Happy Blogday, dear Birdy

Gah, it’s been so long since my last post. Big apologies for the bad blogiquette, but I’ve been busy visiting Welsh yurts and the like … all in the name of work, of course. Anyway, I’ve finally stopped for a moment to draw a breath because I had a feeling my blogday (or is that blogiversary?) was coming up. So I checked the date of my very first post and what d’you know, today’s the day!

Wee Birdy cupcakes by the delightful and delicious Lavender Bakery (post coming next).

I really didn’t know what I was getting into 12 months ago when I posted a couple of stories about my favourite shops in Cheshire Street, East London. I had only recently moved to London with my husband and writing about my new discoveries really helped me find my way around my new hometown.

I certainly didn’t have any expectations, but I’ve been overwhelmed by the support and random acts of friendship that I’ve found within the blogosphere. So thanks to everyone who’s ever stopped by, written a comment, or posted me an email.

In the meantime, I’ve been checking out my stats on Google Analytics (always handy for instant gratification, not to mention alarmingly addictive) for some “fun facts” to mark this auspicious occasion.

Now who’d have thought that “Camille Bidault Waddington” (with and without the hyphen) would be in the top 10 keywords used to find Wee Birdy? That’s a lot of people (I’m thinking mostly girls) interested in Mrs Jarvis Cocker. I don’t blame them. Stumbling upon the Cocker family in Colette was a very pleasant way to end a long weekend in Paris.

Perhaps even more mystifying are some of the more unusual keywords used to find Wee Birdy, like:

"the best place to get a chicken coop in nsw" (nup, sorry)
"bundaberg ginger beer's potential market" (that would be right over here, ta)
"can topshop enter australian market" (mmm, I reckon so)
"camilla walking in wellies" (mmm, no thanks)
"how to french knit using a toilet roll and paddle pop sticks" (oh my, crafty AND resourceful!)
"harry potter diffusion line t-shirts" (wait, Harry Potter has a diffusion line???)
"how to keep a bunnie calm" (A: Hold it close to your body and softly stroke its head)
"i'm a wee ballerina" (yeah? cool! me too!)
"why can women wait for a wee and men cant" (ah yes, that old chestnut...)

No real surprises when it comes to the most popular posts, with Dover Street Market, Swarovski Crystallized and Shopping in Paris taking the top three places. But then I always knew you had remarkably good taste, didn’t I?

Happy Blogday, wee birdies, and here’s to many more… xx

p.s. you may notice some changes over the next few days, with new shopping navigation on the right-hand side, the latest music I've been listening to, AND fancy new Google maps!

Comments

[July 16, 2008 at 12:40 PM]

Welcome back! What a relief...thought you might have decided to fly away without a tweet of a farewell!And back in time for your Happy Blogday. Hope you didn't eat all the cake. x

[Bez]

Happy anniversary!

[July 17, 2008 at 06:19 AM]

Happy First Blogday - a grand milestone. Keep up the good work. Some suggestions for the start of your next blog-year: can you please show me what's happening at Whistles and Noa Noa at the moment? And I can't believe your "Shopping by London Street" doesn't have Oxford Street or Regent Street yet! Even if you hate them, I'd love to see what your take is. x

[July 17, 2008 at 10:57 AM]

happy birthday birdy ... rock 'em shock 'em and make it sweet - tweet!

[pai]

Hooray, you're back! and Happy Blogday!

[July 17, 2008 at 08:50 PM]

Happy anniversary. Just booked a ticket to London in January so looking forward to reading all your tips. Any recommendations for greeting cards, handmade preferably, I'm researching the market. Lovely blog, good to see you back! Keryn

[July 18, 2008 at 06:48 AM]

hello hello, lovely to hear from you all and thanks for all your brilliant commentsgervy - I know! I can't believe I don't have Oxford or Regents streets, either. Although I've been sticking to mostly small independent boutiques, I'm definitely go to be covering more high street in the future. Oh, and I'm absolutely gagging to see the new Whistles collection in Sept. It will be Jane Shepherdson's (ex-Topshop brand director) first collection since she came on board recently. I think she'll be really good for the brand ... well, here's hoping. gryb - I'll have a look into the handmade greeting card market and get back to you. Although I must confess that I head to Etsy whenever I'm looking for handmade stuff! xx

[July 23, 2008 at 05:45 AM]

Yay, happy blogday, keep it up. (PS, did you know Jarv and Camille have split up?!)

[July 23, 2008 at 06:02 AM]

rollergirl - non! quelle horreur!