This is my round up for top posts of 2017. Maybe you weren’t here since the beginning, or you want to know the top pics, but these are the ones that were my and fan favorites!

So a quick disclaimer before I start:

This post was actually supposed to go out last week and was going to be the last post of the year. I was 95% done with the post when I learned that my cat, Olivia, was not going to make it. She passed away a week ago today. As much as I love my blog, the post had to get tabled so I could spend every minute I could with Olivia.

I plan on talking about pet loss at some point; it would be a really sobering post, but I think it’s important we don’t just stuff our grief because they were animals and not humans.

Anyway, I digress. A post on a different day. Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, well wishes, and most of all, the leeway you have given to me to take care of family. You dears are amazing.

With that, let’s get into the regularly scheduled content!

Where has the time gone?

I find myself asking that more and more the older I get. By the time we were halfway through December, I realized there was a half-month left of 2017 and Christmas was mere days away.

By the way, I hope you had an amazing holiday season, whatever you celebrate! I mean, technically, we all celebrate New Year’s. So I’ll wish you a happy new year, filled with all the goals you want to accomplish in this season of new.

But a new leaf is turning.

And as 2018 has come upon us, I feel the need to be a bit nostalgic.

This last year was a bit of everything. I have experienced so much through my blog, through meeting so many amazing bloggers through blogger meetups, trying new foods, and discovering new local businesses along the way. I’m always looking for new ways to make my blog better, whether it’s tweaking my writing style, changing the way that I take pictures, adding video content (we’ll get to that!) or even doing more Instagram stories!

By the way, you should go follow me on Instagram. I am adding new stories to my Instagram as much as I can, and I would like to start doing live video too, maybe? Don’t hold me to it! :oops: (or maybe you should. I don’t know.)

But as I blog, I learn that the only thing that is constant is change.

That’s it. Don’t get to stuck in one routine, even if it works. So as I pick out these top post of 2017, keep in mind that I have changed a lot since the beginning of the year. I like to keep my posts as they are unless there are typos that I catch later in life! It’s a testament to growth over the years.

With that being said, let’s get started! These are in no particular order, by the way. I let the chips fall as they may!

Why I Haven’t Done Video Sooner: My First Video

Let me start off this list with something that changed the game completely: adding video.

So far, I only have two videos on my YouTube channel: this video on not going to the grocery store and my video on cranberry apple chutney. I want to make more videos, but the software that I was using kept corrupting my video clips! I have clips and sections done from the other six days of the challenge, as well as some of my easier recipes I want to try in the Tasty/Instagram recipe style.

By the way, if you do video, are there any video editing software you recommend? I have heard good things about Corel and I don’t have a Mac. Just taking some suggestions in the comments down below. 😉

One of my goals in 2018 is to put out more video content. I will find a way! In the meantime, here is the post to my first video.

And subscribe to me on YouTube, so you do hear about a new video when I make it!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal: Great for an Upset Stomach

Sometimes, the best posts come out of absolutely awful situations.

Take the beginning of this last year. I went to church one Sunday, and a 4-year-old’s birthday party right after. I have no idea how, but somewhere in there, someone gave me the stomach flu. It was awful.

The bad news was I couldn’t eat anything. The good news is that It birthed  my most visited posts of all time, homemade apple cinnamon oatmeal! This fan-favorite is definitely worth a try, especially if your stomach just goes out of commission.

How to Make Your Own Asian Seasoning Mix

Speaking of highly viewed posts, this post came in second for most viewed this year! Frankly, I’m a little surprised on this one. It’s not like it didn’t take work, I just thought that other seasoning mixes would overshadow me, tbh. 

Here’s how to make it.

Have Them Respect Your No: A Personal Dating Story

The funny thing about this post is that it didn’t get a lot of love on the blog, comments or shares-wise. This is the post that people told me, “I read your blog and that post about your first kiss story. That was great. Awful, but great.”

If you haven’t read it, I highly suggest it. It’s cringey and personal. And for someone who is not big on sharing the more cringey personal details of their life, I would take it and run with it.

Get Grillin’: Honey Soy Sauce Pork Ribs

I was really torn between this post and the blueberry syrup post because they were both great in their own rights.

With the blueberry syrup, I went to a local orchard and picked my own blueberries for the first time. Oh, for it to be that warm again!

But the reason why I picked the pork ribs is because it was one of, if not the first recipe I shot the pictures for (and cooked) completely outside. Sure, it was extra work toting everything between the house and the poolside, but the pictures spoke for themselves.

Plus, it taught me the joys of grilling!

3 Reasons Why You Need to Go to a Vintage Market

This post was the start of me working with local businesses. There was a vintage market happening in my area and I was originally there for a Meetup. After trying to locate my party for 10 minutes (I mean, the place wasn’t that big), I gave up and began poking about, asking the vendors if they minded if I took some photos.

It helped me get out of my shell and really start interacting with people about my blog. And even though photo editing to FOREVER on this post (I was using different editing software), I look at it as a heralding accomplishment. 

Shamrock Matcha Mint Bubble Tea

Okay, I have to add a drink recipe in here somewhere! This one was my favorite, Partially because I just started using Instagram at this time. That, and any fun adaptation of bubble tea is welcome in my book. 🙂

Here’s how I made it.

Fun with Pizza Dough: Quesadilla Pizza

Just recently I did a new installment of Fun with Pizza Dough called ham and cheese bites. What you probably didn’t know is that I’ve been doing experiments with pizza dough since day one! I loved this recipe if none other than for it’s slightly ridiculous look.

This was also the first recipe I found when I looked it up on Google. No one had created a quesopizza like I did and I found it right at the top of the first page. A thrilling accomplishment for a new blogger!

I’ve got to make this one for myself soon because I loved it so much!

What You Need to Get Through A New England Winter

This post was my first step into local blogging. I had thought about it, and I was skeptical at first, hence the whole New England bit instead of Connecticut. I wanted to make a small guide to this cold corner of the states, and this is it!

Meet Olivia: A Rescue Success Story

This story can be summed up in one word: closure.

Closure, that is, for those who knew this story personally and were affected by it. Olivia had been an interesting part of my life over the past year or so, trying to get on my lap while I’m trying to blog, following me around the house; just being a lovable weirdo. 

This was the cat that passed away last week. I didn’t update her health status on social media or on the blog because 1) let’s be honest, you dears didn’t know her that much (I mean, it’s not your fault) and 2) I want you all to remember her as you see here in this post, not as she was when she was sick.

Most of all, I have to be ready to look at and think about the cat that I loved so much. 

What was your favorite post of this year? Let me know in the comments down below!

Cheers dears, and happy new year!

Gem