10 Year Blogiversary: A Walk Down Memory Lane

Today is a big day for me. It’s my 10 Year Blogiversary!

On this day 10 years ago, I took a leap and started my own blog on WordPress.com. I published my very first post about “The Thinking Closet” of my early childhood where I would get lost in a creative project for hours.

I ended that first post with an invitation to whomever was out there–whomever might be listening–to “come on in!”

And to my surprise and delight, YOU DID!

But you didn’t just visit The Thinking Closet, you cozied on in and made yourself at home. You listened to my stories, read my long-winded tutorials, some of you even tried them out, too. You giggled at my cheesy jokes, updated me on your life through our virtual coffee date emails, and left me the most encouraging comments.

Without a doubt, it has been the steady support of my Thinking Closet community (ahem…that means YOU!) that has kept me going all these years–that has kept me writing, creating, and sharing in a rapidly-changing blogosphere and as my own passions have shifted.

You all have been the wind beneath my creative wings. {Cue the dramatic power ballad because that’s just how grateful I feel right now.}

To mark this momentous day, I thought it would be fun to track the circuitous path of The Thinking Closet over the last decade. And to even invite you to mark your arrival on the journey.

Do you remember when our paths first crossed? Who introduced us or what post you stumbled across? I’d love to hear the story in the comments if you care to share!

The 30 Second History

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, click HERE or on the video below to watch the 30 second Instagram reels take on my blogging history over the last decade…set to one of my favorite 70s hits, “September,” by Earth, Wind & Fire.

A post shared by Lauren Lanker | CREATIVE (@thinkingcloset)

A NOT-SO-BRIEF HISTORY

2012: Soon after moving from Ohio to Florida, I launch The Thinking Closet blog as a creative outlet for sharing my crafts & home projects while teaching theatre part-time. I figured my family would read my posts…but what an incredible surprise to discover a vibrant community of kindred spirits around the globe with whom to connect! I fall head-over-heels for blogging and learn as much as I can, as fast I can. I even borrow Mark’s DSLR camera to up my photo tutorial game. A few of my posts start gaining traction on Pinterest!

2013: My hobby blog starts to grow into an online business, and I seek expert help to migrate my blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org as well as hire a designer to create an official logo for my site! I start my own Facebook Group called The Silhouette Challenge where we offer troubleshooting support and do monthly blog posts together. I also attend my first blog conference, Haven. It’s such a surreal experience to finally meet so many of my online friends (and heroes) in person. This is the year where I dive into a bevy of collaborations with blogger buddies (like The Friday Five) and with brands (like Silhouette America and The Home Depot). I realize that blogging is way better with friends.

2014: I publish what will become my most popular blog post of all time, The Beginner’s Guide to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. and relish in my delight with puns by hosting a blog series called Scarf Week during (you guessed it) Shark Week. I attend two blog conferences: Haven and Florida Blog Con, after which I form a Mastermind group with two other Florida bloggers, Kalyn Brooke & Michelle Hickey. We start meeting weekly on Skype to share our goals and encourage one another…a ritual that continues to this day! I tackle a big item off my bucket list and write a book called Thinking Outside the Gift Box, which I self-published and first launch in eBook format.

2015: This is the year I discover the wonderful world of Bible Journaling, and Mark and I and start taking a weekly Sabbath day of rest, which we continue to do eight years later. I write a blog series on my sister’s DIY wedding and dabble in the new medium of live video on Periscope with Monday Night Dance Parties playing “Name That Tune.” I also re-release Thinking Outside the Gift Box in paperback book format & launch a FREE video email series called The Gifter’s Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge to set up participants for a stress-free season of joy-filled giving. My alter ego of Rhonda Tangelo makes her first appearance in the Day 1 video (this felt noteworthy to include, ha ha).

