2018. The Positive Year.

Oh hello all. It's been a while hasn't it? 
I mentioned at the end of last year I'd be taking a break from blogging until 2018, well... that flew by and now we're here, a week into January and I'm feeling ready to throw myself back into the blogosphere. 

See you in 2018...

As you have probably noticed (or maybe not) I have been fairly absent from the blogging scene this year. I haven't uploaded a post since Halloween and although I've had lots of ideas and a whole lot of intention the content just hasn't come.

For the last few months I have been running a company, working a second job, trying to keep up with my family and friends and you know... living my life, which means blogging has taken a back seat. (I'm not sure how many times it is now that I've written that sentence.... but it's definitely more than a few.)

Not only do I struggle for time when it comes to blogging but, if I'm being honest, motivation. 

Since starting 'A Yellow Brick Blog' (AlohaKirstie's previous name) in 2013 the blogging world has taken a huge leap in terms of content, quality and overall uploads and over the past 18 months I have really felt like I've been left behind. Girls in which I started this journey with are killing it with insane photography, brand deals and general amazingness and I could not be prouder to have seen them grow and shine - I know firsthand how much they deserve it all. But for me I feel like I've faded into the background of the blogging world, with my content being amateur and weak compared to even brand new bloggers.

I always will be forever grateful for every single person that still clicks on this site, follows me on social media and generally is a babe towards me, but lately I feel like I've been letting those people down with my shoddy attempts at blogging and I need to remember WHY I started this in the first place. An outlet for myself to share things I love, share advice and basically just have a little Kirstie platform to hold dear to my heart. 

So in 2018 I'm hoping to be BACK, maybe with a new look, a new vibe - but I really want to be that blogger I was in 2013/14/15 creating fun content that I love, sharing products, places and things I want to share and just enjoying my work!

So fingers crossed here's to an exciting new blogging venture in the new year....

Please do share in the comments anything you'd love me to include here on AlohaKirstie or maybe posts you've enjoyed in the past. 

Where to find me in the meantime:

Twitter: @AlohaKirstie

Instagram: @AlohaKirstie

Facebook: /AlohaKirstie

Anxiety.

Anxiety isn't something I've ever gone in depth with here.
 Yes, you may have seen a few tweets from myself expressing how I'm feeling but I've never gone into more than 140 characters about how I'm feeling, mainly because I have always been a little reluctant.
One, because I don't want people to ever think that I'm joining in with a trending topic or 'trend', as that is in no way the case and also knowing people in my actual life and people from my hometown/Island read my blog. For some reason this always makes me feel a lot more vulnerable than just sharing my issues with the internet and my blogger pals online. 

We need to talk...

Hello lovely readers. I hope you are well :)

We need to have a chat - and don't worry it's not a bad chat.... well I don't think it is anyway - it's just a bit of an update/news/heart-to-heart ramble. (yup, one of those posts.)

I've been wanting to write this for a while now but it's been a struggle finding time to sit down, relax and let the words flow from my brain to my fingers, but here I am. #Hello

Yes. I'm talking about my blog and my current feels about my blogging life.

I started uploading to this blog regularly in 2013, nearly 3 years ago now and I could never imagine that I would have actually stuck to the huge commitment that it is PLUS gained everything I have done.
I've worked with amazing companies, been able to make the BEST 'internet' friends ever and even managed to get myself a dream job from my experience and self-taught know-how (cool right?). 
But lately my blogging routine has changed and it's bought a few things (and feelings) to light for me.

I LOVE writing and creating and since the year has begun I've found that talking about and reviewing PR samples, writing about my favourite cosmetic bits each month and general product jargin has been more of a chore I've needed to get done than a fun time for me to express myself through my favourite hobby.

I feel like my content is my same old beauty reviews/favourites which seem to get lost out there in the sea of other similar posts that are uploaded 24/7.
I've always wanted A Yellow Brick Blog to have that little something different and I feel like I've lost it and that's why I want to be honest with you all.
So..... going forth with A Yellow Brick Blog (Yes I'm not quitting!) I'm going to be creating alot more stand alone lifestyle, health/fitness, advice/tips, style and obviously beauty posts for you guys. (Yes beauty will still be a part of everything as it's obviously still a passion of mine - don't worry it's not going anywhere!) (Oo.... and maybe a bit of Disney too... obvs.)

