I can’t believe that it has been 6 months today since I started my blog! Wow, time flies. Before starting this blog, I had been thinking about it and dreaming about it for several months. But I was afraid. Of what, you ask? I am not even sure I can answer that! Inadequacy? The fact that I do not live in my dream house, not even close? Failure? Of course! But one day I woke up and I had a different perspective on the whole thing. all of a sudden I asked myself, what do you have to lose? And I realized the answer was nothing! So I decided to do it! And I am so happy that I did! I have not regretted it for one second, and it has been one of my best decisions yet! I feel so inspired every day, and I feel more creative than I have ever felt. It truly does make me happy.
Thank you to all of the people, both friends and strangers, who have read my blog. It still dumbfounds me when a perfect stranger will comment on a post and say something nice! It even surprises me when someone that I know tells me they like my blog and read it every day! That is such a huge compliment! I am having so much fun with this, and I think this journey has only just begun! I have so many things I want to do on this blog, and so many ideas! The only problem is there are not enough hours in the day. I would never have imagined in a thousand years that I would be doing what I am doing right now. Two years ago, I didn’t even know what a blog was. I never saw my life going down this path, but I know that I am on the right path for me. It is my true desire to grow and improve this blog, and that is only going to be possible with people like you reading it every day! So a big hug and kiss to you for being here! Yeah, that’s right! You, right there, behind your computer screen, or your iphone, or your ipad, or, well, you get the picture!
I thought I would celebrate with some highlights from my most popular blogs posts so far. It is crazy which posts become popular and which don’t. I am so surprised by that! You just never know. And this blog is still a little new born baby, so I in awe of some of the blogs that inspire me and I can only aspire to have a blog like theirs one day. These are my 10 most popular posts of the past 6 months. You can click on the title for each post to go directly to that particular post and check it out!
1. My most popular post to date was My Favorite Pinterest Pins of 2012. Who would have thought? But to date it has had 21,590 hits! Here is one of my favorite images from that post.
2. Trashtastic Tuesday- $5 Canisters– These Goodwill canisters that I transformed with a little chalkboard paint have had 2,069 hits. Take note of the difference in how many hits my most popular post has had, and how many hits my second most popular post has had. Is that crazy or what? I do love my canisters though, here they are.
3. Glass Problem Solved!– This was a such a quick and simple little change I made in my kitchen, and I am surprised anyone even read it, but it has had 1707 hits!
4. Backsplash Sneak Peak– This was my 4th most popular post, but it felt like the biggest success to me! Now if you are not a blogger, let me explain what a link party is. Blogs have parties where there is usually some kind of theme, and other blogs can link up blog posts to these parties. I am new to this, but I quickly figured out that this is a great way to get traffic to your blog. If you link up a post to a party of a popular blog, a lot more people are going to view it. And if you are not a blogger, you can still click on the links of all of the different blogs who have linked up. I used to do it all the time before I had my blog. It is an excellent way to find more blogs that you love to read! I linked up this particular post to one of my favorite link parties over at Savvy Southern Style called Wow Us Wednesdays. This party goes live every Tuesday evening, and then on the following Tuesday she shows features from the previous week of her most favorite posts. I was so surprised on March 13th when I went to her blog to link up, and discovered that my backsplash had been featured! I felt like I had struck gold at that moment! So Kim from Savvy Southern Style gets all of the credit for making this post my 4th most popular post of all time with 1441 hits. Thanks a million Kim!
5. Kitchen Cabinet Reveal– It took me quite some time to complete this project, which was the biggest project I had ever undertaken myself. but I finished it, and it looks great! I love my new kitchen cabinets! And this post has had 961 hits so far.
Note: My kitchen looks different now since this reveal. I will be revealing my finished backsplash on Monday!
6. DIY No Sew Cafe Curtains– These curtains were something that I had never tried before, and it took me some trial and error to figure it out. But I finally got them right, and I love the way they look in my kitchen! They have received 863 hits.
7. Back To Basics- Household Uses For Vinegar– This post was one that surprised me with how many hits it got. So far, it has had 833 views! I also posted a part two of this topic called Back To Basics- Household Uses For Vinegar, Part 2.
8. Faux Painted Kitchen Backsplash- Progress– This is the second post I did, after # 4 above. This one really surprised me too! I just posted it on April 11, and it has had 648 hits so far. It was also featured on three different blogs in the past week! That so super exciting for me! Wow! You can check out these features at DIY Showoff, Liz Marie Blog, and The Shabby Nest. I love each of these three blogs, and read them daily, so I was thrilled to see that all three featured my little backsplash! Roeschell, Liz Marie, and Wendy, I love all three of your blogs, and it is thanks to you that this is one of my ten most popular posts so far! Thank you guys!
9. Cleaning A Bathtub Or Shower- Another surprise that this tiny little post has had 600 hits! Who would have thought! But this little cleaning tip is working fabulously for me, and I use this stuff like crazy!
Congratulations Nicki!!!! I've been blogging for 1 yr and 6 months and lovin' every minute of it! Keep on blogging and enjoy, and we'll follow along! Love your outfits by the way on the post below. 🙂
Thank you! I love your house!
Congrats on your 6 month blogiversary! You've got some really great posts so keep it up! It looks like we both started blogging around the same time. Stopping by from Inspire Me Please Blog Hop 🙂
http://www.carriethishome.com
Thanks Carrie. I stopped by your blog, and I even linked up to your party a couple of posts!
HEY Nicki. I feel you wrote what I am thinking:). Like you, I am a new blogger, and it gives me such joy to see that someone took time to have a look at my work. I love the way we can all share our ideas and simply say to someone that we love what they did:) Best of luck with your blog:)
Thanks for reading my post Emilia! Best of luck with your blog too!
wow! only six months? I thought you were an old hand at this. You are very inspiring, and I, like you were, are scared to death to take the plunge, but sooooo want to. Continued good look to you – I'll be watching!
GAJ,
Thanks for the support, and for understanding! No, I am totally new at this and I really don't have much of a clue what I am doing, but I read tons of blogs and I take inspiration from them! I would encourage you to follow your dreams! You will never be sorry for doing that!
Congratulations from one new blogger to another, Nicki! I am enjoying myself too and figuring it all out as I go, just like you!
Happy Gardening,
Barb Rosen
ourfairfieldhomeandgarden.com
Congratulations! I'm just coming up on 4 months now. It's nice to meet big milestones like 6 months and 1 year, etc. It was fun to read about your top posts and catch up on some of your favorite projects.
Visiting from That DIY Party
Congrats!!!!!! You are one of the first blogs I started watching. What a great milestone!
Shelly
Wow! That is so cool! I will always remember the first blog I started watching! And I still read it every day and it is my fave! I am just a tiny little blog so I am so happy you wrote that comment!
Thanks to everyone for the awesome and supportive comments on my 6 month blogiversary!
You have done some amazing projects… love your office! Thanks for sharing with us this week at Monday Funday!
Take care,
Trish
Thanks so much! I will be sure to link up in the future, as a matter of fact I just did!