Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Lindsay's Sweet World is Two!

Today is my two year blogiversary and now that I’m 448 posts deep, I can honestly say that I love blogging even more two years later than I did when I first started. Again, this last year I have learned so many new things, met so many new people, and I am thoroughly enjoying every second of the journey.

There are days when it’s extremely stressful trying to balance it all.  First and foremost I am a wife and mother, but then I also work a full-time corporate job.  Throwing blogging into that already busy mix adds a whole other aspect of crazy, but it’s a craziness that I adore, and therefore, I continue to make the decision every day to make time for it. 

It’s something that I love, and as someone who spends most of her time taking care of other people, it’s nice to have an outlet for myself.  Something that drives me, something that inspires me, and something that allows me to express myself in a way that nothing else can.

A few things I’ve learned this year…

There are a zillion bloggers in the world and trying to stand out can be really hard.

That you can have real, wonderful relationships with people whom you’ve never actually met in person.

That not everyone is going to adore you and that’s OK. 

That it is very important to be cautious and protect your content because creepers do exist.  (Fortunately, I didn’t learn this firsthand.)

That technology can be the biggest pain in the butt but it can also be the biggest blessing.

That HTML can be terrifying.

That Instagram is a tricky business.

That Twitter sucks.  But I guess I actually already knew that.

That Google is still and will always be my best friend.



And a few accomplishments this year…

I finally bought my own domain!  Woo hoo!

I doubled my monthly page views.  (See below for details.)

I had my first post hit 100,000 views.  (Also see below.)

I co-hosted my first giveaway.

I published my first sponsored post.

I was invited to join my first weekly link-up.

I helped start a new monthly link-up.



Stats

In last year's blogiversary post I put up all of my stats.  For some reason this makes me feel really weird this year (I have no idea why), but since I’m an extremely OCD person, my Type A personality is making me do it once again this year for comparison sake. 

Monthly Pageviews: 11,134 24,715 (Jan 2017 stats)
Subscribers: 18 50
Google Friend Connect Followers: 28 42
Bloglovin’ Followers: 34 218
Google+ Followers: 11 41
Instagram Followers: 1,005 4,055
Facebook Followers: 12 138
Pinterest Followers: 351 1,248
Twitter Followers: 553 705
Most popular post: Olivia Cate's Pink & Gold First Birthday with 22,984 111,748 views

Well, I guess we can all see which social media channels I worked on this year and which ones I completely neglected.  Haha.



And since my face is rarely in pictures on my blog, here’s a fun little photo shoot that I did the other day.  A special thanks to my Instagram/Blogger husband who took all of the pictures.  Thank you for not making me feel like a complete idiot as I posed for these photos since I already felt like a complete idiot as I posed for these photos.  Seriously, how do models do it?!  And also, I need to find a new pose.  ;o)








In closing, I wanted to reiterate some of my own words from last year’s blogiversary post:

The sole purpose for starting this baby of mine was to start keeping a journal again – to have a place where I could jot down my feelings and document the fleeting moments of motherhood.  A place to discuss my fears and my insecurities.  A place to discuss my shortcomings and a place to celebrate my accomplishments.  A place to share the things that I love.  I kept a journal from the ages of 6 to 21 – that’s almost half of my life in old diaries, notebooks, and binders all carefully lining the bookshelves in my office – and I thought that it was high time to come back to what I love after a decade-long hiatus.  I feel like I have found my passion and I feel like I am home.  I feel like I was meant to be a blogger.  My only regret is not starting sooner.

So for those of you who continue to read along every day, thank you.  Thank you for your time, for your comments, for your emails, for your follows, for your clicks, for your support.  It really means the world (and still baffles me) that you take time out of your day just to read about mine.  XO

And for those of you who want to know the real me, here's an outtake from my photo shoot.  This is probably what my face looks like 50% of the time... or as B called it, "classic Lindsay face." 



And now it's time for the Tuesday Talk Link Up!

Hosted by:


Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Becky at BYBMG | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Lindsay at Lindsay's Sweet World | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Sarah at Sarah E. Frazer | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram


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Lindsay's Sweet World

44 comments:

  1. Happy Blogiversary~~
    So happy the letter board made it into the photo shoot!! You are just precious! I LOVE that shirt~!! Where did you get it??
    I have so enjoyed getting to "know" you and your sweet little bulldawg loving family!!

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  2. Congratulations! I've only been at it since July, so to know that you've been going strong for 2 years is definitely inspiring and motivating!

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    1. Thanks so much! It gets even more fun (and time-consuming) as time goes by!

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  3. Happy 2 year blogiversary! So exciting! Glad I found you and can follow along. :)

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  4. Happy two years! And okay your whole outfit is the cutest!!!

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  5. Happy 2 years!!! I've enjoyed making lots of friends through blogging! I feel like that's the best part :)
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  6. Congrats beautiful and cute outfit. crazy, I didn't know we were close in blog years, lol. My two year was last Wednesday!! I cannot believe how far I've come and truly the relationships are the best part. Thank you for bringing us into your sweet world!!! You're doing AWESOME!!

