Taking A Break

Hey guys! I'm still here! Alive and well. Wow, it's been a long time since I've last posted on here. Trust me, it wasn't from lack of interest. In fact, I've missed blogging so, so much. I had so many ideas in my head for April, and for my blog anniversary. Unfortunately, I couldn't execute any of them because my computer ended up with a string of nasty malware, spyware and adware. Yes, all of that. I decided that after having that computer for a few years, it was time to get a new one, so that we could swipe the old laptop back to its restored settings, get rid of all the bad bugs it had and then Jesse could have it for himself. 
Enter my brand new laptop, a beautiful HP Envy with more space that I can even fathom. Blogging will be SO much easier for me now and I can't wait to get some drafts done up and start blogging again. I feel like a big piece of my heart has been missing. I feel so relieved now! 
Thank you to all my readers who have been checking up on the blog and wondering where I've disappeared to. I appreciate all your patience with me and I hope you stick around and continue to read my blog even though I've been away for so long! Spring is in the air and there is so much to do, so much to photograph and so much inspiration to be had! Here's to new computers and a fresh start to the blog writing process! See you soon, lovelies! 
xo Amber 
photo via.

Rebranding // What And Why

Hey babes! 

As you can see, there's something a little different about the blog. Well, that's because I am no longer under the name Whale & Wasp. But it was such a cute name! you say? I know, I know... I loved it too. But, there was always something in my gut telling me it wasn't for me. For those of you who don't know, the name was taken from an old Alice & Chains song. And, while I still love the band, I just felt like I should have a name that I came up with all on my own, and not taken from someone else. I felt so uncreative in a world of extremely talented ladies and gents. 

So, alas, I have a new name. Banjo & Scout. It's not something that totally suits my lifestyle blog but it's catchy, and I've been sitting on it for months and still love it the same as the minute I came up with it. So what does it mean, you ask? Well, I didn't enjoy much from my childhood (waaah, just kidding), but if there was one thing that stuck with me it was camping trips. Our family trip every year was camping at a Bluegrass festival a few hours from me. Nothing special but it was always the one thing we looked forward to. That's where Banjo comes from. Scout is a homage to my years spent in Girl Guides. The second thing in my childhood that I will cherish always. I know this blog doesn't really have anything to do with camping, but, it's two things I will always love and remember so I know that this blog name means something to me, more than the Whale & Wasp ever will.

I figured there's no better way to do a rebrand than to just jump head first. I just felt stuck with Whale & Wasp. Uninspired and not eager at all to write. 

I know rebranding is like a blogger's curse, but I hope that my readers stay true to me no matter what my name is. And if I lose some along the way, then c'est la vie. For those who still love me, I won't do you wrong. I still plan to post the same topics, and share the same awesome stuff with you! Can't wait to see where this new adventure will take me! xo

Better Blogging // 2014 Reader Survey

Hey dolls! It's been just over a year since I started the Whale & Wasp and thought, what better time to do my first Reader Survey? I'm always curious where my readers found me, what they love most about my blog and what they would like to see more of. I am also pretty curious about the things you guys may not like as well. So please do me the kindness of filling this short survey out for me so I can improve my blog! I can't wait to read all your feedback. Thanks everyone! xo

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Better Blogging // To Do List

Hey dolls, remember when I discussed what I've learned in my first year of blogging? Well, that was the first installment of a long line of blogging discussions I would like to have. I know I'm a new blog, but that doesn't mean I can't give advice, or share my goals, or do anything I can to improve my blog, or better yet, help others improve theirs!

