Hello there!
I wanted to start my blog by telling you a little about me and how this space came about. Whether we’ve met, or chatted on Instagram about our respective motherhood dramas; if you’ve followed my story through those little squares over the past year or so, or if I’m new to you: thank you so much for reading and please do pop me a message to say hi, I’m new to this game and it’s a little daunting for me!
I’m Hannah; a 31 year old wife and mother.
I met Ben, a tall, handsome Devon boy 10 years ago, in the library at University, whilst we were supposed to be studying for our exams. After a few days of bumping into each other and hushed chatting in the reference aisles, he offered to walk me home at the end of the day. Ben walked me home every day that week, and one evening on the way home we ended up getting an impromptu drink in a pub garden. Neither of us knew that it was our first date at the time, but the rest is history. At our wedding (which, despite the cliché, was truly the best day of my life) our first dance was to ‘Walking My Baby Back Home’ by Nat King Cole.
I grew up in Cambridge, spent my University years in Leeds and then settled in York, doing the job that I had dreamed of since my childhood. Then, in October 2015 my life changed forever when our beautiful little boy, Oscar, arrived. Motherhood challenged me in every way possible, it made me question my priorities in life, what kind of person I am; what kind of person I wanted to be. The year away from a career that I had invested in for 10 years was hugely refreshing for me, and I was enthused to make the most of it: I re-learned how to knit, attempted to teach myself calligraphy, reignited my passion for photography and took an online film making course. Trying to do all of this whilst looking after a new baby was a struggle (especially one who seemingly didn’t sleep much and never wanted to be put down) and there were many days when I longed for five minutes to pee in peace, let alone half an hour relaxing with a knitting project.
I made contacts on a little app called Instagram; other mothers at very similar stages to me, going through the same troubles. These contacts developed into friendships, and this was the start for me of a bit of a love affair with Instagram. There were messages pinged back and forth whilst nursing in the dark in the early hours, comments of support and encouragement when I admitted how hard I’d found the early weeks, and private messages from mothers of younger babies, just to let me know that my raw admission of my rock bottom moments; the kind that there is a strong temptation to keep to oneself in order to appear as though everything is going swimmingly, had made them cry with relief as they had believed that everyone else was coping except for them. Instagram has not only been a little diary of my first two years as a mother and introduced me to some incredible women, but its wealth of inspiration has kept my enthusiasm for indulging my creative side going — and led to this blog.
Here you’ll find a bit of a mix that’s an honest reflection of me: my thoughts on motherhood, places we’ve been, some photography, creative outlets and day to day life finds that are too good not to share! I can’t thank you enough for stopping by to have a look, and I would absolutely love to hear from you – leave a comment or send me an email, for me it’s what this is all about!
You can find me on Instagram: @hannah.straughan or you can contact me via email: straughan.hannah@gmail.com
Hannah x
34 comments
Lovely Hannah, I really enjoyed reading your first blog. I originally started following you because you lived in York, sounds silly but I went to Uni in York and I love seeing snippets of the beautiful city and surroundings. Wishing you every success with your blog.xx
Hi Vikki, thank you so much! That’s not silly in the slightest! York is a beautiful city and I’m so lucky to get to call it home. What a lovely comment, I really appreciate the support! xx
CONGRATULATIONS!! It was worth the wait! Absolutely stunning as I knew it would be! Adore you little into and these pics of your beautiful family! soooo excited about this! Love you love you xox
Oh Lauren you absolute gem of a person, love you too! Honestly, your words of encouragement were exactly what I needed to get this going, I have been so good at putting it off! Plus your blog is one of my all time faves, such beautiful words and inspirations every time xxx
Good morning so lovely to be reading this Hannah. Wishing you every success with your blog xo
Morning Elizabeth! Thank you so much. You should definitely start a blog as well!
Lovely first post! So nice to hear a bit more about you and so looking forward to your shares xx
Thank you so much Rhoda! I really appreciate your support xx
This is a really lovely post introducing yourself, I love all your images too. I went to Leeds to study and loved visiting York. My partner and I are thinking of going soon with our little boy, it is a beautiful city. I look forward to reading more posts.
