September Reads - The state of the blog industry, #instageddon & slow living

I've read so many interesting articles lately, listened to so many boss podcast episodes and bookmarked countless of recipes! In other words, it's about time we take another link love round.Last weekend I went to the country house for two days of writing and behind-the-scenes work here at Cashew Kitchen. A change is coming to the blog next week. It is something I've been thinking about for a long time, but it's been a difficult decision to make, because *reasons*. Check in on Tuesday to learn more about it!Anyway, the weather was super damp and kinda depressing. At first I didn't feel like going out photographing at all. The light wasn't very exciting, just milky white and bland. But, sometimes nature surprises you. Once I shifted the way I was looking at my surroundings from this-is-depressing-I-don't-wanna-go-outside to photography-mode, I could recognize the mellow beauty of the low hanging clouds, the mushrooms sprouting up everywhere from the lawn and the gloomy corners of the garden.So I'll let the stillness of my weekend in the countryside accompany these september reads. Hope you find something you like!First up, the state of the blogging industry 2017 by Grace Bonney at Design*Sponge. The landscape of social media is constantly changing and it's impossible to keep up. I try to tag along best I can, adopting a healthy balance of adaptation and just-doing-my-thing. I found this extensive article really interesting and I could recognize many of the trends Grace is mentioning. The most scary observation? "The act of watching has replaced the act of making/doing for a lot of younger readers."Something about Beth's Welcome back to Local Milk post resonated deeply with me. Perhaps it is the intuitive way I feel like she's run her business all along, how she's allowed it to grow and change with her. Perhaps it is her poetic language. Or perhaps it is the way she describes what slow living means to her that produces a pleasurable thrill down my spine: "Slow living is deciding what really matters to you and saying no to everything else. It’s about living simply so you can give your precious time to the things that matter to you: to yourself, to your family, to your passion projects and work. To home making, to cooking, to travel, to meditation. To whatever it is that makes your life rich. Slow living is being rich in time."I stumbled upon an old youtube video with Cheryl Strayed where she talks about how the loss of her mother has affected her and what really happened within her when she embarked on the 90 day hike along the Pacific Crest Trail that became the book and movie Wild. All in all a very honest and inspirational video that truly touched me. Have a look if you haven't seen it already!I've been thinking a lot about resistance lately. Sometimes it hits me without mercy. A couple of weeks ago I struggled a lot with resistance and I wrote a post about it on instagram. Some days later I listened to the Being Boss podcast where they talked about this exact thing and what strategies and mindsets they use to overcome it. Such a great episode and totally worth a listen if you're any kind of creator or self-employed!Another podcast episode I've loved lately is Katie's new Talking out Loud series in the WANTcast. In the last episode she shares some 100% relatable thoughts on instagram, real wellness and changing habits according to what you need in life right now.On the topic of instagram... The hottest discussion right now is the one about mysteriously low engagement, ever-changing algoritms, audiences disappearing and "shadowbans" - they call it #instageddon 😝 (article in Swedish) I agree that Instagram is a fickle platform. What works one day might not work the next and it's impossible to predict what the landscape will look like next week. That's why it's probably a good idea to build your own platform (like a blog) and not rely solely on someone elses. Cause what happens if instagram shuts down and your entire 42k audience disappears? Not so good for business. 😬 (I wrote about this one year ago when I started up my email list).Personally I haven't experienced this lack of growth and engagement at all. Rather the opposite! I might have been just lucky, but I think I have a pretty good understanding of what works for both myself and my audience. So I wrote an article over at Influencer's of Sweden with 7 tips on how to keep your instagram engagement high, your audience growing and ensure it stays fun (and not frustrating!) for you. (article in Swedish)While talking about business topics I also wanna recommend Johanna N's blog post about marketing. This is an area that many of us (read: me) often forget. You kind of expect it to happen all by itself and you fail to set aside time for it. Tip number 1 and 3 are something I need to work a little extra on... (the article is in Swedish)Leading up to our road trip to Lofoten (we left this morning!!!) I read Marta's guide to Norway and got beyond excited! I can't believe we have so much beauty close by. Why go to New Zealand when Norway is only a few hours by car away?A Swedish lifestyle blog that I've found a little extra inspiring lately is Krickelin. I've followed her for quite some time and she has always produced badass content, but lately it's like she's been stepping it up to another level of awesome! It's the perfect mix of everyday magic, beautiful photography, business advice, inspiring work projects and a pinch of honesty regarding the stressful life of managing multiple businesses, family and finding moments for yourself in the midst of it all. I never thought I would be so curious of Varberg of all places, but through Kristin's blogging I've noticed how this little town on the Swedish west coast is a true mecka for creatives and entrepreneurs. It shows that not all business opportunities happens in the big cities! I would even say that the most exciting things are going on in the small towns, where the do-it-yourself mindset is more prominent.Other dreamy environments are for example this super cool apartment in Brooklyn that I found through Sofia of Mokkasin (also a really dreamy Swedish blog that I can get completely lost in during my weekend reads). If I ever live in NYC for a year or so, I imagine it will look like this 😉 (article in French, but let's be honest, we mostly look at the pictures anyway)Food-wise, I'm craving simple, comforting one-pot meals like this back to school curry from Pinch of Yum.Also Laura's Creamy Cauliflower Pasta with garlic & roasted tomatoes <3Hanna's gluten-free ravioli with creamy tomato sauce & carrot bacon looks soooo good, seriously!I received Green Kitchen At Home in the mail recently and like always with their books I earmark every single recipe almost. It's something to enticing with their colorful photography and playful approach to healthy eating. Makes me wanna live in the Green Kitchen Stories world a little bit. Ok minus the chaos of working from home with three small kids...Another food related book I've been completely absorbed lately in is Stefans Stora Feta Röda (in Swedish). I read it from start to finish in two days last weekend. It's a nerdy book about tomatoes, an anecdotal autobiography and a political statement on the food industry, all in one. I love the fun, personal and straightforward writing of Stefan Sundström. The topics he write about rhyme so well with my own opinions and it's a hard-knock on real life's door, urging me to act.

What have you been reading and loving lately?

xo AgnesPs. Remember to hit the heart button or leave a comment if you like this post, so I know what content you love and wanna se more of :-)All photographs, recipes and content are Cashew Kitchen originals, unless otherwise indicated. Feel free to go wild on pinning, but remember all content is copyright protected. Always link back here and credit Cashew Kitchen when sharing. Thanks!