2016: I start documenting our days using the 1SecondEveryday app as we anticipate the arrival of our first-born daughter Juniper in June. My community of blogger buddies send so much love my way by surprising me with a Virtual Baby Shower in Blogland. That October, we add our third musketeer into our annual punny costume tradition, dressing up as “Ice Ice Baby,” which will end up in the Facebook feed of any and everyone I’ve ever met for Halloweens to come (our internet claim to infamy). Along with the joys of motherhood come my struggle with the limited time I have for blogging in this new season, as well as my unchecked to do lists…something I wrestle with (even still). But it’s been such a good growing process for a productivity-lover like myself to find my worth not in what I accomplish but in who I am as a beloved child of God.

2017: I enter a new season where Juniper has a loving caretaker two days a week, so I can set up my on-the-go office in local coffee shops and dive into focused time on creating content for The Thinking Closet (but also, let’s be real: some days are just about breathing deep and reconnecting with myself again). As Juniper turns one, I enjoy adding birthday party posts to my blogging repertoire. And I create a second Instagram account @LaurensPlannerPages dedicated to my newest obsession, bullet journaling.

2018: I document my journey of reading through the gospels in my Journaling Bible and have the incredible opportunity to collaborate with Illustrated Faith on a “Permission Pages” digital devotional kit, which releases in August. I also attend a workshop led by Shanna Noel herself and get to meet the amazing founder of the Bible Journaling movement that has revolutionized the way I meet with God in His Word. #FanGirlMoment This is a year of great sadness in grieving my grandmother’s passing, and also of celebration as we buy a house here in Orlando and get pregnant with our second daughter! I take great joy in decorating for Christmas and finally feel cozy in our new home.

2019: I have the incredible opportunity to teach an in-person Bible Journaling workshop on “Permission Pages” at a local church here in Orlando. And our family of three makes magical memories at Disney World before welcoming baby Pepper into our arms in May! That summer is a blur of sleepless nights and long days…but we survive and even thrive with creative play activities for Juniper. I celebrate my 1000th post on Instagram because oh my, that’s A LOT of captions where Lauren maxes out her character limit. And we start some new family traditions like St. Lucia Day & our Delivery Driver’s Treats Station, which will become mainstays for holiday seasons to come.

2020: I create a FREE 7 week Lenten Devotional email series inspired by my word of the year, “enough.” We navigate the challenges of a global pandemic and host Pepper’s first birthday party on Zoom. I try the new medium of Instagram Reels with Musical Appreciation Monday videos, dancing with my daughters to my favorite Broadway showtunes. Our reel dancing to “Ease on the Down the Road” goes viral with over 1 million views (say, what?!). We incorporate Hamilton musical parody songs into our 9th Annual Punny Halloween Costumes! And my alter-ego Rhonda Tangelo returns in a series of Instagram reels that bring me (and a small group of super-fans) much-needed giggles after a crazy year.

2021: Pinch me! I get to partner with Rodgers & Hammerstein on an Instagram campaign where the girls and I rock shirts from their new Sound of Music line of apparel…and I feel like I can now retire from blogging. But I decide not to, tee hee. I do, however, take a break from our 9 year streak of punny Halloween costumes in order to give myself space to grieve some hard changes at our church. I am grateful for God’s presence with me in the valley, as well as a revitalization of my creative energy through creating Instagram reels of our family’s Sabbath bike rides and Christmas decor…Rhonda, too!

2022: As my vision for The Thinking Closet expands to being a space where women can find support in developing rhythms of soul-rest, a major site redesign & rebranding is in order! Readers can now explore my archive of nearly 500 posts through three avenues: REST, CREATE, & CELEBRATE. I am currently working on a beta course on Sabbath rest to launch this October. And I celebrate 10 glorious years of The Thinking Closet on September 6th. Here’s to the next decade…and the new adventures in store for us all!

MY LOGO HISTORY

Let’s revisit the three different logos that have greeted visitors to The Thinking Closet over the years:

Does anyone out there (besides my mom) remember the WordPress.com look of September 2012 – March 2013? I had erased it from my memory but now it will live on infamy. #WeAllGottaStartSomewhere

THANK YOU!

Thanks so much, dear friend, for your companionship on the journey…with all its twists and turns. On this 10 Year Blogiversary, I count your listening ear in this online space as the greatest gift to me.

I always aim to be a force for encouragement and inspiration in your life. Know you have been in mine!

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