This week marks ten years of blogging for me and Bower Power. WOW (!!!). A DECADE. That’s insane to think about. That’s ten years. 3650 days. That is 2300 posts. Seriously. It feels like just last month I decided to start this little online journal of improvements and thoughts and ideas and plans. Time flies when you are having fun, right?! And apparently I did. I really did. And I still do. And a large part of that is YOU. You guys are the lifeline behind the blog….I want to make sure I say that upfront. Thank you for being such a huge part in this journey. I can’t tell you that enough.
So in celebration of this big week, I thought today I would share a little history this week…a couple days to take a look back. A blast from the past if you will. This week I have a lot to share….where we came from and then also later share what the future may hold…pivotal moments in my blog life and then also what I would love to see in the next ten years! Let’s just get started….
The story of how I became a blogger is very simple. I didn’t know a single soul in real life that had a blog and I had read a handful of blog posts TOTAL from various people about everything under the sun….home improvement, gardening, fashion, etc. But it was interesting! It was new! It felt really honest and fresh. This was before Pinterest, before Instagram, and Facebook had just opened it’s doors to all. Home inspiration was found mainly in magazines, catalogs and books. To get inspired or educated from another non-professional individual felt really good. That’s the only way I could explain it. It just felt plain refreshing to see the mess-ups…the halfway done projects….the thoughts that went behind the plans. It was a stark contrast to the single before photo and single after photo in magazines. It’s like this weird peek into a neighbors house every day. And getting to hear their thoughts. Blogging was the way to add a person back into a home. And that’s what I was really craving.
Jeremy and I were newlyweds, renovating our first home and to be perfectly honest, we did not really know what we were doing. So to share that online was more like a confessional rather than a how-to. We were changing things rapidly in our home (no kids meant that we had lots of time for DIY and fun stuff! Our favorite thing to do was to go to the lake on the weekends and wakeboard.
THAT feels like a lifetime ago….I mean….I can’t remember the last time I wore a two piece! HA!
It was a completely different mindset. We were super young, super skinny, super energetic. The only decorating experience either of us had was Jeremy’s apartment. I would show up with different things from Goodwill or the Pier 1 clearance store and try to make our meager pennies stretch as far as humanly possible. When we were dating, Jeremy was broke for a good portion of that time (he will probably be embarrassed that I said that but it’s true). He had moved to Georgia to be with me and took a job as a loan officer. The month after he took that job, the housing market bubble burst.
But we had enough to make it work. He found a new job, we saved and made the apartment super homey while we dated and worked and took all our money to pay for a down payment on a house. That house was such a special place to us. It was OURS. And making it even more our own was a labor of love and joy.
Maybe some of you think that we started Bower Power to be a DIY blog….but that’s not the case. I started it because I was afraid of annoying Jeremy with all my thoughts about EVERYTHING. I knew he wouldn’t want to hear about my fashion ideas. Or see my moodboards with black and white clothing. I knew he wouldn’t be interested in the recipes or the photos or the pictures I took all the time. I used it as a release for my brain….and also to keep in touch with out of town relatives. If they wanted to know about the house, I could just let them read the posts….it wasn’t on me to bore them out of their minds with drywall info unless they wanted it.
We lived a completely different lifestyle then with different priorities and different responsibilities. It was a different world then too. George W. Bush was president. iPhones were rare. Brett had just broken up with the Packers. Twilight was still a book and not a movie. And Britney Spears was the most searched term on Yahoo. Things in 2008 were not the same as today…both online and in real life. In real life, we could go to Disney World with family and not change a single diaper.
In our home, we spent a lot of time learning how to work together. We actually did a lot of work on the house even before I started the blog. The passion to do the work came first. We even started taking photos of the spaces before I had discovered any other blogs. It seemed like the only obvious thing to do was to post all about it together in one space….called Bower Power.
So I began. My first post was two sentences…no photo. It was titled “Introductions”. The irony is that I wrote it to my mom and to ‘all you others’….both of which were not present at the time. I didn’t tell my mom about the blog until months later….and yeah…I’m fairly certain that for at least a year I had maybe seven total readers. But the point was – I did it. I put myself out there and for me…that was a huge thing.
