Happy Friday friends! Four years ago I started this little space of mine!! Four years worth of looking back on my weekends, seeing photos of things we’ve done around Boston, the places we’ve traveled to, the meals I’ve made and everything in between all wrapped up in a nice little bow here! If you would have told me that this “creative outlet” would lead to starting my own business and meeting some of my very best friends, I would have laughed – not because the thought is outrageous. although it really was. I would have honestly laughed because one of my first questions to Gary was, “who on earth would even care what I have to say, let alone read it!” Here were are, 4 years, 800 posts, thousands of words, endless amount of friends from practically every corner of the world and I’m so so happy to still enjoy coming to this space and writing! I thought I would share some of my musings from these four years because as I looked back on my three year anniversary post, I did manage to hit most of the little milestones I set for myself! I am by no means a professional, but these are just the observations that I’ve made and what I say to people when they ask me how to start a blog!
- It’s okay that I won’t be a full time blogger || Amanda actually captured my feelings perfectly in this post! On some level it would be so incredibly amazing to get to run this space full time, but the reality is that I have a full time job that I absolutely love and I know how lucky I am to feel that way. I also know my personality and having to rely on sponsored posts, collaborations & making sales would bring me too much anxiety. I like consistency! I love that I am able to come to this space and have a fun time sharing things I’m interested in and I never want it to feel like a job!
- Friendships made this worthwhile || Hands down the best thing about blogging has been all of the friendships! From blog friends that turned into in real life friends that turned into travel partners who have turned into some of my best friends – it has been amazing! I have a friend in practically every corner of the United States and even some that live internationally. I have met more of you coming to Boston than I ever thought possible and I hope you will all continue to visit because my favorite thing is to show you a little bit of this city! I’m simply amazed by this community that rallies together for everything – you guys are my sounding board for products, the best advice givers out there and the fiercest people I know!
- Everything you see, eat or do has the opportunity to be a blog post || I think we all have a sort of love/hate relationship with social media. The plus side for me is that I look at everything from a different perspective – I see buildings that I would have otherwise walked by without a second glance, I see a tree with colorful leaves and need to take a picture, I have a great meal and need to document it because what if someone wants to try the restaurant when they visit? There have been countless moments when I’m getting ready in the morning and an idea of a post will just hit me, running to my notebook to jot it down makes me oddly happy! Everything has the potential to spark your creativity and before blogging I was certainly lacking that passion!
- You get what you put into the space || Perhaps this is a no brainer, but it’s not possible to build anything successful and just hope someone stumbles upon it. You have to put in the time building relationships with other bloggers so that you become avid readers of each others content. The amount of time I have spent on my couch writing posts is something I don’t want to add up. Editing pictures, writing posts, sharing the posts and so on and so on, it can sometimes feel never ending. Having some consistency in the schedule is important. Even if you blog only once a week, as long as your readers know when to expect that one post it will work in your favor! You can have the prettiest pictures with the best blog out there, but if people aren’t coming to your site then you aren’t really putting that much into creating the social aspect of blogging! Burn out is real and sometimes it can feel like homework that I have to get a blog post ready to go live the next day. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have anything “new” to share that hasn’t already been shared. The flip side to that – a topic may have already been covered, but the voice I give to it is completely different than that of another blogger.
- WordPress vs. Blogger vs. the others || I’ve hosted my blog on blogger since day one. Blogger is owned by Google meaning you don’t technically own your blog – you can own your blog domain (the .com) but everything that is written isn’t technically yours, meaning if Google decides it wants to shut down tomorrow you’re sort of up a creek without a paddle, if you will! With WordPress and other hosting sites you the writer / blogger own your space. With that comes all the maintenance, back end work (you could have a developer if you want) and coding that comes along with owning a blog. Is one better than the other – well it depends on who you talk to. For me, nicely curated photos, a clean layout and an easy way for people to comment on your blog is more important than how it’s hosted. Will I ever switch to WordPress – I’m not sure but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. I have taught myself more about HTML and coding than I ever thought possible and to know that I’ve installed themes and backend stuff on my own blog makes me feel a little less nervous about one day making the switch. At the end of the day, you’ll be watching youtube videos and reading tutorials on how to fix something regardless of what platform you’re on!
- There is space for everyone || If you are on instagram then the majority of your feed is probably content creators and influencers. You’ll notice there are a hundreds of thousands of people doing this! The good news, there is space for everyone! Blogging is not going anywhere – meaning there will always be someone sharing their opinion about a restaurant or sharing a travel guide and you don’t have to even find your niche to stand out – you are unique because your voice is your own!
Cheers to you friends!
Huge thank you to everyone that I’ve “met” along the way and I’m excited to continue with this space – hopefully seeing it grow even more this next year! Special shout out to my husband for being my first proofreader, first coder & blog designer, for putting up with me when I say “give me just one second, I’m hashtagging” and or my “just one more” photo requests!! Thank you all for reading and hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Cheers to 4 years girlfriend!! I agree with so much of what you just said and I too am most thankful for the friendships the blogging world brings. You are just the sweetest and this space is one of my favorite spots to stop by during the week 🙂 Can't wait for another adventure some day soon! Have a great weekend! xo xo
Amanda @ Cupcake N Dreams
So proud of you, so honored to know you and you are one smart cookie!! So spot on about the blogger vs wordpress thing and I love how you said what so many of us are feeling! The best thing to come out of this adventure is definitely the wonderful woman met along the way and you, my friend, are one of my favorites and beautiful beyond belief inside and out!!
