Now We Are Five
This post is long and wordy so here’s a little executive summary for you (scroll down for the pictures): I’ve been blogging for a while, have enjoyed every minute, have carried on with it for far longer than I thought I would and have met some bloody amazing people along the way.
This month marks by 5 year blogging anniversary. Wow. I had no idea when I first created this blog, on an evening back in October 2009 that I’d still be writing it five years later and that it would actually, really and truly change my life.
A lot has changed since I started LilyLipstick but I’m still pressing “publish” on that little orange button often enough. I still love thinking of ideas for posts, taking photos and writing them up. My blog hasn’t grown hugely in the last five years, I’m not a “full-time blogger” and I’m not earning pots of money from this little space of internet but I’d still write this even if no one read it (and I’m, needless to say, exceptionally grateful to anyone who does read it). I love having my own place to write and share, it’s like an online diary that I can hopefully look back on in five years time and feel nostalgic about my twenties (what a terrifying thought that is). It’s also a community, a club that I’m a part of, a little clique – and I love that.
Content wise I initially started off writing a beauty blog until I realised that lifestyle and London were more my kinda thing. I bought a tripod and snapped outfit photos in my bedroom, enlisted the help of friends and Mummy Lipstick, took more selfies than any normal, non-internet person and possibly spent more money on clothes than I would otherwise have done, but maybe not. I learned how to edit photos, do a bit of HTML, engage with PRs and social media – transferable skills, people! I’ve been to numerous blog events, from my first few where I barely spoke to shows at LFW and cookery classes.
Life-wise ages 22 – 27 have been pretty eventful, from undergrad law student, through law school, my first job and finally to the er, “young professional” that I am today (I went to an event for such people last week so I must be one). I’ve gone from student halls, to a rented flat with a kitchen in the cupboard to my own little piece of real estate (which I’m finally going to blog about soon). I’ve grown-up, a little bit since I started writing this. I’ve realised that adult life sometimes isn’t all its cracked up to be and that the SATC dream is exactly that but that it can also be more fun and amazing than I ever thought possible and that this blog is a huge part of that awesomeness.
Lastly, the best best thing to come out of blogging has been the amazing people I’ve met along the way. The friends that I’ve met through this have become real friends, not just “internet friends” but people I can tell anything to, who have saved me in moments of despair, cheered me on, supported me, told me to “man up” when I’ve needed to be told and, most importantly, made me laugh until I have cried off that mascara I just reviewed. Having a “girl gang” is something I thought I’d missed the boat on until blogging found me mine (I’ll stop before you all start gagging on the sentimentality here).
Some highlights and here’s to the next five years:
How long have you been doing this “blogging thing”?
All I can think of now is the daddylonglegs!!!x
You've done a great job so far!! Love these pics, good luck for the years to come!I'm following you on Instagram now!
Happy blogiversary! I hit 5 years earlier this year – I can't believe how far we've come! Here's to many more years.
Yey congratulations on 5 years Lily! Love that photo of us all outside Patty & Bun – insane to think how much we've all done together. Here's to many more years and more random weekends away. Coughcough, Glasgow…
And I've loved reading it since I met you at the V&A all those years ago! Here's to five more, eh? xx
Congratulations on 5 years Lily! Yours was one of the first blogs I followed and it remains a firm favourite to this day. I love your food and lifestyle posts, even though they always make me feel super jealous (your recent trip to Shanghai looked amazing). Can't wait to see more of your new place, so exciting that you're now a homeowner and here's to the next 5 years! x
Yey congratulations on 5 years Lily! Love that photo of us all outside Patty & Bun – insane to think how much we've all done together. Here's to many more years and more random weekends away. Coughcough, Glasgow…
Happy blogiversary! I hit 5 years earlier this year – I can't believe how far we've come! Here's to many more years.
And I've loved reading it since I met you at the V&A all those years ago! Here's to five more, eh? xx
All I can think of now is the daddylonglegs!!!
x
Congratulations on 5 years Lily! Yours was one of the first blogs I followed and it remains a firm favourite to this day. I love your food and lifestyle posts, even though they always make me feel super jealous (your recent trip to Shanghai looked amazing). Can't wait to see more of your new place, so exciting that you're now a homeowner and here's to the next 5 years! x
You've done a great job so far!! Love these pics, good luck for the years to come!
I'm following you on Instagram now!