Holy cow — has it really been five years since we started blogging? Time sure flies.
It feels like only yesterday we put together a simple page with a big blue background so friends and family could follow our first kitchen makeover in our first house.
To celebrate our fifth blogiversary we thought about staging a full-on parade of homeowners waving hammers and paint rollers. That idea was quickly shelved for safety reasons, so instead we planned a week of blogiversary fun and behind-the-scenes stories — the same kind of shindig we’ve done in previous years. The festivities kick off now, so feel free to throw a chest bump or two. Here’s what we have lined up for the week:
- a timeline of how we met, fell in love, started blogging, and ended up here (this post includes the highlights)
- a huge giveaway with a number of $500 prizes in honor of the big five
- a day-in-the-life post filled with photos and details about a typical day for us
- a numbers-focused post covering our blog stats, growth, and other metrics, plus seven blog facts that surprised even us
- a candid Q&A video answering personal questions fans submitted
- a list of our goals for the coming year and a review of how we did on last year’s goals
- a roundup of our favorite, least favorite, hardest, most memorable, and weirdest posts from the past five years
- a getting-to-know-you feature where we’ll highlight readers — who you are, where you live, and what you love
Now, here’s a timeline we put together that stretches back to 2004. Looking back feels surreal — so many moments on that timeline shaped our lives and the life of this blog. A lot of them make us nostalgic, and we honestly don’t take for granted how far we’ve come. We’re grateful to everyone who drops by to see what we’re up to; your support has made this journey possible for our family. Sometimes I get a little choked up thinking about it. You truly are the heart of this blog.
Time flies when you’re having fun — getting married, moving, blogging, having a baby, writing a book, and holding on for the ride. Are you in a place today you wouldn’t have imagined five years ago? We’re so glad we started this little blog and humbled that it’s become part of so many readers’ lives. We love you — seriously. Someone pass a tissue.
Psst — Want to learn more about blogging as a business? We’re still figuring it out too, but we’ve collected a lot of posts about how the blog grew, how we earn money, how we manage our time, how we work with sponsors, and other behind-the-scenes pieces like quarterly taxes, forming an LLC, and getting health insurance.