Happy Birthday, Shenandoah Sugar!

I am SO excited today because it's my one year blogging anniversary!! One year ago today, Shenandoah Sugar was born. And it was a long time coming! I have loved reading blogs for years (primarily food and fashion blogs) and I have also always loved writing. I'm no Stephen King, but I find it therapeutic to get my thoughts out in writing (even if it's just about a fabulous leopard coat).

Coat (Back in stock and on major sale!) Similar version | Sweater | Jeans | Boots | Hat | LV Speedy Bandouliere 30

I had been considering starting a blog for years before I finally did. I wrote my first post back when I was a sophomore in college and had just started dating Kenny. At that point in my life, I was feeling discouraged in my major in school, and felt like I had no idea where I was going to end up with my career (knowing what I know now, I really did have no idea!) I never published that first post, and I'm sure I never will, but thinking back on it I'm so glad that I wrote it so that I have a snapshot of that time in my life.

A few years after writing that first post, I reserved my blog name "Shenandoah Sugar." I came up with the name through my dream of opening a bakery one day, and thought that would be the cutest name for a bakery. Luckily, the name translated well to a blog name, because I don't have plans to open a bakery anytime soon (but you never know!) Even after reserving the name "Shenandoah Sugar," I still didn't actually start my blog. The idea of formatting my own website and learning how to use the Blogger platform seemed daunting, so I continued to put it off.

At the beginning of 2019, I decided it was time to stop making excuses and finally start my blog. I wanted to be able to document things like trips, outfits, and original recipes, even if I was the only person to ever read them. I dove into online tutorials and videos and formatted my site piece by piece until I had something that looked pretty good. My first post was simply a welcome to the blog, but I had done it! People always say that getting started with something is the hardest part, and that's absolutely true. Throughout the process of getting my blog formatted, I gathered a lot of useful materials on the technical side of starting a blog and getting a website formatted, so let me know if you want me to do a full post on that. 

Once I had my site up and running, I was on a roll, posting three times a week. My first "real" post after the welcome post was one that I had actually written before starting my blog: Kenny's and my engagement story. I knew after we got engaged that I wanted to capture all of the emotions and special details of that whirlwind trip to Nashville, and I'm so glad that I did. That's the main reason that I started my blog in the first place, and now I'll always be able to go back and relive my experiences and moments, however big or small.

For weeks after my first post, I was too embarrassed nervous to tell anyone that I had started a blog. I felt like I was exposing a secret about myself when I started telling my close friends! Eventually, I snuck the link into the bio of my Instagram and people started discovering it. Several weeks in, I got comfortable enough to start promoting my posts in the captions of my Instagram posts and in stories, and I started getting many more views on my posts. Don't get me wrong - I still feel silly every time I announce that I have a new post, but I know that people like reading them, and I love the conversations that the things I post about start, both with people I know and people I've never met.

I have to give a shoutout to my husband, Kenny, because Shenandoah Sugar would not be what it is without him. He's the man behind the camera for 99% of the photos I share. His willingness to shoot photos with me was a huge catalyst for me getting my blog started. It all started when he got a DSLR camera a few years ago and was ALWAYS down to take photos with me for Instagram. Which got me thinking, if I could break out a fancy camera for a simple Instagram photo, why couldn't I be using those photos for a blog post? Those fun little Instagram shoots transitioned into taking full blown outfit shoots for the blog , and I could not do it without his help (and patience)!

Just before wrapping up my first year of blogging, I reached a huge milestone a week ago today - I was accepted into the rewardStyle platform! I did a whole post about it last week, so check that out for all the details if you missed it. Getting into rewardStyle is extremely exciting; I SO was not expecting to get in, but I'm even more proud of my content now knowing that the rewardStyle team sees me as a valuable partner. Even if I hadn't gotten in, this past year of blogging has been so fun and worth it to me as a creative outlet.

Last but not least, I wanted to recap my top 10 most popular posts from the past year. Some of these surprised me by making the list, but I love them all! 

1. My Bachelorette Weekend in Palm Beach
2. Free People Bralette Dupe
3. Venus et Fleur One Year Review
4. Everything That Went Wrong at Our Wedding
5. Our Engagement Story
6. Our Wedding Day
7. Girly Gingham Outfit of the Day
8. Castañer Wedge Dupes
9. Our Engagement Shoot
10. Styled Shoot

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported me and read along over the past year, it warms my heart to know that you find my posts interesting and continue coming back to read each week.

xoxxxxxxxx, Laura

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