Blogiversary: Becoming a Blogger - One year on

It's my blogiversary! One year ago today I made the decision to start my own blog. After thinking about it for ages, and worrying about if I'd be any good at it, I decided to go for it - and dovecottageblog.com was born!

I kicked it off with this post: DIY Mason Jar Soap Dispensers, and haven't looked back. So I thought I'd share some of my highlights of the past year here.

I've charted my journey transforming my house on a tight budget, making over several rooms such as the lounge, bathroom and master bedroom, plus creating a gallery wall from scratch, transforming our fairly modern home and creating the vintage country cottage feel I love so much.

I've also been lucky enough to have the opportunity to write a guest blog for Laura Ashley, and was chosen to become a brand rep for homefullofdreams.co.uk, which has been amazing. I've also got loads of exciting plans for the upcoming year, including transforming our spare room, which has been nothing more than a dumping ground for the past few months, into a home office/sewing room. This will hopefully create some more space in our conservatory (where my sewing corner currently lives) for another little project!

For me, blogging has become more than just a hobby, it's something I look forward to doing and genuinely get excited about coming up with new ideas for posts. When I started blogging I hadn't been feeling great for a while (I wrote more about why I decided to start blogging here), and I honestly think having a project like this has improved my mood greatly, given me something positive to concentrate on, and even provided me with a 'purpose' in my day-to-day life. Every time someone leaves me a lovely little comment either on a post, or over on my Instagram page it feels like a mini-energy boost.

If depression/anxiety is something you suffer with I would highly recommend blogging, as I've found it to be an overwhelmingly positive experience - even if it probably is simply a distraction from the every day grind! It's definitely provided me with an escape, and one I can't wait to continue with and watch grow further.

If you want to have a nose through some of my other previous posts, you can find my favourite five here:

Shopping for home decor
Personalising a rented home
Storage solutions in small homes
Interior design for beginners

Thanks so much to anyone who has read any of my posts over the past year, it means so much! Please do also let me know in the comments section below if there's anything you'd like to see on the blog in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading,
Sam Xx