So here it is, my second topic for Better Blogging (that's what we'll call it), and I want to discuss some things I would like to do to help myself stay motivated about blog posts. It's not easy for me to set goals for myself and actually follow through with them. But, I'm hoping that making my weaknesses public might help push me harder to make sure I make them stronger, and that I'm keeping my word. Maybe some of you can follow along and try some of my blogging challenges. Think you can do it? Let's try! Here's ten things I am going to do to improve my blog:

♥ Keep a posting schedule. Bloggers can't stress this enough it seems, and I finally understand why. It really does feel better to have a full week, or even 2 posts ready to go. Especially when you're too busy one day, or simply just don't feel like whipping something up the night before. I've already started trying this task and so far it's going really well. I currently have 8 drafts ready to be posted and it feels great! Now I can plan for better posts and have time to execute them better. 

♥ Post at least 3 style shoots a month. My real goal is to post one a week but I know I might be more successful if my goal is 3. Maybe I will exceed that and over achieve! (A girl can hope!)

♥ Take better photos. I have to admit, most of the photos I took at the beginning of my blog, I would never consider posting now that I've learned how to photograph objects better. My goal for this challenge is to not necessarily invest in better equipment, but to learn more about my camera and about lighting, angles and more. Great photos really draw me to other blogs and I want my photos to attract readers to mine.

♥ Be more opinionated. This is a big one! I stay safe with all the inspiration posts and shopping guides, I need to add more personal posts and discuss my opinions on things. Even if their not good opinions.

♥ Share more crafts and recipes. I'm always crafting and cooking and I'm going to set a goal for myself to share more how-tos. Let's start with at least once bi weekly. That seems like a good place to start.

♥ Improve my sponsor features. I love, love, love my questionnaire that everyone does for their sponsor posts but wouldn't it be awesome to give people the option to do a guest post on whatever they would like to discuss? Or maybe just give them more freedom to talk about what they'd like to talk about? Hmm.

♥ Stop. Changing. My. Layout. No description needed, I just really need to stop doing that.

♥ Brainstorm new topic ideas. This is something I'm really working on this month. Those 8 drafts we speak of? They're all relatively new kinds of posts for my blog. I feel like I'm slipping into blogger burnout and I really want to avoid that by coming up with new topics to discuss or new ways to share photos, etc. without doing the same thing everyone else is doing. And that leads to the next one..

♥ Be more original. I know, in the blogisphere, that's easier said than done. But, we can try? And also Beeeeeeeee yourself (Hey, Aladdin fans..see what I did there?). I find there's so many things that I love and enjoy that I almost never talk about on my blog. For instance, how obsessed I am with movies and television, and how I can recite basically any Jim Carrey movie, or SNL sketch. Or how music is the very essence of me. I've been to 13030405 concerts, own 20349595 records, cds, cassettes, books and yet I've only mentioned that maybe once on my blog. Maybe this is a gold mine I've just been sitting on and ignoring. What. An. Idiot.

♥ Nail Tutorials? This is an idea I've been playing with in my head for a few weeks now. I used to do nail art tutorials on my Tumblr blog and people loved it. I know I already post quite a bit about nail polish.. but, maybe tutorials are something you might be interested in seeing on my blog?

                                                                                                         

what i've learned about blogging

It's now past my one year blog anniversary and I wanted to reflect a bit on what I've learned about blogging so far. When I first started it felt like everything was going to just happen all at once. Obviously, that's not what happened - and thank God for that! I would die if I had major blogging success piled on top of homemaking, motherhood and what's left of my social life. I'm glad I've had a year and probably a few more years to iron out the creases and find my niche. My blog evolves everyday and I still haven't quite found a comfortable place yet. I'm not an expert by any means, but, I've definitely discovered some good tips. And despite blogging meaning different things to different people, I think these are some Do's and Dont's we can all learn from, in no particular order:

♥ DO care about aesthetics. This is definitely something I am constantly struggling with. You want your blog to be unique and beautiful, right? But you also want it to function well and be organized to make it easier on your readers eyes. I am the first person to admit I will never read a blog again if it's not aesthetically pleasing. And hey, if you're no good at html coding or designing, there are plenty of lovely people on the internet that would be more than happy to help make your blog a beautiful place!

