2017 Recap // Top Posts, My Favs, Thoughts on GOTY 2018, Boy Dolls, etc.

I really like doing yearly recap posts! In my excitement, I started this post over 10 days ago :) I'll be sharing stats, top posts, doing shout outs, and more. Be prepared for many links and talking about old posts and memories :)

To start it off, I'll share what the top 5 most viewed posts in 2017 were!

#5 is "Teddie's First Photo Shoot", and it was actually posted in May of 2016... It had 104 views. I remember it was super windy during this photoshoot and I was worried that Teddie would fall into the cement and scratch her face, just like Beth did during her first photoshoot. She did eventually fall on her face, but I don't think there is a lasting scratch. Whew!

#4 is "Kidz n Cats Doll Review" in which I reviewed the Kidz n Cats Sophie doll I had. This post was made in October 2015 and had 154 views this year. I no longer have this doll. I sold her because I wasn't using her much because I felt like a) she didn't have a lot of clothes and it was hard to sew clothes just for her that couldn't be shared with any of my other dolls and b) she was really difficult to pose. 

#3 is "Some Our Generation Clothing for Inspiration". This post was also from October 2015. I'm not really sure why this post got 178 views this year. In the post, I talked about some different Our Generation outfits on the Target website that I thought would be cool to sew. 

#2 is my "How to Do a Princess Leia Hairstyle on Your Doll" tutorial. This post, from April 2017, had 352 views this year. I decided to do it, because my Rey hair tutorial was getting a lot of attention, so I wanted to do another tutorial like it.

And as such, it shouldn't be a surprise that my most viewed post in 2017 (with 541 views) was "Star Wars Rey Hairstyle". I posted it in December 2015 after I saw The Force Awakens. I wish I could reshoot the pictures for this post, because when I took them it was dark out and therefore the lighting isn't very good. Nevertheless, ever since I put it up, this has been my most viewed post. (Sidenote: I saw The Last Jedi shortly after it came out and it was good!!)

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Now let's move on to what my favorite posts were from this year. I'll be picking one post from each month, so this might be hard!

January

January was a big month! I posted photos from my trip to Hawaii with Phoebe, my first trip to an AG store, took family photos, and other very fun stuff!

Yet, I have to say this is my favorite post: "Family Photos"! Getting all my dolls dressed, hair ready, and in one place posed is hard and this is the only time I've done it!

February

"Red Dress" was a Valentine's Day inspired and the photo shoot took place while it was snowing. Beth's hairstyle, cute outfit, and setting make this a February favorite for me. 

March

"Phoebe as Joy" was such a fun post to put together! I created the dress for Phoebe to look like Joy from Inside Out. I loved researching the costume and finding the perfect colors to match.

April

In April I did my first minidoll photoshoot "Wander" featuring mini Kaya. I'm pretty fond of this doll and this shoot.

May

I thoroughly enjoyed "Beth of Stony Hill". I adore Beth in this outfit, hairstyle, and pink flower.

June

I didn't post much in June, so my options here were pretty bleak. Still, there were a few cute shots of Phoebe and Teddie (two of the resident best friends) in "Two More Attempts".

July

Hands down my favorite post from this month was "Teddie Meets Her Pen-Pal". Teddie got to meet and get a photo shoot with her friend Phoebe Jo from Simply Dollightful. It was so awesome to do this shoot with Christina!! (to see Christina's pictures and delightful photo story go here)

August 

Again, August was a pretty deserted month here on the blog. The only really real post (as in, I took pictures for it) I did was a review of the American Girl Visual Guide.

September 

from here

Ahem. Shall we move on to October?

October

I loveee this shoot. I'd wanted a horse forever. If you haven't, be sure to check out "A Horse and His Girl" where Teddie met a new friend who we will be seeing more of in the future.

November

The only post I did in November was of my trip to the AG store while I was in Florida! I got to see a lot of dolls in person for the first time like Nanea, Z, Tenney, Logan, Gabriela, 67, Felicity, etc.

December

My favorite post of December has to be my most recent, "Teddie's New Snowshoes". Her outfit and the pictures just turned out really cute. I think it's a great last photo shoot of 2017.

Evidently, my posting slowed down at the end of the year (as in the last quarter of it). I'm not sure if this will continue but you will definitely see me at least in the same frequency that I have been. Hopefully more than once a month, like September haha. (I admit that's not really funny....sorry 'bout that)

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How would we like some stats? 

My top five countries are US, Russia, Canada, UK, and France. I think it's really interesting that I have more view from Russia than from Canada, I must have a regular reader or two from Russia...? Other countries include Portugal, Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Germany, Ireland, and Hong Kong. 

My biggest referrer is americangirlfan.com!! Shout out your doll site posts have helped my blog gain exposure for sure. Thank you Jessica for keeping the doll blogging community connected!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments! You are so kind and encouraging. Posting here is only part of what I do. I love reading all your blogs and seeing your dolls all the time.

Some of my top commenters from this year are Xyra Silverleaf, Light4theLord, and Anna! Thank you to everyone who leaves a comment on my blog! I love hearing from you!

Let's say farewell to 2017 and look forward to all that 2018 has in store!! Such as...

photo from pinterest

We've already seen lots of leaks of Luciana Vega, Girl of the Year 2018. I haven't talked about her yet, but I really like her! I love her hairstyle (including the purple!). I especially love that she's into science! Her outfits are so pretty, and her space suit is awesome. I think her theme is really unique. Honestly, of all the GOTYs that I've experienced the release of, I was most excited when I saw her. She looks really similar to Beth, and I already have two Josefina mold dolls, so I most likely won't get her. But her collection is super!

As for the new boy dolls, I appreciate that they have different face molds. I think they will take me a little while to get used to, but my favorite right now is the Sonali-type mold boy. Again, I don't see myself getting one of them.

However, I do see myself growing my doll family a little bit soon. I really want to make another custom doll.... That's all I will say for now :) I'm hoping this desire comes to fruition!

Here's to another great year of blogging and dolls! Happy New Year!