Meeting different people is one of the things I love about social media so when I heard about the coLAB Project I knew I wanted to participate. coLAB is a collaborative project between three communities: Latina Bloggers Connect (the L), Alt Summit (the A) and Blogalicious, (the B). The idea is to get together with a blogger from another community and brainstorm and work on a project together. I think these types of projects are really great to learn about others, to foster creativity and community.
I’d like to introduce you to Natalie, from NatalieNotions.com. Natalie writes about travel, fashion, beauty and food. The pictures on her blog are phenomenal! I love her travel recommendations as well. Natalie lives on the West Coast and I have to say I’m a bit jealous of her fashion possibilities as I write this from cold NYC.
Natalie and I belong to different blogging communities and are a bit different- but we found we have a few things in common, and that’s what I love about this project! That through discussion and collaboration we discover that we actually have things in common.
Natalie and I chatted about our backgrounds, families and our passions. We figured out we are both love culture, food, and travel so that is what we will be working on together.
I asked Natalie a few questions about how she got into blogging:
How did you start blogging?
I love writing, so I started blogging as a way to keep me writing every week. I wanted to stay accountable for working on my craft and thought blogging would be the best way to do that. I originally only blogged about my travel experiences, funny stories and life experiences. As I started to write more and more I really began to enjoy blogging and realized I wanted to write about everything I was interested in. So I started writing about fashion, food and beauty.
How long have you been blogging?
I started blogging in 2011, but didn’t take it serious. I would blog 2-3 times a month. It wasn’t until 2013 that I dove into it more. I refined the topics I wanted to share and write about and I posted 3-4 times a week. In November of last year I completely redesigned my blog. It now better reflects my style, personality and aesthetic.
What made you want to participate in CoLAB?
I love collaborating with other creatives and thought this would be a great opportunity. I got to meet a new friend and work on creating something together.
How do you celebrate your cultural heritage?
I come from a huge Italian family, so every birthday and get together is like celebrating our heritage! I love visiting my grandpa and listening to stories about how his parents came to America and what it was like growing up in an Italian speaking immigrant household in the 1930s. He tells me stories while making pizza or picking fresh tomatoes out of his garden. Food is very important in our family. And so it keeping traditions and passing down family stories.
Share anything you would like readers to know about you!
I love to travel and share my tips about what I’ve learned and experienced. Just like Diana, I’ve often dreamed about traveling forever. I would write and travel, living in a different city or country for a few months and then move on to a new adventure.
Natalie and I discovered that we both love the cuisine of our cultural heritage but we don’t really cook it that often, so we challenged ourselves to cook a traditional recipe from our culture… stay tuned for that tomorrow!