Lovely introduction Hannah. Really looking forward to getting to know you better through your posts.
So excited to follow your blog Hannah.
I too am embarking on the same childhood dream career – just a few years behind and wondering how on earth to balance my love for this with my love for
I too am embarking on the same childhood dream career – just a few years behind and wondering how on earth to balance my love for this with my love for other beautiful things in life!
Your Instagram has been inspirational for me in times when the balance feels like it will never happen and encourages me to keep pressing on!
I look forward to more snippets from your blog!
Congratulations on starting a blog Hannah! Lovely to learn a bit more about you x
Oh congratulations Hannah!! Absolutely beautiful! Such a lovely introduction post and your photos are stunning as they always are! So inspiring (and reassuring) to see other like-minded creatives starting blogs too! I’m so excited to see where you take this. Lots of love xxx
Congratulations lovely, a stunning blog and look forward to seeing it develop. So nice to get to know you a little bit more and see more of your gorgeous work xxx
I loved this! I’ve been following you for awhile but I never knew all of this about you! I love your sweet, gentle spirit and the grace you exude. Glad to meet you. ?
Oh so proud of you lovely Hannah! This is every inch as gorgeous as I knew it would be and was definitely worth the wait!! And I love yours and Ben’s ‘meet cute’ 🙂 Just lush! Excited to see your blogging journey unfold xxxx
Congratulations Hannah! It takes guts to post that first post but, inevitably, it turns out you’re a pro and ooze class in the blogosphere as you do on Instagram. I’m looking forward to following your story on here and hope it helps keep the creativity sparkling xx
Thank you Jess! Your blog is one of my inspirations, I absolutely love how you write. Hope you are well and that the house move went smoothly! xx
So excited for this brand new adventure you’re embarking on!!You are amazing and you’ve got a heart of gold. Can’t wait to read more!! xx
Sydney, thank you so much for reading! You’re always so lovely and supportive, I appreciate it so much! xxx
This is absolutely LOVELY Hannah!well done for biting the bullet and going for it, you’ve been championed by the best it seems! Such a nice, warm intro and I really look forward to following. Lowri xx (littlemaldod)
Ah Lowri so lovely to see you here and thank you so much for reading! That’s so kind of you, and it means such a lot to have you following along xxx
Hannah fabulous first post and huge congratulations for launching your own blog! Looking forward to reading more and seeing your beautiful imagery xxx
Ah beautiful Sally, thank you so much! Your blog is such an inspiration, I love it! Feel so lucky to have got to know you through Instagram, you lovely lady. Thank you for reading, and hope we can meet up properly for a coffee and natter some day soon! xxx
Beautiful just like you and your gorgeous Instagram feed. So pleased for you that you took the plunge and launched your blog ? Tiggy’s mum, Meg xx
Thank you so much Meg! What kind words, thank you! Adore following your beautiful feed too xxx
Congratulations darling, it’s absolutely wonderful – as I knew it would be, and I really love your logo! I LOVE your honest instagram account so I cannot wait for your future posts! Lots of love xxx
Oh Chloe, your support means so much! You are so so kind, love you! xxx
Congratulations on your beautiful blog, darling!! I’ve loved getting to know you on IG and can’t wait to see more here. Such gorgeous pictures of you all! xxx
Thank you so much lovely Claire! Absolutely reflect these sentiments right back at you, your Instagram is such a joy and I’ve loved your blog for a long time! Thank you for your support xxx
Hello Hannah,
I am à french girl who became “maman” to a boy in october 2015 too; i can’t remember how i found you on Instagram but i have at once been attracted at the sweet and poetic (and at the same Time realistic look you have on everything. I’ve been enjoying following you ever since ! You are very talented ! I will read your blog With Pleasure! I wish you all the best
Thank you for your gorgeous comment Cecile! xxx
This is absolutely stunning Hannah!! I love everything especially the video. Xx
Your blog is lovely, just like your beautiful pictures on Instagram. I started following you as I live in York too and I just adore your photographs. It was lovely hearing your little story about how you met your husband and I love how you managed to achieve so much in your maternity leave. I hope your blog is so successful, you deserve it! X