Welcome to Sim’s Life
Hi there! I’m Simone Riches, also known as Sim, a content creator and web designer who is the voice and heart behind Sim’s Life, a blog that has been my passion project since 2010 when my daughter was a toddler.
What started as a simple hobby of writing very short reviews, quickly grew into a fully functioning Family and Lifestyle blog that covers a whole host of categories.
Over the years I have added more sites to my belt, covering travel, finance, food, city guides and more! I seem to have a problem buying domains, though it can be quite addictive once you get started!
Let’s take a look at how Sim’s Life began and find out more about the team behind it.
My Blogging Journey
Early Beginnings
My life as a blogger began all the way back in 2010 and I never realised at the time that it would become my full time job.
I was working in the Sales sector at the time and stepping out on my own as a Freelance Content Writer and blogger seemed crazy. During the early days, blogging life wasn’t like it is now, it really has changed so much!
At the time, with an almost 20 year background in IT, I found moving into blogging and digital content creation a natural fit as it combines my technical skills with my love for writing and sharing information that I hope visitors to the site find helpful!
My Team
Don’t be surprised if you receive a response from Andrew or Rebecca, they are my saviours when it comes to managing all my websites. Their knowledge, advice and help are very much needed to keep Sim’s Life running each day and they are the best team I could have asked for.
One of the main factors of blogging is that you will need help, you cannot do it all on your own. When you do outsource, make sure you find team-mates who will just fit in seamlessly. You cannot have my team though!
Building Expertise and Authority
Even with over 10 years of blogging experience, I am constantly developing my skills in creating engaging and informative content that helps people and answers their questions.
Things have changed so much recently (Google updates hey?!) and it’s important to stay up to date and on track with digital marketing.
I find myself reading, watching and researching every single day, but that’s one of the things I love most about my work and building my sites.
Certifications and Skills
My background has always revolved around IT, from studying during my educational journey, to work related opportunities such as IT department member at the main infirmary in Manchester.
It almost seemed natural that I would fall into building and developing websites, I just didn’t realise at the time!
Since starting out, I have added to my blogging experience by taking several certified courses that have helped enhance my knowledge and capabilities in the digital marketing world:
- How to Create Great Content – University of Leeds
- Digital Skills: Digital Marketing – Accenture
- Digital Skills: Web Analytics – Accenture
These particular courses were great to do and while using the knowledge I already had, it was great to learn new aspects and see things from a different perspective.
With blogging, it’s easy to become stuck in a routine and the courses really have helped shape my blogging roadmap.
Life in Manchester
Beyond my digital life, I’m a proud mum to a wonderful teenage daughter and we live in Manchester. We both love to travel, especially when it involves music concerts and are foodies!
With this in mind, I created Touring Duo, a travel blog with a European emphasis. A fun site that we can record our adventures and photographs on and a resource to inspire our future trips.
Family Focus Hub a full resource site, featuring information all parents will appreciate and naturally, Manchester Mummy is a city guide from a true Manc, living in Manchester.
15 Minute Reset is a new site, offering quick wellness tips and digital tools to help you reset your day, in just 15 minutes.
Visiting new restaurants is what inspired me to create Best Dinner In Town – a directory of the best places to eat around the UK, featuring reviews of our favourite restaurants.
Neither of us are high maintenance, yes, I can be stubborn, but we do enjoy a quieter life. Watching Emmerdale every night is a ritual!
Liv is a huge music fan and is a self-taught guitar player and is actually pretty good (I’m not biased!).
That has lead us on to attending many concerts, from Blur at Wembley, to Kings of Leon in Wrexham, Green Day, Manic Street Preachers and Suede. We have also seen James Blunt live in France and is concert, although brillaint, didn’t sound near enough as cool as Blur!
Personal Interests
When I’m not writing or managing my blogs, I’m out walking with friends and trying my hand at photography. I’m not the greatest, tending to just point my phone in the direction and hope for the best, but I try!
I love reading, especially the Lee Child – Jack Reacher series, which leads onto me being a TV and film buff too. Always action over rom-coms!
In my mind I am always planning my next trip away and have been known to scroll through social media for inspiration.
I need the warmth and sunshine, that comes from living in Manchester where a brolly is needed most of the time!
You may have noticed some tasty Keto recipes on the site – Keto Cauliflower Cheese and Keto Halloumi Fries and have lost weight over the years following the low-carb lifestyle. I try to stick to the lifestyle as much as I can, but I do love carbs, just a shame they hate me so much!
To counteract carby treats, I do attend regular Clubbercise classes, which are ace. One of my favourite posts to feature, check it out if you want to find out more about the club music fitness classes that let you get your glow on.
Other than that, WYSIWYG! I’m a Northerner, so am straight to the point and do love banter and a giggle!
Thank You for Visiting
Thank you for visiting Sim’s Life! I hope you find inspiration, information and a bit of fun here. Whether you’re a fellow blogger or someone looking for great content, there’s something for everyone.
Feel free to connect with us on social media or reach out directly if you have any questions or just want to say hello!
Email: team@simslife.co.uk
Content we like to feature on Sim’s Life:
- Keto – anything Keto related – food and tips
- Fitness
- Fashion and accessories
- Beauty and skincare – especially skincare products or gadgets relating to teenage skin
- Recipes
- Food and Drink – I follow the Keto lifestyle, though we are always happy to review any food and drink. Except celery!
- Gadgets & Games suitable for 15 years +
- Getting Out and About – we are huge fans of geocaching, especially in the North West!
- Travel – we are always open to staycation opportunities in the UK!
- Camping – something to take me out of my comfort zone!
- Home Improvement & Decorating – this is not my favourite chore, but I will do it!