I just want to create things I'm proud of and not feel pressured to get certain things written and uploaded within a particular time frame. Right now having a box full of products in my spare room to try out and review just isn't for me.
 I want to write original stuff from the heart and my head! (Plus I really want to start writing that book I spoke about last year! #oneday)
Obviously I still have a beauty reviews and PR bits and bobs for you guys, and it's definitely not something that will be stopped all together - beauty is what I started with after all - they just aren't going to be as regular as they have been in the past.

I hope this hasn't disheartened any of you, I really do.
 Most of the time though the amount of 'saves' on Bloglovin' and page views I receive more or less triple when I put up a totally original post like : 'The Stresses Of Being A Blogger' , '5 Things I Cannot Live With In My Cupboards', 'Putting Down My Phone',  '15 Things To Remind Yourself In 2016', '2016 Goals, Aims & Plans', and 'Life Thoughts'.  

So, that's that! I would LOVE for you all to leave in the comments your honest thoughts and any requests for posts that you would love too see :)

Thanks for listening to my rambling ♥ I love you guys, thank you always for your lovely support!

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Addressing Giveaway Controversy

I don't know how long this post will be live for. Maybe I'll just keep it on here forever I dunno!

Well, this certainly isn't a post I thought I would be writing less than 24 hours after uploading my latest giveaway and I've been sat here umming and arring whether this post is even necessary. But with my anxiety ridden brain, seeing some of the things being written and struggling to get my point across in 140 characters on Twitter I thought doing a quick post would be the easiest way for me to EXPLAIN.

Right.... lets start at the beginning. I started a giveaway to celebrate my blog turning 2. In the post I wrote that I would rather "spam"/"competition only" type accounts did not enter as I wanted the prize to go to a real blog supporter and reader (not just a AYBB supporter but a supporter of the blog community) - I was then told that this was illegal. 
Total new news to me - I was totally unaware that my little tiny thing on the internet could "break the law" , so I asked on Twitter to check and as soon as I found out that it was indeed apparently the truth, I removed that segment of the post leaving the giveaway open to all.

From this, a HUGE ridiculous backlash has formed - and it's gone from making me want to cry, to making me want to roll my eyes, to wanting to just end the giveaway all together.

Let me tell you WHY I wrote what I did. 

My blog is a hobby. It is not my job (its the dream of course!). I do not live of the pay. It is a just something I like to do in my spare time. 
You may even be shocked to know that I have actually only ever been paid money for TWO posts so far. Yes 2 out of over 600. 
Blogging is a HUGE part of my life and I spend at least 1 of my days off dedicated to creating new content for it and really do pour my heart and soul into what I do on here.
I have a regular minimum wage job that I work full time in and just scrape through month to month with what I earn. (That is not a sob story lol it's just the truth!)

I wanted to buy a prize from my own money as a 'thank you' for the amazing love and support I've had over the last 2 years and I picked 2 prizes that I thought beauty lovers would love.
The reason I wrote those rules were because I wanted to prize to go to someone who is a fan of beauty, of beauty blogs and someone who would seriously love it. Not just someone who has just stumbled across it online and made an account so they could enter.
(I am in noway saying you can't be a beauty fan if you are a 'comper' - obviously you can like more than one thing- duh!)

This is my website that I write from my sofa in my little 2 bedroom flat on the Isle Of Wight.
  I am not a huge company with thousands to spare, I am a tiny, teeny speck in the grand scheme of things and that fact people have taken this so seriously has baffled me.
It's just a harmless giveaway of a cleanser and an eyeshadow palette that I wanted to treat someone too - not a trip to the moon or lunch with Harry Styles!

What I said was totally taken out of proportion and blown up in a matter of minutes, I was never out to offend ANYONE. Not anyone at all. At the end of the day I was literally just asking a question about rules and regulations as I wanted to comply to the law - I didn't know what I had written would be taken so badly. I'm very much an open, happy, friendly person and would never want to upset anyone, ever. 

 Lots of current readers have contacted me saying they were 'compers' too and they thought they couldn't enter - this as not the case AT ALL! 
I can see that you follow this blog and I appreciate every single one of you, just because you like to enter competitions aswell as reading blogs would never have an affect on your entry, that is just ridiculous. 

I really hope this can now have a line drawn under it. Alot of nasty things have been flung about and not only about me. I HATE any form of confrontation and have been totally shocked by some of the things I've read today (and I know there's alot I haven't seen aswell), half me of felt like I need to apologise to everyone but the other half of me just thought I must have been going crazy - surely all this drama couldn't have been caused by a tiny blog?!

Anyway - I love you all and thank you to all you of you who have tweeted me nice things today, you've reminded how strong and how incredible the blogging community is.

My giveaway is now open to ALL.

Peace & Love 

Kirstie x