Below is a timeline and story behind my three Blog Eras. Blogging has been a passion of mine since 2011, despite the breaks and lulls and rebranding. I really enjoy offering up my personal experiences and musings to my readers, and documenting my life stages. One day I hope my children will read through some of my posts and embrace my legacy once I'm long gone. Hope you enjoy it here!
Lucy and The Runaways
The idea that started it all. I had just met my best friend and she was food blogging. I was working in fashion buying, and just finished my Fashion Design course in college. Blogging was very new at the time and she encouraged me to start one. So in April 2011, I created Lucy and The Runaways, based around my style and outfits I wore. My first few posts were taken (very badly might I add) by a Nikon D60 DSLR that I bought off my friend. With no idea on how to take photos, I saw photos that were unfocused, blurry and under or over exposed.
Wild Times. I decided upon the name 'Lucy and The Runaways' because it sounded like a band name, with me being a big music lover. 'Lucy' had no significance to me, I simply thought it flowed better then 'Natalie'. Soon people started calling me Lucy when they met me at events!
I grew my blog, started collaborating with brands and PR companies - lots of gifted items. I was sent to Australian Fashion week to cover runway shows and other Launch Parties. I've met or been in the same room as celebrities, I was sent interstate to attend events and got sponsored by some big brands to run campaigns. It was hectic and chaotic, but I loved it.
I eventually dropped to part time work to deal with the schedule. I was young and my body was agreeable, and I only had time on my hands.
Then, I lost motivation, mainly due to my boyfriend and I breaking up at the time. It was heart breaking, and soon the gifted items ready for collaborations started to gather dust as I healed. I then moved back into office work full time because I had to 'adult'.
When I eventually met my now husband, I simply took longer to post, weeks and months in between. And that's OK, that is life. I was entering an era in my life where I prioritised my health and relationships. My interests had also evolved - into travel, hiking, cooking, reading, lifestyle etc.
Instagram was then launched, and suddenly long-form blogging was replaced by the convenience of micro-blogging and short-form content. Then of course iPhones being released into the world meant everyone was connected to the internet 24/7, wanted to be on colourful apps; everyone was a photographer with their phone cameras and stopped reading media off their desktop computers. And thus this, in my opinion, was the beginning of the end of the Blog Era, where bloggers started to dwindle and get cast aside.
My last 'Lucy and The Runaways' post was in May 2023.
The Muse Photographs
In 2026, I started to get a craving to be creative again. After the pandemic and having a family, I felt I was ready to re-join the world. So in March, I created a new public Instagram: themusephotographs. I started uploading all my old and new photography and it gained some traction. While I stopped blogging, I still was passionate about Photography, being self taught all these years. I sold off my Nikon D60 and change systems to Canon. For a few years I grew my skills with my trusty Canon D70, until I realised I needed a smaller form camera to deal with my kids. I switched to Fujifilm in 2011/2022 and haven't looked back since. I started off with a x-e3, then a X-T30ii and now transitioning to a X-T50.
It's now July 2026, and after being on Instagram for a few months, I started to miss 'posting what I want' and I realised I was being a slave to the algorithm within Instagram. Don't get me wrong, I love the community and the friends I made there and was inspired every day.
Then I remembered that there is a place in the world where I had more creative freedom and could write long-form posts. It was here, on this blog. So I cracked my fingers and stretched, and for 4 weeks I rebranded from Lucy and The Runaways to The Muse Photographs. I relabel and recategorized all 570+ blog posts, got a new website design, updated the photos, removed questionable posts and links. Not going to lie, reading through my old posts made me reminiscent for my youth and time; and my old body shape. Having 2 kids have changed my body forever and I am grateful for it; but it just meant embracing my new era.
If you are a new reader here, you may have found it confusing on 'Eras' but hopefully this explains it all. Here you will find me posting about all the topics that interest me, but my self-taught Photography will be at its core. Carrying a camera around all these years have helped me document my life in such a way and I am proud of it. So for now I will be catching up, uploading old and new photography. My first 'The Muse Photographs' post was in July 2026.
She Hits The Spot
Consider this Era as a spin off from 'The Muse Photographs'. Another passion of mine is documenting what I eat with DSLR photography. Like I mentioned earlier, I became a slave to the Instagram algorithm, and while I so desperately wanted to post my food photos, I knew it would be confusing to my followers. So in June 2026, I started another Instagram: shehitsthespot and that's where those photos live. Here on the blog, the She Hits The Spot tag will just represent that foodie part of my life; sitting alongside The Muse Photographs.
In Summary
Lucy and The Runaways - The Archive spanning from 2011 to 2023. Focused on Fashion.
The Muse Photographs - Rebranding. Active since 2026, focused on Photography and Lifestyle.
She Hits The Spot - Active since 2026 and is focused on Food and Dining.
❤︎ Natalie