Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Blogiversary 5: It’s On Like Donkey Kong

Holy cow, have we really been blogging for half a decade?! Crazytown.

Five Graphic

It feels like just yesterday that we were creating a basic page with a big blue-background so friends and family members could drop in on our first home’s kitchen makeover.

Really Old Wordpress Blog Y

For our fifth blogiversary we wanted to host a parade complete with homeowners marching by waving hammers and paint rollers, but since we couldn’t get that together – and it honestly sounded like someone could lose an eye that way – we decided to go for the next best thing: a week of blogiversary madness and behind the scenes hullabaloo (just like we’ve done for the past few years here, here, and here). And the festivities start right now. So feel free to toss out some chest bumps and fist pumps. It’s about to get blog-a-delic up in here (anybody have a black light?). Here are a few of the things that we have on the agenda for this week:

  • a timeline of how we met, fell in love, started blogging, and ended up here (which is actually right in this post – we didn’t waste any time, haha)
  • a pretty crazy giveaway with a ton of awesome $500 prizes in honor of The Big 5
  • a day in the life post with a bunch of pictures and details about an average day for us
  • a math-tastic rundown of our blog stats, growth, and other numerical goodness along with seven bloggy facts that might just blow your mind (no guarantees, but ours are officially blown)
  • a no-holds-barred Q&A video full of answers to personal questions that hundreds of you guys submitted via Facebook
  • all of our goals for the coming year (and a rundown of how we did on last year’s)
  • a big ol’ list of our favorite/least favorite/hardest/most memorable/weirdest/etc posts over the last five years (there have definitely been some doozies)
  • a warm and fuzzy getting-to-know-you post about you guys (who you are, where you live, what you love – we can’t wait to hear from you!)

Without further ado, here’s a big ol’ timeline that we made in photoshop that dates all the way back to 2004. Holy buckets, was that really almost ten years ago? A lot of the things on this timeline were defining moments for us, either in our personal lives or the life of YHL. And a bunch of them actually make us all misty eyed. Seriously, no one is more surprised than we are to be where we are today, and we couldn’t have done it without all of you amazing folks who take the time to drop in on us and see what we’re up to. You’ve made this entire blog-tastic journey possible for our family, and sometimes I get that embarrassing lower-lip-quiver when I think about it too long. You guys put the love in YHL.

Blogiversary Timeline3

Time flies when you’re having fun (and meeting, moving, marrying, starting a blog, having a baby, writing a book, and otherwise holding on the for ride). Are you guys somewhere you’d never imagine you’d end up five years ago? We’re so thankful that we started this random little blog, and so very humbled that you guys have become a part of our lives and created this completely unexpected way of life for our family. We love you. Truly. Now somebody get me a tissue.

Psst- Itching to learn more about blogging as a business? So are we. Just kidding. Well, I’m half serious since we’re definitely still learning as we go. But here’s a giant collection of posts about how our blog baby grew, how we make money, how we spend our time, how we get sponsors, and a lot of other behind the scenes blogging stuff (like paying quarterly taxes, becoming an LLC, getting our own health insurance, etc).

Comments

  1. hjc says

    Congratulations on five years! Wow! You were the first blog I ever read – I didn’t even know what a blog was when I found you back in the YHL days. Still a daily read because you’re so great at what you do. Plus, we’re buddies, right? :) Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!

    Reply

  2. mark says

    Congrats! I remember how I found your site. Looking for fireplace update ideas. It helped a lot! Your posts, ideas, crafts, creations, etc continue to help. Thanks for creating something cool…and of course leaving it open to dudes:)

    Reply

  3. Kate says

    Aww, congrats on the 5 years :) I first discovered your blog last year when I had googled images for ways to position floating shelves on a wall. After scrolling through just one or two posts I became addicted (insert strike-through font) a loyal reader. Then I mustered up some courage to come out of the closet and write a comment a couple of months ago ;) I’m slow to start, what can I say! Anyway, here’s to 5 more years!

    Reply

  6. Julia Adams says

    Congratulations Sherry and John! I am always inspired by your blog and your style! Your blog is a huge part of my morning routine and my day is just not the same with out Young House Love! Here’s to another 5 years! (Hopefully more than 5 year!)

    Reply

  11. Annalize says

    Congrats! It was so fun to do the quiz – I just had lunch and actually caught myself checking my teeth ha-ha-ha!
    Thanks for sharing your timeline! It helps put things in perspective!
    I really enjoy your blog but most of the awesome things (like heat & bond) is out of reach here in South Africa and things that seems to be affordable over there turns out to be quite expensive here. Still I have learnt loads about design and have introduced you blog to some friends who love your blog almost as much as I do ;)
    So, lots of love,
    from
    South Africa

    Reply

  12. Brenda says

    I can’t believe you get so many hits monthly! I mean, I can, because this blog is awesome, and obviously you both make a living, but wow! I’m super excited for the Q & A to come. :)

    Reply

  13. Christine says

    Happy 5 years :D Cool to know that Sherry was also from FIT and just wondering if you were in Ad Design since that was my major there :P Big fan of the blog and def addicted to it!

    Reply

  15. Jessica says

    First off, congratulations!

    And second, can I just say how happy I am that you adopted Burger instead of buying from a pet store or from a breeder?

    I work at an animal shelter, and we have so many homeless animals needing good, adoptive families!

    Way to go YHL!

    Reply

  17. Theresa says

    AMAZING! Congragulations. I cannot wait to sit and read all of your life events to come (uhh.. stalker, much.. sorry). But seriously, you guys are so brave for putting all of your lives out there like that. We obviously love it. Do you guys plan to move when baby #2 comes or will you be stayign a while?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think the plan has been to get a rental property or second house to fix up when we run out of stuff to do here, but we still have lots to tackle (and room for a second bambino).

      xo
      s

  18. Kristin Lynn Connor says

    Congrats on your 5 year blogiversary!!!

