPRING SHOP!

by Catherine on February 25, 2013

500 Posts? Whaaat?

After hitting ‘publish’ on Friday I caught this on Dashboard >> Posts: 500 published. “Really?” I thought, “how is that possible?” Blogging is such a labour of love we don’t often stop and think about just how much we’re putting into it… So when the stats start creeping up it can be a bit of a shock! Suddenly your baby site has become a big kid – a bona fide walking, talking entity.

And what exactly is there to show for all those hours spent glued to a screen? In my case: a whole whack of back pages, a valued circle of bloggy friends, and a sense my own power to realise a creative vision. Yep, it’s been worth every minute!

So I want to say a big, heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who’s read and shared any of my 500 posts… And will y’all join me in a big ole collective pointy fingered dance to celebrate all the bloggers who bring so much inspiration, pleasure, and positivity to our days? Thanks for that too! That extra shimmy-shake was for you.

The Spring Shop is opening soon!

I’m pretty sure this is what’s known as ‘burrying the lead’… but nevermind… I’m massively excited to tell you about the new venture about to launch from The Spring HQ!

The Spring Shop is opening soon! We’ve put together an online store offering a range of affordable new and vintage home and food-styling products that I’ve hand-picked to make you smile. If you love to entertain, need to replenish your craft drawer, are looking for unique gifts for your unique friends, or just want to treat yourself to something practical and pretty, The Spring Shop is definitely for you! And we’re going to be popping up at markets around South East Queensland in the coming months so we can all hang out in person. Sweet!

To get a behind-the-scenes peek at what The Spring Shop is all about, check out our Spring Shop-spiration Pinterest board (snippets of which you’re seeing here). Cute, right?!

Don’t want to miss a thing? Subscribe!

The best way to keep up to date on what’s happening on the Shop & Blog is to sign up to our Newsletter. When you subscribe you’ll receive:

one weekly email (short and sweet, no jamming up your inbox!)
a first look at new stock in the Shop
a recap of the week’s best Blog topics
exclusive offers, discounts, giveaways
let us know your birthday and we’ll send a gift!

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STYLE & SUBSTANCE: DREAM DELIGHT INSPIRE

by Catherine on February 14, 2013

This week on Style and Substance I’m thrilled to bring you an interview with the lovely Kim who writes about finding clarity, balance, and creativity in every aspect of life at Dream Delight Inspire. She’s a bubbly Sagittarius who blogs to inspire and is currently living out her dream of self employment as she grows her vocal coaching empire. Kim loves socialising, going out for breakfast, beach walks in the sunshine, green smoothies, kinesiology sessions and teetering about in high heels. Her crazy “so-big-it’s-hard-to-believe-it-could-actually-happen” aspiration is to live three months of every year in Europe to escape the Melbourne winter.

//STYLE

Q: How would you describe your personal style?

Whenever I go shopping, I always try to nab classic well-fitting pieces that will last me a long time. I don’t tend to go for the trendy pieces as they don’t always work with my shape but I love to accessorise with the colours and textures of the season to keep my wardrobe fresh and modern. I love my classic cuts but I also favour dresses with volume, different textures and metallic splashes. So I’d probably say my style is elegant with a hint of quirkiness.
Q: What’s your biggest style challenge & how do you deal with it?

My style challenge is that I have a true hourglass shape – a small waist with child-bearing hips which can be tricky to dress sometimes. I tend to wear fitted tops and keep the bottom half in an A-line shape or voluminous to balance it out. The 50s silhouette works for me.

Q: What are your favourite local haunts?

Wow, this is a tough one. I adore going out for breakfast and have a bunch of incredible cafés that I frequent here in Melbourne. My current favourites would have to be Spout, Miss Jackson and Monk Bodhi Dharma for their outstanding food, coffee and hipster service.

// & SUBSTANCE

Q: What inspires you lately?

So many different things! Smart and creative people doing their own thing, books, music, other blogging babes (like you!), travel, my students, modern art and fashion.

Q: What do you love about blogging?

I used to journal a lot as a kid and it helped me get my feelings and thoughts our of my head and work through them. Blogging is an extension of that for me. Not only can I explore ideas in my online space but I am lucky enough to have an exceptional community to bounce them off and get feedback. It’s lovely to hear all about how they can relate to what I’m going through or how they’re inspired to change elements of their lives for the better. It makes me feel like I’m a part of something and that I’m having a small positive impact on people.

Q: What scares you?

Rats, mice – anything rodent-like really. I suppose I’m also scared of losing myself. In the last few years I have really got a great sense of who I am and how I need to live in order to be authentic and true to myself. It’s incredibly refreshing and liberating but sometimes I worry that I might slip further away from that. I also used to have a huge fear of failure.

