There seems to be a general misconception that because your instagram feed is relatively pretty, your entire life must be as perfect as what is depicted in that one teeny tiny square. Or that you are trying to make it appear that way…or something.
I like taking pictures of lovely things that I want to remember. Moments in time that I want to record, whether it’s as superficial as a new pair of shoes or documenting the development of my baby girl. And I think that’s my prerogative – we are all entitled to use social media platforms to share what we’re comfortable with.
The kind of things you won’t see me posting is the umpteen wash loads I do a week, the constant flow of discarded food that Mabel throws on my kitchen floor. Or the fact that last Friday when I’d set out a fun schedule for our Mama/daughter day, I ended up having to cancel everything and take Mabel to the doctors with a rather unpleasant suspected scalp infection. Upon waiting for what seemed like forever to have her prescription dispensed I ended up falling arse over tit in the middle of a crowded waiting room because Mabel thought it would be an opportune time to swing from the nappy bag I had over my right shoulder.
It was almost as embarrassing as when I arrived home and realised I had one orange eyebrow. Yes – just the one. No wonder I had received such funny looks at the surgery, there was me assuming it was because I had inadvertently flashed everyone my bum but no, it was because my adorable child had wiped bolognese across my face and I’d failed to notice.
Where you will be able to see such tales of motherhood and glamour is…yes you guessed it! Rock My Family!
And we’re launching…..TOMORROW.
Apologies if you thought I was going to get on my soapbox to endeavour to justify my not-exactly-real-life insta feed, it was simply a prelude to the main intention of this feature which is a blatant plug for our newest addition to the Rock My empire 😉
Rock My Family will embody everything we believe in, support, advice and a frequent escape to a world of frivolity and sunshine. We are so grateful to you gorgeous folk for continually supporting our brand and for joining us on our latest adventure. We promise to share the pretty, the ugly, the inspiring and the very very real.
Anyway, I don’t want to waffle on too much, I need to go and style a slice of gluten free rye bread on a vintage china plate with a sprig of organic parsley placed just so next to a handmade vase holding a very minimalist single stem anemone…. (I moved the pile of musty smelling towels that I forgot to put in the tumble dryer and the bumper pack of Dettol wipes out of view because you know, who wants to see that?)
#liveauthentic
I’ll hopefully see you at 7.30am in the morning….orange eyebrow and all.
P.S In the meantime you can follow us on the Rock My Family instagram which as we haven’t actually launched yet, does sway towards the lovelier side of parenthood. But as we move forward I’m sure it’ll become a storyboard of everything to do with raising a family.
Musty towels I forgot to dry is my life.
And the way I browse my own Instagram is for inspiration and adoration of the lovelier things in this world. I see enough shitty bums and messy floors in my own house, I don’t want to see anyone else’s. No matter how ‘real’ it is.
As for RMF… HORRAY!!!! I’m so excited to see your stories and photos. SO much love for you and your team xo
Thanks Glowy *Waves* I bet your floors are NEVER messy, just all shiny and Australian and lush 🙂
xx
Hurrah! Can’t wait 🙂 Well done team RMF xx
Cheers Rebecca!
Love it Charlotte. Viva RMF!
And get well soon Mabel, poor little bunny x
Thanks Lucy, she’s ok, just a particularly bad case of cradle cap unfortunately, we are constantly trying to stop her from scratching and have some cream which seems to work wonders xx
At 20 months, Ethan is still very prone to this! If you get recommended any cure’s, please do pass them my way.
Hurrah!!!
And massive well dones!
You guys are awesome, cannot wait to see the new blog.
Xx
Cheers Emily! We are very excited xx
Wahhh so excited!! And perfect timing, 18 weeks with little one number one!
Yay!!!! Huge congratulations Katie! You will be one hot Mama xx
Yay, so excited for this! Looking forward to seeing your first post tomorrow!
Oh the pressure! Well we’ve actually got two tomorrow, one intro and then one that’s inspirational…. Then by Wednesday we’re going all out with the real life experiences 🙂 x
I really can’t wait! This is so exciting and if you would ever like a contribution I would be delighted to share my career mama juggle-isms with your wonderful community! I would love to share my experiences of a career change from designer to blogger and how it really came into fruition on my maternity leave.
Lots of love and a big hug to Mabel – hope she is feeling much better already.
Love Karen xxx
Hello Karen! Thanks so much for your kind words, Mabel is much better thank you, back to her diva strop ways and then some…. xx
The washing, the washing. Frankie went through 4 changes of clothes on Saturday. PJ’s. pre-horse-riding dress, horse-riding kit and post-horse-riding kit. She’s 3!
I am SO looking forward to RMF. It’s just guaranteed that you’re going to write articles that I’ll love to read, that will be so apt for my life right and and that will be inspirational. It’s so reassuring to have people go through the same life experiences than you.
