5 VLOGGERS YOU MUST FOLLOW (IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY)

Maybe a bit late (I caught up with the cool kids in the end) but the year of 2014 was the year I truly got onto the whole subscribing bandwagon on YouTube. I’m not sure how many youtubers I’m now following (despite actually being quite fussy about who is on my Subscribed To list) but it’s a lot.

I’m a really nosy person so intrigued  by the goings-ons in other peoples’ lives, so unsurprisingly my absolute favourite type of videos to watch are vlogs. Now a self-acclaimed expert in this field, I’ve decided to share with you the top 5 youtube vloggers who you must subscribe to if you haven’t already.

NB: I definitely watch a lot more vlogs than just those by the people listed. However I have chosen these to share as they're the ones I believe are the most consistent, well-edited or just simply really funny.

1. EveryDayJim

This is Jim Chapman’s second channel (to Jim Chapman…) and I love it. A lot of what he does is relatively simple day to day activities but that’s the kinda thing I like about it (bar the few celebrity-like conventions he attends to occasionally). He seems genuinely a really nice guy which really shows in his videos. (You should also follow his fiancé Tanya Burr if you haven’t already!)

 

 

2. Saccone-Jolys

This is mainly filmed by Jonathon, husband of Anna, father of two toddlers and owner of hundreds of dogs (I think there’s seven). He vlogs every single day of the week, and like Jim it’s all pretty simple everyday stuff. What’s lovely though is that us viewers can really see the children growing up and going through things that what most families go through.

 

 

 

3. FunForLouis

This is the type of vlogger who will be appreciated by the adventurous and ambitious. Louis is more away from home than not, taking us on his exciting travels around the world. Such an inspiring YouTube channel with something interesting to watch every day.

 

 

4. Lily Pebbles

I always enjoy Lily’s vlogs. She vlogs on a weekly basis, gathering all her highlights from the last seven days, which is what I love. Being a similar age to me with similar interests I feel I can really relate to her (and she edits really well).

 

 

5. ThatcherJoeVlogs

This is Thatcher Joe’s second channel. He claims to not be a ‘daily vlogger’ but he’s as good as one. If you want a laugh, these are definitely the kind of vlogs you should be watching.

 

 

BE INSPIRED: MY FIRST FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHER

I wouldn't say that I was the 'arty type' so I very rarely get captivated by things like this. A few weeks ago I was scrolling through my instagram and a photograph - unique to my feed full of food/selfies/drunken-nights-on-the-town - caught my attention.

The photo that caught my attention on instagram. I'm in love with the determination and curiosity painted over the boys' faces - especially the two in the front.

Subsequently to my discovery of an incredibly talented photojournalist named Steve McCurry (and having insta-stalked his work) I found my eyes had been drawn to his website like magnets.

I read McCurry's bio of how he travelled to India following his degree in Film. Before I knew it I'd moved on to submerge myself into casually flick through every single one of his photographs from his travels. But - really - unlike the majority of pictures I've come across in my lifetime, these weren't ones I could just glance at for a couple of seconds and then simply move on. I realised it was the first time I really appreciated how art can have so much more to offer than simply what the eye sees. I was hooked. Every photo had a story to tell. There is something about his craft that allows us to understand the experience of the people captured, or the feeling of the scene, without actually having much knowledge about it at all.

I feel like not only can he prove - especially to the younger generation... including me -  that a camera has so much more power than taking a few selfies or holding a Kim Kardashian photoshoot, but there is so much in the world to see than what is in this little English bubble. Despite always believing I was a relatively open minded person, I've realised there is so much more culture and history in the world that I'd imagined, and issues that I really need to consider more.

I'm not in any way educated in art or photography, but I do know this man is the epitome of a creative (and intelligent) talent. If photography is your kinda thing, or you fancy being inspired, you must check out his work.

Steve McCurry
Website: http://stevemccurry.com/
Instagram: stevemccurryofficial

“What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have to be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling.”

-Steve McCurry

#TEAMWOMANMONTHLY

 

This has admittedly been inspired by Elle from The Elle Next Door, and that is her Woman Crush Wednesday. I may be considered a feminist to an extent, and a huge part of my femininity-beliefs is that it is so important for women to build up other women. It seems that we are constantly in competition with each other, making comparisons - whether it's to do with appearance, jobs, relationships or general success.

