My First Blogday

Exactly one year ago today I started this little blog. You can read my very first post here. It was a little scary to put my writing out there in cyberspace when, for the longest time, my 'writing' had been confined to Facebook statuses (read more about why here).

I am very proud of my blog and the fact that I have stuck with it for a whole year. I did wonder at the beginning if it would end up just another 3-post-blog adding to the detritus of the world wide web. So far so good, 81 posts and going strong.

So because it is my blogday I am allowed to be a little indulgent and talk about some of my favourite posts.

The Puffin Tales  was a sad situation with a (sort of) happy ending wrapped up in an emotionally and physically exhausting weekend. It's funny that I chose it as a favourite post because the whole experience was so terribly upsetting. I think perhaps it was one of the first times that I realised that my blog gave me a voice- I had some lovely responses and it seems my post helped raise awareness about some of the major problems with animal welfare organisations in this country.

Getting a response is such an exciting thing. It means that people are reading my work and that I am connecting with them in some way. I was particularly pleased when the owner of Taste Restaurant wrote to thank me for the review I did- Tasty Tasty Taste. It was my first restaurant review and review bloggers don't always get a great response from the industry in Australia. It is something I am a bit self-conscious about but I soldier on because I try to write the reviews that I like to read: decent pictures, a bit of a story behind the review and a mention of the wine or drinks list. Because wine is important.

Supporting artists is so important to me. As an artist (I still like to think of myself as one even though I'm searching for my art at the moment) I realise how hard it is to keep going when you do not get much money or much encouragement. People tend not to tell you when your work is good as readily as they will tell you when they don't like something. So Astonishing Little Locals was my way of giving back to the some of the artists that inspire me.

Lemon Curd and Basil Meringues was one of the first times I had a go at decent food styling (note the word decent, not actually good:) It helped me appreciate the talent of others. I've since had a couple more goes and am getting better. This is a good little space to challenge myself to new things.

Happy 1st Blogday

PS. The cupcake is from Mister Nice Guy's - isn't it spectacular!