Q: If you could jet off anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Morocco and Portugal are next on my hit list. The colours, the patterns, the flavours – I can’t wait to explore it all!

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STYLE & SUBSTANCE: THE OLD SCHOOL MASTER’S HOUSE

by Catherine on February 1, 2013

Ingrid Weir’s blog and instagram were two of my most favourite online discoveries of 2012… if you’re not acquainted with her creative corner of the interweb at The Old School Master’s House yet, get ready for your next major bloggy crush! Ingrid is a set and costume designer living in Sydney and her site catalogues her incredible hobby and passion – renovating an old schoolmaster’s house in a nineteenth century Gold Rush town in New South Wales’ Central West. Owing to her naturalist’s eye and lyrical sensibility, Ingrid’s photography and prose is unique, curious, warm, and winsome. What I love most is seeing the things I love about Australian country life through her lens.

//Style

Q: WHAT ITEM IN YOUR CLOSET ARE YOU LOVING MOST THIS SEASON?

A Sonia Rykiel knit dress- very sassy & very French.

Q: WHAT DECOR ITEMS ARE YOU MOST COVETING RIGHT NOW?

Handmade textiles, vintage industrial lockers & concrete kangaroos.

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR GO-TO BEAUTY PRODUCTS?

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, Klorane Dry Shampoo, and Chanel lipsticks.

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL HAUNTS?

Gnome Espresso Surry Hills, 3 Blue Ducks Bronte, Paddington Library & Bondi Beach.

//& Substance

Q: WHAT INSPIRES YOU LATELY?

Photos on Instagram, DIY projects on Remodelista, and the new interiors book ‘The Natural Home’ by Hans Blomquist.

Q: WHAT HAVE YOU MADE RECENTLY?

An embroidered heart shaped wall hanging.

Q: WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Just finished the inspiring new biography ‘I’m Your Man; the life of Leonard Cohen’ by Sylvie Simmons.

Q: WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT BLOGGING?

Connecting with people around the world, a sense of progress with my writing and photography.

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STYLE & SUBSTANCE: FRESH BY SIAN

by Catherine on January 16, 2013

Style & Substance is finally back! Today I’m super excited to bring you… drumroll please… Sian Richadson! A lot of y’all already know her from her time in Sydney blogging at Twelve by One… Also because she’s the graphic designer behind heaps of our bloggy buddies’ beautiful sites and ebooks. Sian is a free-spirited creative wizard who’s back living it up in her homeland of New Zealand and cataloguing its natural beauty on her new online photo journal Opaque Destinations. While she spends her days working with ass-kicking brands and businesses to bring their ideas to life, Sian’s all about ditching the line between work and play. If you follow her on instagram (and you should – she’s one of my all time top ‘grammers) you’ll expect to find her working away on her laptop lake-side one minute and back on the road in search of another park bench with an even sweeter view the next.

fresh by sian

//STYLE

Q: DO YOU HAVE A SIGNATURE SCENT

CKIN2U has always been a fave of mine… That scent gets me every time. I don’t actually have it at the moment though, I need to buy a new one! haha.

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR GO-TO BEAUTY PRODUCTS?

Garnier BB Cream, Neutrogena Body Mist Sunscreen (that stuff is seriously amazing, and you don’t get that usual sticky groseness that comes with the cream sunscreen, it comes in SPF 70 too), Mac Studio Fix, which I use a tiny bit over my BB cream, and it lasts me through the whole day… Other than that I have a few other random products that I use, like bronzer, mascara etc, but I don’t wear those every day.

Q: WHAT’S IN YOUR HANDBAG?

Hmm currently – Instax Mini, extra Instax film, my oldschool Canon T50, wallet, x2 pairs of sunnies, mini make up bag (I always have hand sanitizer + plasters + tissues + concealer + tweezers in there, all of which come in handy pretty often), a notebook + pen, and my earphones… Oh and a map! I’ve become obsessed with maps lately, I love my roadies so I’m always scoping out new places to check out.

//& SUBSTANCE

Q: WHAT INSPIRES YOU LATELY?

Lots of things! The amazingly rad kiwi summer we’re having right now, which means I can work outside & get amongst it almost every day, stumbling across other baller creatives on the interweb, my awesome clients, New Zealand + it’s amazing scenery… Pretty much everything. I get inspired so easily.

Q: WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK/SONG/MOVIE?

Fave song, tough call, I have so many… But at the moment, defiantly Holding On by Flume. Love that guy. Fave book, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. Fave movie… Hmm tough call between Into The Wild & The Art of Flight. Both completely different, but so inspirational in their own ways.

Q: WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT BLOGGING?

