Holland House

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I took a short hiatus for the holidays but I am back with the first post of the year. Wow, its so hard to believe that it is 2016 already...last year went by so quickly. I love the end of the year; everyone gets that much needed downtime, I get to see my whole family again and it feels like the slate gets wiped clean and you can start over. 2015 was pretty magical... it was a tough year but also a year that I am thankful for with so many opprtunities. This is what I learnt from 2015.

Direction
I felt like a grew as a blogger and really started to see the development of the brand as well as its aesthetic. I started building up a new skill set with my self-photography and creating photoshoots that I'm pretty proud of. This also helped me to give more of a creative direction to the blog and hopefully giving it a point of difference.

Engagement
2015 was the first time I had the opportunity to meet some of my readers. It's honestly an overwhelming and humbling experience that I am so happy I got to experience. For a long time, it felt like I was posting into the air, so to have that interaction with people who read your blog and follow you on your social platforms is an affirmation that you're on the right track. I also had to get use to the idea of being officially referred to as "a blogger". A lot of the time, bloggers see blogging as just a labour of love but with the sense of responsibility that being called a blogger gives, it made me realise that this is a brand and business so is definitely key to live up to that. PS: my readers are amazing, I thank you for the lovely words of encouragement, compliments and being on this journey with me.

Personality
This year I really want to work on the "personality" of the blog. Often, a blog is a stylized version of you and your life so as much as your personality can show in your writing; readers do not really have a tangible personality to engage with. Last year I did my first Youtube video for rubybox and as nerve-wrecking as it was, I really understood how putting a face to the brand is so important. Hopefully in 2016, I can have more opportunities to engage with you on a personal level so keep watching this space to see how.

This look I shot while I was on holiday in Durban. We stayed at a beautiful guesthouse called "Holland House" which just had all the makings of a relaxing retreat away from the city crowds. It has an eclectic style of Cape Dutch and Mexican/Spanish with a contemporary twist. I really felt like I was transported to the other side of the world and it made for the perfect backdrop for a cool shoot. I also fell in love with the name as it felt so close to Londam-Holland (written in a similar font too)...if that isn't a sign of good things to come, I don't know what is.

Outfit Details:
Dress: MRP (Poppy Delevingne for Oakridge Collection)

Photography: Londam-Holland
Location: Holland House B&B, Morningside Durban
Instagram: @londam_holland_
Bloglovin: Londam-Holland Blog