Grab a cuppa, we need to talk.

Sit down. We need to talk.

I've been going through some huge changes in the past few weeks and I wanted to sit down and chat to you about them because a lot of you have had a vast amount of questions and while I try to explain in 140 character it can be difficult to decipher in broken down tweets. I thought I'd address them all in one post, throw in a little life update with some Instagram photos while I'm here and it's always here to refer to. A link can be inserted into 140 characters.

So...

Who is Ella?
Ella is Laura. I am Ella. I was born Laura-Jayne and went by Laura for so long but after being called Ella or Elle by pretty much everyone except family and people who read my name from a legal document for the past six years, I felt I grew in to Ella much more than I grew into Laura in 24 years.

Is your name still Laura?
For all legal intents and purposes, I am Ella thanks to a nifty piece of paper called a deed poll. All of my legal documents except my drivers license have been changed to Ella now and while I don't expect my family to ever call me anything but Laura, I feel a lot more settled.

What did your parents say?
Nothing! I've always been a little eccentric and headstrong and I don't think anything would surprise them anymore. They know that I've been called Ella for so long by my friends, I think it was a natural thing to change.

Did you change your surname too?
After a lot of debating it in my own head, yes. I now have the surname of my fiance and children. You wouldn't believe how much chaos and confusion it causes to have a surname different from your children in 2013! While boyfriend and I will be getting married we didn't want to feel like we had to rush into a big thing because I was fed up of being asked if I was actually the children's biological mother.

At the wedding...surname and surname?
For ceremonial purposes my maiden name will be used at the wedding ceremony but I will sign as my legal surname. It isn't incestuous. We're not related.

New blog?
With a new name comes great responsibility. Since I was no longer really connected to Laura I used the back up blog name I'd had signed up since I started What Laura Did and moved to Hello Ella. All of the old content is here as are my Bloglovin' followers but sadly, I had to let go of all my lovely GFC followers so if you were following via GFC, come on over to Bloglovin!

Isn't this all a bit unnecessary?
Of course it is! I'm fully happy with my decision and I have a spare deed poll with Laura-Jayne (Surname) in case I ever change my mind!

As part of my 'Saying Yes' campaign (with myself), some of you may have seen my Youtube channel! I've only posted two videos so far, am getting to grips with editing and oh, it's a big departure from writing in my pyjama bottoms with no make-up on. It's a huge knock to my confidence, I sound weird, I act awkward and I can't help but want to push through it and strive to be better. I'm giving it a few months to adjust and if I like it, I'll continue! So please go and leave feedback as I'm looking to do things better than I am now (see? In the photos above I have a new backdrop for filming!)