It’s hard to believe 2019 is coming to an end already! With the start of a new year and a new decade, it’s time to share Theresa’s Reviews top posts of 2019 AND my word for 2020!

Looking through my top-performing posts from the past year, it made the most sense to share the best ones in different categories. Many of these are my family’s authentic stories that I enjoy creating and hope to have an audience for, even though these don’t have the ad budget behind them to make them the most popular.

Top Family Post

Oh La La! The Perfect Paris Birthday Party tells the story of planning my daughter’s 9th birthday. With a homemade french fries bar and arts & crafts, this post shared the simple steps I took to gather her closest friends to celebrate.

It’s fitting that the decade started with her coming into my life, and now it ends with me revisiting her birthday celebration.

This party ended up being the inspiration for her France & French bulldog-inspired bedroom in our new house, which I’ll have to share in a future room tour post.

Top Travel Post

Deck the Convention Halls: Hallmark’s Christmas Con is Coming to Town! shares the road trip I took to Edison, New Jersey, where my daughter and I met the stars of Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas movies. With our Media passes, we had early access to the fairly empty convention hall, where we spotted Lacey Chabert and Jonathan Bennett, and we met Melissa Joan Hart.

Hallmark fans looking for a review of Christmas Con quickly and easily came across my article because it’s a top ranking result on Google for ‘Christmas Con Review!’ That’s reason to celebrate, a blogging success!

The article shared the decorations, vendors, hot cocoa bar, and more. In the spirit of journalistic integrity, I secured photo releases from all celebrities who were included in the article by contacting their managers.

My daughter marveled as the celebrity responses came into my email inbox.

Melissa Joan Hart’s manager says that’s fine! Lacey okayed it! Only one more, Jonathan Bennett said that if Lacey said ok, he’s good with it too!

She must have thought I was the coolest mom at least for that week. Having special access to the event and to the celebrities, at least via email, gave her a sincere appreciation for the writing I do.

Favorite Post to Write

We continued our road trip with a journey to see the New York City skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island in the follow-up blog post Our Mother-Daughter Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Day Trip. This post didn’t have the celebrity appeal of the Hallmark Christmas Con post, but it was my favorite to write this year because it was more meaningful.

This travel experience was spontaneous, a special moment of embracing our independence as a duo traveling together, while also learning of a connection to our family history. We are both growing into our own freedom in the world and yet we are influenced by the past, the traditions, and the challenges that ancestors made in pursuit of their freedom in a much different time.

Top Home Decor Post

How to Decorate for a Cozy, Cottage-Inspired, Farmhouse Christmas shares a home tour of the new house my family and I moved into this year and how I decorated for our first Christmas in the home. This farmhouse holiday post was also a top-reaching photo on my Instagram in 2019.

Top Recipe Post

With Valentine’s Day coming up soon, Raspberry Jam Heart Cookies is a sweet post to revisit! It shares our experience of making a festive dessert from the American Girl Parties: Delicious Recipes for Holidays and Fun Occasions book.

Top Beauty Post

Theresa’s Reviews Top Beauty Picks for 2019 was written right on the eve of the new year, and it shared my top predictions for my favorite beauty products for 2019. Most of these products I did use regularly, but I made a couple changes.

When my Chanel mascara ran out, I ordered L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise online because it was convenient, and it worked out fantastic, especially when paired with an eyelash curler. Also I switched out the heavier serum for the Blu Serum by Chanel.

Top Sponsored Post

Dreaming of Summer Fun with Zevo was my biggest sponsored campaign this year, and the company did a great job promoting the article in their newsletter, which led to plenty of page views to celebrate! My family was incredibly supportive in helping me put together the photos to go with the concept.

My Word for 2020

For 2020, my word is creativity! I’m happy to be pursuing my interest in writing with an All-Access pass to Masterclass, where I can take classes by instructors who know how to nurture creativity. I have several new books to read. My goal is to work in more time for writing each week and to upgrade my camera equipment to capture more moments visually.

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What is your word for 2020? Share in the comments!