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How was The Grumpy Olive born?

July 13, 2018Lifestyle
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It was a dark and stormy night in 1987 and…hold on. That’s wrong for sure, I was not even born yet?

Let’s try this again: it was definitely a cold and dark and stormy night, it was the 23rd of December 2013 and I was sitting on my blue IKEA sofa in my flat in Arsenal, waiting for mother and younger sister to land in LondonTown later on that evening.

I was bored, Fred was definitely busy doing something else that I could either not be arsed doing or did not know how to do. Possibly making up a bed and stuff, you know {this is, of course, a joke!}. I was sitting down and had been discussing the possibility of a blog with Fred the whole afternoon – her ears were possibly bleeding, by then… – and that is when she came up with the name for me: The Grumpy Olive.

The Grumpy Olive

I do not really like olives, no, even though I used to love those green, juicy olives, the Nocellara kind from Italy that my grandma in Rome used to buy me whenever we went for grocery shopping in the summer. I now eat them rarely, more as a very rare treat than a daily occurrence, and they have to be the same ones, no less than the best…ha!

Am I grumpy, you are asking? No, not on a daily basis. I am a pretty positive person overall, particularly if the weather it’s nice and I got to sleep well. But when I am grumpy, then brace yourselves: I am a pain in the rear, I do not smile, nor make my usual dad-jokes. I want to be left alone, but feel like I own the rights of pissing everyone else off for my pleasure – little side note here, I am a feisty beast if in the mood for an argument, and I LOVE arguing! – but in all honesty, I am possibly quite a cutie usually, but hey!

So, back to the serious stuff…afternoon of brainstorming, boring evening, overall not the best basis to start such a project.

It all started a bit like this, out of boredom, more than a passion. I focused all my energies in running a blog in 2 different languages, cooking up a storm and creating the worst pictures ever taken in the history of food photography.

It was a struggle, and it was all about food, which is a passion of mine, yes, but also limited what I was able to talk about on my own platform. I did abandon it within a couple of years, tired of the schemes and games I had to play on my Italian platform host, even though I did have plenty of support from some good friends I made thanks to the same platform.

I was angry, tired, and in need of a break. I had expectations I did not meet, goals I did not make, it was overall a disaster. I was picturing things differently, and I did not like doing it with so much effort and no results.

I tried again, on and off, for a bit. And always ended up the same way: frustrated, angry and stressed. How could my hobby turn into a nightmare? How did I end up hating all things blog?

I have taken more time, a lot more this time than the few weeks break in between phases. I also decided to open up: at the end of the day all I wanted was a place where I could write, because that is what I enjoy the most about blogging.

And here we are, today, at this: The Grumpy Olive. My corner. I don’t have deadlines, I write if I feel like, I take terrible pictures at times, but I don’t scream, I don’t stress and, most importantly, I do it at my own terms: a post every three weeks? Could be. A post every day? I doubt it, but who knows. For the time being, I will enjoy what comes and see how it goes.

How was your blog experience? How did you start your blog? Tell me all of it in the comments below!

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About Simona

Simona is the self-appointed editor-in-chief and has a background in food & drink, currently working as a consultant for smaller brands in London, UK. She is an introvert who loves staying in, cooking and baking. Has just started learning how to knit, watches silly things on Netflix, and plays Animal Crossing a lot more than it's worth mentioning.

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Comments

  1. Lynn Mejia

    January 18, 2021 at 04:20

    I’ve always thought your blog name is so cute! I actually wanted to just be an influencer on Instagram then I expanded to Youtube a little bit back at the end of 2019/ beginning of 2020. It was super draining for me to edit videos and was a little too much haha I then did more research on blogging and fell in love with it! I just kept my brand as my name as I am on all platforms and I’m still in general lifestyle content! I haven’t fully chosen a niche yet but definitely emphasizing homemaking <3 Thanks for sharing how The Grumpy Olive was born! x

    http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com

    0
    Reply
    • Simona

      January 18, 2021 at 16:01

      I find blogging freeing, in a way: I can write to my heart’s content, and I think I’d be far too shy for videos and such. One of the things I need to work on this year for sure xx

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      Reply
  2. Lauren

    December 16, 2020 at 03:36

    Thank you for sharing your story behind your blog.

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    Reply
    • Simona

      December 21, 2020 at 17:28

      Thank you Lauren – this was from a few years ago and things have changed ever so slightly (we’re 3 now!) but that is most definitely how the blog came to life 🙂

      0
      Reply

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    @thegrumpyolive

    Ohh these sunny days ☀️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In the meantime, we are enjoying seeing flowers blossom and we are popping some in one or two vases around the house. 🌸🌸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Pop on the link in bio to read Simona’s full journey. 👆🏻👆🏻⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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    We all have that one item of skincare that we love We all have that one item of skincare that we love. ✨✨⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I know probably a million times. But look at the architecture! And the history behind Rome and it’s greatness. What can we say? It always surprises us more and more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Have you ever been to Rome? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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