Happy New Year! I love this time of year for looking back at what’s passed and looking forward to what’s to come.
As I did last year, I’m kicking the year off with a look back at the year that has passed on Wendolonia. Here are the 10 most popular posts of 2011:
10. Chocolate No-Bake Cookies — A recipe for a gooey, chocolatey recipe my family has been making for years.
9. Behind the Scenes of a Bento Photo — This post gives a quick overview of how I set up my bento photos in the mornings but the tips I share can be used for most still photographs.
8. Bento Box Basics: Tools and Accessories — A basic overview of the tools and accessories I use to put together bento boxes for my family.
7. The Week in Bentos: August 23-26, 2011 — Back to School! — This was the only week in bentos post to make the list this year, probably because of that Angry Bird Babybel cheese!
6. Adventures in School Lunch — This post chronicles my experience eating school lunch with my first grader. It was shockingly different from the school lunches I ate as a kid and generated a lot of discussion on the post itself and on Facebook.
5. Summer Fun List — Our big list of fun activities to do over the summer. We crossed a ton off the list but didn’t get to all of them. I’m hoping to make up a fresh list for the rest of winter in the next few weeks.
4. Bento Box Basics: All About Boxes — A thorough overview of the various kinds of bento boxes available. If you’re looking to get started making bentos, this is where I suggest you start.
3. Summer Fun (for Mom): Homemade Smash Book — My homemade version of the super popular Smash Folio
2. Star Wars Birthday Party — A summary of the activities, crafts and food that were part of Wyatt’s seventh birthday party.
And finally, the #1 most popular post on Wendolonia last year was…
Microwaved Ivory Soap! And when I say it was popular, I’m not kidding. People went crazy for this activity and visited this page more than any other page on my site (including the home page) by far last year. Had I known then what I know now, I would have scrubbed my microwave until it was sparkling clean before taking these photos!
A few of my personal favorite posts that didn’t make the top ten were:
- Portrait of the Artist with Pneumonia — I challenged myself to take one self-portrait for a week and then immediately contracted pneumonia. I was surprised that I loved the results.
- My Strawberry Shortcake Collection — When we moved I dug my childhood collection of Strawberry Shortcake dolls out of the basement and photographed them. I also posted photos of the playsets
- Goodbye, Foxy Fox — My goodbye letter to my faithful (and horrible) VW Fox.
- My 40th Year Project — The kick-off post for the big autobiographical scrapbook project I’m doing throughout the year leading up to my 40th birthday.
- Bento Tip: Just Do ONE Thing — My favorite piece of lunch-packing advice I’ve shared this year!
I have been thrilled to see the Wendolonia community grow much larger over the past 12 months and I want take a minute to thank each and every one of you for reading and commenting here on the blog and for chatting over on the Wendolonia Facebook page. You are awesome and I like having you around. Thanks for hanging out with me!
What have you enjoyed seeing on Wendolonia this year? What would you like to see in the coming months?