Can’t wait!
x
We had lots of travel sickness issues with Mabel on the way to Cornwall, there was one point where all three of us had 3 outfits in one day. Such a good job the house we stayed in had a washing machine… I never knew life would involve such a huge spend on fairy tablets and fabric conditioner!!! xx
What a great intro to Rock My Family. There is a time and a place for the tougher (and altogether ickier) realities of parenthood and Instagram definitely isn’t that place (it’s my escape for inspiration rather than a reminder of the dirty washing piling up in the corner of the bedroom). Rock My Family sounds great. Looking forward to reading it. Good luck with the launch!
Thanks Laura Jane 🙂 Hope you enjoy the new blog xx
Laura I hope that the lovely ladies in the Rock my empire pick up on some of your motherhood blog posts, they really are brilliant xxxx
Thanks Mrs R, that’s very sweet of you. Charlotte, the blog looks great (design, tone and topics) – I logged on first thing this morning! Lx
I couldn’t agree more with your opening two paragraphs – Instagram is a great place for inspiration, and often great photography… as you say it’s somewhere to cherish and record (and in my case, print) those special moments and memories.
I saw this article on the Daily Fail a while back about the tricks of Instagram and your article made me think of it… Charlotte, I think some of these pics will make you smile!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3241914/Deserted-beaches-everyday-yogis-gourmet-cuisine-Revealing-Instagrammers-lie-create-perfect-shot.html
Ha ha!!!! So true! I’m forever trying to cut out random people I don’t know from park scenes…. And my table of lovely styled food items often has a pile of magazines just out of view 😉
Someone actually left a comment on one of my Instagram images recently, saying it was pretty but “over styled” …. And your point is? Hilarious.
Xx
Yay! So excited for rock my family… And perfect timing because I’ve finally reached the magic 12 weeks! Also, couldn’t agree more about Instagram. I love stalking all the prettiness on there ☺️ xx
Congratulations Lucy!!!!! Yay, it is perfect timing for you xxx
Can’t wait for the launch of the new blog!! Xx
Brilliant honesty. The reality of family life is really quite messy and stressful but of course fantastically wonderful. Great prelude to what is undoubtedly going to be an amazing blog. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Thanks Alice, you don’t know the half of what a disastrous day that was! everything always seems to happen at once doesn’t it?! x
Cannot wait for Rock My Family! With a toddler and a baby I was very glad this was the direction for your new venture??
I have such a love-hate relationship with Instagram – I love the aspirational aspect but of course I understand it isn’t real life. It does bother me though when I read how Facebook and Instagram images really affect self esteem of teenagers, if they don’t get so many likes etc or they’re constantly seeing images that depict perfection. That daily mail article is fab for showing the truth ?
Emily W I would agree, my husband and I talk about social media in terms of what will be around when Mabel is old enough to understand often – it’s incredibly worrying. A topic for RMF I think – thanks for the inspiration x
Have been looking forward to this very much…
Yay, can’t wait for this!! With a 4 year old girl and a little baby boy (7 months now!), I’m looking forward to sharing all the good, the bad and the ugly of family life as I live it too. Congratulations on yet another awesome addition to your Rock My empire! I’ve loved seeing it evolve from the days where I avidly followed RMW 🙂 I’ll be there bleary eyed after no doubt being woken up by baby 2 who seems to think that mornings starts at 5am!! x
Hi Inga *waves* – I think I recognise your gravatar?! So glad you have stayed with us for the journey, I think a few of the RMF team are also experiencing 5am starts….no fun at all x
Yup that’s me, still haven’t changed it from our post wedding shoot from 5 years ago, do love it though!! Amazingly I got a night of sleeping through last night (one small cry at 4am but went straight back down), praying another might follow tonight 🙂 x
As someone that cried in front of the CRO of a massive company today in a mentoring meeting this couldn’t come at a better time! Would love to hear how other working mums try and achieve that allusive work life balance
Hi Lucy, absolutely a topic we will be covering on a fairly frequent basis, so many different view points and experiences x
Very excited to see the new blog… perfect timing for me too, as I am expecting triplets in February! Going from zero to three after a long (and emotional) wait of over 18 months for our family will be a shock, but worth every second and I can’t wait to meet our gang… I’m sure my life will not be an instagram feed of perfect pics!
Lorna….We would love to hear from you, seriously – I am fascinated by multiples and would be such an interesting story to share if you’re game x
I’m game and will email you… Am still at the mixture of being terrified and excited in equal measure. Have no idea what my life will be like and just hope I can give them all that they need. I have two identicals and one singleton, who my husband has already lovingly nicknamed runt. Can’t wait to meet our triple trouble! L x
Great post Charlotte. I’m really excited for the RMF launch tomorrow. I’m six months pregnant and love reading real life blogs about pregnancy and parenthood. I’m anticipating so many challenges ahead and look forward to being able to share the good, the bad and the ugly with fellow parents.
Hi Hannah! It’s all live and ready for you 🙂 Hope you enjoy it xx