Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Celebrating Our Blogging Anniversary

It’s kind of unbelievable to us that it was four whole years ago that we started this little ol’ blog (just for friends and family members to drop in on our first home’s kitchen makeover).

Four Year Blogiversary

In the words of Gwen Stefani, that shhhh is bananas. So much has happened since then. And since we’re nothing but creatures of habit, we’re psyched to celebrate a week of blogiversary madness and behind the scenes hullabaloo as usual. Starting right now. Well tomorrow (Monday) to be exact. So raise the roof, y’all. It’s about to get festive up in here. These are a few of the things that we have on the agenda for this week:

  • a day in the life post from both of our perspectives (Burger & Clara will get in there too)
  • a whopper of a giveaway: a $500 (holla!) shopping spree to one of our favorite places
  • a giant post full of pie charts that detail exactly how we make money doing this
  • a numbers post full of stats about traffic, comments, and John’s soda-themed wardrobe
  • a big ol’ Q&A (we answered the personal q’s on video & added bonus business info)
  • our annual “who-reads-this-blog-anyway?” survey (we love hearing about you guys)
  • our yearly five blogiversary goals (and a recap on how we did with last year’s)
  • the anatomy of a post, from start to finish (it can actually be quite the process)
  • the post full of hosting/coding info than many of you have requested
  • ten things we’ve learned about blogging over the past four years (holy cow, has it really been four years?!)

So that means we’ll be serving up two posts a day for the next five days in a row (oh yeah, we know how to cram stuff in there). We went into this week thinking about how we could share even more behind the scenes and real-life stuff with you and came up with the idea of just chatting about all the info we would talk about if we were ever to do one of those blogging seminars or web classes (you know, in our spare time). So we’re excited to put it all out there. I mean we’ve always loved over-sharing the goods with you guys. Is it Monday yet?

Pssst- The framed number four pictured above was a gift from sweet Katie B. She actually looped our names: “JohnSherryClaraBurger” to make up the number four (which represents our little family of four – and is perfect for our blogiversary too).

Comments

  3. Kimberly says

    Wow… congratulations! I just discovered yall about a month ago searching how to paint kitchen cabinets…better late than never … and I am hooked. Great job yall … you’re one more reason to be proud of Virginia. We are officially the home of the King and Queen of DIY. :)

    Reply

  7. rosa says

    happy blogiversary from the philippines (where it’s monday already!) thanks for bringing so much joy to my day (i go to sleep and when i wake up there’s new posts from you guys!) and for inspiring me to be a better homeowner ??? can’t wait for two posts a day!!!

    Reply

  9. Melissa E. says

    Squee.

    I love behind the scenes anything.

    It’s officially midnight for me now which means Monday. Let’s get this thing going!

    Reply

  11. Amanda says

    I’m most excited for the 2 post a day!!!!!!!!

    I’ll have you guys I’ve fallen in love with ORB spray paint, painted our patio door hardware 2 weeks ago. Painted our front door yellow (not as bright as yours more of a mustard-y shade) last week – My hubby is calling you both weasels cause I’m getting so many new ideas. I just tell him think of the value we’re putting on our house and the money we’re saving from ORB so we can refi to a 15 year since rates are so low (you’re also inspiring us to become debt free and pay cash for everything) I really don’t think you guys realize how amazing you are and how inspiring (IN A GOOD WAY) you are. THANK YOU!!! :-)

    Reply

  13. Jodi W says

    YHL is my favorite place to check in with every day! I’ve been known to use the phrase “John and Sherry just did this” or “found something like that at…” Like I really know you!! LOL Honestly, I feel like I do. Love you guys….and I’m looking forward to a really fun week!

    Reply

    • Chrissie says

      Haha I’m the same. I can’t count the number of times my better half must have heard me say, “the guys at young house love did/said/made X! That is so cool!”.

  14. Pip says

    Happy Blogiversary – what a jam packed week – your little fingers will be blogged down to stumps and smoke will waft up from your MacBooks! I’ve got a feeling that you guys like to celebrate by working hard and achieving a goal rather than kicking back on a sun lounger with daiquiris! Lucky us :)

    Reply

  15. Jessica Matthews says

    Gonna be a great week for us! Lol. Can’t wait to read it all!

    P.s.- My husband & I copy-cat(ed?) your “refinishing a veneer dresser” post for our nursery! It came out amazing and we get so many compliments from family & friends, (who all know about y’all b/c I talk about this blog like I’m a close personal friend of yours). Haha. Anyways, I’d love to send you some pics once the nursery is complete, where should I email them?

    Reply

  17. Lindsay L. says

    Yay!! I started reading last fall so this marks a year of me reading y’all. Can’t wait to read all this technical stuff, especially the coding because that shhhhh is hard! And Katie’s gift is too cute, what a great idea.

    Reply

  19. Abigail says

    ahh! i’m so excited – what an awesome way to start the week! i don’t comment often enough but i love flippin’ love this space :) congrats on four years! here’s to another great four!!

    Reply

  20. Harinee says

    Wow – the big four! Congratulations you guys! I’ve been reading for a couple of years now I think and you are really inspiring!

