Belated Blogiversary {First Year}

Hello there!  I apologize for the long break I have taken.  I have no great big reason...just life.  Spring break and family and house projects that I hope to share soon.  The days just keep chugging along and I haven't found myself taking the time to sit at the computer.

My anniversary of one year of blogging recently passed.  I did keep a personal blog for years, but no one really read it...not even my mom :).  Sharing our bathroom changed all of that last Spring and I am so grateful for all of you who have become frequent visitors around here.  At the request of one of my kids, I have removed a lot of the older, more personal posts from previous years.  I have come to learn that blogging is such a balance of finding what my whole family is comfortable with sharing.  I have been a blog reader for way longer than I have been a blog writer.  My absolute favorite bloggers are those who share their lives as well as posts about whatever their niche is (cooking, diy, fashion).  I am going to keep working at finding that balance.



In looking back at what this blog has brought to us this year, I thought I would look back at some of the posts that have gotten the most views.

Our bathroom started it all.  I am happy to report that it is still white and we have managed to keep it clean for an entire year!!  I am also happy to report that it still gets comments on how it needs more color and that it will  be impossible to keep clean...one year later.  Sharing this project taught me that bloggers need to have very thick skin.  I still love it just the way it is.

Master Bathroom

We completed our Ikea Hack Kitchen Island project long before I ever even heard the term "Ikea Hack".  This is (by far) the most popular project on the blog thanks to Pinterest.  I wish I had taken pictures of the process so I could write a better tutorial.

{Ikea Hack} Bookshelf Kitchen Island

Our mudroom, also an Ikea Hack, also gets a lot of attention.  We completed that project 3 years ago. Obviously, I heart Ikea.  I think this may be the best piece of utilized space in our house.

Mudroom

On a more personal level, it was thrilling to work with a couple of fabulous magazines.  However, I think the biggest highlight was when the writer, Beth Hoffman, left a comment when I posted about how much I enjoyed her books.  Her comment made my whole summer because it was completely unexpected.  I never in a million years expected a best selling author to find and read my post.  This blog has brought some exciting moments to my life and I am grateful for them.

Summer Reading with Beth Hoffman comment

I have learned so very much this past year from this little blog.  I am continuing to work on my photography skills and would love to make a career out of photographing interiors, a career I never even considered a year ago.  I would like to close be saying Thank You to all of you who read these posts.  Thank you to those who comment and those who don't.  I started writing to give back for all the inspiration I found, and continue to find, on other blogs.  Thank you for taking the time to e-mail me when I take an unannounced break... because it means you care.  I never imagined what experiences would come back to me.  And one last thank you, to the amazing community of bloggers who not only share their amazing talent, but are so very supportive in sharing the work of others.