Celebrating having 100 followers of Planet Baby

Hip hip hooray!

Well, knock me over with a feather! I am absolutely staggered and extraordinarily flattered to now have 100 sweet followers of my life on Planet Baby (and a warm welcome to follower 100, the lovely Rachael!). When I hit ‘Create blog’ only 11 short weeks ago, I had no idea that I would end up at this point. Already. I am both gobsmacked and dumbfounded. Thank you from the very depths of my being for joining me on this bewitching journey to attempt to both capture some of the ephemeral moments Mr PB and I experience with the pixies and to rediscover my identity afresh. I have no recollection of what actually precipitated my decision to start blogging (thanks to my dratted PND, my memory isn’t functioning as well as normal) but whatever the motivation, I am so thrilled I started this fabulous bloggy caper!

Starting out

Sweet Alice

My very first post started with the sentence “I feel like Alice stepping through the portal into another world”. That’s exactly what I’ve felt like since I’ve discovered the crazy, teeming, throbbing vitality that is the blogosphere. Before I started blogging, I really had absolutely no idea this parallel universe existed. Sure, I had occasionally read the odd post on a few cooking blogs but it was nothing organised – I certainly didn’t subscribe to them. But once I started blogging, miraculously, gorgeous souls such as Sonia, Sarah, Ashleigh, Janette and Corrie somehow found their way to Planet Baby and started following me (I gratefully returned the favour). Thanks so much for your kindness and support – it’s meant the world to me. And now I can't even remember how I spent my day before blogging - it seems to inform every thing I do! I am overwhelmed by the depth of warmth and emotion radiating from my bloggy friends.

Discovering the blogosphere

By your reaching out to me, I’ve been welcomed into all your diverse worlds. Until recently, I was adding every blog I followed to my blogroll but I’m having to rethink that strategy now there are 172 on it! I’ve discovered so many different genres of blogs such as:

• Mummy blogs (such a divergent bunch – the controversial, the identity rediscovering, the everyday chronicling of life, the ones grappling with infertility or health issues, even deaths, the SAHMs, the WAHMs and the WMs, just for starters);

• Style blogs (showcasing the latest and most striking design ideas or even revisiting old ones – ooh, I adore peeking into other people’s worlds!);

• Food blogs (the stunning photography of delectable food is just to die for and the recipes are just inspirational. If only I had the time to use them. Sigh.);

• Crafty blogs (often overlapping with the mummy blogs – there are some seriously talented people out there, creating gorgeous wares);

• Techy blogs (so many fellow bloggers generously collate tips for us all to use); and

• Home renovation blogs (I really enjoy daydreaming with these ones).

My ten favourite blogs at the moment

My blog taste is constantly evolving – you know how it goes. One minute, you’re looking at an old favourite, then next thing, you’re scrolling through their blogroll and bingo! You’ve found another delight and you’re soon following them. And then you spot something interesting on their blogroll and so on it goes. I really do feel like Alice peering down the rabbit hole before falling in.

Ooh, Alice, what can you see?

Anyway, at the moment, some of the blogs I’m enjoying most are:

• Collage of Life (sweet Jeanne muses delightfully on photography, design, fashion, cooking, books, travel, art and life in general);

• Count It All Joy (the mum of six, Meredy is an effervescent soul with a fabulous sense of humour and an often thought-provoking take on life);

• Maxabella Loves (cheerful Bron expounds wryly on life as the mother of three young children in today’s Australian society);

• Miss Sew & So (the crafty mum of three, charming Melissa invites us into her interesting life as an expat Australian living in the UK);

• My Sweet Prints (lovely Janette shares her extraordinary talent for graphic design and illustration, as well as her passions for design, style and her little boy, Will);

• My Villa Life (my old Uni friend, Ann, writes engagingly about her life as an expat, journalist mother of two young boys in Auckland and what inspires her. Her crisp writing and amusing insights are a joy to read.);

• Oesch & Doots (my dear Hobart friend, Sarah, has only just started blogging but I love her thoughtful insights into life as a SAHM with two young children and about society generally. And do admire her vibrant blog header – she created it herself.);

• One Perfect Day (the gorgeous Sarah writes captivatingly about her life as the mum of one and takes sensational photos which really capture the essence and the innocence of childhood so perfectly);

• Rubies’ Place (the mother of three young girls, the inspirational Tina writes beautifully about her life in country New South Wales in Australia and regularly shares her secrets to creating absolutely divine French-inspired home accessories); and

• The House that A-M Built (the generous-hearted A-M writes wittily about her life as a mum and wife in Brisbane, her passion for residential design, interior design and construction. She also indulges in regular 'realestalking' (her word!).

Where to now?

So, I am bubbling with ideas about where our travels on Planet Baby will take us. I’m still getting the lie of Blogland a little and working out what style feels the best fit for me. There are also so many gadgets, widgets and sites to road test! I’ll shortly be adding a ‘Welcome to Planet Baby’ tab up the top which will provide a ‘road map’ for those intrepid travellers sharing the journey with us.

Do let me know if there’s anything you’d like to know about my life on Planet Baby – I’m happy to take on any suggestions for future posts. Thanks so much for your kindness and support so far.