Q&A with Sydney of The Daybook

Guys, I have become obsessed with Sydney! Ok, that sounds creepy. Put it this way, I check her blog every five minutes, daily. She is just so adorable, you can't help but love her. I always think that she must look at her blog stats and see these billions of hits from the same South African IP address and wander who the stalker is! That would be me Syd. I like to call her Syd, as if we're best friends. (We are, right, Syd?) Anyway, Syd kindly took the time to chat to me all the way from the US.




Hello Sydney/Syd! How are you today?
I am in my P.J.'s right now. So obviously, I'm fabulous.

Obvz! Your blog has exploded recently - in the very best way possible! You must be so chuffed with the response?
Indeed, I am chuffed. I also just had to look up that word in my dictionary. And will now be using it regularly ... because it is very British and because it is awesome. I'm sure husband will be stopping by later to thank you for that one. To answer your question, I have been surprised but thrilled with the response! And I have a few, very kind bloggers who have spotlighted me to thank for the recent influx.



Lols re 'chuffed!' Can you tell us how your blog has evolved since you began in October last year?
I started our blog as a little journal for my husband and I. But then one day, after being inspired by several other style bloggers, I decided that I wanted to post my daily outfits too. So I did. And that's when the blog started to grow. I still feel like I'm being true to the original endeavor of the blog though, as I hardly ever post about the clothes themselves, just mostly the hub's and I's life together.




What is your favourite thing about blogging?
Absolutely, my favorite part is the connections I get to make with other readers and bloggers. There are some seriously awesome peeps out there.

There are indeed. Your photography is amazing. Can you please share some tips with us?
Oh goodness! Well thank you. I will indeed. Here's 3 quick tips that will make your pictures look amazing no matter what kind of camera you use:
- Use great lighting! We usually take my outfit pics around 5:00 or 6:00pm when the sun is lower in the sky. That gives you softer, golden lighting and will showcase your clothing significantly better than the harsher lighting the comes around the middle of the day.
- Do not take a picture with your subject in the direct center of the frame. For example, try shooting a close-up of someone's face, cropped off to the right of their cheekbone and placed in the right side of the frame. This type of cropping make the picture more visually interesting and appealing.
- Use the rule of thirds. Always try to compose your shots with this in mind. By using {roughly} a small, medium and large object/negative space in your composition, the viewer's eye will always have somewhere to look and travel to throughout the picture.

Excellent tips, thanks girl. You also have such a sharp eye for style. What are the ten items you reckon every girl should own?
Ten items huh? A Fitted Blazer, Statement Scarves, A leather {or faux leather} jacket, A waist cinching belt, a chunky necklace {or lots of necklaces you can chunk together}, the LBD {of course}, a nautical striped top, knee high boots, a great pair of skinny jeans, a floral or interestingly patterned dress.



What is your personal, go-to outfit?
Knee High Boots, Skinny Jeans, A patterned button up, chunky boyfriend sweater and boyfriend watch. I am so in my element with this fall weather right now.

If you were to visit us in South Africa, what would you pack?
Well, since you guys are entering Summer right now I would be packing my straw fedora, plenty of maxi dresses, my boyfriend roll-up shorts, some white cotton boat shoes and absolutely everything in my closet with stripes.



Do you have any exciting news or plans you'd like to share with us?
I don't know how exciting this is for everyone, but my husband just received a job offer from a company in Washington D.C. ... of which he accepted. We will be moving there shortly after graduation in this coming year!

Oooh, that is exciting. Lastly, please can you post a photography and photoshop tutorial if that's not too cheeky to ask!
I will indeed! In fact, that's the next tutorial I plan on posting on the blog, so stay tuned! Should be up sometime this week. :)

Thanks Sydney, you're such an inspiration to me and I'm sure, many more!
You are too sweet. THANKS so much! 



Ah, isn't she just the cutest? You can check out Sydney's blog here and of course pop her a comment below. On the topic of interviews, sweet Rachel had a natter with me the other day. You can check it out here if you fancy. Have a great weekend guys!