Top Posts of 2021

As another year comes to an end, I am taking some time to reflect on 2021. One of my blogging goals for this year was to publish more blog posts and to write about different topics. In 2021, I published 60(!) blog posts and started a couple of new series such as “Things I Bought Recently” and “Week in Outfits” posts while keeping up with my monthly book review roundups.

When I started writing blog posts regularly in 2020, I set a weekly publishing schedule as a motivation to keep up with the blog. This year, I threw the posting schedule out the window to give myself freedom and flexibility. Some weeks, I shared three blog posts; some weeks, I didn’t publish any. And I feel great about it.

I also started doing some blog work (writing/editing posts, filtering photos, editing YouTube videos, etc.) in the mornings before I begin my actual day job work and that has made a big difference in my output. Though I am only dedicating an hour or so, two to three days a week, I get quite a bit of stuff done! This is something I will continue to incorporate in my daily schedule in 2022.

In 2022, I want to continue writing regularly and write about more personal and different things. My plan is to share about some home decor/organization/improvement things we hope to tackle (I also said this last year but we really haven’t done much work around the house haha).

Now that I have rambled quite a bit, here are the top ten most-read blog posts of 2020:

#1: Visiting Purple Alpaca Farms

I visited Purple Alpaca Farms in Booneville, North Carolina after seeing a friend share about it on Instagram. This was the first Alpaca Farm we have ever visited and we had a great experience! It was a good balance of informative and fun. I was hoping this post will do well but I think it did particularly well because I shared it on a North Carolina Korean community website (which I am now signed out of because I forget my password).

#2: Credit Cards I Use as a 20-Something

This was a very unusual blog post from me but I had wanted to start a dialogue about money and finances on my blog for a while so I decided to share what I know. I was really happy that people actually read this blog post and was pleasantly surprised that it was the second-most read blog post of 2021. Since this post, I haven’t written any other finance-post but I would like to as I go through more finance milestones in the future.

#3: How to Wear the Nap Dress in Fall/Winter

Ellie Nap Dress from Hill House Home was my 2021 uniform and naturally I had to bring it into colder months (still pretty mild in North Carolina). I recruited my sister Sujung’s help to take photos and film a reel for “how to wear a nap dress in colder months” (or really any dress). To be honest, I felt a little bit ridiculous doing all of that since this is something nobody had asked me for or expected from me but 2021 was a year I decided I will write about whatever I wanted to write about so I stuck with it and I am glad I did! This was the blog post people found the most through both Google search and Pinterest.

#4: Hill House Nap Dress Review

I love reading a good thorough, detailed review so I took it upon myself to share literally everything I could think of about Ellie Nap Dress (aka my 2021 uniform as aforementioned). I think this did well because 1) I went over everything from sizing to how to care for it to what to expect on “drop days” and 2) the popularity of Nap Dress absolutely peaked in 2021.

#5: Park’s Food St. – Durham’s Korean Food Hall

I don’t fully understand how SEO works but after I migrated my website at the beginning of the year, I have been able to connect it to Google and see some search queries. I wrote this blog post primarily because I saw that my website came up in the search results for people looking up “korean food hall durham” and I had already shared about Park’s Food St. (sister restaurant to Itaewon Grill)! I felt very smart (though I still have no idea haha).

#6: My Top 10 Favorite Durham Foodie Spots

This is the only blog post from 2020 on this list! I have very much made “living in Durham” a big part of my blog identity, particularly on Instagram so it’s not too surprising that this is still getting lots of reads. I still stand by every single place mentioned in this blog post.

#7: The Starling House in Swannanoa

The Instagram photo I shared of this A-Frame is actually my highest performing post ever so I think a large number of readers came from Instagram, then YouTue (I posted a video tour) followed by Pinterest. The A-Frame during sunset looked absolutely magical.

#8: Where To Go Strawberry Picking in The Triangle

When I shared a list of strawberry farms that were open on Instagram last year, I received good feedback so this year, I shared a list on the blog so it’ll stay evergreen.

#9: What To do in Charleston, SC

Charleston was our first vacation since the pandemic began and I did a separate post for things to do in addition to the food. I am not sure why people read this post more than the food post but I am happy it did!

#10: Things I Bought Recently Vol. 1

I started the “Things I Bought Recently” series because I have a burning desire to review an eclectic assortment of things I buy (from furniture to earrings). People seem to be enjoying these posts and I think this particular post did well because people are looking up the specific Ruggable rug I reviewed in this post (spoiler alert: we love it!).

P.S. Top Blog Posts from 2020

P.P.S. Feeling gratitude this holiday season