Cheers to four years!! I've loved keeping up with you!!
Yay for four years and for all you have accomplished in that time!! So glad to know you!
Congrats to 4 years! It is amazing how much we learn as we blog, and how rewarding it can be too!
Really love your word B. Solid advice in there too. Cheers to four years and I hope to be reading your blog for many many more years to come!
Happy Four Years Biana ! I love love stopping by your blog each morning and reading your latest post ! I love love what you say about the friendships that you've made ! I am loving the blogging world more and more because of such incredible support from you all ! Have a happy Friday beautiful 🙂
Cheers to you and this wonderful space you’ve built my dear! Friendships are definitely the best part of blogging for sure!
Cheers to four years!! Love reading each day!
Congrats to 4 years of blogging. It truly is a beautiful community! Love the advice too 🙂
Yay to four years! I have been blogging for four as well, and you put so many of my thoughts and feelings into this post. The people I have met and the friendships I have made, make it so special. Not to mention having a digital journal of all our family's adventures, is amazing!
I love all of this! Happy 4 years lady and cheers to many more! So glad we've become friends over the years! 🙂
I can't believe you've been blogging for 4 years! That's so amazing!! So glad I found your blog and I've loved reading it since!! Congrats girl!
Yay to 4 years of blogging! So glad I found your blog somewhere along the way and got the chance to meet you when we were in Boston– the friendships really are the best thing about blogging. I love what you said about not blogging full-time, and it's so true that you get what you put into your blog.
So crazy 4 years ago sitting writing pen pal type emails back and forth to each other 😉 I'm so glad blogging brought us together! Cheers to all your accomplishments. xoxoxoxo
Happy 4th Blogging Anniversary! It's crazy how time flies when you're having fun. It's amazing how many connections and friendships are made through this space. That was definitely something I didn't expect but so thankful it happened! Love visiting your blog and have a great weekend, Biana!
xo, Rachel
A Blonde's Moment
Happy 4 years girl! I honestly feel like I have known you forever. You are a beautiful person inside and out. Thank you so much for inspiring me and for always being a bright spot to my mornings. One of these days we must meet in person too!! 🙂
Happy blogiversary! I love your blog so much and I'm pretty sure I have been following since the beginning. I have found so many great things based on your recommendation (that portable phone charger is THE best) and feel like we are IRL friends! Hope you have a great weekend pretty lady! XO
Yes ma'am to alllllll this! Happy Anniversary darling friend. So grateful to have you in my life. Crazy we've 'known' each other so long :)!
Cheers girlie! So glad you started this space, and love your words that there is room for everyone! And yay for meeting up while we were in Boston, and that we were able to witness the $50 margarita incident <3
Green Fashionista
Happy Blogiversary, girlie! I’m so glad we’ve connected through your blog; I can’t wait to actually meet you in person someday. I feel as though I’ve known you for so long after having read your blog for a number of years now. I love the points you’ve shared here, both of which are great reminders for those who’ve been blogging for some time now and those who want to dive in for the first time. I especially agree with the point on consistency, it’s so important in building and establish a readership. Thanks for sharing, beautiful, and I look forward to reading your blog for many years to come, cheers!
Xo,
Jalisa
THE STYLE CONTOUR
Happy 4th Blogiversary, B!! Wishing you many more!! xo – Brenda // ChattingOverChocolate.com
Happy 4 year blogiversary!! I’m still hoping we can meet IRL one day! Xoxoxo
Happy 4 years girlfriend!! I've always enjoyed reading your blog and this little community we have become a part of!
xo, Kristina
Congrats on 4 years my friend!! I've been blogging for 4 years too — crazy how fast time flies, right!? I finally switched to WP this year and it's literally been the best thing EVER! Thankfully I don't have to worry about HTML because my host takes care of everything for me.
Wishing you many more years of blogging fun and success!
xo, Lily
Beauty With Lily
Congrats on the 4 year milestone and building such a wonderful blog! I'm so glad I got to meet you in person while in Boston. All of your observations are spot on to how I perceive my blog and the blog world.
Cheers to four years! I am so glad I got to meet you this year in person, you are even sweeter in real life! These are great lessons and I totally agree. Blogger is for me. Every meal is a blog post opportunity, and looking back on memories is the best, but the best part is all the beautiful women with whom I have forged friendships and support systems. Have a great weekend!
Happy anniversary!
Blogger platform for life – I have no time to do the wordpress dance!
Happy 4 years! I've also used Blogger since day 1.
Congrats on 4 years! Love the knowledge. Such good points about getting what you put in and the relationships. Cheers!
