4th November 2014: I never thought this date would be so significant. I never thought this blog would extend to more than a personal collection of ranting! And here I am reminiscing about a whole 12 months that have passed as Tezzy.
How Life Has Changed as a Blogger:
1. Tezzy Who? Tezzy. Before I started blogging, only a handful of intimately close family and friends called me by that name. ‘Tez’ has always been the more adopted shortcut for the mouthful of a name that is ‘Tehzeeb’. Suddenly random strangers are calling me Tezzy. I get emails addressed to Tezzy, my alter ego, the blogger in me. I feel like I’m living double lives, and loving it!
2. A Balancing Act. I have a full-time job, and I am also the mother to a very hyper young child. Many people ask me how I manage to balance the blogging act on my already full platter. It’s a simple truth: I’m addicted to writing. Writing is my ‘me-time’, my choice of decaf if you please. I have writing diarrhea! So yeah… blogging came quite naturally to me.
3. Click Unhappy. The part I struggle with the most is photography. Great clicks after all is half the blogging homework done. Editing pics takes up the biggest chunk of my blogging time. Still working on it peeps!
4. Blogger Quirks. I now belong to a special niche of the UAE blogging community. We have insider jokes that a layman would raise a curious eyebrow at. Isn’t it funny how a great many of us don’t even know each other’s first names, and address one another by the blog title? ‘Hello, it’s me, The Tezzy Files!’. And after a year into blogging, I am absolutely comfortable at taking out my rather large DSLR lens at the plate I’m about to attack!
5. Blogging Buddies. I’ve been living in the UAE for 8 years now, but this past 1 year of blogging has brought in a major influx of very interesting people into my circle. I’ve made some of the most amazing friends, some are bloggers (both in the UAE and beyond cyberspace). Others work in PR and media, and then there’s the talented coop comprising of chefs, designers, photographers and bikers. You know who you are. Tezzy loves you!
6. Blogger Bloat. My non-blogging friends are so envious. I’ve been flooding my social media feeds with food, food and more glorious food! But don’t they see the bloating aftermath? No jokes, all these decadent food posts are starting to show around my midriff. (Hubby was daring me to post a before and after blogging selfie. I think I’ll pass. I don’t need a blogging deterrent!).
7. Blogging Makes Me Pretty Too! I’ve never been a makeup kinda girl. I’ve always been diligent on my skincare routine, I splurge on great skincare creams and potions, and worship sunscreen. But makeup? I’ve been far too lazy for all that. A ‘dressed up’ former me would involve a bright neon lippie and a feeble attempt at a cat-eye flick. Tezzy, my alter-ego, has been splurging on colors! I now own a multitude of pretty palettes and even have a contour kit up my sleeve, and have been brave enough to be posting #motd clicks on my Instagram feed.
8. Dubai Reintroduced. 8 years into expat life, and I thought I knew my city like the back of my hand. Blogging has introduced me to a whole new side of Dubai, and has shown me just how blessed I am to be living in this vibrant, ever-changing city!
9. Food Critic. Beauty Guru. Fashionista. In that order. The Tezzy Files logo reads ‘Beauty, Fashion and Food Cravings’, but so far, Year 1 has shuffled the order a bit 🙂 Food has definately taken predominance on this blog. Promise to keep more coming on all sides in the coming year, stay tuned!
10. Thanks for the love! I feel totally humbled with the number of followers I’ve accumulated in my short time in cyberspace, and am thankful to each and everyone of you who has been following The Tezzy Files so far. Icing on the cake has been the online blogger awards very kind fellow bloggers have bestowed on me, and then I got nominated for the very prestigious Ahlan Masala Awards for Best Asian Blog! It’s been an absolute dream come true xoxo
Tezzy’s Top 20 Posts:
It’s been 365 days, and The Tezzy Files has posted a total of 289 posts (including this one).
The blog stats show me that this site gets visitors from all around the globe. A huge ‘thank-you’ to all my regular blog visitors! Without your constant love and support, I wouldn’t have had the motivation to keep going, and thanks to you I can proudly claim the ‘Blogger’ status.
As a blogoversary special, I’ll leave you with links to 20 of The Tezzy Files’ most viewed posts. Happy browsing!
- Coconut Oil: For Health & Beauty
- Iris Apfel: A Rare Bird of Fashion
- Kashmiri Cooking with Nischay
- Adam Irija: Fashionably Blending East with West
- Absolute Barbecues: a new way to grill in Dubai
- Beauty Tips: Neck & Décolletage Care
- Tea Tree Oil: Tips & Tricks for Beauty, Health & Home
- The Oberoi Dubai: Iftar Preview
- Dalila’s Kaftans
- Italian Recipe: Chef Glady’s Wild Mushroom Risotto with Truffles
- Rashi’ Nutrition Tips and ‘The Protein Bake Shop’
- Cafe Rider: Be Original, Be Free
- Meet City 101.6 Star Malavika Varadan – Talent Overload!
- Authentic Bangladeshi Cuisine in Dubai
- 20 No-Nonsense Beauty Tips
- Sharmin’s Assamese Recipes for Bhogali Bihu
- Le Relais de l’Entrecôte: Now open on the Boulevard, Downtown Dubai
- Meet Mouna Abbassy, the founder of IZIL
- A Dermatologist’s Tips for Great Skin
- Shahtoosh: The Forbidden Wool
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