ICONIC WOMEN SERIES: NATALIE BELL BLOGGER | PEGCITYLOVELY Blogger, Mom and HR Queen, Natalie Bell lives her passion every day by writing about the people and things that inspire her and by drawing a spotlight on everything local in her hometown of Winnipeg. Natalie Bell started her blog, Peg City Lovely, in 2012 while on maternity leave with her third child. A self-confessed tech-nerd, she has a degree in computer science and math and already had an active Twitter following with whom she was constantly connecting and having conversations with. But, it was during this time that she decided to take the leap and start a blog of her own. “I thought if there was any time in the world, what better time than on mat leave to go for it and join the ranks of other big bloggers,” she recalls. Peg City Lovely started off as a Mommy blog on Twitter, but six years later it has grown into Bell’s personal brand with a dedicated blog and social media accounts across Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and of course, Twitter. Every day, followers can be a part of Natalie’s morning commute to work and experience her day-to-day living through her Instagram Stories and her daily posts on life, food, family and local Winnipeg. Natalie’s mission is to foster positive, authentic conversations through storytelling. “I think showing people what I do and having authentic conversations about that is what people gravitate towards and why they relate to my posts,” says Bell. “The blog has been amazing and has grown so much over the years, that now people recognize me in the mall and say, ‘Hey, aren’t you PegCityLovely?’ and ask to have a photo taken. It’s just been so wonderful to connect with people in Winnipeg and beyond, to be able to show off my city and hopefully give it exposure.”
“My mom was the pillar of generosity, caring and strength, so she is my number one icon.” So, who inspires Bell? Being a natural people person, it is ordinary people who inspire her—people living their daily life, who are digging in and simply living their passions. This is Bell’s foundation and what fuels her attitude and character. Her strength comes from being comfortable with who she is as a woman, as a woman of colour and from the many people who
have been her cheerleaders, mentors and those who have helped her continue to be who she is. Having revealed her penchant for people, it is no surprise that Natalie’s ICON is her late mom, Maureen, who passed away five years ago from breast cancer, at the age of 57. “My mom was the pillar of generosity, caring and strength, so she is my number one icon,” says Bell. “Other icons include Oprah, Michelle Obama, and tons of Black Canadian women who I aspire to be.” Everyone should check out the website 100 Accomplished Canadian Black Women to celebrate the accomplishments of Black Canadian women in the profit & not-for-profit sectors, the unsung heroes and the trailblazers. It makes sense that Natalie’s breadth of inspiration expands to fill the stories that she tells. Her posts are uplifting, honest and motivating. Negativity is banished because she wants to dwell in positive energy and tell the stories that are real-life, what’s happening today and what matters to real people because that is what people relate to. “Sometimes it’s that day-to-day that someone is going through and they see a story from me, and they are like, ‘Ugh, thank you, you have just brightened my day, that’s awesome,’ that’s what I want to keep doing,” states Bell. And, if you are an aspiring young woman, what advice does Natalie have for you? “It’s so simple, but if you do it, it will make an incredible difference in your life—Just Do You. We are surrounded by so many things and people that we think we need to be or do, but if you just do you and be who you are, you will find your own personal success.”
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