Bookworm

The second room I decorated in Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer was for Goldie, the golden retriever. She's one of unofficial animal mascots of the game and has featured in a number of the boxes and manuals for the Animal Crossing franchise. To match her elevated profile, I kind of envisioned a blogger persona. Or that of a respected university professor who graduated from college at age fourteen. Naturally had to give her a laptop, as well as piles of books and coffee to drink. So far each room has been the same size which has been limiting in what you're able to do and how you can decorate it.

The space is kind of quaint and full of antiques like the phonograph and suitcase which makes it feel like a vintage installation. I saw how someone else interpreted this room and well... my effort pales in comparison but I'm still having a lot of fun with the game. You can also revisit clients and change aspects of their room once you're finished. It's important details like that which add longevity to the game. More importantly this game makes me rethink my relationship with interior design as well as the style icons who inspire each room. In this instance it was Alexa Chung and Susana Lau of Style Bubble.

Reblog: Japan Candy Box Giveaway

The lovely Celia of Ceedling is having a giveaway over on her blog- check it out for a chance to win a Japan Candy Box full of yummy treats! You can check out the full unboxing and tasting video here. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Young Professional

Wearing: Blouse and shoes from Asos, trousers from Target. 
 
Last week I presented my research to the academics from my faculty and managed to memorise everything that I wanted to say. All in all my presentation went for fifteen minutes, followed by five minutes of questions. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to present my research to others, but I also managed to impress the structural geologists and gophysicists. As a paleontologist, and the only one from my cohort studying fossils I was bound to stand out, but I'm so relieved everything went well. My supervisors were also pleased that I was able to place my work within the context of previous research, and emphasise why the project was important. Dressing in an outfit which made me feel sassy and confident was a big help though, these shoes were a little uncomfortable new, but that kind of helped me not fidget or move on the spot. While we were never explicitly told what the dress code was, I was more interested in those who were wearing business casual. This is obviously really different than what I tend to wear day to day, but I do love the blouse I bought!

Lady Petrov'as tips for Blogging

You may remember several weeks ago I got to attend Lady Petrova's Social Media Socialite Class- this class in particular was aimed at how companies can better use social media to promote the aesthetic of their store, but a lot of these tips were applicable to fashion bloggers too. Obviously I can't give away all her magical secrets (and highly recommend that if you are in Melbourne you attend her next class!) so instead I wanted to present just some of her blogging tips. Of course, many of you will already be familiar with some of these but if you, like me follow blogging intuitively rather than from a manual than hopefully there will be something useful for you. So, without further ado:

1.) Know your audience: for many bloggers, they are trying to attract the attention of like-minded people or inspire others. I try and present an alternative in how to approach personal style and frequently break so-called fashion rules and twist the narrative. Featuring the work of others who I admire is also important as it forces me to consider what I like and dislike about their brand and how it relates to me on a very personal level. I also frequently check what other blogs my followers are reading as a way of expanding my own social circle and think about what my *competitors* are offering.

2.) Every single post needs to add value to the reader's lives. This means no fodder! Often when I review a brand it is important for me to offer a personal opinion or find some kind of pop culture reference rather than summarize what others have already written. Writing style is therefore important, as well as the editing process in order to avoid grammatical errors and inaccurate information. You want to avoid being contacted by a company correcting you, which is the online equivalent to your pants spontaneously dropping.

3.) Organise your social media. If you're like me and studying full-time then it means scheduling content ahead of time. This gives me more time to edit photos and structure paragraphs around a collection, as well as grouping together certain clusters of posts by aesthetic. In case you haven't noticed I'm a bit of a control freak and this works well for me on many levels but if you enjoy being a bit more spontaneous you can schedule some posts.  Unfortunately this means that I don't really have the chance to discuss things as they happen and post in real-time. That's what apps like Instagram are for, which leads me to:

4.) Posting regularly. While I have managed to master regular content on my blog I often forget to update my instagram and twitter accounts regularly. However, these make a big difference in my weekly and monthly stats and I would consider them necessary as part of the bigger picture. It's also important to establish which social media stream is your "home base" and what other channels are accessory to that. So for example, I use Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram (rarely Facebook) to redirect traffic back to my blog and use that as my home base. 

5.) Think about what things look like on your phone. What's the thing we are constantly criticized for? You're always on your phone/ obsessed with your phone/ attached to the phone. There's a theory that if aliens floated down to observe the human race they would probably think these little rectangles were necessary to our existence. However, many teens and twenty-something year old's use their phones in order to connect with the people they feel most attached to, but also read blogs and shop online. A basic understanding of coding will be really useful in aligning every image and making everything look much neater!

While there were other gems of wisdom I picked up throughout the course of the afternoon I would say these are the most helpful, but there's also this really useful thing called the Internet which you can use to search for something as specific as running an instagram account or translating each step of MyIdol (remember that guys????). It's all part of making these everyday things part of your routine in the revolving door of, "hey I exist! I'm here!" whilst offering something unique and different.

1- Acer X Christian Cowan-Sanluis. 2 & 6- Photos by Petra Collins for Dazed Digital.3, 5 & 7- Arvida Byström. 4- Tavi Gevinson & Iris Apfel.