719Woman Celebrates Our One-Year Anniversary…..Thank YOU!

One year ago today, in a thrift decorated Cathedral Spires (fabulous top floor of The Cliff House www.thecliffhouse.com ,) we met with some of our friends and family (who braved a snowstorm), dined on fabulous appetizers, displayed fashionable outfits created from thrift store finds, and went live with our website launch. We had our laptop and a big screen and all of a sudden, there was our site, live and on display for everyone….very exciting! We watched our very first cooking video with everyone and I learned after that first one, to always lock the cats up before we film….our fat black cat was walking on the counters behind me and I was clueless, which made some people laugh and some go “gross”. I did make a point to say we’ve never had anyone cough up a hair ball after eating at our house. I just went back to watch that video and was laughing hysterically because not only is our cat wandering around, but I looked scared! I think I have grown much more comfortable since then and our videos look better with lots of practice (except for our newest one from Friday when we were trying out a new mic system!)

It’s hard to believe that I’ve written 443 different posts this past year….no wonder I’ve been tired! I have tried very hard over the year to try out a lot of the household and beauty tips we write about, which is my excuse for the house being such a mess, I’ve always got counters and tables full of “experiments” and new products I’m trying. Paul has got use to me walking around the house with coffee grounds in my hair, food items on my face, and my nails coated with coconut or olive oil. He knows that if I cook something that looks great, it’s probably going to turn cold before he gets to eat because I have to take pictures. And there’s been many days, including times during football season, where he has good-naturedly taken pictures of me as I model different outfits (as he’s trying to relax on his day off!)

The 719Woman.com Learning Curve

What’s ironic about me actually having a website is the fact that I didn’t even know how to “copy” before this and I didn’t have a Facebook page. I pretty much used my laptop for email and shopping…can’t tell you how many times Trig and Paul got calls, texts, or messages with me starting off with, “I know you’ve already told/shown me but ……”

I freaked out a bit with the whole Facebook thing, wondering if we’d be able to get 100 likes? (We have 2,680.) Of course I still have trouble putting a picture on Facebook, even though I have written the directions down at least 10 times, probably in 10 different notebooks that I have no idea where they’re at….yes, I do have a designated area for my notes and paperwork but somehow, it doesn’t always get put there.

All the Wonderful People

I have met so many, many new people this year from out makeovers, contests, and story ideas and I can honestly say, EVERYONE has been wonderful, supportive, friendly and just plain nice. I turned 50 in January and at my birthday party I talked about what a wonderful and surprising year I’d had….I’ve been on two different local TV stations, been on a radio show, the front page of the food section of our local newspaper, and been invited to events I wouldn’t have experienced before. Not bad for an old woman trying something new I say!

I would never, ever have attempted this had it not been for my husband Paul and our friend Trig. Trig created our website, styles our daily posts, does all the video and editing and makes me look like I know what I’m doing! Paul designed our Pintrest page, has the contacts, keeps me sane, and helps with our Facebook page. (They both do a lot of other things too-I write and research, they make it look good!)

Right before we came up with the idea of doing this, I had been feeling a bit “lost” and needed something to do. I haven’t worked at a job since my son was in elementary school (he’s now 23) and with arthritis being my new daily friend, I couldn’t work in the yard for hours and hours everyday. I use to do a lot of volunteer work but with some medical conditions, I couldn’t commit to times and dates, not knowing how I’d feel on any given day. I wasn’t depressed but just didn’t have any goals I was striving for and was kind of, to be honest, feeling like I didn’t have much to offer and useless. I had my doubts as to the success of our site (Paul and Trig didn’t), thinking, what if no one cares about what we’re sharing? Besides meeting so many wonderful women this past year, my favorite part of our site is hearing from women who have tried our recipes, learned how to shop thrift, learned new ways to clean green, etc….and hearing from them and knowing in some small, tiny, way, I helped!

We have a lot of loyal readers who have been with us from that very first launch (and stayed with us), and we have new people discovering us every day….I so appreciate everyone! You know, sometimes people can be negative or critical…what I have found is a community of women (we have men too because they want to save money also), who encourage each other, share their own tips, “like” our makeover winners and add complimentary comments about the makeovers…..people helping one another in small ways that can have positive effects. Most everyone I know is on budgets, including some who for the first time, are on limited incomes. The economy hasn’t been great and when you have to start cutting out the fun things in life in order to keep the lights on or put food on the table, it can be depressing and quite frankly, bring you down. Hopefully we have shown you that you can cook a good meal on a budget, you can look great wearing thrift store, it’s ok to decorate or gift with thrift store, clearance or homemade items.

Well, I could go on and on but the bottom line is….I hope we’ve helped you in some small way this past year and we appreciate everyone’s loyalty and your sharing of our site.

Heartfelt Thanks

I have had a lot of help this past year and want to give credit to those who so generously gave of their time, experience, and advice….(forgive me that this is lengthy but hey, you only celebrate a one-year milestone once!)

In no particular order….

• Teresa Farney (Colorado Springs Food Editor and host of “Table Talk” on KVOR), who helped get the word out about our site.
• Pat Cone, who showed me what it’s like to “host”, offered encouragement in the beginning and brought the KOAA crew to my house for an episode on how to set a Thanksgiving table.
• Those who have given/helped with our makeovers…Keri Funkhouser, Ron Rather, Teresa Schmitt, Barb Cobleigh, and The Cliff House.
• KKTV and Moms Everyday….Andrea, Jen, and Kristin….THANK YOU! We have been able to showcase some of our makeover winners on Moms Everyday and they share our stories on their site! We so appreciate all the new readers we get from them!!!
• My friends Cindy (who designed my logo), Sarah, Patricia and Sarah….who give me ideas and let me bounce ideas off of them.
• And last but not least, my friend Ashley, who I had never met until we started working on this! I’ve literally known her a little over a year but it feels like I’ve known her forever. On her days off, she helps with our makeovers (she has such a talent and eye), joins me for our cooking videos sometimes, and has done so much….for free!

Tomorrow we’ll share a few of our most popular posts….our most viewed story has had 3,910 views and our least popular story was “Happy Easter” with only one person reading it!

You know, sometimes it’s difficult coming up with new ideas and stories. We are ALWAYS open to hearing from you as to what you would like to know more about….or what you’d like to share!

And my last thought….I hope that if you have a dream of starting something new, no matter your age, education or bank account, that somehow, you get encouragement from our story and go for it! You never know what you can achieve unless you try.

Thanks again, and Happy One Year Anniversary to 719Woman!