Found.

I am oddly fascinated by the ways that people find my blog. Unlike blogs that fall squarely within a defined genre - wedding blogs, fashion blogs, cute-quirky-crafty blogs - I don't tend to attract a lot of readers through random search engine hits. Well, I do, but they're all looking for fake ponytails or, more recently, high-heeled flippers and dolphin sex. No, I don't want to know either. 

These people are not likely to stick around once they realise A Safe Mooring is not, in fact, a wig/shoe/dolphin porn shop (what a shop that would be; the mind boggles). I'm still waiting for someone to land here from a search for "brilliant Scottish writer", or "hilarious female blogger" - even "cute greyhound" would do - but alas, it hasn't happened yet.

So where, then, have you come from? Not you, you dolphin-sex-loving weirdo - I'm talking about the proper readers, the ones who comment and subscribe and follow me on twitter and send me presents and invite me to parties and restore my faith in the internet. The answer, if you're anything like me, is that you followed a trail of breadcrumbs from one blog to the next, nibbling here and there to see what tasted good. 

There are some blogs in my reader that I've been following for so long I can't remember how on earth I ever ended up reading them. Others, I can remember exactly the moment I first found them and the path I followed to get there. Like the time I stumbled upon A Practical Wedding via Peonies and Polaroids and, after spending roughly eight hours avidly reading through the archives, sent heartfelt messages to Meg and Cara thanking them both for salvaging what was left of my pre-wedding sanity.

After that, it was only fitting that Cara and Meg should both have helped me find my own little readership here; and they're not the only ones. I've been lucky enough to have a whole crew of bright, funny, stylish ladies referred here from all sorts of places, and fortunately some of them were so bowled over by my sparkling wit and general brilliance that they decided to stay. At least I like to think that's how it happened.

But what does any of this have to do with anything? Well, a guest post I wrote is up on Florence Finds today, so I'm expecting a gaggle of Florence Findettes to turn up at my door any minute now. Rebecca's on holiday in California and has asked a selection of her blogging buddies to keep the ship afloat in her absence. I was only too happy to contribute - you might remember me doing exactly the same thing myself, back when I had to blog every day or the universe would spontaneously implode. Ah, those were the days.

I've mentioned Florence Finds before, when I accused Rebecca of being behind the times (I WAS KIDDING REBECCA YOU'RE AWESOME DON'T HATE ME), so those of you who nibbled on that particular crumb will already be familiar with its fun mix of fashion and interiors, travel and beauty, food for tummies and food for thought. If you haven't visited, now's the perfect time to head on over and read my deeply thoughtful and provocative post on dressing up like lawyers off the telly. There may even be some pictures of Ally McBeal. 

Do you remember how you first found my ramblings? How do you normally go about finding new blogs to read? (P.S. I am aware that another Blog Love post is long overdue, but in the meantime, I've refreshed the Blog Love page with some of my current faves - enjoy!)

{Bloom Town shoot styled by Giovanna Battaglia and shot by Sharif Hamza for W Magazine March 2012 via Fashion Gone Rogue}