Happy Birthday, BitterSweet! You are officially six years old today.
It was a mundane decision to start a blog, another tiny voice in the sea of millions, that even I had no expectations for. Initially, I didn’t tell friends or family; I didn’t have any online acquaintances; It was just a public journal, filled with craft junk and crappy snapshots.
Nearly 1,000 posts later, it’s hard to put to words the indelible impact it’s made on my life. I don’t even want to imagine what would have become of me if I hadn’t typed out that first meek post and hit “publish!” With every new comment that comes in, I’m grateful that someone, anyone, took the time to read my lackluster early entries, and stick around for the ride. You guys gave me the courage to keep going, to keep creating, and now I’d never dream of turning back.
So this is all to say….
THANK YOU for reading, lurking, commenting, questioning, and otherwise being there, no matter what stage of the journey you joined in!
I mean it, and I truly do wish I could give out gifts to everyone, but considering shipping costs and logistics, that sort of extravaganza will have to wait until I have the same notoriety as Oprah. Considering how far this blog as come, it could just happen! For now though, I’d like to giveaway another set of my favorite crocheted pot holders to one lucky person.
I’ve made this pattern so many times now, I can almost whip through a set without looking at the color chart. Crafted in a springy combination of blue ombre and light yellow, this particular pair are a cheerful but subtly subversive addition to any kitchen. Made of cotton yarn, they’re functional, durable, and best of all, machine washable.
The winner will be chosen at random, so it doesn’t matter if you remember the awkward beginnings or just clicked over today- Everyone’s eligible! To enter, leave a comment with your name and email in the appropriate slots, and tell me about an awesome blog that’s new to you. It doesn’t have to be newly created, but something that’s recently caught your eye and you can’t get enough of. In honor of the birthday, this giveaway is open only today, so make sure you chime in before midnight, EST.
Spread the blog love; leave a comment today!
UPDATE: Ultimately, I couldn’t possibly turn anyone away, so I allowed a “grace” period of an extra day or two to enter. I owe you one, after all! And so, as chosen by everyone’s favorite random number generator, the winner is…
Commenter #44, Maureen! Congrats!
In case this wasn’t your lucky day, never fear- There will be many more giveaways, and even more pot holders to share in the years to come.
Wow congrats on 6 years and still going strong!
Congratulations & bon bloganniversaire alors !
As for the website/blog that caught my attention, I would say Culinographie (which is a porte manteau word combining the French words Culinaire (culinary) and Photographie (photography) )
I have not had enough time to check it out as I would like to, but there are really nice ideas on there, and eve if you do no speak French, it can be inspiring for food photography. If you do speak French, you will find a lot of advice there.
http://www.culinographie.com/
Happy birthday, Bittersweet! You certainly have come a long way in those six years. I become an even bigger fan with every post you publish. Keep up the fantastic work!
congratulations! you are an incredible inspiration, both as a vegan cook/baker and also as a blogger. i look forward to continuing as a loyal reader <3
I love the Sexy Tofu blog. It’s the perfect combination!
I would love you to teach a food styling/photo course. How about a weekend crash course??
Happy birthday, Bittersweet!! I’ve been lurking for years. :) The potholders are adorable, by the way!
I just happened upon The Lady & Seitan blog and think its genius! She veganizes Paula Deen recipes!
Hannah, congratulations, that is a milestone worth celebrating! Your photos are inspiring, I’m glad I found your blog. Keep up the good work! I recently discovered Inspired Edibles, she’s got some fun stuff going on over there. I think you’d like her Banana-Lemon Cream (non-dairy): http://www.inspirededibles.ca/2012/02/all-natural-frozen-banana-lemon-cream.html
Hannah … well deserved congratulations to you!! Your efforts and skill have turned this blog (as well as all your other projects!) into the fine, professional on-line presence that it is!
It’s definitely not a new blog, but I’ve just gotten hooked to What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway. The photography is beautiful, and since I think my own palate seems pretty similar to the food talked about in the blog, I get a lot of inspiration from it.
Congrats and you are truly an inspiration.As for ur thoughts of lackluster ,I don’t think so,yours is one of the most innovative blogs I have read and will continue to..
One of the awesome blogs I have been visiting is Golubka..beautiful pics and very creative.
happy birthday! I just discovered terry hope romero’s blog vegan latina yesterday. can’t believe I neve r thought to look for it before!
http://mykoreankitchen.com/
It hasn’t been updated in ages but I <3 it. :) And keep up the good work!
Happy Birthday, Bittersweet!! Congrats on all your accomplishments, Hannah – and those potholders are so rad!
