Friday Faves: Blogiversary Edition

Tomorrow is our one year blogiversary!

It’s hard to believe that we hit publish almost one year ago and launched this blog on an “unlucky” Friday the 13th. We’re excited to see what’s in store for us, but for now we’re taking a look at our favorite blog moments from the past year in this blogiversary edition of Friday Faves.

^{Favorite post}

Ace: 10 Signs You Grew Up in Charleston is my favorite post and not because it got more comments and shares than all of my other posts combined.I was thinking about writing a list like this for a while, but I never physically started writing it until last summer. After deciding to come back to Charleston, this list was my way of making my current situation part of the blog. Although this is the closest I’ve come to a viral post, I almost didn’t write it. I remember postponing the publish date, and thinking of what else I could write instead.

I chose this as my favorite because it brought the Charleston I knew and loved together. 10 Signs You Grew Up in Charleston was published one month before the Emanuel A.M.E shooting. So I love how Charleston natives were able to come together for something positive, before that tragedy.

Donni: This is hard. I really can’t just pick one. Charleston Shooting: Stop Telling Me How To Feel was probably the most cathartic. So many of my friends reached out to me offline to tell me how much that piece meant to them or to simply show support and it was a great feeling.  My favorite post to write was definitely 50 Shades of Awful. I love a good rant and really enjoyed the opportunity to share how ridiculous I think the 50 Shades of Grey book series is. And my favorite video hands down is Whisper Challenge. It was hilarious to film and I think it really captures who Ace and I are. The footage we originally recorded got messed up in my video editing software, so what we uploaded was actually the second take.

^{Favorite Lesson Learned About Blogging}

Donni: My favorite lesson so far: Blogging is hard work. Now other bloggers are going to read this and say duh and perhaps chuckle a little. I love all of the creative aspects of blogging. I love jotting down post ideas in my blog planner. I love finding .gifs for my posts. I love making graphics. However, I never anticipated how much work it would be balancing life and blogging. I work full-time during the day – in a job where I have to be 100% focused on the task at hand. When I get home, I just want to settle down on the comfiest part of the couch and snuggle with my dog. There are many nights that I find myself up in the wee hours of the morning tinkering on Photoshop. However, one my favorite quotes is:

I love blogging and I’m completely OK with putting in the hard work. I’ve met some awesome people in the blogging community and knowing that my posts makes someone smile or helps them in some small way is worth it.

Ace: My favorite lesson is the lesson that kept on giving, and that lesson is to be genuine while writing. As unique as I am, there are people out there who think like me and enjoy the things I enjoy. Somewhere in this universe there’s a girl who shamelessly drinks an entire bottle of wine, while reading about balancing her chakras. There’s no need to force a post, or to try and keep up with what’s trending if it’s not my cup of tea. I love reading a blog post and thinking, “I do this too!” So it feels pretty dope to know I can also do that for someone else. I think that’s what made my 10 Signs You Grew Up in Charleston post successful. It wasn’t a super deep analysis, but it was all me!

Although I use the hashtags, I still don’t consider myself a blogger. A writer with a blog, maybe, but not a blogger.

Favorite #PalminATL Photo

Ace:

Donni:

We couldn’t celebrate our one year blogiversary without doing a giveaway to thank our readers (old and new):

Prize: $200 Target Gift Card

Giveaway organized by: Oh My Gosh Beck!

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter daily. Giveaway ends 3/1 and is open worldwide. Winner will be notified via email.

Are you a blogger who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your blog? Click here to find out how you can join a totally awesome group of bloggers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thank you for coming on this journey with us! We really appreciate your comments, tweets, shares and you simply coming to visit our blog.

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