Blogger Behind the Blog {Adventures of a Mum}

Here’s this week’s instalment of Blogger Behind the Blog where I interview a blogger all about their reasons for blogging and what it means to them. This week I’m joined by Lara from Adventures of a Mum.

Here’s Lara with more about her blogging life:

Where did your blog name come from?

I have always loved traveling, but it was only when I was pregnant with my now 5 year old that I decided to begin blogging. I wanted it to have something to do with my passion for travel but at that point had no idea what my blog would turn into. I’m still really happy with the name of it and it’s the only platform I’ve not changed over to my name as I feel it encapsulates everything I love to share on my blog.

When did you start your blog and why?

Just over 5 years ago – I was 7 months pregnant and knew I would need something to keep my creative brain going amongst the sleepless nights and baby groups! It’s been so amazing to be able to capture so many memories of the children growing up, and over the past 4 years I’ve really loved making videos of our adventures over on my YouTube channel too.

What did you do before you blogged?

I worked in business development for mobile networks – all very interesting! Thinking about it really have no idea what filled my evenings before blogging!!

What was your first post?

It was a post about how to cope with morning sickness – I suffered terribly for months with both of my pregnancies. It’s pretty cringe reading it back!!

What inspires you to blog?

I love having my own space on the internet. Whether it’s to share a travel destination I think other people will enjoy or an outfit that looks good. One of my main passions is photography, and it’s a great place to share snaps of our lives and be able to look back on the children growing.

What post has had the best response, which post are you most proud of and which post did you enjoy writing the most?

I’ve recently started a Disney series in preparation for our trip of a lifetime in August and I’ve loved seeing the responses from people. Disney is such a magical place and it really brings people together. I am always proud of my travel posts because I always spend such a long time researching them and curating the photos of our trips. I would say the post that had the best response over the past year was an Open Letter To My Son On His First Day At School. I think it really resonated with lots of parents in the same position! (I cried a lot whilst writing it!)

Have any of your posts not had the response that you expected?

Not that I can think of!

Where do you see your blog in a year’s time?

When I started Adventures Of A Mum it was 95% pregnancy & parenting. As my children have grown, so has my audience and as such my blog has changed direction and recently I’ve been focusing more on travel and lifestyle. In a year’s time I would love to be producing a lot more travel content and sharing videos of our adventures too over on YouTube.

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

The amazing opportunities it’s given me and my family, the most important one being the flexibility of working from home around the children.

…and your least favourite?

Working every night and every weekend! Although I really don’t see it as work as I love it so much.

What’s the best blog post you have ever read?

Anything my good friend Katie writes always captivates me, her photography is amazing and we have really similar taste so I know I will always love it! I love re-living our travels through hers, it just makes me want to do it all over again!

What blog do you love to read and why?

I love the way in which my friend Hannah writes, she has such a beautiful way with words I really enjoy reading her posts. Her photography is also beautiful which keeps me clicking back. I’m definitely a very visual person and really appreciate a pretty photo!

Do you do anything differently now to when you started blogging?

Other than being self-hosted now, I would say my own photography has improved significantly. I’ve always been into photography but that’s not to say it’s always been good! I upgraded to a Canon 77D at Christmas and really love the photos I’ve been getting from it.

Is blogging what you expected it to be?

I really had no expectations. I’m not one of the original bloggers by any stretch, but I’ve been blogging for quite a while and back when I started I really didn’t know any bloggers or what to expect from it! One of my favourite things to come from it is all the amazing friendships I’ve made and people I’ve met!

What’s been your favourite blog collaboration to date?

Hands down It would have to be Disney World. A couple of years into blogging I said to myself that if I ever got to collaborate with Disney I would know that I was on the right track, that was my measure. Last May that email dropped into my mail box and I cried! It’s really a dream come true!!

Are there any brands you would love to work with, why?

I’d love to keep working with travel brands, having had such a passion for travel since I was a teenager it’s just such a privilege to be able to actually call this work! That’s not to say it’s not incredibly hard and has been a tough slog at times, but I feel so grateful every day and just really hope I can keep doing so as the years go on.

Have you had any blogging fails so far?

I would say my back-office skills have been a steep learning curve! Blogging isn’t just about taking photos and writing words. There are such a lot of technical issues that I’m faced with on my blog that take ages to work through. But I do feel proud that I’ve self-taught so much website knowledge and that I’ve not broken anything! (yet!)

What is your biggest blogging hope, dream or ambition?

To become financially secure enough through my own blog & YouTube to be able to give Stuart time out of his work so that he’s able to find something that he is truly passionate about. I’m so grateful I get to do what I love through his support and I would love to re-pay that opportunity to him.

What do you do when you’re not blogging?

Um. Thinking about blogging. Taking photos for blog posts. Reading blogs.

My hobby became my work. So really, as much as it is my work it will always be my main interest too. Aside from being a mummy to our two beautiful sons I love cooking, going on adventures and taking photos.

and lastly, tell us all a random fact about yourself

Well it’s really more of a fact of my children but given that I kind of made it happen I’m going to go
with it…They were born on the same day, 2 years apart! We couldn’t have done it if we tried!!

Now that you know all about Lara from Adventures of a Mum, make sure you go and read her blog. Make sure you follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram too. Thanks so much Lara for being involved!