Congratulations on six years! You put so much work and love into your blog, and it always shows. Here’s to Oprah-level successes to come!
Congratulations on six years. Hope you keep it up for many more.
Recently I have been enjoying kblog.lunchboxbunch.com for it’s many yummy recipes.
I’ve just discovered Vegan Stoner – genius! Happy Birthday to your blog! I’ve been reading for at least 4 years….time goes so quickly!
Congrats on 6 years! I am trying to remembering now for how long I have been reading this Bittersweet – it’s been a couple of years for sure, more actually, because I remember reading it back when I lived in Costa Rica (which is more than 2.5 years ago!)
A blog I can’t get enough of: Mipa’s http://aliensdayout.com (‘A Vegan in Seoul, South Korea’) – just because I’d like to live there one day and at first thought it’d be a struggle (veganwise), but that blog has given me hope! Plus, it’s just awesome, with its yummy recipes and cute graphic design and adorable bunny pics!
To the 6 years (and more!)!
Congratulations Hannah. I know what you mean…it feels silly to start another blog when there are so many. But, I enjoy doing mine anyway. And, I’m glad you started yours! I like to read ohsheglows.com
Happy Birthday to you ♫
Happy Birthday to you ♫
Happy Birthday to yooouuuu Biiittersweeet Blog ♫
Happy Birthday to y♥♥♥u ♫
I wanted to comment before I saw the giveaway. It’s true. Just to say congrats and I really do love your blog. Your crochet patterns are amazing, but I have really come to love your recipes and photos as well. I actually recommended your vegan desserts book to my Mom awhile back. Keep up the fantastic work and thanks for what you do!
I already have lots of potholders, so if I get chosen, please just go onto the next person as the winner.
And just for some inspiration. I love Attic24. I think it’s attic24.typepad.com. She has some super sweet crochet tutorials and a beautiful ripple pattern (which I am working on right now)!
YAHOO!!! I’m so happy that I’ve been able to experience Bittersweet from way back when :)
Happy blog birthday! It’s always a joy to read your blog, try your recipes, and admire your lovely photos. :)
My latest blog find is Astig Vegan (astigvegan.com), which has loads of veganized Filipino recipes.
I love these pot holders. I can’t crochet so no hope of me making these if I don’t win. New blog I like is St. Pete Vegan Food Swap. I love the idea of a food swap and love it even more that it is all vegan. There should be one of these in every city! Thank, Hannah for starting this blog and for your books.
I recently discovered VganJar & really love it. http://www.vgan-jar.com/
I’m excited to see several other new-to-me blogs in the comments!
Congratulations Hannah on your lovely blog! Your blog inspired me to buy your book and I enjoy seeing your fantastic books and reading your recipes.May this blog go on and on!
Happy Birthday! My daughter-in-law would love these! I really enjoy checking out your blog and finding out what you’ve created!
I recently discovered http://www.cardiganempire.com/… it’s freakin’ adorable. Just like those potholders!!!
I’ve been meaning to make a set of those myself. Hmm, I’m getting ready to send my sister’s birthday gift and she’s really into skulls…
Happy birthday, BitterSweet blog! Thank you for sharing all your musings, recipes, adorable crafts, and wisdom with us over the years, Hannah. I am SO grateful to know you and call you a friend. xoxo
Happy Birthday! and congratulations! Six years and stay going strong! :-)
Congratulations! I love your cookbooks and have never been disappointed with anything I have made in either one.
I just started looking at http://www.bookshelfporn.com – and it really is!
Happy Blogiversary!
One of my favorite blogs is not new, but so worth adding to your RSS feed. It’s dailyotter.org Who doesn’t need a picture of an adorable otter once a day?
Congratulations on your birthday! I still remember the very first Bittersweet I found, your crochet turkey pattern. I was brand new to crochet, and it was my first project aside from flat circles, squares and chains. I still have it, and it is adorable.
The latest blog that I’ve become very enamoured with is Fork at Beans
http://forkandbeans.wordpress.com/
I am head over heels for Cara, and all her adorable creations, lovely pictures, sense of humour, and shining spirit. :)
Congrats lady! Oh my goodness how time flies. That means I’ve been doing this for 7 or 8 years. Holy cow!
Those potholders are unbearably adorable!
Thank you for being part of the community for so long–you truly are a source of inspiration.
A blog I discovered recently? Funny you should ask this, I was just in the process of “pinning” almost every recipe from Kitchen La Boheme (http://www.kitchenlaboheme.com), which I came across a couple of days ago. Awesome stuff.