    Reply

  23. HeatherM says

    Congrats on your blogiversary! I’m debating about starting a blog (I really want one, but I also work full time, spend 4 hours/day commuting, and am going back to school part time). So I’m really excited to see how much work really goes into running a blog. I’m kind of intimidated by the undertaking right now, but I love writing and sharing and communicating in the blogging community!

    Reply

  27. Marian says

    Only 4 years? Man you all have gotten good at this! That gives me hope. I am starting up an original art/ vintage cool stuff/archtectural salvage show/”barn sale” this Nov. I want to make it an annual event to provide a venue for artists working on a profssional level, who don’t have time to be full time artists. And also as a way to justify my thrift shop/salvage yard habits. And cool beans about the book deal! That’s awesome. I know you guys will do it right with lots of “how to’s”. I love books of pretty pictures, but I BUY books that show you how to do it.

    Reply

  30. Beau says

    Can you reply with a link to the original project? Im interested in reading some of the early blog posts and cant seem to find a good way to get to it…am I just missing the archive somewhere?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The easiest way to get to the first post of the blog is to scroll to the bottom of any page and click the button that says “last” (after all those page numbers). It’ll take you back to the beginning and you can see about 100 posts about our kitchen renovation as it went along!

      xo,
      s

  31. Erica says

    YAY! I can’t wait to see what you guys have in store for us! :)

    P.S posting on your FB page and on here about our blog helped us a lot! Thanks! :)

    Reply

  32. Alicia says

    Yay! I’m so excited! I thought of a question you guys could ask your readers on the survey. How many projects has YHL inspired in your home? I can think of 15 in my house right now. There is probably more! Love you guys!

    Reply

  33. kathy says

    How adorable are you two?!?!? The upcoming week of fun is precisely why I faithfully read your blog. Every. Single. Day. Besides the snappy writing, YHL is ALL HEART. Your love for what you and your readers shines through with extra specialness that sets you apart from the millions of other blogs out there. Happy Four and many more! xo

    Reply

  34. Julia @ Hooked on Houses says

    Wow, has it really been 4 whole years?! I’ve been reading you guys since (pretty much) the beginning, and the time really flew by. Can’t wait to see all the fun stuff you have in store for the week. Here’s to 4 more fabulous years!! :-)

    Reply

  35. WendyMI says

    Happy Blogiversary!!!!! =)

    And now I’ll have to pop over to Katie’s to ask how she did the 4… very cute!

    (and fyi… her link in your blogroll is still pointing to her old url.)

    Reply

  39. Bex Crowell says

    Happy Blogaversary (or is it Blog-i-versary?) Whatever. Best wishes and congrats on your accomplishments. This blog is one of the nicest of any I’ve ever seen on the W.W.Web. Without a doubt. I think it’s even BETTER than a TV show because it’s so accessible any time of the day or night for us, your devoted readers. Of course, I wouldn’t NOT watch you on TV, but I’d hope this blog stayed going at the same time. Anyway, keep up the good work.

    Reply

  40. Karen F says

    Wooo! You guys are awesome! I’ve had so many of these questions, and I’m looking forward to this week’s posts! Love your blog and wanted to let you know you’re very inspiring. I had an idea this weekend for a DIY project (haven’t done it yet); I wouldn’t have even considered it before but reading your blog has given me the confidence to give it a try!

    Reply

  41. Jessica says

    Where, oh where, did you find that mirror AND that pencil holder? Both are just fabulous.

    I bought a footstool last week that I found on Craigslist. (I love the bargains, my husband calls me “the huntress”). When I met the seller to pick it up the two of us got to talking about remodeling and designing our homes. I mentioned your site, thinking I was giving her a great resource. Turns out she already knew and loved you (like I do)! In four short years you are so well known by so many. Congratulations on making a success of your site!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Mirror = Hobby Lobby (with 50% off coupon). Pencil holder = Target a while back. Hope it helps! And too funny about the seller knowing about our blog too. That makes me blush.

      xo,
      s

  42. Mary@TheGoodLife says

    Okay, I definitely skimmed, and I didn’t see anyone singing you Tony Toni Tone… which I just feels goes beyond appropriate to just plain NECESSARY. As in, “Do you know what to-daaay isss… it’s our {blog}iversary, made for you and me…”

    It’s a little bow-chicka-wow-ow, but ya know. I think that just puts it over the edge of hysterical. Sing it to John and I think you’ll get him to crack a smile. I had to look it up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=031FZflUiaQ

    HUGE congrats to you two. What a special life you two have built together and a huge success on top of that. Can’t wait for the next four!

    Reply

  44. Michelle says

    How generous of you guys to share so much. How lucky are we? Looking forward to reading every bit!

    Katie is so creative! I would have never guessed that 4 was created that way.

    Reply

  46. Autumn @ Fleener House says

    Ahh, the killer what everyone wants to know. How to be a professional blogger and how much money they make! Looking forward to it.

    Reply

  48. Christina says

    I would rather not admit how excited I am about this. How is it that you guys are basically normal folks and yet so fascinating? Haha. It’s already Tuesday and I’m just reading this. I need to get a roll on my Google Reader stat!

    Reply

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