2012- What a Year it has been! We moved into our New Home on 1st January 2012 and I also got  a new job that month too, but to add to all of that, we were also arranging our wedding for February. We had our wedding on 25th February and thank goodness it didn't rain. I am blessed to have found such a wonderful husband. We did a lot of decorating in our new home and I enjoyed my afternoons on the farm- helping with the calves and getting lots of fresh air. We booked our honeymoon for September and had a great time. We even got a tan (I call it a tan,  but to most others it is probably just a lot of freckles). I wrote a review for the Irish Country Living Magazine which appeared in their Autumn edition. IKEA also asked me to take some photos of my new home to feature in their House Call Feature (they haven't used them yet which I'm thinking means that the photos aren't good enough quality). My blog got shortlisted for the Irish Blog Award which was really exciting too. I got lots of inspiration online this year and am really enjoying using pinterest! To all of my friends, followers and those who visit my blog, twitter or pinterest, thank you all so much, I really hope that my blog sprinkles some happiness into your life. . .

From top left: 1. We moved into our new home- our cottage in the country. 2. We got married, pictured above in the hotel. 3. Some daffodils I picked and put in our home, 4. Our kitchen is fully completed. 5. A trip to the seaside to my parents holiday home. 6. We booked our honeymoon to Madeira. 7. Some lovely hydrangeas my mother picked for me, 8. Long walks along the lake shore. 9. Honeymoon in Madeira. 10. Some more wedding memories. 11. A trip to the Market. 12. A view of Funchal from our hotel suite. 13. Some more flowers in my sunroom. 14. Another trip to the west coast of Ireland. 15. My spare bedroom, 16. Our Wedding Day

I got some good news when I returned from my honeymoon. My blog has been shortlisted in the Best Personal Blog Category of the Blog Awards Ireland. Blog Awards Ireland will bring together the Irish online community collaborating in a single event on 13th October 2012 to celebrate blogging in Ireland. Before this event the finalist list will be published on 29th September, so fingers crossed for All things nice... The Awards offers businesses an opportunity to increase their visibility and prominence in social media circles. With more people being guided in their buying decisions by bloggers rather than friends opinions, blogging is a considerably influential tool in word of mouth marketing. The main sponsors of the Awards is Grafton Media and the Best Personal Blog category is sponsored by Red Oak Tax Refunds. Thank you to all those involved in the Awards and for all those blogs that have been shortlisted..

I know many of my bloggers are not from Ireland, however you should all know about The Blog Awards Ireland 2012. As you all know Ireland is a small country, divided into counties. Our counties are quite small geographically and therefore we have a strong sense of community spirit and know a lot of people at a local level. But blog land is totally different, it is my connection with the rest of the world. I follow blogs from all over the world, read about the culture and lifestyles from Australia to Alaska and visit online shops from all over the globe. I have over 300 followers on my blog and I have never met one of you but the Blog Awards Ireland is bringing together the Irish online community with a single event to celebrate blogging right here in Ireland. Since I started blogging in 2009, the number of Irish visiting my blog has increased dramatically.

My blog is purely a blog on my life in the countryside, my home and basically all things nice... I do not have an online business and I do not benefit financially from my blog, but I suppose in my own way I do promote Ireland, particularly rural Ireland and all things rural from our heritage, our wildlife and our crafts to our shops, our lifestyle and our traditions. My blog is very basic in style, layout and content but I enjoy blogging and I would much rather blog and read all about other people's lives, their businesses and their culture than watch tv.

I am going off the point here so basically what I want to say is, if you follow any blogs from Ireland and think they are worthy of being nominated for an award, you should visit the Blog Awards Ireland. Nominations close on 16th July.

 

Blog Awards Ireland