This is my new favorite site
http://www.holycowvegan.net/
Six years is AMAZING! Hannah, I’m so glad I found your blog and I’m looking forward to what the future holds — Happy Birthday, BitterSweet!
What a wonderful post. Congratulations on your six years. It’s hard to imagine you ever had crappy snapshots! I can’t wait till my blog celebrates it’s sixth year.
Happy Anniversary!
Hearty congratulations!!
bonne fete à bittersweet! can’t wait to read along for many moons to come :)
congrats hannah & thank you for sharing your creativity with us all. xo
WOW!!! 6 years! I can not believe it! I found your site… about 5 years ago! I was looking for craft patterns! And I was a vegetarian at the time! So, I fell in love with everything! I also got your first book and cooked many of the recipes!
Your blog opened me up to the craft world and Vegan world! Currently, I’m in France not following a vegan diet because I want to try everything (no meat though). I am very happy to see your work still! :D
As for a new blog… wow, I follow a lot. I will say another blog that changed me was http://babyparis.blog99.fc2.com/. I am in to fashion and I love the store. So I love to see what I can buy! :)
my email is sydneysunray@yahoo.com
Thanks for the giveaway on your blogs big day!
<3 LOVE
Sydney
Happy Bday, Bittersweet. Here’s to another great year! Another blog I check in with often is Happy Herbivore (http://happyherbivore.com/blog/).
Congrats, Hannah! You are a wonderful inspiration and absolutely deserve all the good things that come your way in the world of food, photography and writing. lately I’ve been digging My New Roots and Pure 2 Raw. Not necessarily new, but very much on my radar lately. Here’s to another year of vegan deliciousness and beauty!
congrats! This isn’t a new blog at all, but I’ve been reading cakespy.com and it’s really cute
You are hardly a tiny voice in the sea of millions, now Hannah. You have made a difference in so many peoples lives! Continue the dialog and amazing yummy food ideas!!! Congrats on 6 years!! xoxo
CONGRATS! If your blog was a kid it’d be entering the 1st grade! :)
I’ve recently become addicted to http://whatkatieate.blogspot.com/
Congrats on 6 years of awesomeness!
Happy Birthday! 6 is such a rad age because you can play with your food, get dirty in the yard, and obsess about dinosaurs and robots! I mean, you can do those things when you’re 31 too. People just look at you a little funny.
Also, thanks for the putting up the potholder pattern. That way if I’m a loser I can just make them myself. You’re the best!
Congratulations on six years – amazing! I’m pretty new to reading your blog but you have some great
recipes on here – I’m constantly tagging them as recipes to try. Also, your photos are wonderful. One blog I just discovered that I really enjoy is: http://www.ohladycakes.com/
Happy 6th Blogaversary to one of my top 10 favorite bloggers…another of my go to blogs…Your Vegan Mom.
Amazing, Hannah! Huge congratulations to you. You’ve inspired so many to start blogging (me), and to hit the kitchen baking. Thanks for six great years–and here’s to many more! :)
Happy Birthday! I’ve recently been inspired by the C’est la Vegan (such a cute name!) blog.
Happy blog birthday! We’re all super lucky that you started it :)
A new (to me) blog that I really dig on it http://thecrueltyfreereview.wordpress.com/
Woohoo! MAJOR congrats love! It is no easy feat making it year six!
A blog that’s new to me…hmmm…I’ve been loving the blog Roost!
happy 6 years!!! that is crazy how time just goes by so quickly!!! excited for many more great post and recipes :)
Happy, Happy – Haaaaaapy Birthday, BitterSweet (where there’s definitely more sweet than bitter here)!
Two excellent blogs that stoke my vegan culinary fire are http://www.quarrygirl.com and Susan Voisin’s FatFree Vegan Kitchen at http://blog.fatfreevegan.com. How can anyone mess up any vegan recipe that’s “Ridiculously Easy”?
Happy Birthday, BitterSweet! And thank you ever so much for starting this blog in the first place – it’s one of my favourite reads! :)
I love your blog. Congratulations for beginning the blog and sticking with it for six years. Here is a crochet blog that I recently saw recommended on a different blog. The blog that I’m recommmending is called Attic 24. Here is the link:
http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/
Blessings!
Happy Anniversary Hannah! Thanks for inspiring me with all of your posts.
Another blog I love is Peas and Thank You…Sarah’s stories about like with her family are hilarious and her recipes are oh so yum!
