Happy Birthday to YWB!

Tags

anniversary, birthday, site stats

Yesterday was my blogoversary! Three years ago I started my blog. Since then, I’ve had over 105,000 visitors, written 488 posts, had 4,000 comments, was featured on several other blogs (including The Graphics Fairy). For the first time, I posted more in another category than I did about food. Due to our move this summer, deocrating and creating were my two most posted categories. What do you think, time to balance it back out?

Top 10 Most Viewed Posts in the Past 365 Days

10. Cinnamon Extract By Accident - Cinnamon hit the top ten in two places.

Cinnamon Extract

9. Wall Art for Master Bedroom - My home decor projects made a big sweep in the top ten countdown.

Wall Art for my Hubster <3

8. Disarrono Soap Dispenser - Not too many recipes made the list this time, but at least we have another post that represents the kitchen.

Disaronno Soap Dispenser

7. Indoor Succulent Garden- Perfect centerpiece for the dining room or kitchen table.

Indoor Succulent Garden

6. Majestic Pillows for a Regal Room – Most of the crafts that made the list and items I’ve created for my guest room.

5. Flirty Fleece Ear Warmer Tutorial - This one keeps it warm, staying in the top ten.

Flirty Fleece Ear Warmer Tutorial

4. French Chic Wall Art - This craft makes a terrific gift for newlyweds or new homeowners.

French Chic Wall Art

3. Cracked Glass Candy- This oldie, but goodie continues to give my blog many hits each December.

Cinnamon Cracked Glass Candy

2. Fairy Lights for Guest Room - I guess with all the guest room posts, I’m getting ready to finally reveal one room.

Fairy Light Bird House

1. French Chic Lamp- No surprize here, this lil’ craft landed me on many blogs and giving me over 10,000 views in March alone!

French Chic Lamp

Did your favorite post make the cut? What one was you favorite?

Please excuse the sparse postings in April. I started off super strong the first week, but I completely over did it while landscaping over my Easter break. I hurt my back… really really bad So I’ve been out of comission.

Top 11 of 2011

Tags

2011, 2011 countdown

It’s a little funny to think that some of my top viewed posts this year were actually posted prior to 2011 (Cracked Glass Candy, Indoor Succulent Garden, Flirty Fleece Ear Warmers Tutorial) .

However, I want to focus on the ones posted this year. Since this isn’t just a food blog, or a craft blog or a home & garden blog, my top 11 come from different categories. A little something for everyone.
Young Wifey’s 2011 Countdown:

11. Chicken Asparagus Crêpes with Crème Fraîche Lemon Dill Sauce

Chicken & Asparagus Crêpes with Crème Fraîche, Lemon & Dill Sauce

10. Button Art Heart

Valentine's Button Art Heart

9. Grilled Ginger Sesame Shrimp

Grilled GInger Sesame Shrimp

8. Cannellini Spinach Soup

Cannellini & Spinach Soup

7. Flirty Flower Headband

Flirty Flower Headband

6. Heart, Mind & Body

Me & My Mom

5. Chicken Crêpes with Tarragon Champagne Sauce

Chicken Crêpes with Tarragon Champagne Sauce

4. Beautiful Baby Headbands for a New Niece

Beautiful Baby Headbands

3. Coconut Curry Shrimp

Coconut Curry Shrimp

2. Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerine & Pomegranate

Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerines & Pomegranate

1. French Chic Wall Art

French Chic Wall Art

If you are following my blog, what was your favorite post from this past year?

Spray Paint Series: Nightstands for Guest Room

Tags

bed table, bedroom, before & after, end table, guest room, home decor, night table, nightstand, paint, postaday2011, side table, spray paint, table

Catching Up:
I was really bad at posting last month (and an even worse blog reader), it seems to be my July trend. Despite me being sick for a week and a half, we did get a lot done to our house. I however haven’t been in the kitchen much. July has come and gone and now it’s almost time to go back to school. I had surgery yesterday (don’t worry, it was diagnostic and had good results) and have a few weeks of healing ahead of me. Stuck on the couch or in bed seems like the perfect time to share a few of our projects with you and for me to catch up on my reading…

A Can of Spray Paint Can Do Wonders
Last week, Hubster and I purchased these two black nightstands at Ikea for our guest room. After all, the guest room currently only houses a box spring & mattress (sitting on the floor) and an antique wooden dresser. I know what all I want to make and add to the room, but it’ll take a while (and a lot of projects) to get it to where I want it.

Ikea Before

I had chosen a soothing green for the guest room, with a bold (for us) green accent wall. Hubster was very unsure of my color choice, but I told him to trust me. Knowing once my vision was complete, he’d approve. It just needs to be toned down with white and natural accents.

I wanted to paint our new tables white with a glossy finish, but Hubster suggested a pearl essence finish. Nice! After I put the tables together with my new allen wrench, I started to paint them with spray paint that promised primer & paint in one. Well, even after a few coats the tables were a shimmery silver… beautiful, but not fitting into my vision. The next day I picked up white spray paint and decided to use it as my primer. After a few good coats, I topped it off with my pearl essence top coat. Once they were dry, I placed them in the guest room and topped them with the beveled edge glass.

Young Wifey's After

Now the tables are on each side of the bed, this one topped with some antique vases (family heirlooms) with a white hydrangea bloom and a few books on the shelf below. Please ignore the stained carpet, the previous owners were really rough on the house, I did steam clean this room TWICE (we plan to replace it with a hardwood floor in the future)!

