Meet the Mommy Blogger: Eleanor Douglas-Meyers of JustEllaBella

One of my favorite bloggers to date also happens to be a really good friend of mine. Eleanor Douglas-Meyers of JustEllaBella pretty much introduced me to blogging many a moon ago, when we wore high heels for fun and drank pink drinks out of fish bowls. Today, a lot has changed. Well, for starters, we’ve ditched the heels and drinks and instead sip on copious amounts of coffee while comparing mommy notes and planning one of our favorite events of the year: #ECMeetUp!

I’m honestly not sure how on earth we get things done because our conversations are basically a bunch of real-life movie trailers cropped and pasted together into a huge collage, complete with blobs of glitter, craft paint and a spreadsheet in the mix. Somehow we do it though and I am honestly so appreciative of our friendship and all the stuff that I’ve learnt from this lady and her blog, over the past few years.

Eleanor started blogging like, ten years ago, or something crazy like that. She’s been in the media industry for an extremely long time and was asked to blog for the newspaper’s weekly supplement. She says: “JustEllaBella was born as a silent rebellion against the fact that as a journalist I had to write only what my editor wanted,”

JustEllaBella is a family and lifestyle blog, where she shares tips, tricks and DIY’s focusing on how to live a fabulous life on a budget. She is also well known for her hair – seriously, I swear it has a personality of its own – and she’s pretty much a guru of maintaining and styling natural hair. She also does a lot of posts relating to mental illness, child loss and society. She is married to a police detective and together they have two little boys – Logan, who is their angel baby and Aidan, who turns five soon! I remember reading her blog after losing Logan. She poured her heart into every post and in many ways offered healing to others who were hurting, while using the blog to heal her own broken heart.

“Although I had blogged before I don’t think I really knew what an outlet it was untill Logan passed away… I managed to help others see mourning a new born as normal and in helping others I was healed in a way.”

This bubbly fashionista gets a kick out of comments and emails from her blog readers. I mean, the thing that most bloggers enjoy about oversharing is the part where we get to actually interact with you, the reader. She says that getting a “hey, I like what you have to say” really warms her heart.

The challenging part of blogging, for her, is the competition. Just like with any other industry, the blogging circles can be pretty cut throat. And with technology and social media ever changing, it can be tricky and really tiring, trying to stay up to date with what’s hip and happening. But Ella has found her groove and readers seem to be drawn to her infectious personality, clever quips and really adorable pics of her son, Aidan.

“Comparing yourself to others can be soul destroying, I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to just start over, make my instagram feed more editorial, stop being so opinionated and just conform to “the norm”. I’m learning that you need to find your own voice and go with it. Every one is different and that is really okay”

This year, JustEllaBella is kicking it up a notch on the curly-haired front. She will be opening the floor up to natural hair girls to share their stories and tips. Also, if you’re ever in a crafting rut, or looking to be inspired to make something, JustEllaBella is the place to be! Here are a bunch of my favorite posts: