So About What I Said Turns 11 Today. I Did a Blog Anniversary Shoot.

Blog Anniversary Shoot Blog Anniversary ShootYes, I know that I’m going to sound like a broken record yet again, but come on…ELEVEN YEARS?? How has it been that long?? How has So About What I Said existed on the internet for more than a decade?? I’m stunned, shocked and befuddled. And yet, more than anything, I want to celebrate this milestone!! That’s where this blog anniversary shoot comes in, friends…

My blog turns 11 today so I give you this…BLOG ANNIVERSARY SHOOT

People have photo shoots for weddings, engagements, births. Some even have them for their pets. I may not be married or have kids, but that doesn’t make my own milestone any less important, you know? Women are discouraged from tooting our own horn and being proud of our accomplishments, but I intend to CELEBRATE. I’ve worked hard for these 11 years and I’ve earned this pride and joy.

I love what Twitter user Danica said in this thread, which really gets to the core of how society views and treats women and what they think women’s sole role and purpose is…

I wish people were as excited and supportive about women’s career milestones, personal development, and travel journeys as they were about pregnancies and engagements.

Marraige [sic Marriage] and pregnancy are beautiful life events that should absolutely be celebrated, but I promise you, a woman’s sole purpose is not to be someone’s life partner and/or mother.

Stop reducing women to their marital or parental status. It’s belittling & insulting.

And when you think about it, my blog and I have had a relationship. A very meaningful one, I might add. My blog was there for me as I continued to grieve my father. My blog was their for me when I was severely depressed and could hardly write anything, let alone blog consistently. And my blog was there for me during the fun times — through all my pop culture rants and fashion obsessions and love–struck confusions!

Blog Anniversary ShootThis blog? It listened and never judged. It just let me be, well, me. And yes, I know I’m giving my blog human characteristics. I know it’s not real in the living sense. But so much of my life — my real, messy, complicated life — is in those 6,300+ posts, and that means a great deal to me.

As I wrote earlier this year in my essay for The Writer about being a blogger…

I wasn’t just carving out a career, was I? I mean, I may have started out with that goal in mind, but with each passing year, I could see my blog becoming about so much more than just my profession. It was a chronicle of the person I was and, in turn, the person I was becoming. Like peeling back each layer of an onion, I revealed a little more of myself each time I hit “publish.” It was sort of like getting to know myself all over again, seeing my life and my story unfold with each new post.

Indeed, it’s been quite the journey — or, as I’ve been saying lately “that was a time!” Thank you SO much for sticking with me these last 11 years, friends!! Some of you have been around since the beginning and that will never not blow my mind.

I’m so grateful to know you all and excited for what’s to come in year 12. This ride has been aces and I don’t intend to get off any time soon! Will you come with me?? xoxo

P.S. Big thanks to my wonderful Ms. Bear for taking the photos! Like a true businesswoman, she wanted a photo credit. I’ve taught her well.

Today, I Celebrate 10 Years of Blogging

BloggingToday is So About What I Said’s 10th birthday!!! Can’t believe I’ve been blogging for an entire decade, friends!! It’s all gone by in a fast flash — and yet, thinking back to when I was just 27 seems like such a long time ago (maybe even a different lifetime ago)…

So, what does 10 years of blogging actually look like? How can I even begin to quantify something that, at one point, I couldn’t even wrap my head around? When I started blogging in 2008, this medium was still relatively young. People were just starting to hop on this newfangled thing called Twitter and they wouldn’t be posting selfies and photos of their breakfast on Instagram for another two years! And there was certainly no such thing as “influencers” back then! Yes, it was a different world on the Internet!

In a quick blog snapshot, things now look like this…

*6,123 published posts

*606 post drafts (those are all the ideas that I’ve saved over the years every time post inspiration struck!)

Just looking at those numbers is a good start, don’t you think? It takes something incredibly abstract like blogging and puts it into simple data — heck, at the very least, it’s a record of what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years. From the serious series like Letters To My Future Husband and My Father’s Suicide to the fun fare like Etsy Love and fashion commentary, this blog has been a chronology of my life. It’s grown and changed as I’ve grown and changed, and it’s helped me through some of my darkest hours. My blog has led me to my own domain on WordPress, which, as I’m constantly telling my mom, was THE BEST blog move I ever made!

Yet, as things changed (and I got older!), my goals for this blog have remained the same: Write and create a community that’s all about being honest, real, smart and funny. I like to think I’ve succeeded — or at least had fun stories to share about my failings and foibles!

But the abstract, hard data isn’t the whole picture. I mean, it’s not the whole story because so much of my blogging journey is hard to quantify and put into words. Trust me, I’ve been thinking about this anniversary post for months and I kept telling myself, “What if my 10th anniversary is anticlimactic? What if there’s all this build-up and then…it’s just over?” At its heart, this journey has been one of self-discovery, meeting amazing people (like YOU!) and plenty of laughs along the way.

BloggingBy now, I’m sure you’re probably wondering, who is that redhead in that illustration up there? That’s none other than Yours Truly!! Earlier this year, reader Laura asked if she could contribute her artistic magic to the blog! She’s an amazing illustrator and I screamed with joy when she sent me the finished product — just like I did when Illustrator Melissa sent me this! You know you can officially die happy when see yourself in cartoon form!

