Year Eight. (& a Giveaway!) {CLOSED}
{Thank you all so much for entering the giveaway! The winner is commenter Beth Cook who said “I think the most memorable moment was my father moving into an assisted living home with hospice services. You just think your parents will be around for a long time to enjoy their retirement years and their grandchildren. It’s hard on my mom going back and forth despite him not really knowing when she’s been there or the last time she came. It’s hard emotionally and financially. This is NOT what they wanted to spend their retirement money on. My guilt is living three hours away. Close enough to visit, but far enough away to have to balance family life/plans.” Congrats Beth!}
This week marks my eighth year of blogging.
Which is totally insane. EIGHT YEARS?!
That’s almost ten years. Ten years is a decade. I still feel like I’m 17 so how on earth this has happened… I have no idea.
I wish that I had the words to tell you just how much I appreciate you being here and visiting the site. I know what it is like to read the same blog for eight years. You are only reading one voice. It gets repetitive and sometimes boring and it is a lot of the same thing, because it’s written by one person. I’ve come and gone and come back and re-fell in love with many of my favorite bloggers over the years. I can’t really offer you anything other than myself (okay and maybe a plethora of trashed up recipes) who might occasionally change or stay the same or repeat herself or still think that she’s 17 years old inside.
So it means the WORLD to me that you have stuck around, read these rambles, been so kind and wonderful and shared your own thoughts in our little community here. Means seriously everything to me. I actually think of you all as friends, my invisible but real BFFs.
I hope you can see that I (still!) do this because I 100% OMGloveitsomuch and even though it became my job a really long time ago, I do it as authentically as I can and because I love it and so I can share things with you in this wacky internet world.
To celebrate these eight years and frankly, to celebrate YOU who has given me the chance to do this for so long, I’m giving away a $1000 amazon gift card to one lucky reader. This giveaway is not sponsored and given by me to show my appreciation for you. Giveaway is open to everyone and anyone!
To ENTER:
- Leave a comment on this post telling me a memorable moment you’ve had so far in 2017.
- For an extra entry, I would love if you’d preorder a copy of The Pretty Dish and leave a second comment saying you did so. You can preorder the book on amazon, barnes and noble, indiebound or books a million! I cannot thank you guys enough for giving me the chance to write another book. If you’ve already preordered, THANK YOU SO MUCH and be sure to leave a comment telling me you did so. If you decide to preorder, this is just the first of many exciting things we’re giving away!
And who knows, maybe if the internet is around, I’ll be here in another eight years! xoxoxo
2,292 Comments on “Year Eight. (& a Giveaway!) {CLOSED}”
My fiance and I moved in together!
My twin girls turned 2 in February and since then they have grown into these crazy little humans that I adore and who also frustrate me to no end with their terrible twos. They are a mix of “No, I do it all by myself” and “Mommy I need help.” But I love them so much and can’t imagine life without them.
Also, Sweet Peas Meals has been a huge game changer for me and I thank you so much for such a wonderful service! I look forward to getting the new meal plan every Thursday morning. Thanks!
The birth of my daughter
One of the best moments of 2017 has been learning I’m pregnant 😄 My baby boy is due to January and we are so excited!
I preordered book 😄 Cannot wait looks awesome!
This has been a memorable year because of a number of things, but two of most memorable were our trips to Ireland in May and Alaska in July to celebrate our birthdays. Congrats on your eight years of your blog.
Getting engaged was defiantly the top moment of 2017! 💍
And I already preordered your new book, March can’t come soon enough!
On of my best moments was a week traveling the UP of Michigan. Beautiful beyond belief.
The birth of my sweet nephew!
Traveling for me is always a highlight. This year it’s to Iceland and a return trip to London.
I got to spend a week in Florida with my parents, sister’s and nieces. We rented a big beach house and it was nice. This is the first time we’ve all stayed under the same roof together in over 15 years.
My son got his learner’s permit for driving.
The birth of my second little girl!
I went on an amazing trip to Kauai with my family.
My best moment was giving birth to my second baby- a boy named Oliver! And finding out that I am going to be an Aunt.
I preordered the book! Love Seriously Delish and cannot wait to get my hands on The Pretty Dish! :)
Moving and starting a new adventure!
Looking forward to receiving The Pretty Dish.
Learning about the possibility of moving back home…
Unfortunately my most memorable event of 2017 was recovering from being hit by a car this winter. Definitely not fun at all. We did get a nice vacation in this summer too so not all bad.
My two boys starting sophomore year and 6th grade was very memorable. All those emotions of pride, fear, nostalgia, sadness. Being a parent is so hard!
