My Affair with Instagram

Hello dear Readers!

I've been feeling awfully guilty lately, as I've been cheating on you with a new beau.

Yes, I'm having an affair with Instagram.  I feel bad about it.

You would have seen this photo of Finn if you follow me on Instagram

About a month ago, I was suffering terribly from Fear of Missing Out.  Everyone seemed to be on Instagram, but I was holding out.  Suddenly, it felt like everyone was hanging with the new girl except me.  I had ignored her and now she was really popular.  Suddenly I was 15 and hanging with the wrong crowd.

My daily walk, also documented on Instagram

When I first started using Instagram, I was thoroughly confused.  

How does it work?

How do I find my friends?  How does this thing work?  What is a hashtag and how do I use it?  But being possessed of a working brain, I quickly figured it out.  And suddenly there was Loi from Tone on Tone saying hello and Steve from Urban Cottage, and Lauren Liess and Stefan from ArchitectDesign.  Hey, all my friends are here!  

Who do I follow?

Every designer you know and love is on Instagram.  Bunny Williams is there (although I think she has an intern do her posts).  And so is Charlotte Moss. I follow them both, and Windsor Smith, and Michael Smith and Mary McDonald and anyone else you can think of that you love.  I love Matthew Patrick Smyth and follow his great photography.  And Jeffrey Alan Marks posts a lot of photos of himself (which is okay by me).  And I've found amazing new designers to follow, like Amy Vermillion, whose work I already love.

I follow a lot of random people.  

The only criteria is that they *make me happy* - that I love their photos, or I admire their view of the world (who knew that looking at an Instagram feed was like staring into someone's soul?)

That means I mostly follow people who post photos of their cats, flowers, their travels, and a lot of interior design.  I also have a thing for coffee drinkers and readers and people who live in cottages in England and have a lot of cats and boxwood (my fantasy life also includes a Range Rover, rubber boots, a country estate, horses and dogs).  

I am a humble and easily-satisfied soul.  

Finn gets a lot of exposure on Instagram

The only celeb I really follow is Lena Dunham because she has a beautiful mind (but sadly a rather boring Instagram feed...I'm giving her a couple more days before I unfollow her). 

What do I post?

Posting a spontaneous photo says "here I am...I exist...here me roar!"  It feels fun and empowering to share your life, the little things that make you happy.  Let's face it, some days, it's important to have a witness to our lives, even if it is a bunch of strangers.  

Some people maintain a very tightly edited Instagram feed, while others see it as a place to let their hair down, a little "behind the scenes" look at their lives.  

I haven't quite decided which camp I fall into, but I know that I love the photography aspect, the little mini-project of composing a photo a day in my environment.  

Objets d'Easter.  What's on my coffee table might just make it onto Instagram.

Some days I take it seriously and try to post something eye-catching, while other days I post whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

Stuff I might not post on the blog, like what I'm reading, finds its way onto Instagram!

Like?  No Like?

Instagram is spontaneous and liberating.  And it can be rather addictive.  You keep checking to see if anyone liked your photo.  

One of my favorite designers, the lovely and amazing Matthew Patrick Smyth, seems to know I exist and visits me regularly to like my photos.  I feel so loved (sadly, he still hasn't started to follow me).

And Windsor Smith even talks to me:

See how important I am?  

But as good as it feels to be acknowledged by our *heros*, Instagram can suck you into a black hole of liking and wanting to be liked.  

Thanks to being strong-willed and stubborn as an ox, I quickly decided that I would enjoy Instagram most if I stopped attaching to the outcome.  Thank you Buddha.  

I've decided to post whatever I feel like and follow people who make me happy and engage with me.  I've stopped following many of the hugely successful people who never comment back (unless I am simply engrossed by their photos and their work and don't mind stalking them in silence).

I am here for the beauty.  And the relationships.  

My Blog

Which brings me back to my blog.  I've been posting here for 9 years and I will continue.  After all, my 10th anniversary is next March!

I love the long form of a blog post.  I like the process of gathering and distilling my thoughts and composing a story to share with my readers.  I am so grateful that someone wants to read what I say, that there are kindred spirits out there who love some of the same things I do.

In the next year or two, David and I are hoping to renovate our house a little and I can't wait to share that here.  I will need your help!  We are going to take it slow, and save the money first.  And I've been making a lot of small life changes I want to share too.  And my blog is going to get a face lift too (it needs it!).

So please stay tuned and consider joining me on Instagram.  

If you're already there, please come find me and say hello!!!  If you aren't, what are you waiting for?  You will love it (trust me, said the spider to the fly).

On Instagram, you can find me by searching for:

windlost1

See you there?!