Just a small project to share, but it added a big impact in the guest room.

What miracles has spray paint worked for you recently?

PS – If any of this post didn’t make sense, please blame it on the percocet… 

Chandelier Earring Refashion

Tags

beads, chandelier earrings, craft, crystal beads, jewelry, jewelry crafts, jewelry making, postaday2011, repurpose, repurposing

It’s been half a month since my last blog post, that’s all of July! We had a houseful of visitors for the first week of July and then we had a few days to get back to work on our house. That didn’t last long, since the third day back I ended up in the ER with horrible chest pains and shortness of breathe! Hubster did a great job taking care of me. I have half a week left of all my meds and hopefully I’ll be feeling like myself again. I feel horrible when I’m not able to cook/bake, craft/create, blog and not do anything but sleep.

We had a cousin’s wedding to attend yesterday and I spent 10 mins making something for me. Without an ounce of energy left in me, I needed something to still make me feel beautiful. Earrings are always my solution…. even if I sat down through the entire reception (so not me!).

I bought a pair or earrings when Hubster and I started dating and quickly lost one. I held onto the mate hoping to find it hidden somewhere in my life. Eventually the time comes where you have to toss it or refashion it into a new pair. I love the new earrings I made, but I was hoping to find two more teal crystal beads, one for the top of each earring (the second bead under the hook).

Lovely But Lonely

The Happy New Couple

What do you think of my earring refashion?

Link Love

Tags

bread, crackers, crafting, Creating, plant markers, postaday2011, scallops, softie, stepping stones, throw pillows

Painting apparently is so much more time-consuming than I remember. Of course maybe that’s because we have few additional rooms we didn’t have before (hopefully, I’ll have lot’s of pics to post soon). Our garage is home to boxes and furniture, someday my car will have his own bedroom. Until then, here are some projects I would like to create once we’re moved in enough. A few of these have been on my to-do list for quite some time…

In My Oven:
Homemade Goldfish Crackers look so delicious and a fun project for Pumpkin and me. I already have a cookie cutter shaped like a fish, so I don’t need to make her homemade cut soda can version (yikes!)

Copycat Outback bread recipe, with homemade butter of course.

And these Scallops in Lemon Beurre Blanc Sauce.

Under My Needle
These cute throw pillows have been on my to-do list since they were posted! They add some great texture, although I’d want them to be a bit more washable and would use fleece instead of felt.

I’ve also had a soft spot for this hedgehog softie, I may have already linked to him.

In My Garden:
Super cute antique spoon plant markers with flare!

Landscaping is a far way off, but I can’t wait to make these classic stepping stones.

 

Young Wifey’s 2nd Birthday

Tags

birthday, blog birthday, blog count, blog numbers, blog stats, Blogging, blogiversary, blogoversary, domestic, favorite posts, postaday2011, top posts

It has been two years since I created Young Wifey’s blog!! Some months I’ve been better about posting than others.

Spring 2011

Countdown of Visitor’s Top 10 Favorite Posts (from the past year)…

#10. Christmas Cheer T-shirt Refashion

#9. Grilled Ginger Sesame Shrimp

#8. Heart, Mind & Body

#7. Flirty Fleece Ear Warmers Tutorial*

#6. Chicken Crêpes with Tarragon Champagne Sauce*

#5. Beautiful Baby Headbands for A New Niece

#4.  Yellow Sundress

#3. Coconut Curry Shrimp*

#2. Indoor Succulent Garden – Gift for the Non-Green Thumb*

# 1. Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerine & Pomegranate*

Other than the starred ones above… these are My 10 Favorite Posts from the past year and the ones of which I’m most proud (no particular order)…

Eleventh Day of Christmas – Gingerbread Man Ornament, Puff Pancake with Pear, Pomegranate & Dark Chocolate Drizzle, Fifth Day of Christmas – Melted Frosty Ornament, Parisian Café Tray, Green & Blue Chandelier Earrings!, Good Bye Jasper Lane, Fruit Pizza, Yellow Caprese, Grilled Corn on the Cob Discs, My BFF’s Baby Shower

What was your favorite post to read in the past year?  Leave a comment and let me know!

The Kindness of Others

Tags

afghan, baby blanket, baby gift, bloggers, crocheting, friend, friendship, infant, kindness, newborn, postaday2011, preemie, receiving blanket, swaddler, yarn, yarn craft

One of the reasons I love blogging? Friends, blog friends. Why not making friends through blogging. In my grandmother’s and mother’s time, maybe it was a snail mail pen-pal. When I was younger it was e-mail pen pals. I have friends who even have met their spouses on-line. Why not make a friend through blogging? Strangers that you connect with over the commonalities in your blogs and with whom you develop friendships. When they don’t post you worry. When you don’t post, they notice. I have developed several blog friendships and today I want to tell you about one of them.

Last month, my posting slowed down a bit and I shared a few reasons why. Many of my blogging friends offered well wishes, positive prayers and kind thoughts. One blogging friend took it a step farther. She had just finished crocheting a baby blanket and offered to send it for my friend’s preemie. A kind gift to welcome him into the world. Today, I received the blanket and a heartfelt letter full of positive energy. I cannot wait to deliver the blanket to this tiny guy, who is now over 4 lbs.!  In a world that is full of chaos and craziness, it’s refreshing to know that there are still genuinely sweet people. Thank you for your friendship and kindness Samina.

Beautiful Baby Blanket from Samina

<3 <3 <3