Category: FAVORITES

Changes for the Second Year

Start copying what you love. Copying, copying, copying. And at the end of the copy, you will find yourself.

YOHJI YAMAMOTO

For the final day of Sally Spins’ Blogiversary Week, I wanted to share with you the changes for the second year. It is no lie that the gears have shifted on Sally Spins since I found out I was pregnant. My blog started out with me as the Anti-Expert Cooking-Expert, posting recipes everyday. It has now shifted towards me becoming a mom and finding inspirations through Pinterest.

What does this mean for the second year of Sally Spins? I have decided to take my brand in a new direction. My new focus will be a lifestyle blog for housewives who want to be more creative. The goal will be to help readers gather ideas to improve their spin on life. My posts will be based on sourcing inspiration to make a better home, cook healthy meals, raise a small child/two pugs, throw the perfect party, and improve my overall lifestyle.

I believe you don’t have to be creative. You just have to be resourceful. Everyone can be a better housewife. It just takes some planning. Here are the new topics I will be writing about:

TOPICS

  • inspirations for  home, dinner, style, beauty, and family
  • easy recipes that will leave your family wanting more
  • simply DIY projects
  • creating and executing visions for your home
  • how to plan the perfect party
  • managing daily life at home

Want more? Check out the new page about my blog and the other one about just me. Oh, guess what finally arrived?

I think Etsy is calling my name to hunt for the perfect nursery bedding.

What direction would you like to see Sally Spins take?

A Year in Numbers

I just love math and most people don’t.

DANICA MCKELLAR

I have a confession to make. I love math too! It was the one subject in school that just came easily to me. Just call me the official nerd of the house. So to celebrate my love of math and my first blogiversary, here is a breakdown of this year’s numbers.

330: The number of posts that I’ve written to date

442: The amount of comments I’ve received from my lovely readers

3: The number of time I have changed my blog’s appearance

10,078: The total number of spam comments intercepted by my Akismet filter

230: The number of days in the streak where I posted everyday

3: The most recipes I have made in one day to blog about at a later time

8: The most posts that I’ve published in a week

2: The most posts that I’ve published in a day

3619: The number of images I have uploaded onto the blog

29: The amount of weight I have gained so far since getting pregnant

2: The amount of pregnancy tests I took to confirm I was pregnant

58: The days left until my official due date

If you can’t tell, the baby has hijacked my brain. My daily thoughts always end up leading to him, even when it is broken down into numbers.

Stay tuned for tomorrow. I will be sharing the new vision for Sally Spins.

What was your favorite subject in school?

Search Engine Optimization

I never Google myself. Only if I want to feel really terrible about myself would I do that.

SIENNA MILLER

The Blogiversary Week continues. After seeing which posts received the most hits yesterday, I was intrigued by what people were typing into their search engines that brought them to my site. One of my favorite perks of using WordPress is their Stat’s feature. It allows me to see the exact terms people are typing into their search.

Most of them were pretty straightforward, looking to find my specific blog or a recipe I had posted about. It turns out fellow Manhattanites love So Long Saloon’s Chipotle Raspberry & Black Bean Dip as much as I do, and a lot of them found their way to my blog to enjoy the copycat version of the recipe. For the most part, the searches were pretty normal, but some of them left me thinking “what the what!”

It turns out Slutty Brownies Made Easier more than deserved its #2 spot as the top posts last year, with search terms ranging from “EASY SLUTTY BROWNIE RECIPE” to “SLUTTY GIRL BROWNIES.” For those that were offended by the title, they even searched “OTHER NAMES FOR SLUTTY BROWNIES” and ended up here. Sorry folks, I didn’t give the brownies their title. I just made an easier version of the original. In all, there were 29 different search terms for slutty brownies linking them to my blog.

That wasn’t the only “slutty” term bringing the readers in. “SLUT BARBIE CAKE” turns out to be quite a popular search term, along with “DRUNK BARBIE CAKE.” My most popular edition of Sally’s Pins was one I did to prepare for an upcoming friend’s bachelorette party. Unfortunately, the Drunk Barbie Cake did not make its way to the party, but I am still increasing my stats one Barbie search term at a time.

By far the strangest search had to be for “ILLUSTRATIONS OF TOO MANY TAMALES.” This led people to a post I did on Ted’s Café Escondido and a weekend of dog sitting. I bet they were thoroughly impressed with my unique furniture arrangement and high tech photos taken from my old Samsung InTouch. You can tell by that post that this was a year of growth.