Happy birthday, Bittersweet! Congratulations, dear Hannah, on all of your successes and the successes and joy to come! It is all well deserved. Thank you for taking us along with you on this sweet, decadent, challenging, and fun journey of yours. We are all the better for it. :) Much love, and here’s to another six wonderful years, and beyond!
Happy birthday! Congratulations on such an amazing milestone :)
Happy happy birthday you wonderful lady! I’m so glad you started blogging too, because the world always needs more Hannahs in the public eye ;) Here’s to six-squillion more years!
P.S. Too tired to figure out the time difference right now, but just in case, I love my friend’s blog Bacon Clafoutis. She makes all the kinds of jokes I wish I could but can’t because me grandma reads my blog :P
I know I missed the giveaway but regardless I wanted to share a blog:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/
Hi. Love your blog, and have your books. Thank you for the sweetness you’ve added to my life. Another blog I read is new dress a day. You are so creative, it is inspiring
Happy Blogbirthday Hannah! I’m not commenting to enter myself in the giveaway, just to congratulate you on your successes and wishing you many more years of blogging, and also books and photography ahead! (p.s. I think we started blogging around the same time, how coincidental) You are a STAR!!!
Congrats, you’ve created such an inspirational place for me to visit! I’m in the early phase of blogging – I still haven’t really invited many people to read. . . It’s nice to know you shared a similar blog beginning and you’ve come so far! Cheers!
Happy Blogoversary! heres wishing you lots more years of blogging!
i have too many blogs to choose from! but the ones i do end up at are Cara’s fork and beans and Heather’s Sundaymorningbananapancakes!
Happy 6 years of blogging!! :)
Congratulations on your staying power! I can only aspire to your heights. I am currently at the first meek & modest steps into the online world & it feels like stepping naked into a supermarket….without a list….or a wallet….in a foreign country. But exciting all the same! Love your inmagination & originality & nature.
Keep going!
congrats on 6 years – here’s to many more!
Congrats on 6 years!!! I love my potholders that I won from you already!! So if for some reason my number does come up… pick another person so you can spread the love even more! They are so fun and a great conversation piece in the kitchen :) Thanks for all your beautiful photos, fun crafts, and delicious recipes!!
Congrats!! six years, wow!! I’ve been LOVING chocolate covered katie- she’s got some great recipes! I love this way of spreading the blog love. Your so sweet to do it! Happy 6th blog birthday. :)
Oh, these are lovely! I love your blog and you are one awesome vegan-photographer-cookbooks-author :)
YEAH YEAH YEAH! Congrats lady! I have lurked before and will lurk again, keep it coming. You should be proud of all you’ve done.
Izzy
Since joining the league, I am nuts for the Ann arbor derby dimes blog!
I just want to congratulate you on keeping a good spirit and this wonderful blog! Your blog is one of my favorites, so I’m really happy for you (and actually, also for myself ;))
Congrats! I love your blog – it’s one of my favorites and was an inspiration for me starting my own. I have a long way to go but someday I hope it’s half as beautiful as yours!
Happy Birthday to Bittersweet! Your blog just keeps getting better and better as the years roll on :)
Happy Birthday BitterSweet — and congrats Hannah, on your blogging milestones. Here’s toasting you for further success in the future :)
I just started blogging last year & even though I’m quite a beginner I sometimes feel like “man this is too much work … there are hundreds of better blogs & bloggers out there, mine doesn’t even matter…”
It’s so easy to give up, but need so much more patience to carry on! So, 6 years, wow!
happy birthday Bittersweet!
I have discovered you just few months back and since then it’s always a pleasure reading you. here’s to many more!
My darling new potholders arrived in the mail today, and I used them just now to remove my vegan polenta in tomato sauce from the oven! My hands did not get burned, meaning they work fabulously, and they are SO cute.
Thanks!
So happy to hear it- You really didn’t waste any time! :)
Wow! Six years that’s amazing. All of the people you’ve inspired!
I’ve just started a vegan food blog…Yesterday! :)
Kirstiie @ House of Vegan
House of Vegan
Content: My vegan cooking/baking
http://houseofvegan.wordpress.com
Other blog: Tribe of Mannequins
Content: Cosmetics/Fashion
http://www.tribeofmannequins.wordpress.com”
Happy birthday!!! LOVE your pot holders :D they are amazing
Happy Birthday, BitterSweet!!!!!! I love those potholders :)
Congratulations on your bloggoversary – six years of brilliant posts, what a fantastic achievement :-)
Congrats! I’ve been blogging for like 6.5 years and you are waaay further along than me! Lol. Love those potholders! I modified it into a scarf pattern a couple years ago, so fun!