NEW Name + Blog!

So in case you haven't noticed... Bookishsmaug is now Cups and Thoughts!I have been thinking of changing my handle for a while now, but I am very pedantic with these things, so it took me way longer than expected to come up with my brand new official blog name. I wanted to go for something that reflects my content (books, lifestyle, journaling), has a personal meaning to me and still sounds general and friendly enough to keep that ~Bookishsmaug essence~. I wanted to incorporate the word "cup" in my name, that was for sure. However I did not want a word that was too closely associated with books. The word "thoughts" was something I use in my day to day life. I use it when I read books, annotate them, take pictures, scroll through my gallery - you name it! Which is why it was perfect because "thoughts" can mean a bunch of things, namely to do with the content I put up all over my platform.Hence, Cups and Thoughts was born!Lots of people miss Bookishsmaug, and to be honest, I do too! The name holds so many memories for me. I spent almost five years with it, and letting go of the name was a really tough decision.But, as I said earlier, I wanted a name with more meaning.Often I receive compliments for my handle because it "has a nice ring" to it. It's not a mouthful like Cups and Thoughts (though to be fair, Cups and Thoughts actually roll off your tongue quite nicely), and it's got that literary reference that so many people are aware of.  However, you would be surprised to know that I am in fact not a fan of The Hobbit series. That is to say, I have never watched the films nor read any of the books.So how and why did I go with the name Bookishsmaug in the first place?Well, I was obsessed with the character Smaug at one point. I was twelve when the infamous BTS clips of Benedict Cumberbatch playing Smaug took over most of my evenings.Yes, I was that obsessed.I was indeed a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch. I watched Sherlock then and I grew fond of the actor, but my fondness only stretched so far. I didn't even bother watching The Hobbit, and I was never intrigued by it anyway (even with Benedict's portrayal as Smaug). But it all started from those clips! (if you haven't already seen them, watch the long version of the clip here)So there you go. I added the word "bookish" because my Instagram focus back then was solely on books. Honestly, I could've been more creative with my handle, but my Instagram was something I did purely for fun, and a Bookstagram account was all I wanted.Five years later, I'm still here blogging about books. But beyond that (and I would have never expected this to happen), my account actually grew, and with the growth of my account comes my need for a community that felt more personal to me. So my content changed as well. I wanted to share more than just books with the people I interacted with on a daily basis. I shared snippets of my life, talked about my hobbies apart from reading, started this blog and so much more. I wanted to make sure that though the numbers grew, authenticity and engagement was still present.But before I go on a tangent that talks about my Instagram journey (which could be explored in another blog post...?), I wanted to just say that, though 12 year old Cath took that leap of faith and brought Bookishsmaug to the Bookstagram world, today, Cups and Thoughts marks a fresh new start.Cups and Thoughts will now focus on a wider variety of content, which may include things like sustainable living, more personal lifestyle content, and even food - all in addition to my main focuses on books and journaling.I'm still getting used to the name myself, but I know for sure that change was necessary.But as always, I'm open to all your thoughts and suggestions on what can be improved! Let me know what you would like to see more of :) I want to post more often on this new blog, so hit me up with your ideas!I also want to thank all of you for all the tremendous love and support throughout this journey <3 Cups and Thoughts now has 50K followers on Instagram! How insaaaane is that? Thank you, thank you! <3Well then, I think that's all for today's post. Until next time!

Cath xx