Posting online felt very simple….putting up a few pictures, writing a sentence or two and BOOM. It wasn’t intended to be a business or to make me money or even to get followers or comments (although ALL of those things are nice)….it was just to get the thoughts out. To squeeze the sponge if you will. The flow was outward. It was things on my brain…not curated or well thought out….it was like writing a diary…not a website with an audience. And yes….it was weird, immature and raw and at times politically incorrect…even offensive.
Some of those earliest posts are embarrassing…like my Ode to Bacon (yes, there is a poem to pork on my blog) or they were even borderline mean….where no one was safe from being made fun of (I considered myself an equal opportunity jokester)….but some of those posts remind me to check my pride at the door. There wasn’t a Bower Power brand and my voice was still changing….kinda like blog puberty. I say all of this because I want you to understand that even though I have a lot that I am really proud of professionally….that the thing that I’m most proud of is my online friends. That is you. The Bower Power community….the ones that have joined ten days ago and also ten years ago….the ones that encourage and lift up and are kind and understand that I don’t have it all together…that I am most proud of having you in my life. SO THANK YOU. Thank you for going on this journey with me. Thank you for being there when things get weird. Thank you for standing with me ten years in and still being such a source of joy. You are the Power behind Bower Power. Truly you are.
And for all of you OG’s – my original gangsters…..here is a little flashback to the original website in all it’s cartoon glory….
It was blue and green and black with clouds and butterflies and a little bird. Back then we were on Blogspot and had super tiny photos 🙂 The best part of seeing this blast from the past is knowing that this week, we are unveiling a completely redesigned blog. I am very excited about it and feel like it is high time I share a website that really is easier to navigate! I know how frustrating our blog is right now. It irritates even me! So stay tuned to see that soon.
So now that you know where we came from….are you ready for more? I have a list of my top ten blog moments in the last ten years….wanna take any guesses what they are? I had a ton of fun compiling the list….come back tomorrow to see!
Congrats on 10yrs blogging 🙂 The first post of yours I saw was the light fitting you made out of embroidery hoops, no idea what I was googling at the time but your blog came up, loved your writing style so I stuck around. Looking forward to see what your 10 favourite posts are as I’m sure I’ve missed the early ones. Cheers to keeping it real!
Happy 10th Anniversary!!!
I have been reading your blog for 9 1/2 years and have loved following along with you and your sweet family!
Can’t wait to see the blogs new look!
Thanks for sharing your life with us.
Kandace
Ontario, Canada
i love this! i’m a long time reader, and in some ways i miss the old school, less-polished blogging days. but i suppose it makes sense, the medium grew up so of course the quality of the product did too.
excited to read along this week!
I was there! I remember…Kudos to you and Jeremy, and what you’ve built together, and I’m not even talking about houses! Destiny
I love it! I’ve been reading since maybe before you were pregnant with William. I feel like I remember the announcement. I feel like we are friends. I love that you share about everything! Not just the DIY/home stuff. I’ll be a reader until there is no blog to read.
On wow!! Congratulations Katie and BowerPower!!
I started following you before you were pregnant with Will! Back then I also had a blog… sadly I put it aside bc kids! Kudos to you for keeping it up- and thanks for letting us all share in your life! Happy anniversary!!
Congratulations! Wow ten years! Amazing! I love reading your blog and always find something new! Keep going!
Congratulations – 10 years is quite an accomplishment. Loved your blog then, and enjoy it even more now. xo
Love your voice and following along with you!
Ahhh! How sweet it is! Blessings and kisses! – MOM OOXX PS: Nana Camp is this weekend! Get your kids’ stuff together!
10 years? Wow, congrats!!!
Congrats on 10 years! I love this little recap! Cheers to many more years!
Congrats, Katie (and Jeremy) and all your lovely, lively family!
Hahaha I remember all the old love for bacon references well…congratulations on 10 years! Amazing!