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give a great big thank you to my mom and Janelle! They’ve both encouraged me and kept me going, even when I’d get down on myself. Their support and love means the world to me, and I hope they know just how special and wonderful they are.

Did I think my blog would still be around in 2018…? Heck no! Would I be who I am today if I never started blogging? I sincerely don’t think so. This has been one wild and life-affirming ride, and I look forward to the next 10 years! Please say you’ll join me. We make a great team, don’t you think?!? I love you, friends! Always and forever… xoxo

[Photo via Unsplash]

Oh, Hi…Subscribe By Email and Other Ways to Follow!

So About What I Said subscribe by emailGuess what?? I’ve got some great news, friends!! The short answer: You can now Subscribe By Email…

I’ve been getting lots of email from amazing readers this week and I’m so happy to welcome new readers to So About What I Said! One of those kind readers let me know that the Subscribe By Email feature wasn’t working (thanks, Valerie!), so I spent some time on Tuesday fixing everything.

I installed WordPress’ email subscription option that comes with Jetpack and — *fingers crossed* — it looks like SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE NOW WORKING!!!

So About What I Said subscribe by emailSo, if you haven’t already, please head on over to the right-hand side of this very blog and enter your email to have the blog posts from Yours Truly delivered right to your inbox! What could possibly be better than that??

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See, it’s right there — all ready for the taking! Do you hear that? It’s practically screaming your name! Go ahead…you KNOW you want to!

And on that note, THANK YOU as always, friends! I’m in love with this space we’ve created and I’m always here to listen to your suggestions/ideas for blog posts. Feel free to send them my way any time! My email is mellow1422@aol.com in case it’s not in your address book already! Love you all…and welcome to the new faces!! xoxo

P.S. Don’t forget I’m always just one click away on social media: Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin! 

Interviews With Women Writers: How One Mom Found Her True Calling Later In Life

interviews-with-women-writers-sheri-silverWith all the negativity swirling around us lately (election, I’m looking at you!), coupled with the fact that it’s Thanksgiving week, I thought now would be the perfect time to inject some much-needed positivity into the world.

Last month, while my blog was being migrated to its own domain, I had the opportunity to talk with several female writers about their life and career. These women were not only articulate, but they reinforced my belief in the power of the written word — its power to inspire, to transform, to comfort. In their story, I saw my story. I have a feeling you’ll see your story too.

I’ll be sharing interviews with women writers throughout the week, starting with Sheri Silver, a writer who fell in love with blogging following the birth of her son. I asked her about everything from her hobbies to surprises about blogging, and I love what she had to say!

Name: Sheri Silver
From: Brooklyn, New York
3 words to describe me: mom, perfectionist, tenacious
Website/blog: Donuts, Dresses and Dirt
When did you start your blog: February 2011

1. Tell me a bit about yourself…what do you do, what are your hobbies, etc.?
I write for my own blog as well as creating food content for mom.me and Babble. I also do some ghost writing as well as the occasional freelance gig for other online websites and publications. My hobbies are roaming around Brooklyn and NYC, either alone or with my family, searching for the next great pastry, re-watching Weeds and spending time with my husband and my 3 amazing kids.

2. What inspired you to start a blog?
I had a surprise baby in 2008 and had been considering giving up my landscape design business. I put it all on-hold when Noah was born but then revisited the idea of a “next step” when he turned 2 and I started to come up for air. I am a passionate baker and love exploring the city, and wanted an outlet for my interests beyond gardening. A blog seemed like an easy way to give a voice to those interests and would be a fun, “no-pressure” venture. I became hooked almost immediately, shut down my business and am now invested in writing full-time.

3. If you had to describe your blog in one sentence, what would you say?
”Living a well-tended life — at any age” (alternate title: “Leaving no pastry unturned”).

4. What has blogging taught you?
That — at almost 53 — I’ve been able to have a “chapter 2” professionally, find my true calling even very late in life and discover passions and talents that even I didn’t know I possessed.

5. What advice do you have for new bloggers?
Other than the obvious (“don’t compare”/”content is king”/”be authentic”), the best advice I ever received — and advice I deploy before I start any post — is this: What is this post providing for my readers? Am I offering something that is worth asking for the time they will spend here? There are a million chocolate cakes — yours should be “the perfect chocolate cake for a midnight fridge raid.” I take a moment every time I begin a new post to ask myself what the “value” is going to be — and I go from there.

6. Where do you see yourself and your blog in 5 years?
It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted for my blog (advertising? Sponsored content?), but I’m right where I want to be and hope to stay there going forward. By doing content creation on other sites, I’m freed up to make my blog “my space,” to explore, experiment and (hopefully) provide fun and interesting recipes, advice and cool finds.

