The Best of Just a Girl and Her Blog 2014

Whew! We made it through 2014! It really has been quite a year. Though this has been the toughest year I’ve ever had physically, it has also been one of the most enjoyable years I’ve ever had personally, and definitely the most exciting year I’ve ever had professionally. (Did I just call myself a professional blogger? Maybe? Eeek!)

I still definitely have a lot to learn, but it was fun to enter my second year of blogging and actually feel like I had a small clue of what what I was doing. Blogging was also a blast this year because I felt like it was more done in community! I love working with and getting to know other bloggers and while much of this is done virtually, I did have a few chances to hang out with my bloggy friends in person this year too, which was ah- mazing! And speaking of my bloggy friends, some of them are sharing their “best of” posts today as well, so be sure to check out their links at the end of this post! {AND there might just be an exciting little announcement too! 😉 }

So what happened this year at Just a Girl and Her Blog? Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

January

The year started off with a bang, with three posts in January that took off and stayed popular throughout the year. My super simple Baby Shower Centerpieces were a hit on Pinterest, racking up almost 22,000 pins to date.

Our Home Binder and Budget Binder (both with free printables!) are both still in my top ten list for traffic daily after almost a year. I guess people really love printables!

February

February was the month where I felt like my little hobby blog became a business, thanks to a post written by my oh-so-brilliant hubby. He wrote a post about the system our family uses to maintain a paperless home, and not only is it still one of our most viewed posts to date, it also proved to us that we could actually make money through this whole blogging thing (which you can read about in this post if you’re interested).

I also created one of my all-time favorite projects in February, our bold and blue dresser-to-TV stand. It started out pretty rough, but I think it is my very favorite piece in our entire home.

March

With March came the start of two major projects. After our “aha” moment in February we started treating this little blog more like a business, and in March I started work on what would become my first eBook, Building a Framework: Everything I Learned My First Year of Blogging.

I also began to plan out my Fabulously Feminine Home Office, which would become my most favorite room in our house.

April

April was spent hard at work on my aforementioned office, with tons of big and small projects to keep us busy! The most popular tutorial to come of this makeover was the one on adding crown molding to plain bookshelves. It was such a simple project, but it really made a BIG impact!

In not too long it was time for the *big reveal* of my Fabulously Feminine Home Office and I could not have been more thrilled with how this space turned out. It is the perfect space for me to be able to work and do craft projects, and did I mention it’s pretty too? I kinda love it. 🙂

May

In May I broke all the rules and talked about money– more specifically, some of the things we do to make life work on one income. I don’t know that I have ever been so nervous to hit “Publish” on a post. I thought you guys might hate it and kick me out of the blogosphere, but not only were you your completely sweet selves, this post took off and is still one of my most visited posts of the year!

June

June was a super duper exciting month around here. Not only did I turn 29 for the second time 😉 but I also PUBLISHED my eBook Building a Framework!

You guys totally rocked my world with your support of this eBook, and it truly was one of the biggest highlights of my entire year. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your complete and total awesomeness! <3

July

Oh, July. You were so bittersweet. Firstly, I was *beyond* excited to attend the Haven blogging conference and get to hang out with some of my bloggy besties that I had never met in person until that weekend. So. much. fun!!!

Haven was also my kind of “last hurrah” before probably the biggest event of my year. It was a non-blogging event, but it affected my whole life, including my blog, so I figured it should be included here. At the end of July I had a double mastectomy and reconstruction due to a genetic mutation (BRCA1) that I found out I had 10 years ago. {You can read my full BRCA story here and my surgery recap here.} I knew it was coming. I was prepared for it as much as I possibly could be. But it still pretty much brought my world to a stand-still while I adjusted and recovered.

You all totally blew my mind with your support while I was going through this time– I have never felt so loved! Thank you!! I was also thankful to have so many good friends who were willing to provide amazing guest posts for my blog while I was out of commission, and I am SO grateful to them for that!

August

August was mostly filled with guest posts around here as I was still recovering, but I did manage to pull off one little room reveal, thanks to my handy hubby who did just about all of the work. 🙂 Our master bathroom was a small, dingy, uninviting space until he got his hands on it, ripped it all apart, and rebuilt it from the studs up. The end result was incredible, and I have to give Donnie major props for his handiwork!

September

I was back in full-on blogging mode by September and was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet up with even more bloggy friends when I headed out to California to celebrate the launch of Behr’s Marquee paint. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was a blast and I learned SO much.

My most popular post in September was my 2015 free printable calendar– if you haven’t snagged yours yet, grab it here!

October

In October I really focused in on the core habits and routines that make life run more smoothly in my 31 Days to an Intentional Life series. A few posts from that series that readers seem to be coming back to again and again are My Secret to Getting Things Done and Accomplishing Goals…

…and 10 Simple Habits that Will Help You Stay Organized.

I also managed to squeeze in a chic little white and gold dresser makeover in October, which I’m still loving!

November

November brought a revamped Budget Binder with even more goodies to help people save more money this year…

…and some simple monogrammed Christmas ornaments! {Because everything is better with a monogram, right?! 😉 }

December

And finally, December! It’s hard to tell which posts will take off from this month since it just happened, but so far this little console table makeover seems to be in the running…

And I LOVED being able to share some gorgeous photos from my sister’s recent wedding!

{Photo by the oh-so-talented elle & arre photography}

What a year! There were ups, there were downs, but I seriously wouldn’t trade any of it for the world because it has been such an amazing ride and I feel like I have learned so much, probably more than in any other year of my life. Thank you all SO much for being a part of it and for being so supportive and encouraging through everything. You guys rock!

Thank you so much for joining me on this awesome journey this year! Here’s to an even better 2015!!