Welcome to Eight Forest Lane

Ever since I can remember I loved writing. I wrote letters, angsty teenage poetry, short stories, essays…anything that just let me put words on paper. But as adult life (aka responsibilities) started to become the sole focus of my time I found that this passion for writing had become nothing but a memory.

I wanted to write again, so I started trying. I would try to write and record as I once had but everything was unfinished. I thought I had a terrible case of writer’s block but I think I just didn’t have a reason to finish.

I had been holding onto the idea of a blog for a long time, an outlet or a reason to write, but I was too scared to put myself out there on the big ol’ internet.

One night at dinner with a friend I confessed this desire, possibly for the first time out loud. She made me realise that if I didn’t start now then when would I? Starting after all is the hardest part. This was back in December 2014, and this was the push I needed.

After that night, I began the horrific process of coming up with a name. In the end I came up with Sally’s Lifestyle Journal which was meant to be a digital version of a book I used to record everything in right through my teenage years into my early twenties. It wasn’t a journal as such, it was a place to keep things. Thoughts, quotes, things that inspired me. As I got older it became a place to budget, to plan travel and to even store my favourite recipes.

This name allowed me to begin to write. I had no idea what I was doing, all I knew was that I was writing and that was exciting.

To say I have learnt a lot in the last 2.5 years would be a complete understatement. I have learnt skills that helped me make a complete career change and land me in my current job. It also allowed me to find photography, a passion that was always under the surface but never realised.

This blog has become my home on the internet, and I love it. I have never stuck with something, especially with this intensity, for so long. But as I create new content and share my stories, my adventures and my recipes, I began to feel that my blog’s name didn’t correctly represent what I was doing. It had an internal meaning to me but that was all.

So welcome to Eight Forest Lane, a place to be inspired and maybe learn, but mostly to have fun and appreciate the world around us. With this name change I hope you, my amazing readers, feel that this space is less about me and more about us, together.

The content you see won’t change. I will still be telling my stories and sharing my experiences and of course my opinions. Hopefully these help you, whether you just need entertainment, a voice, a new idea, or a push to try something different.

I am excited to open up my internet home to you and I hope you grab a cup of tea, get comfy, and stay a while.

Sally x