You’ve come a long way baby — happy birthday little blog!

Happy 1st Birthday, Attempts in Domesticity!

It’s now been, to the day, a year since I created Attempts in Domesticity. I resisted starting a blog for a long time, but my husband (who knows I love to write) prodded me into creating one and finally I caved. Since then, it’s become a big part of my life. On a basic level, it motivates me to cook more, even on nights when it’d be easy just to whip up a bowl of ramen for dinner instead.

But it’s more than that too…

I’ve learned a lot (not related to cooking) in the past 12 months. When I started writing posts, I was totally unaware that if I didn’t tag things they wouldn’t appear in the “reader” section. For the first month or two, I think my page views were averaging about 30 per week. (Don’t worry, Ree, no competition here!)

I was also so busy (considering it was the holiday season and all) that I hadn’t really started reading other people’s blogs, so I had no connections to anyone on WordPress. My blog was more like a public journal that no one besides my close friends read or even knew about. Finally I understood that I needed to take time to read other people’s posts if I wanted anyone to bother with mine — it’s not a one-way street.

Since then, I have gotten quite a few followers (thanks to all of you!) and made some virtual friendships with people who I really enjoy. I love feeling a little invested in other people’s — yes, basically complete strangers — lives, seeing what food they make, what crafts they create, the lives they’ve lived and where they’ve traveled to. It’s opened my eyes to a lot of different points of view which I think is pretty fantastic.

And so even after 12 months, I still feel like this project is fairly new — it’s constantly growing and developing, which means I am too. There’s no time to sit around and wait to be inspired — you’ve just got to go for it.

Anyways…back to the reason for the cake at the top of this post:

There are two people who share a birthday with my blog — my step dad Jim and my grandmother. So I thought a little virtual birthday party would be lovely.

And a birthday celebration wouldn’t be a true party without some sweets. So here’s a few pictures from some of my very first blog posts. I still feel attached to them as they were my first attempts at making this blog a success* and I feel a little sad that they didn’t get to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame. (Ha!)

As an unintentional bonus, the benefit of beginning this blog in December means there are plenty of fun, seasonal treats that are now perfectly timely. They also make excellent gifts for people who you haven’t shopped for yet. (See how helpful I am?)

* success means people besides my parents and husband read this. =)

For one of my first blog projects, my friend DB and I made candied grapefruit and orange peels — rolled in sugar and dipped in chocolate. In fact, last weekend, we did another batch — these are now a holiday tradition!

Candied grapefruit peels

That same day, we created these delicious tangy and fruit jellies from grapefruit and kumquats. These were awesome and so pretty, like little jewels.

Pate de Fruit

And, because I enjoy alcohol, these rumballs will always have a special place in my heart!

Peppermint Schnapps & Dark Rum Balls

So thanks again to all who read this blog — it’s nice to know I’m not talking to myself!

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