I love the sense of community, and how everyone is just so awesome & supportive. I’ve met so many awesome babes through blogging that I’m sure I’ll be friends with for a while to come. It’s kind of cool how these internet ‘relationships’ aren’t location dependent too. So no matter where we are, we can keep up with each other via our blogs & social media, which is pretty awesome.

Q: WHAT SCARES YOU?

Getting ‘stuck’ and somehow not being able to travel the world.

Q: WHAT OR WHO (SO FAR) IS THE GREATEST LOVE OF YOUR LIFE?

Freedom. Hands down. For me its the feeling of not being tied down to any one person, or any one place… Leaving me free to travel & explore and do whatever I like. I love that feeling so much.

Q: WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

Make it happen. I don’t remember where I first saw this or who said it to me, but it’s become my ‘anchor’ really. Over the last year since I’ve gone full time freelance as a designer, I realised that nothing you dream about, or nothing you want in life will ever just ‘happen’. You have to get out there and make it happen… You can’t just sit around and dream all day. You have to follow up the dreaming by the doing. Every single time.

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PHOTO A DAY

by Catherine on November 1, 2012

This month I’m joining in on @fatmumslim ‘s photo a day instagram challenge… are you? Let me know in a comment below so I can follow your feed on instagram… and you can keep track of mine here!

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{Blogging Tips}: Best Posts from the ProBlogger Event 2012

by Catherine on October 16, 2012

If like me you missed the Problogger Event 2012 in Melbourne over the weekend… not to worry! There’re still plenty of ways to swot up on the tricks of the trade as presented by a selection of Australia’s most successful bloggers. If you happen to have a spare $200 you can buy a Virtual Pass from the Problogger website and access audio recordings of all the training seminars plus the slides from each session. If you don’t, I’ve complied here a list of my favourite posts by bloggers who participated at #pbevent and have distilled the best bits for our consideration… I’ll be updating the list as more posts are published over the week, so if you’re keen on the blogging tips, keep checking back!

♥ Sarah Wilson on all the ways to make money from blogging.
♥ Fat Mum Slim on how to build your online community.
♥ Allison from Life in a Pink Fibro on tips from writing a better blog with a view to monetising your writing & how to know if book publishers are looking at your blog… and what exactly they’re looking for.
♥ Alison from Blog Zombie on 58 ways to get noticed as a new blogger.
♥ Nikki from Styling You on how to get brands knocking on your blog’s door.
♥ Sarah from A Beach Cottage on how to dream up blogging ideas that spark… and turn them into sparkles.
♥ Adam on the best 9 things he learned at Problogger about becoming a web entrepreneur.
♥ Rach from In Spaces Between with a full wrap-up of the key points from her favourite panels. This girls is thorough… and her part II post is coming soon!

If you’ve written about Problogger or have stumbled across a great post on the event, please let me know in the comments & I’ll add it here!

Don’t forget to scroll down and leave a comment to enter our beautiful design book giveaway!!

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Style and Substance

by Catherine on September 27, 2012

Source: weheartit.com

I love blogging, and a huge part why I love it so much is all the super amazing, lovely, generous, cool girls it’s brought into my life. I’m talking about the women of the Aussie blogosphere. They really are a fabulous bunch! Almost two years ago now, when I was all new to Australia and The Spring was just starting out, I began a series of interviews called Style & Substance featuring some of my favourite local bloggers. It was my way of reaching out, making friends, and finding a place in the online community. And it worked, so well in fact that I got lazy and let the series fall away.

Now that I’ve discovered so many more incredible Aussie blogs I feel it’s time to bring Style & Substance on back – only in a slightly updated form. That’s where you come in! Instead of asking the same 7 questions to everyone I’ve expanded the list so each interviewee can chose the questions from each section they’d like to answer. But before I start sending out the Q’s for our best bloggers to A, I want to find out two things from you first: Who would you love to see featured on The Spring? And what are you most curious to hear them talk about?

Here’re the probing questions I’ve got down on the list so far…

// Style

Q: How would you describe your personal style?
Q: What item in your closet are you loving most this season?
Q: What fashion/beauty/decor items are you coveting right now?
Q: Do you have a signature scent?
Q: What are your go-to beauty products?
Q: What’s in your handbag?
Q: What would be your ideal meal?
Q: What are your favourite local haunts?

// & Substance

Q: What inspires you lately?
Q: What’s the most recent thing you’ve made?
Q: What are you reading?
Q: What’s your favourite song/book/movie?
Q: What do you love about blogging?
Q: If you could jet off anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Q: What or who (so far) is the greatest love of your life?
Q: What’s the worst thing anyone’s ever said to you?
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Q: Tell us a joke!

If you have suggestions for more questions, bloggers I should interview, or you want you and your blog to be featured in a Style & Substance post… please let me know in the comments below! Have a great day & thanks for your ideas!

x Catherine

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