Hey, everyone! Ashley Abroad is one year old! So many amazing things have happened in the past year because of this blog. Dare I say? Starting a blog was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
I couldn’t think of a relevant picture for this post so I put up a picture of a penguin cake my sister made.
When I started this humble blog one year and 165 posts ago, I gave myself this challenge: “If you don’t like blogging, you’re allowed to quit in three months.” Well, I didn’t quit. I found out that I love writing a travel blog. 365 days later I find myself dreaming of a blog redesign and reminiscing about some of my favorite posts from this year.
Speaking of which, here are some the most special posts that I wanted to highlight. Let me know which one was your favorite in the comments below!
Most useful: How to Become Fluent in a Foreign Language, How to Become an Au Pair, The Real Cost of a European Road Trip
Most beautiful: A Day Trip to Ile de Re, The Loire Valley in the Mist, My Favorite London Moments, The Beauty of Doing Nothing while Traveling, Two Days at a 200-Year Old French Apple Farm
Funniest: 10 Ways that Travel Permanently Changed Me, Taking on the Pink Palace, My 22nd Birthday in Cork, Ireland
Most emotionally poignant (I hope): Remembering My First Love: South America, Life as a Paris Expat, Dear Paris: A Love Letter to the City I Finally Adore
Most adventure-y- A Mini Irish Road Trip, Surfs Up in San Sebastian
Most Paris-esque: The 10 Most Delicious Things to Eat in Paris, 5 Expressions to Help You Survive in Paris, Offbeat Paris: A Guide to Paris’ Canals, An Au Pair Day’s Off in Paris
Most insights about French life: How The French Stay Thin, The Art of French Cheese Eating, The Ultimate French Bread Guide
Most SEO-friendly: Travel and Debit Cards for Backpackers Best Souvenirs from Chile. Seriously, don’t ask.
Best food porn: The Best Meal I Had in Istanbul The Complete Guide to Turkish Food for Foodies The Delicious Truth Behind German Cuisine
Most unpopular (a.k.a. duds or, what was I thinking): Doors from Around the World The Beauty of San Sebastian at Sunset
I started this blog because I wanted to improve my writing and photography and perhaps make a little money to fund my travels. Little did I know how many friends I would make because of it and how many opportunities would come my way. (Like getting a job as a newspaper columnist, yay!)
I also just happily accepted a position with Answers.com as their French Category Expert which will give me a steady income while on the road in Asia and let me rhapsodize about France even more than I do already. It’s a huge opportunity that I know came my way because of Ashley Abroad.
One year later, all I can say to you guys reading out there is thank you. Thank you for reading, thank you for caring, thank you for commenting, thank you for helping make this blog something I love writing.
Most poetically, my blog birthday lands on the same day as the start of my trip- I leave for Los Angeles tonight! And then, a week later… HONG KONG!
xo,
Ashley
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Congratulations on reaching your 1st blog birthday. Look forward to reading about the next twelve months.
Thanks so much, Steve!
Wow, can’t believe your blog is only a year old (it seems a lot more established than that!) Really enjoyed reading about your Parisian adventures and looking forward to hearing about your SE Asian ones too!
Thanks so much, Naomi! It’s taken a long time to get to this point but hopefully it will just continue to grow :). Thanks again for your sweet comment!
Congratulations! I’m about a month behind you getting to Hong Kong, so I’ll be curious to hear what you have to say. After living for the last month in Taiwan, I can recommend that you eat as much as possible of the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) while in Hong Kong. They’re one of my new favorite foods and apparently quite common in Hong Kong as well.
I’ve been dying to try xiao long bao so thanks for the tip! I didn’t know I’d be able to find them in Hong Kong. They sound so delicious!
Congratulations on all your successes :)
Looking forward to reading all about your Hong Kong and Asia adventure.
Thank you, Georgia! I’m looking forward to writing about them :)
Yay! Congrats! I thought the penguin cake was totally appropriate and awesome :)
Thanks, Rika! I think my sister was pleased to see her craftsmanship so prominently featured :)
Congrats! Your blog rocks!
Long live Ashley Abroad!
Haha thanks, Daniel! Hopefully I’ll be able to keep it up for years to come :)
Happy one year blog anniversary! I can’t wait to click through to these links and read a bunch of them. Also, I LOVE how you made a ‘What Was I Thinking?’ category. As bloggers, I’m sure we all have moments like that!
Haha I just had to do it- I feel like this year I’ve learned a lot about which posts work and which don’t (though I still struggle with guessing all the time!)
i just found your blog the other day and HOLY has it ever fueled my wanderlust! i think i’ve read every single entry now.. eep!
happy blog birthday! can’t wait to hear more about your adventures and travels.
Thanks so much Sara, that honestly makes my day! :)
Congrats! I had no idea you had only been blogging for a year…I agree, it does feel more established!
Thanks so much, Alana! That honestly means a lot coming from you. :)
Congrats on your success! But let us tell you what going thru a travel blog design is like – grrrr. See http://www.sandinmysuitcase.com/a-new-look-adventures-in-wordpress/. We didn’t have outside techie help and we’re not techies (our previous theme was, like yours, from Elegant Themes)- if you can afford geek help, it will probably save you lots of grief and aggravation. We look forward to seeing what new design you come up with! And best wishes :-).
I’ve been so frustrated recently with blog problems! Ah well, I’ll get it figured out once I get a full redesign I suppose :)
You’ve done so much with your blog in just one year – very impressed! Can’t believe you’re off to Asia now!
Thanks so much, Alex! And yes, I’m very excited and can’t believe I’m leaving in two days. And I’m so glad I got to meet you through blogging, visiting Karlsruhe was a blast! :)
Congrats on your blogiversary Ashley! Just like Alex, I’m really impressed how much you achieved within just one year!
And I’m really glad that we met through our blogs — meeting people through blogging is definitely the most amazing part about it!
Thanks, Julika, you as well have done so much with your blog! (I really do read every post :)) And yes I’m so glad we met as well and had the chance to travel so much together in Europe. I hope we can make something happen again soon!
Congrats Ashley! Keep up the fantastic work!
Thanks so much, Stephanie! I’ll try :)
Happy birthday, blog! =D
Thanks so much, Nicole!