little white truths

I knew I wanted to write one final post in my blogiversary series to celebrate my second year of blogging - I just didn't know what that post would be or when I would write it. 

But I sat down at my computer this morning and saw that none of the reviews I have on my list are ones I feel like writing today, and it happens to be a week since this blog's actual birthday so it seems like a good day to close off the blogiversary series for another year and look ahead.

It's been a crazy week here. My little girl has been the sickest she's ever been (on the mend now, thank god), and I myself have picked up a bug or two over the past couple of weeks (that's pregnancy for you), which means there's been more doctor's appointments to get to in a short space of time than there ever has.

Fingers crossed this week is a little easier, although my own birthday is coming up on 30 June so we've a few more outings planned than usual, but at least these ones won't include tests or waiting rooms.

I digress. I had planned on writing a 'blogging lessons learned' post but I've just changed the draft title to 'why I blog' because lord knows I don't feel like speaking lessons today. So instead I'll say a few words on why I personally like blogging, just in case anyone reading this has been thinking about doing it themselves and is interested to know : )

Related to the above, most writers will tell you that they can't go very long without being part of a storytelling process because it's a compulsion inside them that needs to be fed. So I blog to tell stories. Even if it's just a little tale of a product and what I've thought of it, it's still a story that I'd like to tell.

Blogging gives me a place to talk about beauty products - the things I love, the things that haven't worked, the things I keep coming back to - and each product has its own little tale that may be useful for others when shared.

So I blog to give myself and others a place they can come and hear about new product discoveries, learn about subscription boxes, and read the occasional non-beauty tale of somewhere I've eaten or been. That's the crux of it, I think. This blog is a place of stories more than anything else.

To talk beauty

I get excited about beauty products. Like a growing number of people these days, I've become obsessed with beauty and I'm always on the look-out for new product releases and innovations, even if I don't plan on buying them.

I'm a member of various online groups that are exclusively dedicated to beauty, and in these groups I have a lot of fun talking products and sharing ideas. This blog did start out as a life blog because I wanted a broad focus, but it seems to have settled itself firmly in the beauty area because that's what I want to talk about most. Maybe this will change in future, or maybe that's how it will always be.

To learn new skills

What I didn't realise when I started blogging was just how many new skills I would have to learn along the way. From learning how to take better photos, to giving myself a crash course in things like programming and how to insert code into my blog, I've learned so much through the blogging process and that's one of the reasons I keep doing it.

While I mightn't love the technology side of things (I've never been great with computers), I do appreciate that I'm learning new skills that are useful in other walks of life. Plus I've had to learn how to negotiate social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, which I wouldn't have done without this blog - and this may prove useful when it comes to future work roles. So blogging keeps me on my toes, and no new skill is ever wasted.

To keep myself on the level

Not only other writers will understand this, but also those who aren't very good at sitting around doing nothing. I'm not a good 'nothing' person and never have been, so I need a place to go each day that feels like my own little office, and I need to be able to set myself projects and deadlines and achieve them - otherwise I'll fade into the abyss of home life and I don't think it would be good for my mental state!

I love being a mum, but it's not all I want to do with my time and this blog has given me a place to go each day and do something else. Blogging is a little part of my day that's just mine, and that doesn't involve my daughter, my husband, my dog or my pregnancy: it's outside my domestic responsibilities and I think it's helped keep me healthy and happy throughout the trials of early parenthood. No small feat ; )