I originally came to your blog from another blog. Which has since folded. I stay because I love seeing the progress of your journey. Home and family. I know how hard blogging is. I have dabbled a bit and its work! The writing, editing, the pictures, editing. It’s tough. And just keeping up with it on a regular basis. LIFE gets in the way. But you persevere and you are doing a great job. It’s been fun to see your growth and see the opportunities you’ve had because of blogging.
One thing I’ve noticed about social media, blogging or Facebook or Instagram. You are definitely NOT going to please everybody and not matter what you say or do; somebody is going to disagree or take offense. Keep on writing in your voice and ignore those people. You’re doing a great job!
Congratulations!!!! And nice look with the O in Power and the new layout in general!
Congrats!
Love your new site as much as the old pics! 🙂
Congratulations! I started reading sometime between Will and Weston. I remember because my husband and I were just starting to try to get pregnant. I especially enjoyed every family/lifestyle post during that time, and I remember being on Instagram while you were giving birth! Our son came about a year later. 🙂 I grew up in Lilburn and am very familiar with the Snellville/Monroe/Lawrenceville area – we’re in the Athens area now – so I’ve always felt a sort of closeness with you all.
Some of my favorite posts over the years have been those when you all visited Sherry and John or vice versa. I remember a particularly hilarious outing to Goodwill that was recorded. Not sure if it was posted here or on their page. Anyway, that was probably my favorite! Looking forward to seeing yours.
Thanks for being willing to share so much of your lives over the years. I have enjoyed following along. And I love the new look!
Katie, I rarely, if ever comment, but I think your 10 yr anniversary definitely deserves some kind words. Thank you for all you do! Your projects have inspired me to create a beautiful home of my own. Your realness is so refreshing! I loved your insta-stories after Ella when you didn’t have it all together; I loved that you showed us what wasn’t working in your kitchen update; I love that you make family meals! Thank you for always being kind to those of us who face infertility. Thank you for brightening nearly every one of my days for the past 8 years!
Congratulations on ten years of blogging. I found you in YHL’s daily blogging days and have followed every since. Thanks for all your writing and keeping it real. Love the new site redesign.
Congrats on 10 years of blogging. I remember you way back when! So exciting. Can’t wait to see what the future holds. You are a wonderful writer and DIYer. Thank you for all your hard work!
Dear Katie,
Congratulations on your 10th blogiversary!!! I’ve been following you since you had redecorated the master bedroom in your first house, inspired by YHL bedroom in their first house.
Here are my impressions on the new look of your blog. At the first sight it looks WOW! and designery! On the second, I don’t find it so simple to navigate.
I check your blog daily (I like your DIY skill, your esthetics and you humor), and what I’m most interested in is your newest post (and would love to find it near the top of your blog, preferably right below your top navigation bar. At the moment we first see a line of three random posts, then a line of post organized by their main subject (lifestyle & family, fashion, diy…), then “latest on the blog” which I guess is what I’m looking for – your latest post, then a line of random posts (again) and then several lines of posts according to their content (again). I think it would be better if the links to posts according to their theme would be just a couple of links on the left or right side, like just words (diy, fashion, family…) and when you click on one of those words it links you to a page with all the posts that have that tag.
What I miss the most from your previous look of the blog is that under the “House Tour” button the link to “Our 2nd House” linked you to a page which consisted of one Before and the latest After photo of each room of the house. That was so neat to look at and easy to grasp the whole of your house and how much progress you did in all these years! The way it is now, it links me to all the posts about the house, and doesn’t really do “house tour”. Also, I saw some posts from your 2nd house linked to the button “Our 1st House”.
I like the Instagram line of photos at the bottom of the page and the logo is perfection!!! I wish you easy tweaking 🙂 and may the force be with you! Looking forward to your posts 🙂
We definitely have some tweaking to do. It’s an organizational BEAST because of so many posts and I definitely want to have the before & afters all together somewhere….we just have to figure out where. As for the Latest on the Blog – yes that is the most recent post – OR you can click on BLOG that is on the navigational bar (and it stays with you no matter where you scroll so the most recent post is literally ONE click away and visible at all times).
xo – kb
Congratulations! I have loved following along the last several years. You are so real… and it’s refreshing.