♥ DO find subjects you love to write about. Don't write solely based on what everyone else is writing about. Find what you love to discuss and stick with it - don't worry about how many readers that topic will get you. You don't have to be a professional writer or have these crazy amazing ideas. Just write about what makes you happy and trust your instincts. If you're writing about stuff that you feel you know nothing about or that you're not quite happy with, then don't write about it! And if you're writing to get traffic you're going to end up hating your blog.  And with that being said...

♥ DO ignore all the numbers. This is something I struggle with but am slowly learning to let it go. Everyday I used to go online and post my topic for the day and then reload the page to see how many page views I was getting. Bleh - STOP! Check your numbers monthly when updating your stats, and then walk away. It doesn't matter how many people are reading your blog or how popular you are or aren't becoming. Your heart should fuel your blog, not your numbers.

♥ DON'T compare yourself to others. This is my main struggle. Not everyone is the same, has the same talents, or likes the same things. I constantly find myself wondering "Why can't I have amazing photos like that?" or "I wish my wardrobe/house was that incredible" or "I wish my life was like that" but you, nor I, should ever think that! We are all unique, we are all awesome and we all have great blogs.

♥ DO work out a schedule that works for you and your posts. I know, writing a schedule seems silly but your readers will love coming back on certain days expecting to read the latest installment of their favourite subject. Also, find the time of day that suites you best to publish your posts. Eventually you will discover what time of day works best for you and also brings you the most readers (I know that sort of goes back on what I said about numbers, but it doesn't hurt). Think about different time zones and schedules. You may post in the morning but throwing a tweet out in the evening about your post from earlier may attract your readers from other parts of the world.

♥ DO network and make friends along the way. Like I said above, social media is your best friend when it comes to promoting your blog, and will help you reach your long term goals. It will also help you make some friends and make blogging that much more fun. Making friends has really helped me with my self confidence to be honest. In the beginning I felt alone and afraid to share my outfits but now that I have some friendly peers I feel much more comfortable! It's also really fun to collaborate for guest posts, giveaways and ad swaps!

♥ DO ad swap but DON'T rely on only ad swapping. I am a broken record, yes. But, ad swapping is great for making friends, great for dipping your toes into advertising but bad for getting stuck in a little corner. As much as I love swapping - I realize that it kept me from branching out. I ad swapped the same 10-20 blogs for a year before it dawned on me that those 10-20 blogs, probably share the same readers and thus, probably already knew about my blog and have been my readers for awhile as well.

♥ DON'T be afraid to put some cash out for advertising because in my experience, it REALLY helps. And try to find the blogs that offer up services for your money. A blog that is going to feature you, tweet about your blog, offer you extra ways to promote yourself, or even extend a nice email to get to know you better - is a way better advertising route than spending money on a blog that, although really popular, isn't going to do anything for you except throw your tiny ad on the side of their blog. The quality lies in the content so research the blogs you're going to sponsor before you put money into real advertising.

♥ DO take advice and learn from your peers. The best advice you can get is from people who have lived it. Don't be afraid to ask either! They're not unreachable people and they most likely love to help. I've received a heap of advice from Kaelah from the Clueless Girl's Guide through emails and through her Blogging Tips column (Must reads!). Here are some other great and very informative articles from successful bloggers:

How To Be A Happy Blogger // Scathingly Brilliant
5 Tips For Bloggers // A Beautiful Mess
5 Blogging Tips For Purchasing Advertising // The Clueless Girls Guide
How To Start Your Blog With A Bang // A Beautiful Mess featuring Sincerely, Kinsey
Blog, Blog, Blog // I Might Just Explode
5 Blogging Tips // The Clueless Girls Guide
How To Start A Blog // Gala Darling

Mostly importantly, DO have fun! 
Don't take yourself so seriously. And if you're ever feeling down or feel like giving up just know that some of the most successful bloggers had a tonne of hurdles to climb to get to where they are. And even on your worst day, you're still a really great person, and with the right inspiration and attitude you can have a really amazing blog!