Top Nine of '09

Who doesn't love a good end of year recap?

I love watching the "best news stories of 2009" (way to go, once again, Sully Sullenberger) and recently discovered a mashup of the Billboard top 25 of 2009 that I can't stop listening to. So it only seems appropriate for W and CP to get in on the end of the year recap fun...*


9: Where in the World is W and CP? This year, I traveled to Austin, TX, New York, NY, Cleveland, OH, Northampton, MA, Milwaukee, WI, Chicago, IL, Bethany Beach, DE, Block Island, RI, Canaan Valley, WV, Boston, MA, Boston, MA, Salem, MA, Deep River, CT, Waynesboro, PA, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, Toronto, ON, Salt Lake City, UT, and Philadelphia, PA. (And most likely other places that I either didn't blog about or didn't tag with the "travel" label...alas I feel this list will suffice).


8: Challah Baking 101 (August) So, I neurotically check the Google Analytics that tell me who searches for what to end up at W and CP (among a million other indicators). And without fail, every time I check (no matter what I have recently blogged about), many people have searched for "chocolate chip challah recipe" and end up at my blog. It still makes me laugh. I also mistyped the amount of salt needed for that recipe in the original post and received some very confused comments and a bad challah report from one Sara F. The typo has been corrected so, have no fear, the recipe is still delicious.


7: Peter G. Guide to Life (June) This is one of my favorite posts of all time. I am not only proud of the content but the format and flow. It has also set the bar really high for future posts in the same spirit. Once I can get over the fear of nothing comparing to this, I will write other Guides to Life...and if I know you well, be on the lookout because you may be the subject (if you're lucky)!



6: Facebook In Box Etiquette: The Musical (March) This post was born out of complete necessity and after rereading it a few days ago, I remembered how necessary it was when I wrote it. The problem of Facebook messages being used as e-mails is rampant and it is our responsibility to educate the masses and stop it.

5: Swine Flu: The Musical (October) Thanks to DCBlogs, my post about my Swine Flu experience was VERY popular. Writing it also served as a fantastic activity to occupy me during the week I spent in my apartment "self quarantined" (sounds glamorous, right?).

4: ObamaLand Diaries (February) My recap of the Inauguration festivities was the post I used to announce W and CP to the world. Up until then, I had been blogging sporadically to build a readership (hi readers) and wasn't sure what this whole blog situation would become. The title for this post was inspired by David Sedaris' SantaLand Diaries (and I try really hard to be like David whenever possible).

3: Wedding Season It is wedding season everyday here at W and CP. I attended four weddings in 2009: Meg & Brett (May), Abbey & Oded (September), Katie & Alex (October), and Shaina & Nate (October)...and I wore the same dress to three of them...no shame. I LOVE being a wedding guest. I'm not sure what could be bad: cake, dancing, dresses, and a very fun reason to celebrate. Thanks for including me in your celebrations (and allowing me to pretend to be the real photographer)!

2: Calling Willard Scott...W and CP is 100 (August) I worked on this post for such a long time. I remember talking to friends about it for many weeks leading up to finishing it and reformatting the lists, adding new categories, and editing the entries. It has been the most popular single post in W and CP history based on number of individual hits and comments (29!). I still e-mail links to it on a regular basis when I am asked questions that can be answered with one of the lists...and it has spurred a special section in the W and CP redesign (so it can be easily accessed along with a few other very popular posts).

1: Welcome to the World, Olivia! (February) Obviously the most amazing post of this year was about the arrival of baby Olivia Abigail. What could be more fabulous?? I'm not sure... This post received the most hits I had ever received to date and was written during one of the most exciting times. It is crazy to think that Livvy is almost one year old! I have a photo shoot scheduled with Sarah and Erik in a few days to keep your eyes peeled for new and updated shots of the munchkin soon.

So, thank you for posing for photos, helping me stay in the moment, sharing your appetizer, teaching me, allowing me to post photos of you on my blog, commenting on W and CP, listening to me talk (about Livvypantz and other topics), looking at photos I've taken and providing feedback, picking up my Tamiflu prescription when I was "self quarantined," telling me what happens in season four of Grey's Anatomy, leaving parties (even while you were still having fun) to drive me home because I was tired, participating on not one but two conference calls to discuss Inauguration weekend logistics, decorating cookies with me, feeding me, challenging me, nurturing me, celebrating with me, dancing, doing puzzles, crafting, and laughing with me...

...I am so excited for 2010...

*As I prepared to write this post, I connected with many of you to find out about your favorite W and CP posts and had a great time hearing about what kept you coming back to this little window into my life.

One suburban Ohioan loved the crafternoon recap including all good things: "friends, cupcakes, crafts..." and the post about "Dr. Tiller for a political point amidst it all."

My recently 27 homemade cheese making friend noted that the Swine Flu post "was also good because it gave insight to who you are and the little note about your grandfather was great."

A former colleague, and soon to be married friend living in Manhattan had good things to say about my post on the Monif. C trunk show a few weeks ago: "I liked the exposure of real women looking real and beautiful and posing. We need more of that, more role models for our young women."

I also enjoyed praise for my 100th post, as one reader turned friend noted "that is when I knew we had be friends."

One very supportive (and frequently mentioned) friend voted for any post that included her the most.

Lastly, my sister and Livvy's other aunt wanted to make sure I included something about the tiniest person (obv).