Sun, sea and a sparkly life

on creating and writing about a life that glitters and sparkles

A recent Sunday coastal walk to Bondi Beach

I have been on Substack for a few years now. Following the musings and curated recommendations of British journalist and podcaster,

Pandora Sykes

, I would pop in each time she wrote a new post and would thoroughly enjoy the pace of the long read.

A few years like this until last month when I decided to delete Instagram and TikTok, commit to a no-buy year (goodbye shopping apps) and I engaged with Substack in earnest, committing to a weekly newsletter. Firing up a creative endeavour that mostly lay dormant, it’s been nothing short of a joy. Both discovering new writers, new connections and also flexing a writing muscle that hasn’t had been used for a great many years.

It’s very early days, but my little newsletter has grown from 0 - 35 subscribers which has been encouraging (and hugely flattering). I am yet to share my newsletter or writing with anyone else and my extremely supportive/ number one fan/ proof editor fiancé is the only person in my world who knows it exists.

In this time cozying into this platform and getting familiar with how it all works, the things I don’t yet have figured out are as follows:

I don’t have an exact niche

I’m an expat from Ireland, living in Sydney for 15 years. I have worked in the recruitment industry for that time and have run my own multi-million dollar business for 10 years. I am stepping back from that business and will be writing about navigating that transition. I experienced pregnancy loss last year and have written about the messiness that comes with that. I’m an avid traveller, food obsessed and the person who will have a list of recommendations and must-visit restaurants for every place I’ve ever been too, and I’ve written about that too.

I don’t know where my writing will take me

The thing I love writing about most is trying to make sense of the world. I have built a huge platform on LinkedIn over the years, I have run podcasts, have been guests on podcasts and panels and get called upon my media to share my insights. With a platform like this what I have realised, above all else, is that being open, vulnerable at times and sharing experiences has opened a great many doors to connection and even peace.

I don’t know my overall theme

I don’t know my overall theme. It may flit between personal essays, recommendations, pontifications and just general musings on our lived experience.

With all of this in mind, the idea of coming up with a name felt challenging - how to encompass all of this in one snappy title?

But then it clicked - above all else, I want to live a big life. That means something different to me than it did at 25. At 36 a big life means finding peace, moving slowly, deep connections but still having a life of travel, adventure and excellent tasting food. I want my newsletter to be personal essays and reflections on how to build a life that sparkles; the messy journey of growth, following your gut and passions.

And so, I’m delighted to introduce your weekly newsletter:

~~~~sun, sea and a sparkly life~~~

I am so grateful to my 35 subscribers and am so excited to continue to write under my brand new newsletter and grow this lovely, sparkly community ✨✨

If you made it this far, thank you for your time! On such a small account, one like or comment makes a huge difference so please share the love!