Wow! One year ago I decided to take this little baby blog of mine to the next level and boy have we come a long way. Almost 400 posts later, I’m still going strong & growing. I’m like a proud mama. There’s been ups and downs and it’s been a cray cray amount of work but it’s different when you’re working so hard for yourself to see your visions come to life and doing things your own way. Here’s my first post as a ‘serious’ blogger. Ha! It’s not horrible but it’s not great by any means. I’ve really enjoyed stretching my art direction and photography skills since then to make my blog posts more visually engaging and inspiring. Quitting my job back in August of last year really made things real and lit the fire to make this blog my true creative outlet into the world and to meet new people and create new creative partnerships and opportunities.

The amount I’ve learned about this world of blogging is astounding. I attended no less than three blogger conferences, AltSF, BlogPodium and AltSLC and came away with new skills, new friends and a brain about to explode after each one. I added contributor for Apartment Therapy to my resume, rounded up the troops for a regular blogger group brunch, and started a blogger workshop series. Ummm, yeah I’ve been a bit busy.

We’re also tickled pink to have been featured on these amazing publications and blogs in the past year. It’s always nice when your hard work gets noticed by some pretty talented and creative people.

Obviously, this blog is very personal and close to my heart but it’s really nothing without all the wonderful people that stop by to visit here or on social media. Trying to grow on a new platform can be very intimidating, so I am grateful I was able to do it. There is assistance out there, in the form of platforms like IncrediTools, for those who need that extra boost but really want to get their research going to find the best way. I am just so glad that we have got to this point. I have this huge online community of people with who I communicate with daily and are an amazing supportive and creative group. I’ve made so many new friends through this blog, most of whom I talk to more often than my ‘real life’ friends. But really that line is blurry and I like to think of them as friends. Period. I know that numbers are a big deal in the blogging world and I’m still a baby when it comes to the blogsphere but it’s amazing to me to reflect on the last year on social media. One year ago The Sweet Escape didn’t exist to these people:

So enough about work, it’s time to celebrate! Since the traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper we’ve decided to celebrate with a week’s worth of paper projects, products and giveaways! Be sure to check in next week as every day we’ll have a great giveaway. It’s going to be a great birthday week on The Sweet Escape!!