7. What has surprised you the most about blogging?
I’ve had many careers in my life and there has not been a single one that has provided the level of support and community — especially one so female-centric — as blogging. I’ve made amazing friends and felt such inspiration, guidance and encouragement. Though I’ve done many things, I would have NEVER categorized myself as a writer OR photographer. Yet I’m now both of those things. And I’m surprised to discover that “success” can be defined in terms other than money or title.

interviews-with-women-writers-sheri-silver-2Thank you, Sheri, for such inspiring words! Sheri also featured So About What I Said on her blog recently! You can read that post here, and be sure to follow Sheri on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest! xoxo

Update Your Bookmarks! So About What I Said Is Back!

Hi…hey…howdy…hello!!

It’s been pretty quiet around these parts for the last few weeks, friends!! Aside from writing two election posts last week, you haven’t heard much from Yours Truly.

Until now!

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen my enthusiastically exciting tweets over the weekend. I got myself all in a tizzy because I knew today was going to be a VERY special day. It’s a day I’ve been talking about for awhile. It’s a day I sometimes thought would never come. It’s a day that is sure to go down in history — well, in my mind, anyway…

So About What I Said has a new home with its very own domain!! It’s official new home is melissablakeblog.com…

Yes, that’s right — let the celebration begin, let the church bells rings from every village in the land, let balloons and confetti line all the streets of the world!!

Can you tell I’m pretty stoked, friends?? In honor of this most glorious of days, I thought it only appropriate to celebrate with a big blowout posts. Although the blog looks the same, there are a few things that have changed, so let’s dive right in…

The Backstory

When I started So About What I Said in 2008 (this month, actually!), blogging was really in its infancy; no one knew exactly what this new medium was. Was it just an online diary? The Internet equivalent of simply spouting off? At first, people weren’t sure what the purpose was, never mind the idea that you could actually become a legitimate blogger, but I knew one thing: I needed to have an online presence — especially for my writing — so I naturally wrote my first post on Blogger.

The years flew by and something pretty amazing happened: I soon fell in love with everything about blogging and the whole blogging community. I discovered just how powerful this medium is, but more important than that, I found my career. It was sort of like finding my place in the world, like coming home, and I knew I wanted to do this for a very, very long time.

In the beginning, the Blogger platform served my needs perfectly. But the more I looked toward the future, the more I began to see the value of owning my own little corner of the Web. Not only is it more professional, but moving to a self-hosted WordPress blog would allow me more flexibility and opportunities; I could take my blogging and my writing to the next level.

That’s where Lisette from High Note Designs comes in. I may be creative, but, umm, tech-savvy has never been one of my strong suits — plus, the thought of trying to migrate EVERYTHING myself and losing 5,000+ posts nearly gave me a heart attack. Lisette is an amazing designer and specializes in moving blogs from Blogger to WordPress, so I knew I needed her in my corner. She was such a joy to work with and helped me bring my new blog vision to life. She never minded answering my millions of questions and took the time to explain everything. I felt like I was enrolled in WordPress 101 and it was a really fun learning experience! And, no blog posts were lost in the transfer process!

An Update on a Classic

Like I said, the overall design of the blog doesn’t look that much different. It was really important to me to keep the essence and feel the same, but you know me — I do like to tweak things every now and then. So you’ll notice a couple subtle changes. The most obvious? The blog went from three to two columns, which means that the sidebar needed to be rearranged a little. I also want to update my ‘Daily Reads’ section, so look for that coming soon — got any suggestions?

As for other changes to be aware of…

I changed the look of the drop-down menus…don’t you love the background color and font size?

aa2My social media icons are also new and spiffy looking. I wanted to incorporate more of the blog’s color palette (read: pink!) and also feature the social media’s logo on each one.

aa6When you click on posts, you’ll see two cool things at the bottom: A collection of Related Posts and social share buttons so you can go to town and share on your favorite social media platform. We’re still in the process of transferring all the photos from Blogger, so if you see a related post without its accompanying photo, don’t worry — all will be fixed once the photo transfer is complete!

Let’s Get Social

Speaking of social media, have you perused my social accounts lately? I gave them a little makeover too — and I did this all by myself!

aa3Facebook: After almost five years, I finally updated my profile photo and added a cover photo!

aa4I also fleshed out the ‘About’ section — some fun facts included!

aa5Twitter: I did the same thing — updated my profile pic and added a cover photo. Why did this take me so long? I also rewrote my bio, adding a few of my byline hot spots!

**Side note: In the name of full disclosure, I didn’t get a chance to make all the changes I wanted to on Pinterest and Instagram, but they are coming! It’s on my massive to-do list, so it will get done! AND, as always, feel free to subscribe to the blog via RSS or subscribe by email to stay in the know!

Are you still with me? Bonus points if you are! Anyway, I couldn’t be more grateful to Lisette for a smooth transition! I think the finished product truly reflects the heart of So About What I Said — honoring its past while also making room for its future. Of course, there are still some things to fix — like making sure all 42,000 photos transfer and fixing broken links — but I’m so excited to get back into the blogging groove! Thanks, friends, for sticking by me this month and being so patient while I got everything in order. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning!

Is there anything you’d like to see? Any posts you’re dying for me to write? Let me know and don’t forget to update your bookmarks to melissablakeblog.com! As always, I love you and our awesome community!! xoxo