I just ran my first ultra race: a 50K. It was amazing. It’s been a dream of mine for years and I was finally able to fulfill it!
My daughter was misdiagnosed and in the hospital for 9 days with what ended up to be appendicitis….!?!!
I’m gonna lump a bunch of memorable moments into 1 big moment – we have gotten to watch our first child grow for the first year of her life. It has been so amazing.
Also, I preordered a copy of your book. I can’t wait for March!
Hi Jessica!
“The Pretty Dish”=already pre-ordered!
Can’t wait til it’s out, I love “Seriously Delish”
This year a highlight for me was a special trip to Michigan with our four children!
Hi Jessica!
Memorable moments of 2017 so far is my “baby boy” started 6th grade. WOW, how did that happen so quick??
Getting my master’s degree in biomedicine!
The best moment of 2017 for me was taking my 0ne year old From Australia to Chicago to meet the family I used to nanny for. We spent three wonderful weeks with them. It was so special to take my daughter places I use to take the boys I cared for too.
My most memorable moment so far has definitely been giving birth to my son (although there have been so many memorable moments with him since then, too!)
Happy eight years!
The pretty dish is pre-ordered can’t wait to receive it!
Two memorable moments for me in 2017 were my daughter’s graduation from Stanford Law School, and my son’s engagement to the love of his life. Even though my kids are grown and my nest is empty, they keep me busy! Once a mom, always a mom!
2017 has been the year of love in my family, my sister got married and my brother is about to! Love spending this time planning and with family and friends! xo
It’s going to sound a little crazy, especially since not that much happens in my life, but I guess my most memorable moment is going to have to be my first get-together with a local community of people who collect the same vinyl collectibles as I do. I collect these figures made by a company called Funko, and I’ve made quite a few friends along the way. We had a huge get-together of 80 people to hang around at Dave and Buster’s and play games, win prizes, and just have fun. It’s just nice to find people who share the same passion as you do!
If that’s too weird, then I guess I can also say another moment is when my husband and I decided we are moving to Orlando in a few years. I’m incredibly excited!
Other than that, nothing has happened. It’s probably pretty sad. At least the year isn’t over yet!
The faces of my 4 year old preschool children in the class that I teach !
I took a trip to the West coast of Florida in May and it was so beautiful and relaxing. It was a quick trip, but whenever I’m having a hard day, I find myself unintentionally thinking about the time I spent there. Definitely the most memorable moment of 2017 thus far.
This summer I completed my first triathlon, which was a big goal for me! Haven’t preordered the book yet, but plan to purchase!
The birth of my sweet nephew.
my most memorable moment so far this year is buying my first flat :) loving having our space and knowing that one day (in like 30 odd years) we will actually totally own it! although second memorable memory will soon be crossing the finish line at the Berlin marathon next weekend!! :) :)
My husband and I completed a homestudy for us to adopt a baby!!!!!!! So scary, so much work, but SOOOO worth it!
I spent 2 weeks in Alaska this summer. To say it’s beautiful is really an understatement. It was my birthday gift to myself as I turn 50! in November this year. 50! That in its self will be a memorable event 😜
A memorable moment for me this year was moving into my new NYC apartment!
My most memorable moment so far in 2017 was my recent honeymoon in Costa Rica! It was an unbelievable trip filled with so much love and happiness. This year is going a little too fast for my liking though – hopefully a few more memorable moments to come!
I also just placed a pre-order on Amazon for The Pretty Dish! Sofreakingexcited to cook my way through this gorgeous collection of recipes! Thank you!!!
My daughter got married in may and my nephew got married in July. It was so fun to celebrate with the family’s.
My most memorable moment in 2017 was when my 8 year old son competed in his first cross country meet a few weeks ago. We had prepped him for an inevitable defeat as there were nearly 100 kids in the race and he’s never competed before and is one of the youngest. We beamed with pride as he rounded one of the first corners in the lead of the first pack! By the end, he’d held on but was pretty darn whipped (could visibly tell) but ended the race in third. It was amazing to see his effort and determination and we were just so proud.
Anyhow, congrats on everything! You seem like such genuinely awesome person & mom, and I truly enjoy my daily moments with your blog updates. Looking forward to your next cookbook!
All the best to you.
My special moment of day this year was february 5th, the day my boyfriend proposed and we also found out I was pregnant with baby number 2! I am due in 2 weeks so that Will be special moment number 2 this year 💙👶🏼💙
Congrats on your blog anniversary!
I sent my second son off to college this fall. I’m one son away from being an empty nester! Exciting, but bittersweet at the same time… Love your blog!
Congrats! I had a baby in April and nothing’s going to top that for 2017. I just need to say my favorite recipe from you is lemon chicken Romano.