My Costumes of Halloweens Past post helped some people find their perfect costume. Turns out a lot of people are looking for a “GIRLS GONE WILD COSTUME.” This probably was not the case when someone searched for “GIANT BLOODY MARYS,” and they ended up with me in a Bloody Mary costume. Yeah, it is just not as good as the real thing. I have to admit, and I love a Giant Bloody Mary too.

One of the most embarrassing links has to be when I displayed my love of The Hunger Games series by dressing up as Katniss. So if you need a good laugh click here or simply type “HUNGER GAMES BOW” into google. That is my gift to you. The gift to me has been seeing all the wacky search terms readers use. I hope next year provides as many good laughs!

What the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever blogged about?

The Best of Sally Spins

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.

BUDDHA

To kickoff Sally Spins Blogiversary Week, I wanted to share with you the posts that received the most hits over the last year. To say that it didn’t shock me, as to what people were viewing, would be a total lie. It turns out people like a good party, healthy options, and shocking twists or combinations on food. I’m definitely taking note for next year. There was no surprise when it came to my top viewed page. It was actually the first recipe I posted to my blog and my personal favorite. Without further ado, here is a special edition of Sally’s Pins, the top 15 viewed posts over the last year.

#15 Gourmet Veggie Pizza: We love Papa Murphy’s Gourmet Veggie Pizza, so naturally I made a copy-cat version to enjoy at home.

#14 Gender Reveal Party: Throwing parties happens to be one of my favorite pastimes, and what better way to announce to family and friends the sex of your baby than through a party?

#13 Healthy Mint Oreo Shake: Minty desserts are the best, especially if you can find a way to cut the calories.

#12 Spicy Cornflake Chicken: After a recommendation from a co-worker, I tried my hand on this chicken dish.

#11 Cowboy Pie: Past down from my husband’s family, this recipe is southern comfort food at its best.

#10 How to Throw a Bachelorette Party: You can’t beat a wild night out celebrating with your girlfriends, and this guide ensures that you will have a good time.

#9 The Proper Way to Eat a Cupcake: A life changing twist on how to eat a cupcake, or just a demonstration on how silly I can be with my co-workers.

#8 Homemade Taco Salad Bowls: Thanks to my mother-in-law, this simple demonstration is still bringing the readers in.

#7 Mexican Spinach Egg Casserole: Wanting a meat-free breakfast option, I made this savory casserole.

#6 BLT Bites: Thanks to this post on glamour.com this deconstructed recipe on a classic BLT sandwich went viral.

#5 Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt: When dailybuzz.com was looking for a yogurt based recipe, a quick mayo swap lead to this salad.

#4 Doritos Taco Salad: It blows my mind how many people love this simple recipe.

#3 Ranch Veggie Dip with Greek Yogurt: Looking for a protein-packed substitute? Try using Greek Yogurt instead.

#2 Slutty Brownies Made Easier: This is my lazy version of a dessert that goes above and beyond.

#1 Chipotle Raspberry Black Bean Dip: A dip so good we served it at our wedding. In a way, my blog was formed around this recipe.

What was your favorite post?

Happy Blogiversary!

Once you figure out who you are and what you love about yourself, I think it all kind of falls into place.

JENNIFER ANISTON

One year ago today, on the notorious 11/11/11, I began this little ditty of a blog.  It seems like just yesterday.  It’s crazy how time flies. And to celebrate, I wanted to do a couple of things to mark this milestone with all of you.

First, I have planned a week of blogiversary-themed posts to share some of my favorite (and your) favorite old posts. I also have been thinking a lot about the branding of Sally Spins. What I started with, what it moved towards, and where I want to go with it next year. There have been so many changes in my life over the last year, and with those changes, my blog has shifted in a new direction. I plan on divulging you with all the thrilling details this week!

Before I get started in reminiscing on what a great year it has been, I must say thank you. Each and every one of you that has came back to my blog, time and time again, mean the world to me. Having daily views is enough to keep me going, but it’s crazy how one little comment can send me over the moon with happiness. Just knowing that someone out there is reading my crazy shenanigans makes it all worthwhile.

I started this blog at a place in my life where something was missing. Making a list of my favorite hobbies and pastimes took more effort than it should. Today, I proudly am able to say that blogging has become my true passion, and it is all because of you. So again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Oh, I knew I was forgetting someone. I also wanted to give special thanks to my husband, Chris. Thank you for being so patient on nights when I couldn’t put the camera away before we ate dinner. I know food taste better warm, but you can’t tell in the picture if the temperature isn’t quite right. Thank you for always chipping in to help with my harebrained schemes, and I guess thanks for just sticking with me (and that goes for all of you wonderful readers too). I promise the best is yet to come.

What is your favorite hobby?

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