Happy last day of 2019, everyone!
It’s been a whirlwind of a year, which was definitely reflected in my Instagram Top 9 (above)—we’ve got a pregnancy announcement, a newborn who arrived a month early, a new car (#minivanlife), a chicken palace that’s finally complete, and lots of ups and downs, though it’s been a very blessed year all in all. (Note: If you want to follow me on Instagram, just click here.)
It was a good year for the blog as well, as I made my first real investment in this long-time hobby of mine and splurged on Elite Blog Academy in March. Though I’m not even close to finishing the course (I was making great progress until I got pregnant), the blog grew quite a lot this year, and I’m pleased to finally have an exclusive email list now! (If you’re not a member of that yet, click here! I try about once a month to send out content that’s only available to subscribers–no, they’re not just copies of the blog posts–and I promise not to spam you.) I’m hoping to publish 100 posts next year (which will be a stretch with 3 kids), so I hope you’ll continue to join me!
Though the posts this year that had the most views were actually not published this year (thanks to old posts getting picked up by Pinterest and search engines), I’ll just be sharing the top posts that were actually published for the first time in 2019 in this list. Here we go!
Top Posts Published in 2019
#1 – What’s On My Summer Reading List
I used to never “plan ahead” with what I was going to read (other than my self-assigned reading experiment), but this summer, I made a list just for fun of some of the new titles I was excited to check out. (And, for the record, I ended up reading 11 out of the 13 titles and really enjoyed pretty much all of them!) If you’re looking for some good (recent) titles to check out, this is a great place to start.
#2 – $100 Bathroom Makeover (with Before/After Pics)
For a long time after moving in, I was convinced that we might as well not do anything in some of the rooms we wanted to overhaul until we could do EVERYTHING we wanted. However, after living with plain white walls for about two years, I rethought that strategy. I don’t know when we’ll do everything we want to do in this upstairs bathroom, but I sure am proud of the big difference this $100 mini makeover made!
#3 – Why Tracking My Net Worth Has Been a Game Changer (+ Why I Think Everyone Should Do It)
I started tracking our net worth last year after following along with several personal finance and FIRE (financial independence/retiring early) blogs. Although I figured it would make me look at things a little differently, I had no idea how much it would change my perspective on our finances. Definitely one of my own favorite posts from this year as well!
#4 – A Bit of an Announcement
Here’s where we announced I was pregnant with our third! (Note: These family pics we took using our good ol’ remote and tripod are some of my favorite family pictures thus far.)
#5 – I Asked 6 Different Readers for Book Recs, and These are the 15 Titles I Got
One of my 101 in 1001 goals is to read 5 books recommended by 5 different people. Here’s where I rounded them all up (including one extra reader, just for good measure). For the record, I’ve currently read books recommended by 3 of the 6.
#6 – Tie Breaker Baby: Boy or Girl?
Gender reveal post!
#7 – Why I’ll Probably Never Have a Sugar-Free Month Again (+ Recipe for PB Cookies Made with Honey)
Back in January, I went off refined (white) sugar for a month. It was kind of awful (though I did drop the last of the baby weight from pregnancy #2). I did, however, find an awesome recipe for peanut butter cookies made with honey that basically saved my life that month, and it was definitely worth passing along.
#8 – Why I’m Probably Changing My Birth Plan for My Third Baby
My first two birthing experiences did not exactly go as planned (see here and here). Not wanting another traumatic afterbirth complication, I decided to do things differently the third time around. (Note: Hyrum’s birth story should be posted sometime in the next week!)
#9 – Loving and Learning Lately {19}
I started this series that rounds up all the stuff I’ve been loving and learning lately (which includes all my current and recent reads) last year, and for whatever reason, this one got a ton of views. In case you’re curious, this one included the reviews for a decent number of books on my summer list, as well as some other recent books that have come out. It also includes the link to one of my new favorite hair products.
#10 – Introducing Hyrum Matthew!
My post from a few weeks ago announcing the arrival of our third child!
It’s been a pretty good year for us, and I’m excited to see what the new year (and decade!) will bring to us! Hope to see you around in 2020, and I hope you have a great new year ahead!