Amy Ann
Straight A Style
Congratulations on your anniversary. It's hard to get there… nice to see you made it.
Looks like most of your followers are blogger, tho' I've enjoyed WP – but haven't quite gotten to the point of owning my URL tho' some roadblocks in place, but one day… Still I can still read yours via my WP reader -something not all of the posts allow… Keep up the great work Biana!
K at The ApperciationFactor
Happy 4 year blogiversary, doll!!! You have done such a great job making this little slice of the internet enjoyable for SO many people, myself included!! XOXO, R
Love that you're still a blogger hold out, me too but I've been debating switching. Congrats on 4 years!!!
Yes to all of this. thank you for being so open and honest. Congrats to 4 years of blogging. I love reading your blog!!!
Congratulations on your 4 year Blogiversary!! That is awesome and I love the musings you shared. I'm in the same boat in that blogging is not my job, but I do so enjoy it. And I'm good with Blogger too. And I'm amazed at what I've taught myself too when it comes to HTML! Enjoy your weekend!
happy 4 years girl! i agree with everything you said, especially about blogger vs wordpress. i just do it as a hobby so i don't really care, but i use wordpress for work and really don't like it lol. and you're right, there is room for everyone 🙂 the internet is a pretty big place!
Happy 4 years! I love what you wrote– all very true! One of my favorite things about blogging is that I can choose to make it what it want and for me, sometimes its a blog post everyday, sometimes its once a week or a hiatus! It's just fun to be able to share things I like and write!
You're so right– its a space for everyone! I love that starting a blog is FREE which means anyone can do it!
Happy Happy 4 years blogging! So happy we found you! Not sure if you read our comment before where ALL of the blogs we follow via email (such as yours), that use Feedburner to send out their posts (such as yours) stopped coming to us for nearly a month. That is why we weren't around. Thankfully they started back up!! We love you and your blog! xoxo catchatwithcarenandcody
Congrats on four years. Blogging is such a journey in it of it's self and the community is awesome, and makes the hard work worth while.
sugarcoatedbears.blogspot.com/
Happy 4 years girl & great wishes for you…keep post love your smile..
wpthemesfree.website best wordpress premium themes
Happy 4 year blogiversary!!!! Reading this made me think of when I started my blog, and October of this year was my five year mark and I totally let it slip! Blogging is just the best for making friends, building your tribe, getting advice, hearing about amazing products, and getting to see all the amazing things that all our cities have to offer. I hope that I can come visit you in Boston one day! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you through blogging 🙂
Happy 4 years, Biana!!! I'm so happy you decided to start your blog so we had the opportunity to meet and fall in love! I was just telling one of my friends yesterday how much I admired your consistency in the blogging game- posting every M,W,F with a full time job, wedding business and a husband is incredible!! Keep it up girl, have the best weekend.. I hope champs are in order!
xx Tess | Sequins are the New Black
Love all of this… and totally agree that there is space for everyone and the friendships make it so worthwhile. 🙂
Love this! I am so glad I came across your blog because it's one of my favorites to read! Happy 4 years!
Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts
great post! way to go on blogging for 4 years!
kelseybang.com
Happy four years, sweet friend! I love all your advice/tips in this post, especially your perspective on looking at things differently to spark creativity. I enjoy your space every time you post, and I can't wait to see where you go in the future!
Congrats! and I agree I certainly have more appreciation for some things like scenery because of social media.
xoxo Falasha
Bite My Fashion
Instagram| Bloglovin'| Facebook
I agree with everything you said.
I especially love the friends from blogging as well – so amazing the people you 'meet'
Happy 4th!! Hope there's many years of your beautiful blog around!
Happy blogiversary, Biana! I'm so glad to have met you!!
Congratulations on the four years! Great tips..
I agree with everything you said..
Happy Blogiversary! I def agree with so many of the things you've taken out of blogging. I have blogger too and it does suck not owning your blog etc but if I had to build code and do updates to my blog I would freak out! I'm not that familiar with code and all that. lol
I can’t believe I haven’t commented yet- I’m so proud of you friend!! 4 years is an awesome accomplishment and I always love stopping by your happy space on the internet!! So proud of you!!
This is such a lovely read dear, and I couldnt agree more, especially on "Everything you see, eat or do has the opportunity to be a blog post"
Many times we run out of things to blog/talk about, when in reality, there are so many interesting things in our daily life that can be made into a blog post.
Jessica | notjessfashion.com
Yay for 4 years!! Love reading your blog and appreciate how genuine you are… it's hard to come by in blogging these days. xx
You and I have been blogging for almost the exact same amount of time and I know we have some of the same blogger friends since I often see your comments on their blogs, but for whatever reason we haven't directly connected as much! So I just wanted to comment and tell you how much I enjoyed reading this post since I could relate to absolutely everything you wrote. I really appreciate your take on blogging and making it worthwhile for YOU regardless of it being full time gig or not. As much as the full-time blogging gig LOOKS glamorous, I've learned as with most things in life, "free" isn't really free and it's nice to not have blogging be something I NEED to do to keep food on the table! Thanks again for a great post!
Gina || On the Daily Express