 

This definitely needs to stop. To be frank, I think this whole comparison/jealousy/school-girl-in-the-playground carry on is quite embarrassing. Instead, we should be praising each other. We should be recognising the job promotion/the improvement in appearance/the nice new pair of shoes/the-stunner of-a-new-boyfriend/(etc,etc, you catch my drift) that one of our fellow women-species have acquired, AND we should be happy for them! Just like we'd like our girl-friends to be happy for us when we have something great happen.

 

So before I go off on a tangent ranting about an unfortunate lack of team play from us girls that seems be a thing (especially for my generation) I will get back to the whole point of this blog post. Aaaaand breathe....

 

To support the cause of women-team-building I've decided to do my own 'Woman Crush Wednesday' : #teamwomanmonthly

 

Each month I will choose a woman who I think is an inspiration to us all, and has gone above and beyond to deserve recognition. She could a celebrity or even just an ordinary person, but someone who I think must be praised.

 

To end this post I just want to say one thing. It's honestly so normal to be jealous. It'd be unnatural if we didn't feel that initial bit of jealousy when we see someone have or achieve something we desperately want for ourselves. But whenever I see the green eyed monster brewing I quickly nip it in the bud and convert that feeling into pride and sincere happiness for that person. We all deserve to have good things happen to us in life, and if it's not happening for you now, jealously certainly won't make it come any sooner!

 

Do you have anyone you believe worthy to be crowned Team Woman Queen?

 

X

 

 

 

CLEAN EATING: THE ONLY BOOK YOU NEED

I’ve just completed Amelia Freer’s best seller ‘Eat. Nourish. Glow.’ and I can honestly say there’s no wonder why it’s been flying off the shelves.

 

Healthy eating and wellbeing has been a general interest of mine for a few years now. For me it’s not so much about getting super slim and a thigh gap, but more for my own state of mind. I’m a great believer that a healthy body makes a healthy mind and as I’m getting older my diet is becoming increasingly more important to me.

 

 

 

I started reading Freer’s masterpiece when I was shown an article where Sam Smith recommended her. Sam seems to have had lost quite a bit of weight recently and he’s looking amazing… probably the best we’ve seen him since being in the public eye.

 

When I got home I grabbed my kindle and downloaded the sample (just to check that this book was really as brilliant as people had been raving). It was. I read the first few pages and when the sample finished I was thirsty for more. Her colloquial, yet matter-of-fact, style of writing was just what I’d been longing for.

 

While most health books are a myriad of healthy recipes (with ingredients we probably haven’t even heard of before) ‘Eat. Nourish. Glow’ offers so much more. I’m almost certain there is not one area of food that Amelia Freer did not cover. From fats to sugars, carbs to protein… I feel like my brain is swimming in facts.

 

One of the things I love is how the nutritionist kick starts each section with an inspiring/motivational quote from the food experts.

 

“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces. Just good food from fresh ingredients.”

Julia Child, chef

 

“Don’t dig your grave with your own knife and fork.”

Old English proverb

 

“Indulge in life, not food.”

Dana James, Nutritional Therapist, New York

 

 

 

What’s more is that Freer has smartly structured her chapters under headings such as ‘The kitchen detox’, ‘Grace around food’, ‘Be consistent, not perfect’, ‘Why healthy food is happy food’ and many more appropriate titles that we all are craving to know the answers to.

 

I think the thing I love the most about the author is that she is a realist. She gets what it’s like to have bad habits (and perhaps not even realise it) and what it’s like to start from the bottom with a clean diet. She manages to balance empathy with a no-nonsense approach.

 

It might be the beginning of April, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late follow the ‘New year, new me’ cliché, and really make it mean something. There’s definitely a food revolution in terms of health brewing. When better to join?

 

 

Top words of wisdom from Amelia Freer’s ‘Eat. Nourish. Glow.’

“Food manufacturers have completely insulted our cooking confidence. They have come between us and the kitchen all under the guise of making our life easier… flattering our sense of busyness”

 

 “You are what you eat. So don’t be fast, cheap, easy or fake.”

 

“…knowing it’s OK not be perfect is be of the most liberating things you can do for your body and mind”

 

“Our digestive system is the foundation of our health”