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    1. Oh that's so awesome! I didn't realize that you had only been blogging for two years! I was thinking that you had been blogging for way longer than that! And thank you for your sweet comments!

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  7. Happy blogiversary! Glad we've connected through this crazy world!

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  8. I love this so much and am so stinking proud of you!!! Happy blogiversary! Most of all, I love that B calls it your "typical Lindsay face." Hahaha. That's the face you and I both gave yesterday. 😉

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  9. Happy 2 years!! You've done a lot in two years to grow your blog. So glad I can follow along!

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  10. Happy Blogiversary, Lindsay! I still have no idea how you do it all! You're such an inspiration! You're Super Woman!

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  11. Happy Blogiversary friend! So glad to have connected with you this year! Love the out take too, I ALMOST put one of those in my post today but totally chickened out.

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  12. Happy Blogiversary! I love following along with you and I just love your shirt! XOXO

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    1. Thank you, Stef! I love following along with you as well!

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  13. Congrats! You've done great this year on your blog!

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  14. Happy Blogiversary! Congratulations! I LOVED reading your stats and I loved reading why you started blogging. Have a wonderful day and again, congratulations!

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    1. Thank you, Jenna!! And thank you for following along! XO

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  15. Happy Blogiversary! Super cute pictures!!!

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  16. Blogging can be pretty fantastic can't it? I often think of giving up but I have to admit I love the community and WMM is my first baby. It's wear I grew as a wife and Mommy.

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  17. Happy Blogiversary! I have been blogging for almost 3 years and still have not had a viral post so kudos. Sharing my life in this space as a sort of journal was my goal but I've loved the relationships I've built. This top...ADORABLE on you!!

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  18. Congratulations! So exciting. And it looks like you hit some MAJOR milestones! 100,000 views? That is insane!

    - Claudia

    http://justalittleblush.com/

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    1. Right?! It still shocks me every time I think about it! And thank you!!

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  19. Happy two years! Love these fun pics of you too, and that outfit!! Beautifully Candid

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  20. Happy Blogiversary Girl!! You have grown so much over the past year, that is so awesome!! Here's to another great year! xo

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  21. Happy Blogiversary! So exciting. I love being along on your journey, and I love your classic Lindsay face ;)

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  22. Happy 2 years, Lindsay! So glad I've been following along for some of the ride!! :)

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  23. I love that you share stats, it helps me know what to strive for! SO THANK YOU! I love your photos and oh man I need to take some head shots and for the blog and I am putting it off. You look beautiful in every one of these. Congrats to you - it's no easy task, blogging, but you do a great job! xoxo ERIN

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  24. Aww Lindsay! I love this so much!! You did great with your numbers! Happy second birthday! ;) I LOVE your blog, and I will always read it as long as you write it! <3

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    1. Thank you so much, Brandi! And thank you for always following along. XO

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  25. Congrats on 2 years of blogging. You are killing it now and I love reading your blog daily!!! And seeing your IG!

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  26. Woohoo for 2 years!! I love reading here every day, definitely a bright spot of the internet!

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  27. Happy Blogiversary gurlie! I will agree on all counts - HTML is confusing, Instagram is a tricky business, and Twitter just sucks. I don't know why I hold on :-P
    Green Fashionista

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  28. Happy 2 year Blogoversary!!!! Love reading your sweet blog!
    Your photo shoot was so cute! :)
    Here's to many more years of blogging!

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    1. Aw thank you so much, Mel! That means so much coming from you! Your blog is one of my absolute favorites... all of those amazing parties and those yummy recipes! You are seriously the Pinterest queen!

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  29. Congrats on your 2nd year! Love your blog, and that top is super cute! I have to ask, what do you do to protect your content? How do you keep the creepers from creepin'? :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Laura! I actually did a post about it! You can read it here:

      http://www.lindsayssweetworld.com/2016/04/five-ways-to-protect-your-blog-content.html

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  30. Wohooo! Congrats, friend! I think this officially makes your blog-iversary our friend-iversary as well! LOL! I'm pretty sure I started reading your blog on your first year anniversary.
    You've accomplished so much and I can't wait to see what this next year holds for you!
    xo, Lily
    Beauty With Lily

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  31. Yay happy blog birthday! i love love love your blog!!! :)
    XO Ellen from Ask Away
    www.askawayblog.com

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  32. Yay for 2 years! That's so awesome! You've hit some major milestones - super impressive! So glad we've gotten to know each other in this big blog world!

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  33. Aww, happy 2 year blogiversary! So exciting, I love that little sign you made. Congrats on it all, looking forward to what this next year has in store for you!

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  34. Congrats on blogging for two years. I enjoy reading your blog. I've been blogging for almost eight years now! If you get the time, come check it out at www(dot)heckofabunch(dot)com. Love that blouse!

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    1. THank so much, Terra! Eight years?! That's amazing! I only wish I had started that long ago!

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