You could always buy hosting and then use something like
Wordpress for the journal/blog part and
Coppermine for the gallery (which can be integrated with a
Wordpress/Coppermine plug-in). There's an iPhoto plugin called
CopperExport that makes moving photos from iPhoto to your Coppermne gallery a no brainer (just like the .Mac intergration).
A Small Orange has decent plans and great service, starting at $30 a year. They're also running a special ("lifetime plans") right now.