    I’m so glad I found your blog this year! OMG! I know!

    I love the timeline you made!! KEEP IT UP!!

    Reply

  20. Megan says

    First-time commenter but daily reader. Big congrats to all your successes in the past 5 years!! It is truly deserved, my day is not complete until I’ve caught up on YHL happenings. Thanks for keeping it real.

    Reply

  21. Hannah Richman says

    Love the timeline! My boyfriend makes fun of me for obsessively reading YHL– so I dropped the 5 million hits per month number as a way to make myself seem more normal– or at least part of a large crazy crowd. His semi-accurate retort was that at least 1000 of hits-per-month probably come from me. Any stats on unique views?

    Reply

  22. Tabitha says

    Hey now – didn’t you doctor the name in the image of your original blog? Didn’t realize you had to go back and change everything from TYH! Crazy.

    Reply

  23. Corinne A. says

    I also look forward to your blogiversary posts every year. I love this blog and I’m not even down with the DIY. I never thought I’d start a blog of my own, but I just did. Hardly anyone reads it, but I get enough positive feedback to keep going (even from a few people who don’t know me!). Plus, every time I post something I think something super corny like – “I am living MY DREAM!!” Thanks for your blog!

    Reply

  25. Liz says

    Congrats! I love hearing your story. I was reading your blog before I really even knew what a blog was. I remember daydreaming in my dorm about having my first place so I could take on some projects of my own. Keep up the good work! You are still one of my first stops on the web every morning!

    Reply

  26. eileen marie says

    Definitely learned a few tidbits from the timeline. And Burger?! -He was so cute, I coulda eaten him right up! #1 fan

    And 5 years ago, I would have thought we’d still be happily living in our condo, but today…we bought our first house!!

    Reply

  27. Michelle says

    Love it! I just discovered the world of blogs and yours is one of my faves. Congrats and here is to many more years of success.

    Reply

  28. Kal says

    Five years- getting’ so old. Sniffle. ;) I love you guys in a really-not-at-all-awkward kind of way. I re-read all your posts on a daily basis. I feel weird on the weekends when there are no updates. I often wonder if you are doing some fab while I worry ;)

    You are a real inspiration (cheese=yes) to those of us trying our own blogging/ DIY stuff- so keep it up. Haha. I feel like I know you guys and I find myself asking self- “Well, how would Sherry and John do this?” Don’t worry, it’s not as stalker-y as it sounds. ;) Congrats guys- here’s to maaaaany more years of the good stuff :)

    Reply

  29. Shanda Davidson says

    Congratulations on your big anniversary! I read lots of blogs – correction, I look at lots of blogs – but yours is one of the few that I actually read. My favoritest ever was the super-duper pathetic pic of John after he failed the deck inspection. I laughed out loud (sorry, dude, but that shiz nits was hi-lar-i-ous.) Plus, your blog layout is the only one that doesn’t annoy. No pop ups, no annoying banners. How do you deal with sponsors in that respect? Thanks for the fun!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ve found it’s easiest to have blanket statements about what we think is annoying and then just ask every advertiser to conform to that. We don’t mind sidebar ads, but pop ups or ads with sound are never ideal to us, so we ask folk who want to advertise with us to adhere to those parameters. Folks are usually extremely understanding of that, which is awesome!

      xo
      s

  31. Melissa van Herksen says

    Wow, this post was awesome. Although I am somewhat new to your blog now I know everything about you. We just moved to our 3rd post in Santiago, Chile and this move has been tough, but your blog has been on my daily list since day one and you guys are awesome and I have used your blog to get motivated to do things around the house and finally get settled. Come crash my house in Chile…okay, maybe not. But thanks for being so entertaining and “keeping me company” in Chile.

    Reply

  33. Geri says

    Congrats on reaching so much success in such a short time – you both so deserve it!!! Just a side sugestion….I was wondering perhaps in your next questionnaire you could include the option of choosing ‘life partner’ as a significant other. Until same-sex couples can wed in my country (and all US states), that’s all we’ve got. And after 14 years of partnership, ticking ‘my girlfriend”, well it just doesn’t cut it. But…as I said, it’s just a suggestion :) thanks for a great blog.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ll try to remember that, Geri! We had hoped folks would select “spouse” in that instance but I can see how many that’s not specific enough.

      Thanks!

      -John

  34. Ruth in NZ says

    I was looking at this post and thought I should comment because it is a post about 5 years blogging and it only had 554 comments. How could I let it stay that way?! Here is your 555th comment. Yay! Just to let you know..I deleted all my blogs in my reader in an effort to streamline my life but I keep coming back to check up on you anyway so today I put you back in there again! It saves time. All the best with your 6th year.

    Reply

  35. Colene says

    Coming late to the party but wanted to still chime in to say congratulations! I’ve been reading your blog for a long time now and still marvel at how much you two are able to accomplish (work, house, family, responding to this HUGE community) and through it all, still coming across as two really down-to-earth and funny people. That’s what keeps me coming back :)

    Reply

  36. Kacey says

    Ok, I’ve now commented on three posts in like 15 min after never commenting before (except on giveaways), but I really like that you celebrate your blogiversary. I’ve only been following your blog for less than six months but I really enjoy that I can relate to you and your projects because you are both so down to earth and your projects are affordable and things I feel like I could do (well, maybe not build a deck, but who knows down the line…). I think it would be fun if you added a blogiversary project (obviously in the future since I’m way late with this comment) which revolves around traditional anniversary presents. Although, year 5 is wood so you could say the deck was your blogiversary gift. Just an idea. Love reading you blogs.

    Reply

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